Raven

Not seen that; is this an offer directly from the British Library?

Sorry, been a bit rubbish at organising this! Saturday 8th is okay with me.

A lot of Robert Harris books on Kindle for 99p today. If anyone hasn't read it, I can recommend Enigma.

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's hoping it's a better year than the last two!

I doubt anyone would give a second glance, were you to read it in public. Hope you enjoy it, either way.

As the sun sinks low over the yardarm of another year (that we are probably all glad to see the back of!) it is time once again to rejoice in all things written, with the annual Book Club Forum Awards! **round of applause** There are a few new categories this year, along with our first named award! **bigger round of applause, and a wolf-whistle or two** So - Members of the Forum - without further ado, please tell us: Yes, I did buy it for the cover, but I stayed for the reading! Your favourite book cover of 2021! They print the words I like to read! Your favourite publisher of 2021! They sell me the words I like to read! Your favourite book shop/retailer of 2021! It was like when I was little, and Mummy used to read to me! Your audiobook recommendation of 2021! I even found one of their shopping lists! Your most read author of 2021! Stop me if you've heard this one before! Your recommended re-read of 2021! I'd rather kiss an anti-vaxer! Your book that wasn't worth bothering with in 2021! I don't know where this year has gone! The book you most wanted to read in 2021, but didn't get too award! I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn! Your biggest literary let-down of 2021! Think: Spot the Dog, BUT BETTER! Your favourite illustrated book of 2021! It's like living in Never-never Land! Your children's book recommendation of 2021! Most people pretend they have read this, but I actually did! Your recommended classic of 2021! Compact and bijou, Mostyn! Compact and bijou! Your favourite short story (or collection of short stories) of 2021! He made Mr Darcy look like Kermit the Frog! Your favourite literary character of 2021! Me talk pretty one day! Your poetry recommendation of 2021! I like things to be in boxes, nicely ordered boxes! Your favourite genre of 2021! I laughed so much, people moved away from me on the train! The funniest book you read in 2021! After two years of COVID I have no life of my own anymore, so I just read about others! Your favourite biography of 2021! A special one now, it's time for The Willoyd! (An award for not making things up!) Your non-fiction recommendation of 2021! Sounds like stuff someone made up! Your fiction book of the year, 2021! They've taken out a restraining order! Your author of the year, 2021! I'll read it again, I'll tell ya! Your overall book of the year, 2021! The small print: Don't just make this a list, explain your choices! Tell us what you really think about the books you have read! If there is a section you don't have a reply for, just skip it! Books don't have to have been published in 2020 to make it onto your list, you just have to have read them this year! Feel free to add your own categories, if you feel something has been missed!

Actually, a surprising quick one, as it turned out... Shambolic doesn't even cover it.

Yes, the offer ends today, and it also applies to books in their online shop as well. Tempted: https://www.waterstones.com/book/rivers-of-london/ben-aaronovitch/9781473234574

Finished Fellowship, yesterday, and went straight on to The Two Towers. Don't think I'll be finishing that one this year!

Sounds like you are forgetting General Woundwort's lazer eye... (I know I am)

It appears to be raining. Again...

I have it on good authority that The Clone Wars gets much, much better as it goes along. Looking forward to a bit of Boba Fett on Wednesday.

The Narnia books by C. S. Lewis are 99p on the Kindle today.

Listened to carols on Classic FM this afternoon, and then the John William's concert on BBC Four this evening. For me, The Imperial March makes for excellent Christmas music!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have a good day!

Apologies for the lack of a reply on this; things have been a little hectic over the last few weeks... 62 chapters ate three a week would mean this will take 21 weeks to get through - would that be quick enough? On the other hand, would 5 chapters a week be too much?

The "why" is important, otherwise it is just a list.

Still reading Fellowship (they've just got to Lothlórien!) but I took a quick break to read the graphic novel Rivers of London: Monday, Monday by Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel. I'll say no more for now than: not one of the best RoL graphic novels they have done, but enjoyable enough (I will leave further comment until more have had a chance to read it!)

There is no right or wrong answer to this, but if you are finding the introduction difficult to get through I would definitely recommend skipping it (you can always come back to it later, after all). For me, it depends on who has written the introduction and what it's scope is. Introductions in Penguin Classics, for example, usually tend to be an essay by an authority on the book that can be more than a little academic in tone, whereas introductions to other classic or popular books by current authors etc. often tend to be more light-weight (basically less spoilers and more "why I like this" and are usually only a few pages long). When reading a book for the first time I generally tend to skip introductions if they are the former, but I will sometimes read them if they are the latter (if they are spoiler free, some positive words about a book can add to my enthusiasm for what is to come, but it can also build up expectations, so possibly a double-edged-sword!) If I don't read the introduction before I read the book - and I like the book - I'll then go back and read it. If the book wasn't that great, I usually won't bother. I almost always read introductions if I am re-reading a book, however, as it can give me a fresh perspective on the story (I've just done this with the Fellowship of the Ring, for example, and it reminded me of a few things to look out for, and several things I had forgotten).

For anyone who has not read it, The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham, is 99p on the Kindle today (dreadful cover, brilliant book!). In fact, there are a number of Sci-Fi Masterworks on offer on the Kindle this month, all at 99p: Mockingbird, by Walter Tevis Inverted World, by Christopher Priest A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K. Dick Greybeard, by Brian Aldiss Downward to the Earth, by Robert Silverberg Roadside Picnic, by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky There may be others as well!

Interesting. I've been toying with the idea of getting this, as I've enjoyed Gone Fishing, but I have so many books to read at the moment it would probably end up buried in one of my many TBR piles!

Back on Netflix for a bit, to watch the first (and only, as it turns out) series of the live action version of Cowboy Bebop. I am a big fan of the original anime; I think it's one of the coolest cartoons ever made (up there with Akira) and I had concerns about how this was going to translate, but overall I think they got it mostly right. The casting, look and feel of the show are all right, where it stumbles is that I think the plot went in a little too heavy, a little too fast. I won't go into much detail but in the original cartoon the focus is on story of the week type adventures, which are usually light-hearted, action-packed romps. There is very little time spent on going into character backgrounds, but more of that does come in as the cartoon series goes on. In this series they have switched the main focus of the show to the character's back stories (and main characters in particular) and as the series goes on it gets heavier where I feel it should have been a bit lighter and a bit more fun (at least for the first series). I think all of that could have been addressed in a second series, as I think the basics have otherwise been covered well, but Netflix announced last week that they have pulled the plug. Hey-ho. I'd still give it 7.5/10. As I had a week left on the subscription I thought I would watch the first episode of the first series of The Witcher, just to see what it was like, and I ended up watching the whole series over two nights! I have read the first two books in the series, which are two collections of short stories; with the third book being the first proper novel. This series basically covers the first two short story collections, with some back story on some of the characters that I am guessing comes from the later novels. I enjoyed this, overall. Again, a good cast and it looked and felt right (the only character I had quibbles with was Dandelion, because I didn't find him as annoying in the books as he was on screen, but Joey Batey was still likeable enough in what is the comic relief role). It's a dark series though, with a lot of violence and novel ways of killing people off, so not one for the squeamish or faint-of-heart (also a surprising amount of flesh on display, too!) I will watch the second series at some point - which drops this Friday - but I want to read the next book before I do that. 9/10.

You quoted a post from November 22nd! (it was too early then!) My parent got rid of most of their decorations a few years back, when they decided they wouldn't have a tree again. I think my older sister got some of them, but the rest went in the bin. I still miss a real Christmas tree each year, with the water filled bubble lights we had when I was a kid, or the fibre optic ones that eventually replaced them when they broke...

I was hoping Hamilton would win, but it was really a case of the lesser of two evils (my respect for Verstappen and Horner have gone off a cliff this season). Either of them would have been a worthy winner, in so far as their driving abilities go, but no one deserved to win or lose the way it played out. Red Bull were smart with their team strategy, Mercedes decided to keep the positional advantage (although they probably could have squeezed in a pit stop during the virtual safety car 10 laps from the end). Ultimately, that decision is what cost Hamilton the Driver's Championship, but the chaotic end to the race was a farce, and those involved (and especially race director Michael Masi) should face some pretty stiff questioning over what happened and why. I'm 99% sure Mercedes won't win any appeal they lodge, overturning the championship results - even if the general consensus is that what happened was wrong - would loose the FIA too much face and damage the F1 brand badly - but if it can force change to the way races are policed and introduce better consistency, then it will be worth it. Overall, though, I'm more disappointed than angry about how the race turned out. I watch F1 for the racing, not the stewards inquiries.

Oh, and it's less than 4 months to go now!