Raven

I would hate to be an author with that weight of expectation on me. He has no obligation to do anything, and if other things come up that divert him from what fans want, so what? You only have to look through social media to see how fickle fans are; authors should be given room to do their own thing in their own time and to be allowed to enjoy it.

I've not seen him act the role, but from the pictures I've seen of the series he does look more the part. Oldman is a little too... trim?

It's a good book, as is A Murder of Quality. Between these two books and Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, however, le Carré reworked Smiley's time line, so you might notice some discrepancies. I watched the Gary Oldman film last Sunday, and whilst good, it didn't live up to the book. I don't think Oldman was quite the right person to play Smiley, but he did a decent enough job (Cumberbatch definitely wasn't right for Peter Guillam…). I think my Dad has a copy of the BBC Alec Guinness version on DVD. Might have to borrow it sometime!

There are quite a few George Smiley books, but he doesn't always feature prominently in them. He is the main character in the first two novels Call for the Dead and A Murder of Quality (which are set in the early 60s), and the next two - The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and The Looking Glass War - only feature him as a background character. (I've read all of the above with the exception of The Looking Glass War, and enjoyed them all). More here: George Smiley Novels.

Thank you! (I thought it was a little thin!) Tinker is the first book in a series of three called the Karla trilogy (the other two are The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People). I got the latter on Kindle for 99p recently, but didn't buy Schoolboy, which I thought was a standalone novel. Doh!

A good, late, Valentine's for someone.

All of the Narnia novels are all 99p on Amazon (Kindle) today.

According to Aaronovitch the book is finished, his publishers just wanted a little more time. Release date is 20/02/20.

Bad news, False Values has been pushed back to February 2020!

Now up to a heady 15!

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy By John le Carré George Smiley has been forced out of the Circus and a new order has taken charge, but when an agent delivers news of a high level mole at the very heart of the organisation, Smiley comes out of retirement to track down the traitor... This is the fourth le Carré novel I've read, and I find myself asking why have I left it so long since the last one? This is a meticulously written story, with an understated delivery that draws the reader in, but I think the thing that makes the book for me is the characters and especially Smiley himself; a flawed man trapped in a train crash of a marriage, but at the same time quietly brilliant when it comes to seeing what is going on in the world around him. A very British hero, in a lot of ways. Highly recommended.

Looks like this is finally going to air this autumn now. From what I've read this had been due to screen last Christmas, but it wasn't ready in time. It got bumped to the spring schedule and then disappeared, but more information about it is surfacing now, along with some show footage.

I had the same reaction to Halle Berry.

A drive by review that might be of interest to some... True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole By Sue Townsend Or to give the book it's full title, True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole, Margaret Hilda Roberts and Susan Lilian Townsend. This is the third book in the Adrian Mole series, but unlike it predecessors (Secret Diary and Growing Pains) this isn't a continuous run of diary entries, but rather a compilation of diary entries, radio essay transcripts and letters from the erstwhile intellectual that cover a far longer period than the original novels, taking the reader from Mole's mid-teens through to his early twenties. Also contained in the book are two additional sections; some diary entries written in the 1930's by a Margaret Hilda Roberts of Grantham and a section of pieces from Townsend herself covering a holiday in Majorca, writing for television, a writer's trip to Russia and a piece on why she likes England. The Mole section of the book is pretty much more of the same from the earlier diaries, and although I haven't found anywhere that states it is so, I believe these are a collection of short works from other publications. The section on Margaret Hilda Roberts was taken from a series Townsend wrote for the Today newspaper, and is a satirical take on the life of a young future Prime Minister. Both of these sections have their moments, but the section I enjoyed most - and left me wanting more - was Townsend writing about her own experiences. I've read a few travel biographies in the past and the best of them manage to conjure a picture of a place you have never been to and make you want to go there, and Townsend does a very good job of that. The piece recounting a lone holiday taken in Majorca vividly describes the island and the people she meets, whilst the writers trip to Russia (which includes Alan Bennet) is hilarious. I don't know much about Townsend, but I was left wishing she did more travel writing because these pieces were a joy to read. Recommended for the Townsend's own section.

Die Another Day Which for some reason I don't think I've ever seen in its entirety before. Quite possibly the worst James Bond film ever made - to the point where at times I wasn't sure whether I was watching a parody or not! Easy to see why they rebooted the franchise with Daniel Craig.

Blade Runner 2049 Blade Runner is one of my favourite films and I've shied away from watching this for fear of the sequel screwing up the original (yet again), but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It's not perfect, but it comes pretty darn close in places and it certainly evokes the look and feel of the original. Make sure you have a good seat, though, it's a bum-numbing three hours long!

Nearly finished The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance on Netflix. Still not sure where this is heading, but if you are a fan of the original film - or animation in general - this is a must watch series. More when I'm done.

Hello, Mona! Good to hear you have your mojo back!

If you are worried about what people might be thinking about what you are reading, buy a Kindle.

Bring the Jubilee, by Ward Moore is an interesting one. The time travel element isn't obvious at the start, it's more of an alternate history, but it is a good story.

With no offense to anyone who has posted a list above, lists like this really wind me up for two reasons: 1. They often (but not always) come across as "Look at me! Look at what I like! Aren't I cool for what I like!" lists and - far more importantly: 2. They tell you absolutely nothing about why what is listed is worth investing time in! If you really like something don't just make it a bullet point, tell people why you like it - tell people why you think it is good!

And your new forum name is so much easier to pronounce than your old one! (far less spittle on the monitor...)

Boris

Unseen Academicals, by Terry Pratchett.

I remember enjoying this when I read it a few years ago. Whilst I do like Murakami's more bizarre stories, it's good to read the occasional story that is a little more grounded! After trying several of his books, I've come to the conclusion that I don't like Dick. He had some excellent ideas, but he generally didn't round them out very well and I'm not a great fan of his writing style. The only Cussler book I've read - way back in the mid/late 80s - is Raise the Titanic, which is another of his earlier books and fits in with the above pattern. They did lead to the film Sahara, however, which is also entertaining in a fairly trashy way!