frankie

You're very welcome Kate, I'll be looking forward to hearing what you thought of the novel(s)

Juliet, Naked is a book about two people in a relationship that isn't really going anywhere, and about the other person's obsession with Tucker Crowe, a singer-songerwriter in the 1960s-70s. (Juliet, Naked is the title of an album by him, it's nothing to do with the people being naked all the time ) This obsession leads to quite surprising incidents. As always with Hornby, I always seem to think I know how the book is going to go and end and then I'm always surprised that I had no clue in the first place, which is something I really enjoy.

A great question, Kate, one that I was actually thinking about myself just recently, having been reading so many Hornby novels lately My least favorite so far has been How to Be Good. I liked High Fidelity, but I have to say that compared to A Long Way Down and Juliet, Naked (which I'm currently reading) it's a rather average novel. I think I would recommend A Long Way Down, although there's a lot of cursing in it, do you mind that kind of thing? It's also about suicide, but not in a really depressing way. There's a lot of black humour in it. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then I'd suggest you read Juliet, Naked. How could I forget About a Boy, eventhough I just finished it?? That's also very good Would you like more details about J,N and/or AaB and/or ALWD, or do you think you'll just trust my taste?

Ooshie, I'm sorry that the Polysyllabic Spree didn't get any better towards the end But at least you persevered and finished it, I'm quite proud of you It seems like you enjoyed Miss Smilla, though, happy to hear that! Now I don't have to worry about not seeing you in the future RG challenges

Madcow, I'm sure you'll do fine because you've worked for it Kimmy, so great to hear you're off to Zumba this morning! I'm off to the gym in an hour or so. Last winter I'd be spending Saturday morning recovering from the previous night, but now I'm off to a real gym! I can't believe it myself.

Thanks Cookie I was definitely surprised at how easy and fun it was and I would recommend it to anyone who's even the slightest bit curious about going to the gym!

Great job Nienna! Last Tuesday I was going to the gym with a friend and I thought we'd start working out immediately but we just got signed in and were scheduled to meet the trainer to see how all the equipment worked later on during the week. I was kind of relieved that I didn't have to do anything, but kind of disappointed also, and really anxious when I heard I'd be meeting up with a trainer all alone at Thursday for a session. My friend had her meeting on Wednesday and she told me they'd gone through the equipment and that she'd had to do 15 reps with each equipment. I was sooo stressed out after hearing that. It's been well over 10 years since my last time at the gym and that was in high school when I hated the gym and just about every other sports there was. And I'm physically out of shape, strength wise and I was so nervous because the trainer was most likely a guy. I had a very anxious Wednesday and Thursday (mostly I hated that people were going to be there, watching me go and sweat and not know what I was doing). When I went to the gym on Thursday, I was 15 minutes early and I thought I'd do the warm-up part already on my own so that we didn't have to waste time on that one. I went for the bikes and had no idea how to start using them, what with all the hi-tech buttons and all. There was this guy next to me, riding a bike and I politely asked him if he could tell me what to do. He was really nice and helpful and I think he wouldn't have minded chatting a little longer. Then the trainer came up and I was really nervous, but when we got to the equipment I had so many questions about everything and was so concentrated on how to do all the things and how to do it right that I didn't have any time to be anxious anymore The trainer was really nice and funny and he was even about the same height as me so it was easy to get all the adjustments done. He even complimented me on a couple of things which I did great for a beginner. And when I felt bad about having only the lowest amount of weights and not being able to do the full 15 reps he told me not to worry and that I was stronger than my friend at least who couldn't do as much as I did. Now, I'm not proud of that and I kind of resent the faculty sharing this kind of information but I guess he figured we were close enough friends to know how we'd done so I guess it was okayish. I'm not gloating on being better than my friend, I'm just saying I was happy that we both lacked the most extreme of strengths The people at the gym seemed really nice, I talked to a girl in the lockerroom about something and she was real nice as well, I felt so good about the people and the atmosphere there on the gym. And the equipment were very easy to use and I actually even liked the work out! When I walked home, I passed this sports bar and I thought to myself, can you believe yourself Sari, instead of being there in the sports bar, getting wasted, you've been actually to a GYM!! I felt like I was re-defining what and who I am and what I'm capable of. It felt so darn good!! We're going back tomorrow and have already figured out our schedule for next week. I'm so excited about going to the gym, I had no idea I would actually like it and be giddy about getting to do it again

I go in to return books, usually thinking to myself: Don't borrow any new ones this time. Then I thought I have to get Dracula Un-Dead if it's available because I didn't have the time to read it the last time. Then noticed the new Hornby novel. Then remembered Freakonomics title, then Voltaire and so on and so on. How can one resist?

I take that back. I just came from the library with Voltaire's Candide, Dracula the Un-Dead, a Stephen King novel and tadaa, Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked. I also found Freakonomics which was higly praised in The Complete Polysyllabic Spree and because the explanatory note was really interesting, I'm giving this a go now After that I'll mostly likely pick up the Hornby book, I can't seem to get enough of them

I've just finished About a Boy by Nick Hornby and I quite liked it I'm heading to the library now, I'll be taking some books back and will leave Miss Smilla, The Crimson Petal and the White and two novels by Selma Lagerl

I finally finished with Miss Smilla and had to start reading a very different kind of novel where I don't have to think too much while reading, so I went for Nick Hornby's About a Boy.

I read the book in Finnish so I don't have all the terms and words in English but I hope that won't effect my discussion on the book 1. Who was your favourite character and why? My most favorite character was Esajas. He seemed like a really quirky kid but I guess one would become quirky living in the conditions he was. I felt so sorry for him, having a drunk for a mother and having lost his father. I loved the way he communicated with Smilla and the Mechanic. Such a serious and silent boy who wasn't allowed a normal childhood. I also liked the Mechanic and Miss Smilla. It was hard to understand and relate to Smilla because of her seeming lack of emotions but I admired her for having such a soft spot for Esajah. 2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? It is quite hard to pinpoint a particular part which I enjoyed. I guess Smilla's 'coldness' was so evident in the story, that I couldn't help but love all the situations or details where she expressed some kind of an emotion. I loved reading about how she used to read to Esajah. I think I disliked quite a lot of the scenes. All the details about ships and stuff just went over my head and I had a really hard time concentrating in the story during those parts. I also didn't particularly enjoy the part when Smilla was on board, I was constantly worrying about her safety. I also don't usually enjoy stories that have to do with water and possible drowning because I cannot swim that well myself and hate water that is so deep it goes above one's head. 3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? I have a hard time placing this novel in just one genre. Were it a plain thriller it would've been far too slow paced and boring. It was definitely my first H�eg novel. I had such high hopes for the novel and was kind of disappointed in it at the end, I'm not really sure if I feel like reading anything by him in the future. To be quite honest I cannot see why this book has been such a success, I might have not finished it if it hadn't been for this reading circle (and the 1001 Books challenge). 4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? I definitely struggled with all the different see, ice and ship jargon, and I struggled with remembering some of the characters. The names weren't the problem but rather the fact that there were so many of the characters mixed here and there. The ending was incredibly odd and I cannot even say for sure that I understood what it meant. For me, some of the story almost read like a fantasy novel. 5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? In the beginning it was very enjoyable. The further the story went, the more I started to think it isn't a straight forward story at all and I would have to pay really close attention to everything. The ending, like I've already said, was really odd, like it had been cut short because the author didn't know how to end it better. I have to admit I was really annoyed to read the last 100 pages or so, I just felt like I had no idea where anything or anyone was going and things weren't explained so they would've made sense to the reader (the blonde that is me). One of the things I enjoyed in this novel was that the city of Odense was mentioned, I spent one month there during the summer 2006. I've also been to Copenhagen a couple of times and it was so nice to think that I've been to some of the places, for example the Tivoli. The street names were also delightful because I could translate some of them to Finnish. And I enjoyed it when the cook of the ship spoke German, it's so weird to notice how much I remember from my highschool German classes which was well over 10 years ago.

Hallo Pixie and welcome to the forum!

Njaah, that can't be it... There's no such thing as buying too many books! Haha, I fully understand There's nothing wrong with a little experimentation though If we won't be seeing you at all in the next couple of weeks, I'll send out search parties for you! Let us hear what you came up with!

I don't mind saying it's very cool myself, because that isn't bragging since I'm only copying Rory Gilmore who had the original idea You could at least try it out? You can always switch it back if it doesn't work out for you for some reason or another. The drawer system is so cool and handy, the only problem I have with it is that the books are hidden (maybe I should look into glass drawers ) and only paperbacks fit in it. I'm a bit ashamed, I actually had to check this out because I wasn't sure. I have The Hippopotamus and The Liar, and his autobiographical Moab Is My Washpot. I thought I only had two of the titles, I don't remember buying The Liar. I haven't read any of them, though. In a way, it's so pitiful for the books to be held in boxes, but on the other hand I quite liked it, because it was easy to buy more and just stuff them in the boxes I'm glad to be rid of the boxes in any case, they were not pretty to look at, even knowing they contained books. I absolutely love my new TV-tablethingy and the books that are on its shelves, it makes the place more lively I agree! But then again, if I started making any major changes I'd have less space and it would take forever for me to be content with a new kind of order. I so envy you having a whole library to yourself, I would think you had no problems switching things up when you wanted. But I guess the actual decision making is the most difficult for you. But, who says you have to stick to the new regime for ages? If it doesn't please you, you can change it accorging to another idea next week!

I've never really given any thought to this before, but now that I think about it, for me a comfort read has to be in Finnish, and something I've already read before. I'll usually go for this Finnish old-school chick-lit writer, or some YA novel from my childhood. Maybe even for Bridget Jones (I don't mind reading that in English though). I guess I don't have any particular comfort authors, just as long as the book is a re-read.

So you know my pain of living in Finland I feel you, sister Deaverette! Edit: Where can you find the dates for the book signings?

Sorry to hear you haven't had the chance to start it yet But at least it's through no fault of your own I should think it'll pass the minute you start reading the books. Or the minute you start reading any book.

Do you mean that you plan on going to the bookshop on Fri+Sat to read the whole book there? Or do you mean that you have the book and are working in the shop and will have freetime to finish it there? It's a great read, isn't it? I'm glad you're enjoying it Glad to hear! Sorry that I haven't been able to finish Smilla yet myself, but I'm working on it, I swear