Ben

I had a bad few days of illness but I'm better now, thank you. Ah yes I'm excited too but I regret to say I haven't had much of an opportunity to settle down with it; far too busy with college and the pressures of coursework. Hopefully soon I'll manage to get stuck into it.

Hey thanks, well I'm having trouble starting because I've felt terrible all day, but I'll be on it soon I'm sure.

It'll probably take me a month or two no doubt, so maybe I'll be still reading when you start. Aha, enjoy Kylie, I think you may be right. (:

I must be going crazy, as I'm about to start The Stand by Stephen King. I've had this recommended many times as one of King's best so it would be a true shame to put it off any longer. I was also tempted to make this a King month and it'll probably take until the end of the month to finish this one. Synopsis: When a man crashes his car into a petrol station, he brings with him the foul corpses of his wife and daughter. He dies and it doesn't take long for the plague which killed him to spread across America and the world. I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy this one, even if it'll be one of the longest reads of my life.

Duma Key. - Stephen King. Thoughts: Well, where on earth do I start with this one? Today I read over two hundred pages of this novel, and that alone is surely a tribute to how much I enjoyed it. It is a lengthy read but in some ways you can't even tell; the pages seem to turn themselves as you read on. I was gripped with humour, tension, mystery and in some cases I even paused for a second to think. Now, I'll be the first to admit that any book that has the power to make a reader pause at the end of a sentence and reflect, is surely a book worth reading. Duma Key is a novel which in essence, questions reality itself: it seems to hint that in reality there is no structure to life, only randomness. Throwing aside the idea of fate, of destiny, we are instead led to believe that life and death are purely the product of unrelated and spontaneous events.This book is both terrifying and beautiful; a book about friendship and about life. I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants to become involved with a journey; a journey which stretches long into the night and the darkness, struggling to find the light. 5/5.

Okay so eight days into reading this book and I'm still not quite finished. I've admittedly not read as much as I could have, but this is a pretty lengthy read at over 600 pages. Despite this, about three-quarters of the way through, I'm really enjoying it now. Stephen King has a style of writing that I really enjoy and obviously has a natural talent for making the plot fly along. Although it is a long book it doesn't seem like it stretches out too much at all; rather I feel the detail is important for understanding the story. In any case, I'll be back here to give a proper review when I'm done, but it's going well for now.

Wow, thanks bobblybear, I'll get looking into these for my King reading as soon as possible. I have The Stand, IT and Under The Dome all on my Kindle, so I could read them whenever. I also have The Eyes Of The Dragon, Lisey's Story and Blaze in paper copy. If I can find a decently formatted edition of The Stand I'll probably read that on my Kindle, I haven't checked the one I have but I believe there are different copies anyways. Thanks again for the recommendations.

Won't happen. Ah my apologies, I hadn't looked for the exact quote just thought it was something along those lines. I also wasn't condoning it, either, just thought it seemed daft to make. Although the correct quote seems to make a bit more sense, now, understandably he'll feel he's rising up to the top level of football by joining Chelsea.

That's quite a strange thing to find; I would have thought with all the novels he has written, that everyone would have read one. I see your point thought, if it isn't the sort of genre your into then I guess you wouldn't bother reading one. Interestingly enough I don't think that Duma Key has been particularly scary or horrific so far; that might change later I guess, though. Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people will have recommendations for Mr King, I'm going to have a browse round the thread later. As for the premise, it is a bizarre one, that's what caught my interest. I'm with you on the bookshop thing, thankfully it won't happen; at least not in our lifetime.

I've recently read my first Lee Child novel Killing Floor and I thought it was fantastic. I reviewed it here and I have to say I thought it was wonderful; brilliantly written characters and a plot that had me turning the pages until the very end. I'm intending to read more of the Jack Reacher novels by the end of this year, probably very soon, as I enjoyed them very much. As for the other authors, crime isn't really my forte so I can't say I've ever managed to read any of theirs. Perhaps a couple of names to note for the future though.

Anyone got any opinion on the record transfer fee for a British player spent on Andy Carrol by Liverpool? I mean, I know he's been brilliant this season but really, that price tag is higher than the one on David Villa's head at the moment; a much better player. Also, had to laugh at the cheap parting shot from Torres to Liverpool as he leaves for Chelsea. The comment that he's now going to play for a big club now. Must say, I hope he doesn't find his form there though, because I like seeing them down in the blues at the minute.

It was quite sad to see Andy Murray fall once again at the last hurdle in the Australian Open, like the disappointment felt when he was beat by Federer last year. I struggled through the early hours to watch most of his games throughout the earlier rounds and I was impressed to see him playing some fantastic tennis, with a confidence that suggested he could finally win his first Grand Slam. Of course Novak Djokovic had also played some great tennis in his own right, of course knocking out the defending champion on his way to playing Murray, so it wasn't going to be an easy match. I think most people expected a Djokovic win, but not quite in the style that it happened: Murray was thoroughly outclassed and Novak was majestic. What's reassuring is that it can only be a matter of time before Andy picks up a victory, so he's got to get himself back into good spirits and into training for the French Open in Paris later in the year.

Hey folks, so only a few books read throughout January but my excuse is I've been terribly busy with exams. At the minute I feel like I have much more time for reading and hope to get through a fair few novels this year until my time is taken up with study once again. At present I pushed aside Over Sea, Under Stone - I enjoy the book, don't get me wrong, I just think because I was struggling through a few pages whilst my exams were on, it's become a book I've associated with them. Because of this I started something fresh and quite challenging yesterday; Duma Key by Stephen King. I haven't read much King, only Cell, so I'm really looking forward to this one. Synopsis: When Edgar Freemantle moves to Duma Key to escape his past, he doesn't expect to find much there. But Duma Key and its mysteries have been waiting for him. The shells beneath his house are whispering to him, and something in the view from his window urges him to discover a talent he never knew he had. Edgar Freemantle begins to paint. Even though he has lost an arm. And the hand he uses is the one he lost.. Sounds intriguing and it's started well; anyone read it or could recommend any other King novels for me to get into? I have a feeling I'll be needing some.

Well he's got it all to do, put it that way. It's sad to see him losing this again in the final.

Just watched season one episode one of Heroes which is called Genesis, and was awesome. I have a feeling I'm going to absolutely love this show because I have a entire four-season box-set that some friends got me for Christmas, waiting for me.

Cherry Coke is actually amazing. I'm just drinking a cup of tea at the minute.

Haha come on Frankie I'm sure you and Jess both knew I meant nothing by it. Just that she's bound to find some wonderful new authors and books now she's joined this site. Well I'm sure that will change now; welcome again to BCF. (: