Ben

About to start the sixth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and I'm looking forward to Definitely Dead like usual with these books. Synopsis: Sookie Stackhouse doesn't have that many relations, so she really hated to lose one - but of all the people to go, she didn't expect it to be her cousin Hadley, a consort of New Orleans' vampire queen - after all, Hadley was technically already dead. But Hadley is gone, beyond recall, and she's left Sookie an inheritance, one that comes with a bit of a risk - not least because someone doesn't want Sookie digging too deep into Hadley's possessions... or her past. Sookie's life is once again on the line, and this time the suspects range from the rogue weres to her first love, the vampire Bill. Sookie's got a lot to do if she's going to keep herself alive. Interesting plot to this one it seems; I'm sure it'll be as enjoyable as the others.

Thanks for a good chat yesterday guys; I missed the start but still managed to have a great time and gather a great list of new films to watch as well.

Just wrapped up Dead As A Doornail as I'm really trying to just distract myself from everything at the minute; novels will obviously provide the perfect release, and the Sookie Stackhouse books provide a perfect light-hearted release, it seems. Like the last Sookie book, I'll review it at a later date once I'm in a more review-type mood. Thoughts: Five down, and this series just gets better and better in my opinion. I don't know how Charlaine Harris does it but with each book in the series she manages to shock and surprise me, and create a tension that I feel quite strongly as I flip the pages. This time Sookie's battling problems on all angles; werewolf politics, a sniper lurking with intent, but most of all her own emotional problems that seem to get more tied up and complicated with each book. In contrast, her own brother is thought guilty by his own new people; but when Sookie becomes even more involved with the shootings, she realises someone else is gunning for her, and the shifters she associates with. Once more, Sookie faces countless problems, and will have to conquer new territory to save her own life and some of those around her. The question as always, is who can she trust.

Oh Chrissy, you don't know how much it means to me that you'd take the time to type out those positive and lovely words; it means such a lot to have people on here that are willing to listen and offer words of advice when I need them the most. I am suffering at the minute but trying to keep myself distracted with reading and my writing, which is practically more incoherent than usual; but at least I'm keeping busy. I know I have the rest of my life in front of me, and this I imagine is only a stepping-stone in a life that'll hopefully have connections like this one. Obviously because it's all so fresh at the minute I'm really struggling to come to terms with it, but perhaps when time's passed I'll start to see it in a different light; something that seems inconceivable at the moment, but we'll see in time. For the moment I'll wallow a little, and try force myself to think positively. Thanks once again, this means more than you know. Thank you Janet. I'm just so.. conflicted at the moment; I don't know what to think. I know it's bad to think negatively, but it's hitting me hard, you know? Thank you Charm, I appreciate it.

Day 16 – Favourite female character Not sure about favourites, but I have a number of female characters that I like. Starting with the books I'm reading at the moment, Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse has to be up there. She's funny, sweet, telepathic, and you have to feel sympathetic with her when she gets involved in all her different dangerous escapades. Elsewhere, I always had a soft-spot for female characters in Harry Potter. Hermione Granger of course; intelligent, sensible, and always right from the start she was a character I loved. Miss Weasley, also; the mother hen, kind and gentle, always there for Harry, instantly loveable. Day 17 – Favourite quote from your favourite book Well, this is certainly a tough one; it's not like The Picture of Dorian Gray doesn't have any good quotable lines. On the contrary it has one or more on every single page. I'm picking out this one though, because it's simply wonderful, and the imagery painted is both lovely and eerie: "The quivering, ardent sunlight showed him the lines of cruelty round the mouth as clearly as if he had been looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful thing." Day 18 – A book that disappointed you Off the top of my head, I'm not quite sure. Thinking back probably Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist as for some reason I just expected more. I also found a little disappointment when I started Perfume by Patrick Suskind, but it's been a while since I opened that book, and I think I may have enjoyed it if I was in a reading mood; which I wasn't at the time. Day 19 – Favourite book turned into a movie The Harry Potter books without a shadow of a doubt. I did however, adore The Hobbit and of course that is being made into a film soon. In mentioning The Hobbit I guess I should mention the other Lord of the Rings books. I would include them on this list, but I've never read them, so couldn't possibly say if I would enjoy them or not; even if I did love the films. I know I should get around to reading them, but for some reason I always put them off again. Missing out favourite romance book for day twenty because I don't read romances. Day 21 – Favourite book from your childhood Here we go again with a cliché and predictable answer, but once more it would have to be the Harry Potter books. What can I say? I grew up with them as the first real novels I read; my introduction into a endless world of magic and intrigue. As a young child I didn't have the collection of books I have now, many years later, so my reading was limited. As a result, I used to read these books over and over again; I have lost count how many times I've made it through the series. Day 22 – Favourite book you own If this is for favourite as in terms of most enjoyable, then it's The Picture of Dorian Gray as I've already said, but if it's for covers then it's a different question entirely. I adore the covers for the Inkspell series by Cornelia Funke, as I think the art-work is spectacular. Incidentally the books are very good, and I should have included Dustfinger as one of my favourite male characters on day fifteen of the questionnaire thing, as he is absolutely awesome. Mysterious and eerie, he's what makes the books for me; I love his character. Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t Oh gee, is 'loads' a good enough answer? I have a long ambition to become more learned in the classics, so most of the 'top hundred' or whatever lists are ones I'd like to get through eventually. Of course, I want to get through all of my Mount TBR. I guess I did kind of mostly answer this question above, though. I have been meaning to read the Lord of the Rings books for as long as I can remember. I tried four times before I managed to get through The Hobbit and in the end adored it, so I should try the others. I'm guessing I've never read it just because it looks daunting, but I'll change that and tackle it one day. Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read Answered something like this earlier in the month. I wish more people would read the Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud. Everyone I know that's read them, find them utterly enjoyable; humorous, witty, and the characters are brilliant. There we are, caught up on this months questions; anything for a distraction at the minute; I'm off to read now.

Reading News Okay, so although I haven't obviously had much chance to get much reading done this week, what with everything going on, I did manage to finish Charlaine Harris' Dead To The World which was my favourite yet. I'll post some thoughts below (might review it a bit later if I'm feeling more up to it). Thoughts: Okay, so the fourth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series was my favourite, as impossibly, there seemed to be even more going on than usual. In this book the author really manages to start exploring the possibilities of the 'other' side of the normal, human world. We've seen werewolves, shifters, vampires, so now it's time for the witches to make an appearance. The problem is, they're a bit stronger than that; and when Sookie finds herself closer to Eric than ever before, she becomes embroiled in a battle fraught with danger. This isn't even the least of Sookie's worries; her brother is missing without a trace, panther blood found at his house. Sookie must act like she would have never imagined to deal with all the problems that face her, and now even her loved ones are caught up in the world of the supernatural. Elsewhere, I'm about 60 pages into The Slap which I'm definitely enjoying so far. The language is not for the faint-hearted, but I can deal with it and the plot seems like it's going to be both an interesting and entertaining one. I'm also about a 100 pages into Dead As A Doornail and I'm hoping to work my way through that one as soon as possible; it seems to be just as enjoyable as the rest of the series so far.

Ooh, glad I've seen this; films aren't my strong-suit but it was great last time so I'll be there nevertheless.

Just want to type up a couple of thoughts on this years Apprentice, which I enjoyed immensely. First of all, out of the finalists, and taking everything into consideration across the series and in the business plans, I'm glad Tom won in the end. I think, in essence, it shows that you need a mix of personality and of creativity to succeed. Helen was too work-orientated and had no personality whatsoever, but more on her later. Susie was hard to like, and Jim tried to be nice to everyone but he over-shot it; people could see how manipulative he was really. As for the business plans, I was thoroughly disappointed. I mean, Jim shot straight for a compliment-filled plan aimed at Lord Sugar; which would have been clever, had it have been more subtle and less a full-blown attempt which overshot drastically. All things considered, Jim did well in the competition with a blend of nicety and selling prowess, but in the end his business plan let him down. Susie, on the other hand, had a good business plan and I thought she was in with a real shot until she showed her naivety and youthfulness with the figures; that cost her. Helen, well, what a rubbish idea; if she would have gone in with the bakery idea she would have walked it; consistently the best throughout the competition, she messed up at the end. On the balance of things, Tom's was the best: he had proved he could work and get his products into stores, all he needs is the direction that LS can and will now provide. Overall I enjoyed this years competition; even though the candidates were mostly a complete let down (I only genuinely liked the four that made it to the final), I still found the show thoroughly entertaining and it made for great watching; roll on next years, then.

Hugs to anyone and everyone needing them at the moment. I'm suffering at the moment and probably will for the foreseeable future. I've had a terrible week in France; the weather was rubbish, we came home early, but most importantly I was finished by my on-and-off girlfriend of the last three years. So many memories; I'm not quite sure how I'm going to cope with the break-up, as she means the world to me and is the only person I've ever truly loved, if I'm honest.

Hey you, hope that mojo kicks back into gear soon; the Harry Potter books always seem like they do the trick for me, so here's hoping.

Ah, a feeling that's so familiar for me; I've always felt like I don't 'fit-in' with a particular group. You'll find a lot of relief from that kind of thing on here; I feel like I know many people on BCF better than I do in real life. It might seem sad but it's good to know there's always a smart, friendly, interesting bunch of people on here, that are here always what it matters. As for that chat, my inbox is open any time.

Hello and welcome to the forum, Zippy.

Hey Lucy, welcome to the forum, I'm sure you'll love it here.

Welcome to the forum Imma. I'm quite sure you're amongst ideal people here, with your love of reading. Also, I've enjoyed learning about philosophy for a couple of years now, and I've enjoyed writing (or at least attempting too) for a long time now; so it seems we have a lot of similar interests. In any case, I'm sure you'll settle in great and I look forward to seeing you around discussion.

Welcome to BCF, I'm sure you'll love it here. Also, I must say I'm quite envious of the fact you get to manage your local newspaper; I have a huge interest in journalism.

Hey Tracy, welcome to BCF; I'm certain the 'oh no my list of books I want is growing' problem is one we're all too familiar with.

I think this just about sums up BCF in a nutshell. Welcome back, I'm sure you'll settle back in just fine.

Thanks Lopeanha, I'll be sure to do that; I'm guessing they're hard to compare because they're different. I'll get around to it soon I'm sure, it does look really good and the blurb really caught my attention in the shop, which is always a good sign. Thanks, it's just a shame I didn't get much chance to read what with everything going on. As for The Interpretation of Murder if you ever get around to reading it let me know and we could both read it at the same time. Seems like it's getting a lot of love here, so I'll definitely get around to it sooner rather than later. As for the Sookie books, they certainly are good for light-hearted holiday reading; I guess it's just a shame that my holiday wasn't light-hearted then. As for actual reading news, I'll put that in a new post, even though there isn't much of it at the minute.

Right then folks, doesn't look like I'll be posting on this thread for around nine days or so (unless I can get a wireless on my iPod, or I decide to give it a shot on the poor browser on my Kindle). In any case, I'll listen which books I'm taking tomorrow on my trip to France. It might be too little or too much (depending on how much we do whilst we're there), but I'm also taking my Kindle in addition so limitless books there at my disposal; all bases covered. Holiday Choices Dead To The World - Charlaine Harris. Dead As A Door Nail - Charlaine Harris. Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris. The Slap. - Christos Tsiolkas. The Interpretation of Murder. - Jed Rubenfeld. First three are quick reads, but The Slap has a bit more too it. I have a feeling packing another book might be a good idea, though, because I don't think I'll have enough there. Okay, okay.. went for a browse amongst my shelves, and I picked out another to take; that should be enough now. When I get back I'll write the reviews up, as I obviously won't be doing when I'm there. Right, bye thread, hopefully I'll have a fair few things to post when I'm back.

Ah, that's interesting. Haha, I know what you're saying there, though, think a lot of us have that feeling on here.

I read the title, laughed, then moved on my way; I couldn't do it, I know that.

Ah wouldn't pay too much attention to reviews my friend, I never do; it's always subjective when it comes to books.

That's a fair enough response - I'm looking forward to this but won't get chance for at least a couple of weeks yet.

Thanks lopeanha, I'll be sure to check it out.