frankie

^ That was wonderful!

Yes, that would be slightly odd What a funny coincidence! You have my deepest sympathies for having to have dealt with that comment! It's just mind boggling. Exactly!! I mean I don't think the person in this case did it on purpose, but people should be more tolerant and more open minded. But I suppose that's too much to ask! I read everyone's subsequent comments in the thread, a very interesting conversation! I'm happy to report that I went to a Book Fair this week and there were teenagers who were giddy about finding particular books they'd been looking for! No, there weren't hundreds of them, but there were some! Sigh! I hope he learns to keep quiet the next time he sees you with a book. Great review! I read this books a few years ago and I felt the same way about it. I could just feel the build up, but then what happened was such a huge disappointment. Although I have to say, even though I was disappointed with the novel back when I read it, the book's stayed in my mind all these years. I saw a cheap copy of it at the book fair and almost bought it. I think a re-read might make a difference. I read about you and visiting the cemetery. I don't know what to say. Sending hugs!

I really want to watch the movie again now! I wish they did a movie marathon of Meryl Streep's movies on TV some weekend!!

The table cloth looks really beautiful! I love the colors I knew you must have gotten books as presents and I wondered why you hadn't posted a list of them! Like Alexander said, you shouldn't worry about what people think of your TBR list. I'm sure most of us are just like you We all know just how exciting it is to get new books! Besides, you read a lot of books per year, which means that you're reading so and so many books off your TBR per year already! If anyone 'deserves' more books for the TBR on here it's you And we all like to see which books people have been acquiring!

Only 32 I think. This is my lowest number in years. In over a decade, I'm sure!

Oh Jänet It must be terrible. I had a few unwritten reviews, but I have been keeping up with all lists and stuff. I feel like the spreadsheets are more difficult, because there's so much to consider! Not that coming up for stuff for the reviews is a piece of cake. It's also a case of getting harder and harder to get back on track the further you've slipped! At least Kylie will be happy to see you and your spoon!

I do not know. She's talented and amazing. The last movie I watched was The Intervention. It was okay.

We had our first snow on Thursday and Friday but today it's been raining and the snow's melted It was so light the other day, and it felt really magical!

What lovely pictures! You have great views, where you live Have you watched the movie Julie & Julia? I loved it. It's based on a book that Julie whatsherlastname has written about her doing Julia Child's recipes. I hope the Julia Child book is good! Coincidentally I just recently bought a copy of Julie & Julia

Hi Athena! I'm dying of curiosity: did you get any bookish pressies for your Birthday? Or any related pressies? I hope you had a lovely Birthday

I think the required amount is 10 posts, then you can edit your posts

The Finnish book forum I've been talking about is Jane Austen related. That means that the two women who put the forum together are both fans and they bonded over books and Jane Austen. I knew, when joining the forum, that it was a Jane Austen related forum but that it was also a forum about other books and TV series and movies. No one's required to have read one or any of the Austen novels. An open mind is the only prerequisite. So I was comfortable going in, having read my Austens but not being a huge fan girl. I do like Austen, but it's more of a matter of the books being written at a certain time and in a certain kind of English, and it requires more from me to get into that certain mood to read that type of English. I'm sure you know what I mean. After the meeting, I've felt like I should re-read all of the Austens. There were people who loved the Fanny Price book, and I couldn't get my head around it! I thought, maybe I've missed something....?? But I should really trust my own tastes. Be that as it may, I'm now wondering if I should go Austen all the way.

Hello and welcome to the forum

32. Bad Move by Linwood Barclay From Amazon: In the too-quiet town of Oakwood, only the lucky die of boredom…and new homeowner Zack Walker isn’t feeling lucky. Whoever said the burbs were boring will think twice after reading Linwood Barclay’s hilarious debut mystery, in which Dad learns the hard way that he doesn’t always know best. [...] Thoughts: There was more to the Amazon synopsis but when I was reading it, it gave away a lot of events from the book, so I cut it short. I've been reading Barclay's novels for years now, but it wasn't until now that I had a chance to read his very first novel, which is the first book in the Zack Walker series. I had heard the ZW books were more fun - because of the quirky main character - than Barclay's stand alones and so I was eager to read the first one. I failed to see the hugely funny side of Zack Walker, but he did make me laugh a couple of times. The plot wasn't quite as thrilling as in the stand alones, either. In any case, it was still a very readable and entertaining novel and I plan to read the rest of the books in the series. Although I will say that I will prefer to go back to the stand alones, whenever Barclay will publish a new one 3/5

31. What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges From Amazon: Just about everything in Endora, Iowa (pop. 1,091 and dwindling) is eating Gilbert Grape, a twenty-four-year-old grocery clerk who dreams only of leaving. His enormous mother, once the town sweetheart, has been eating nonstop ever since her husband's suicide, and the floor beneath her TV chair is threatening to cave in. Gilbert's long-suffering older sister, Amy, still mourns the death of Elvis, and his knockout younger sister has become hooked on makeup, boys, and Jesus -- in that order. But the biggest event on the horizon for all the Grapes is the eighteenth birthday of Gilbert's younger brother, Arnie, who is a living miracle just for having survived so long. As the Grapes gather in Endora, a mysterious beauty glides through town on a bicycle and rides circles around Gilbert, until he begins to see a new vision of his family and himself.... Thoughts: The movie is a classic, of course. I never knew it was based on a novel until I saw a copy of the book at the removed books section at my hometown's library. Even though I enjoyed reading the book and I thought it was well written, I think I benefited from having watched the movie. I don't know if the characters would've come so much alive for me, had I not based them on the movie. I think the movie might be better in this case, actually. Not that I didn't like reading the book, though! The movie was fairly loyal to the book, so there were no great surprises. I think the girl in the book was a bit more annoying than in the movie. She seemed to have more depth in the movie, and she didn't come off as such a know-it-all. I loved how Hedges portrayed the relationship between Gilbert and his older sister Amy. I found their conversations and dealings quite moving. 4/5

30. True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling From Harper Collins: Verity Love – Jane Austen fangirl and an introvert in a world of extroverts – is perfectly happy on her own (thank you very much), and her fictional boyfriend Peter is very useful for getting her out of unwanted social events. But when a case of mistaken identity forces her to introduce a perfect stranger as her boyfriend, Verity’s life suddenly becomes much more complicated. Johnny could also use a fictional girlfriend. Against Verity’s better judgement, he persuades her to partner up for a summer season of weddings, big number birthdays and garden parties, with just one promise - not to fall in love with each other… Thoughts: I read the first novel in the series earlier this year and gave it 3/5. I was looking forward to catching up with the characters, but was then disappointed when I found out that this second novel was focusing on another character and not the main protagonist of the former book. I felt the storyline was rather contrived and I couldn't muster up any enthusiasm for the main characters. A disappointment, I'm afraid 1/5

Hm. Not that I would know anything, but I don't see any reason for you guys not to be able to see HBO...? If we can watch it, I'm sure you can, too Still reading Terms of Endearment. It's going okay. I need to add the movie to the must watch -list.

29. I Saw a Man by Owen Sheers Blurb: After the sudden loss of his wife, Michael Turner moves to London to start again. Living on a quiet street in Hampstead, he developes a close bond with the Nelson family next door: Josh, Samantha and their two young daughters. The friendship at first seems to offer the prospect of healing, but then a devastating event changes all their lives, and Michael finds himself bearing the burden of grief and a terrible secret. Thoughts: I bought this on a whim with my Birthday voucher last year. I liked the sound of the blurb and somehow thought this would be a good thriller! I would have thought this was the author's first novel because it felt like he was trying too hard with his words and his idioms and phrases. It didn't quite flow, in my humble opinion. As for the story itself, I found it interesting in the beginning, but then it went on a tangent I wasn't all that keen on, and the other tangent that I knew was coming, even though I didn't know the shape of it, was something I felt was too far fetched. It felt like a mosaic of a book. The author put two far fetched things together, the other one being not that interesting, and then the reader had to deal with the aftermath. I didn't like it. The book left an odd, dark, unsettling aftertaste. 2/5

It was so stressing! My salary isn't all that great to begin with, and it took them 5 long weeks to come to their decision which was faulty and then I had to correct them. 5 weeks I was waiting for the rest of my salary and then I got a letter saying I wasn't going to get it! Fortunately when I wrote back to them and complained, they came to their 'new decision' very quickly and I got the rest of my salary the next week. I've also gotten my deposit back from the previous apartment and everything's now in order and there's nothing more to do on that front or on any other front. I can finally relax in my new apartment, knowing that everything's been sorted out now!! Oh yeah But I feel like I can, now that I have the space But I need to stop buying more now I've splurged, but it's time to de-splurge Meryl Streep is one of my favorite actors I also like Amy Adams. I'm not all too sure I'll like the book, because I'm not personally all that interested in reading about cooking... But it was a cheap book and I thought why not. I hope we shall enjoy it! Thanks!

28. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter From Amazon: More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that's cruelly ripped open when Claire's husband is killed. The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it. Thoughts: I wanted to read this based on Chrissy's review on the book! First I want to say that it's been a 2-3 months since I read the book, and so I don't remember all the details. Chrissy said it was the most graphic thriller she's read (or something along those lines) and I do agree, there was a lot of graphic violence. I don't think Slaughter's gone so far in the previous books I've read by her... But I'm no stranger to graphic violence in books. I think Poppy Z. Brite's book was the most graphic thing I've read. I can't remember the title of that. I digress... maybe that's because I don't remember much from this book and so I'm filling some space with some good old waffling This is the first stand alone novel I've read by Slaughter and I think I did expect a bit more from her, to be honest. I've loved her Grant County series and this book didn't quite fulfil my expectations. It was suspenseful and shocking at times, but I think I expected a few more twists and turns. But it was not a bad book in any case, I did enjoy reading it! And I would definitely read more of her stand alones, too. 3/5

What with finally having my own bookcases and space for books, and wanting to relieve some stress by doing a bit of book shopping at secondhand bookshops and charityshops, and going to the annual book fair, I've somehow managed to acquire the following books this month. From a flea market in my part of town (I managed to visit once, only to find out it was closing down ) Julie & Julia by Julie Powell (I loved the movie!) Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn Juoksuhaudantie by Kari Hotakainen (A Finnish author I'm curious about) From Salvation Army 39. A History of British Serial Killing by David Wilson 40. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman From a book swap bookcase 41. Little Friend by Donna Tartt For NaNoWrimo 42. Ready, Set, Novel! From a sale 43. Pitkät päiväunet by Katariina Romppainen From a sale 44. HHhH by Laurent Binet From a Red Cross charity shop 46. I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts On Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (for the Rory Gilmore reading challenge) 47. French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano 49. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay 50. We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee From a recycling center 45. Past Mortem by Ben Elton 48. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway 51. Varaudu pahimpaan by Petteri Nuottimäki 52. Tulkki by Inna Patrakova 53. Gold by Dan Rhodes ('Only' a Finnish copy but still, Gold!! ) From the Book Fair 54. Maailman kaunein tyttö by Aino Kivi (free from Book Fair) 55. Dog On It by Spencer Quinn 56. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman 57. Kun kyyhkyset katosivat by Sofi Oksanen 58. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb 59. Wild Mind. Living the Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg (This was my favorite find at the Book Fair!) 60. Jääräpää by Mikko-Pekka Heikkinen 61. The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell 62. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 63. Nöyryytys by Juhani Mattila 64. J. D. Salinger. A Life Raised High by Kenneth Slawenski 65. Samantekevää by Janne Teller 66. The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell I was going to buy a ticket for the whole weekend but I never had the time, and I went there on Thursday as Boss gave me her ticket and told me to go to get her a few things. I wouldn't have had the time to go there yesterday or today. I could go tomorrow but I think I shouldn't All the authors I wanted to see were there on Friday or Saturday so maybe I'll be lazy tomorrow. I've bought 33 books this month! That's at least one shelf worth of books.

This happened today! I haven't had much time to be nervous about the whole thing beforehand, and this morning I was more nervous about getting into a bus on time I was traveling to another city and had to remember to actually pay for the trip and not just show my travel card. It was also a route I've never taken before. Anyhow, I was the first to arrive which I liked because I got to meet people in small groups and didn't just turn up in a roomful of people. Actually, I was the first to arrive and even the host came after me She was in the shop and said to me on the phone that she'd be there in 10 minutes. There were 6 other women who have met each other many times throughout the years, this was the 12th annual meeting of the forum. Some of them were friends from uni and stuff like that. Half of them had cats and all of them had children and they all worked in the public sector or something. I felt quite out of place, being a dog lover and not having children and being 'only' a personal helper They were really friendly and welcoming, but of course it's a bit tricky for a shy introvert like me to just jump in and try and get acquainted. The host had three cats who were so gorgeous!! One of them took a liking to me, and he would purr and then he would lick my hand as if he was a dog, when I was petting him He also tried to bite my watch. I said a firm no to that! What a lovely sand paper tongue he had I could only stay for 4 hours because of my allergies. I think the rest of them are still there, having fun There was talk about doing something together, in the city, at some point (because not all can come to the annual meetings because of the cats). I have to say, I'm quite proud of myself for going and not chickening out!

Sorry guys for being AWOL for over a month! I managed to catch a nasty cough, and then there was a huge mix up with my pay check because of my long sick leave (long story short: they paid me half my salary and said I wasn't going to get the rest because of x and y, and I had to look into it and then complain about their decision and write an appeal to get the rest which I was most definitely due. I was so stressed when I didn't know if I was going to get my full wages!! So incredibly stressing! But it got sorted), and then I've been otherwise busy. It's almost weird to write in here now, in English. Dear oh dear! I hope everyone's been doing well! We were discussing social media today with the people from another book forum and there were a few people who said that a forum IS a form of social media. Why would it not be. I'd never really thought of it. And then someone said how someone had said that forums are outdated, but then they'd argued that no they are not, because nothing's come to replace them as such. Facebook isn't the same at all. Interesting! I get more and more tired of Facebook every day. I've been thinking about getting rid of my account, but then there are some people with whom I talk rather regularly on there. People who I don't talk to on any other medium. Oh I will! The thing is, it's been set up some weeks ago but I'm not 100% happy with how it turned out. I need to rearrange a few shelves. Also, I've acquired a whole lot of books since I've arranged the bookcases and shelves

Bobblybear, this was re: The Big Little Lies. I've not seen the show but I've definitely wanted to watch it!! The problem is that it's on HBO and I have Netflix and I feel like I shouldn't pay for two different stuff at the same time. I think I might quit Netflix for a while and switch to HBO. Then The Big Little Lies would definitely be on my Must Watch list! Have you (by now) seen the series? I'm currently reading Terms of Endearment by Larry McMurtry. Interesting but man, I'm not liking any of the characters

Herman Koch has written another novel! 😊 I've only just found out so I haven't even googled what the original title is and what the English title might be. Mayor, perhaps? I've reserved a copy 😊