SaraPepparkaka

I have read lots of lovely books. "Wintersmith" - Terry Pratcett, "The Reckoning" - Kelley Armstrong, "The Taking" - Erin McCarthy and "Nine Rules To Break When Romancing a Rake" - Sarah MacLean. And two decent mysteries, "Piece Of My Heart" and "Aftermath", both by Peter Robinson. I can't really say much else about "Wintersmith" than I've said about any other Terry Pratchett book I've enjoyed. Like them all. "The Reckoning" is the final book in the Darkest Powers trilogy, it takes place in the same world as the Otherworld books, but this is a YA series. Nice books, I'd even go as far as saying that this one is better than "Frostbitten". "The Taking" is a book in a series where Erin Mc Carthy writes stories about the seven deadly sins in New Orleans. This books pet sin is greed. Demons, passion, a light touch of history- all in all I DO forgive this book the neat little happy ever after. You'd best be a fan of romance though (and not mind sex scenes) to enjoy this book, it'll not convert you if you aren't. If you will read only one romance book this year, "Nine Rules to Break.." is the one I'd choose. Oh yes, we have the handsome marquess (funnily enough, NOT a duke..) and the spinster who quite surprisingly is pretty, witty and smart. But all in all, I was convinced at the heroine being bored and deciding to have a few adventures, and I was seeing a gradual and convincing development of a relationship that I really could believe in, some good dialogue, and I did not go and skim the pages as usual at the plot twist in the second last chapter when the couple almost didn't have their happily-ever-after. Really, it's like watching McGyver - you KNOW he's going to use duct tape and chewing gum to get away and get the bad guys, but you never know just how he's going to use it this time.. (and if nothing else reveals my age here, then the McGyver reference does. I realise there may be people, adults even, who were not born when McGyver was the thing to watch on TV.)

I'm not drinking any alcohol at all right now, figured my body has enough poison to deal with as it is. But when I do drink, I like to drink a nice whiskey, not so smoky, with just a little splash of water. Also, sometimes, a glass of good wine really makes what you eat taste better- I'm just not very good at knowing what wine to go with what food. No coffee at all for me. I drink tea. Lots of tea, almost any kind is OK. Right now I mostly drink a fairtrade Indian chai ( with lots of cardamon in it).

Hello! Welcome!

Hello! Welcome!

Not much reading, had a house full of guests. Only one book, "The Catcher In The Rye" by J.D. Salinger. Very well written, and enjoyable.

Smoked salmon and mashed potatos and salad.

On my borrowed Kindle I've read: Kelley Armstrong- "Frostbitten", "Men Of The Otherworld" and "Tales Of The Otherworld" Mary Balogh- "Simply Unforgettable" and "Simply Love". I must say that I'm not really getting used to the idea of pressing a button instead of turning a page. Delighted to read the Otherworld books though. The Mary Balogh books were a bit bland.

I have a Kindle borrowed for one week. A Kindle equipped with "Frostbitten" by Kelley Armstrong, no less. I'm enjoying the reading but I can't really see the thrill of reading a ... device instead of a book.

On my holiday to Barcelona I read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, and "The Horrific Sufferings Of The Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot" by Carl-Johan Vallgren. I liked them both very much, I enjoyed "The Kite Runner" much more than I enjoyed "A Thousand Splendid Suns", it just seemed more genuine. And after that, I read Terry Pratchett, "The Wee Free Men" and "A Hat Full Of Sky", I'm sure I don't even have to say how much I liked reading those. And then some chick-lit, "dot.homme" by Jane Moore,not bad as chick-lit goes.

I saw some of Camilla L

Nothing like chick-lit when you're in a bad mood nicx27- all problems solved when you find the right guy! Finished "A Funeral In Blue", and continued with "Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith, and "Brother Odd" by Dean Koontz. I started the Odd Thomas series in the middle, and I'm glad I did since I honestly don't think I would have read the other two if I'd started with the first one. This was my favourite so far. "Child 44" is recommended to anyone who wants to read a bleak, violent and disturbing book- I enjoyed it. The opposite of chick-lit maybe. And how come all the books where it's not so simple to see who's good and who's bad take place in Russia?

This sounds like an interesting book. Harry Potter for adults.. I might have to try it!

Grapes.

Well, since I didn't really have any books that I wanted to read, I read some chick-lit. Lisa Jewell-"Thirtynothing", Jane Moore-"Ex Files", and Marian Keyes- "Last Chance Saloon". Not surprising, I liked the Marian Keyes best of those three. The stories were familiar, I kept thinking that "I must have read this one before", but I'm sure I haven't, possibly with the exception of "Last Chance Saloon". Then I found a fantasy book I had started and abandoned. Simon R Green- "The Man With the Golden Torc". This book did not deserve to be abandoned, it's just one of those I started to read in hospital and then didn't want to see when I came home just because I had read it in hospital. And just because it didn't deserve to be abandoned that doesn't mean it's a brilliant book, it's rather like an action movie dressed up as fantasy. Extra credit for the hero's girlfriend. She's not stupid, she doesn't need to be rescued all the time, and she has her own mind. Besides, did you know that boiled eggs taste heavenly? It did take me a good while to get that egg down, but after two days of apple juice and Digestive crackers it was wonderful to look at something and NOT feel disgusted. Right now I have a real problem with everything that even vaguely reminds me of milk (cheese, yoghurt etc.) and then add to that a Christening on Sunday where everything that was served had some kind of white yucky stuff in it or on it. Whipped cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese, you name it. It took me until this morning to get over it. Now that I ate that egg, I might be so bold as to make a salad for lunch. I might even eat it! As for my reading, I'm back with the mysteries, I'm about halfway through "A Funeral In Blue" by Anne Perry.

More books to add. CJ Sansom - "Revelation" Stephen King - "Lisey's story" Dean Koontz - "Odd Thomas" Paulo Coelho - "The Zahir"' You kow, I'm really longing to read a nice fantasy right now, but the libraries here are notoriously understocked on those, and I decided I wouldn't buy any new books right now, AND I don't have any friends who read fantasy nearby. Wait a minute.. The Trusted Local Library has some Terry Pratchett. I might not have read ALL of them yet. And to comment on the books I've read: "Revelation" is in the Matthew Shardlake series. I liked book 1 and 3 more and book 2 and 4 (this one) less. "Lisey's story" is really not a typical Stephen King-novel, but it was still readable. Funnily enough, I liked "Forever Odd" much more than this "Odd Thomas". I wouldn't have kept reading "The Zahir" if it hadn't been so suitable for my "Reading around the world" Librarything challenge. I guess I didn't really understand the freedom Paulo Coelho was talking about. I don't even have the need to feel "free" in my close relationships. I guess I'm not sophisticated enough.