frankie

It was a rather atmospheric read. I'm still not quite sure about the ending, and some of the other things. I think this will stay with me for a while. Where's your TBR at, at the moment? Although that's a rather useless question, as the total number of TBR books doesn't say much because you borrow books from the library, too

I'll try to find one that does me good and gets my normal mojo back! Well that might be a blessing in disguise

I've finished reading The Crime Writer by Jill Dawson, which I liked. Will pick up a new book when I go to bed tonight.

I know what you mean, I would, too! And as it was a cheap copy, there's no harm done

Well I hope you enjoy them both, and it's just me who didn't like the fourth novel

So I guess it's not as chick-littish as I may have thought? The cover isn't keeping me off, it's just that I can't seem to get into anything more difficult than chick-lit and crime at the moment Although The Crime Writer by Jill Dawson which I just read was more than just one's basic thriller, in my opinion.... Maybe I ought to try something more difficult, and see if I might get on with it now! Instead of just thinking that this reading slump will stick and I'll never get over it.

20. The Crime Writer by Jill Dawson Blurb: In 1964, the eccentric American novelist Patricia Highsmith is hiding out in a cottage in Suffolk to concentrate on her writing and escape her fans. She has another motive too - a secret romance with a married lover based in London. But her lover keeps failing to visit, a stalker seems to be on her trail and after a young woman claiming to be a journalist comes to interview her, events take a violent turn. Or do they? As ever in Highsmith's troubled life, perhaps matters are not quite as they first appear ... Thoughts: Found this title by chance at the library. I'm not a fan of Highsmith, but I have read two of her novels, having really liked one of them (Talented Mr Ripley) and disliked the other (can't remember the title). I was very intrigued by this title, though! So much to say about the book, and I fear I won't remember all, so I'm just going to quickly note down all I can remember, in a first come first serve -order - When I was reading this, I couldn't help but wonder what part of it was fiction, and what was based on fact. Of course I had to assume the biggest events, plot-wise, were fictional. I became rather curious about Highsmith's real life. I learned that this much was true: Oh how I wish I could share the spoiler stuff with you! It was so odd, all the stuff!! - Highsmith, if the portrayal of her in this novel is anything to go by, wasn't a very pleasant person, was she I found her rather - I think the book was well written and it was rather intense, as intended, I believe. I think Dawson did a fine job of it. However, I wasn't able to concentrate on it for very long periods of time and my reading was therefore rather haphazard This was through not fault of the book! I was just distracted by other things. Had I been able to concentrate on it and read the book in 2-3 days, I might've liked it even better. I had other things to say about the book but I can't remember them. Good stuff! 3/5

Yay, another glowing recommendation! Did you review the book back when you finished it? I was writing down my priority reads -list in my new bujo, having Human Traces on the list. Made me think of you. I hope you've not lost all hope in me!

Oooh, thanks Ooshie for the recommendation! I checked the library if they had copies of it, and the cover of the book looked suspiciously familiar. I think they only recently acquired their copy at the library and I've seen the book in the new acquired books -online list. The title doesn't mention anything about books so I didn't inspect the book more closely. I reserved a copy and it's already arrived I hope I will get to it soon. Another book related book that I reserved a few months ago has also arrived, so I don't know which one I'll read first. But as you are into these books, too, I'll reveal the title and blurb for your advantage, should you like to read it, too The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion ... and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more. Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there's plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that's beginning to feel home ... a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending. (I think chesilbeach recommended the author to me, and when I checked her work, I thought the best book to start with would obviously be the one about books ) I've never even heard of Erica James myself, I don't think! I'm glad to hear you've liked her other books at least. I hope this one will be fun, too! Other books in the genre that I would recommend off the top of my head are The Secret of Happy Ever After by Lucy Dillon and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Lovely reads My most favorite ones in this genre, off the top of my head.

Yeah it's nice to have someone to jog with! When I started the first time, I had a friend who was equally unathletic as I was, so we were equally out of shape, and so it was very easy to jog with her, as we had the same slow pace. I once went with another friend who was more fit and he was way too quick for me. I didn't manage to go on a jog this week as I had long days at work every day this week. By the time I got home I was really hungry and I couldn't then go jogging on a full stomach. I did a bit of dancing, though, to test out the new bra Good stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to start jogging next week.

I think that's the show they've also aired over here in Finland, and I was going to watch it, but then forgot about it, or wasn't in the right mood. I should've watched it!

Oh no!! I can totally imagine how anxious you were, to see if you'd get there in time! What a hassle! I'm soooo happy you made it!! That is so cool, and so thoughtful! She must've been so pleased! You are such a nice person And when one thought it couldn't get any cooler, it does... Lucky you The Rammstein gig only made me want to see them again soon... I hope I'll get another chance to see them. There was a fan zone in front of the stage, so there was no chance I could get a close viewing of them. I was damned if I was going to pay 49€ just for that. (I didn't realize there would be a fan zone until the very day of the gig. I was so annoyed!)

I don't know where you're from, but I'll assume you're a Brit and thus I would guess Smith, because that's what comes to mind as the most common GB name. Googled and found out Smith is the most common name, followed by Jones and Williams. I quite like all those names But yeah, I understand what you mean

That's true, I didn't like the book. To the extent that I didn't remember that book even existing, and thinking you were talking about the third book in the series, which I loved. And wondering why you thought I didn't like that book. 😀 I can't remember what it was about the book, but I definitely didn't like it. But I hope you will 😊

Still cold. Unseasonably cold. I don't mind, though.

That's very exciting about getting new bookcases! I bet you can't wait!! Looking forward to the pictures when it's all done and you've had time to reorganize. I hope your reading mojo will return soon! It's so annoying when you don't feel like reading, even though you want to

Ah, so that's the story! I've wondered about your username I'm sorry that you hate your surname I won't pry and ask what it is.

No worries mate, it's all good

I just wanted to post and say, your ^ message has made me seriously consider giving the couch to 5k program a go again. I did have a problem with not having the right gear for it, but now that I've found the stuff, I can actually do it. I've been thinking about it this weekend and I'm going to start next week. Just go with it and see if I'm okay with it. Thank you! And good luck to your own process

Yay, that's so great!! I hope if you order things from them, that the products are great and that you'll be pleased with them (The ones I ordered and already received and tested are from the other company, and not from Swegmark, so I've yet to try their product as well. Fingers crossed!)

That's amazing news, chesil!

No, you didn't say that people shouldn't or can't read books about serial killers in public, but you told me to go out and see what happens when I read a true crime book possibly implying that I will then find out people will judge me because of that. I have read true crime books in public in the past and nothing's happened to me. Sure, that doesn't mean people haven't judged me, because if they do, they are hardly going to say it to my face. My point is, you seem to make the point that people are judged if they read a true crime book in the open, and my point is that personally I don't judge someone for reading about Ian Brady, using your example. This is where our opinions differ and that's fine. I now know who he is. I would've known Myra Hindley by name, but for some reason I didn't remember who her partner was. The reason I asked about him is that I misread a part of your post: "The infamous serial killer Ian Brady died recently, read a book about The Moors Murders in public and see the responses you will get from people." I misread the word 'read' and thought you meant past tense, and therefore I thought Ian Brady was reading a true crime book in public and got into trouble. I got it all mixed up like that because we were talking about people reading true crime in public. My question was simply out of curiosity. I never said books and readers are exempt from any judgement by everyone in the world. This thread however is about books and readers and therefore I'm sticking to the topic of books and readers, and my personal opinion was that I don't judge people based on what they read. I'm talking of my own personal opinion. All in all, we just have to agree to disagree.

Fair enough, s/he used the judgement angle, I said 'assumption'. It doesn't change the point I was making. I didn't contest Brady being a good example, nor did I say he was a bad example! I only asked what the example was for. Ian Brady is not a household name over here so pardon my ignorance. I'm not UK based so I don't know all UK based serial killers. And like I said, I read from David Jame's post that Brady was reading a serial killer book in public. That's because 'read' as in present tense is spelled the same as 'read' in past tense.

I wasn't talking about judgements per se, I was talking about how I took David James's words to mean that s/he thinks we make the same assumptions about people. That's what I was talking about. You make fair points, and I do make judgements about people based on this and that, but what I do not like is that I'm supposed to make the same assumptions about people as some other people are. I only made my comment regarding literature, and nothing else, and I'd prefer it if you didn't make overgeneralizations based on that. The reason why I asked is because one who didn't know who Ian Brady was could've gathered from David James's post that Ian Brady is an example of someone who is reading a serial killer book in public and getting into trouble because of it.