Chimera

I loved The curious incident and plan on re-reading it soon but tried A spot of bother a while back and never really got into it. Is it worth giving it another go?

Thanks for all the answers! i'm glad I'm not the only strange one here *laughs* It's interesting to see the different reasons why people think some books might not be for them... Artemis Fowl. Never tried it. Actually, I might get flamed here though I dont mean any offense , but isnt it supposed to be a sort of copy of harry potter? That's what I always heard but your comments look promising so I might give it a go...

Oh and of course there is Daniel Pennac, cant believe I forgot to mention him! Very original, witty and easy to read novels. I reviewed his main series here some time ago. There's also a thread on his "rights of the reader". Thanks for the suggestions petit canard!

I read it recently Inver and like you found it didnt really grab my attention... I had high hopes for it as I'm a chocolate addict as well but that didnt seem to be really well exploited... In the end I found it enjoyable bur far too dragged out. Continue if you feel you'll enjoy it but I think you wouldnt miss much by dropping it.

Have any of you read the book these "rights of the reader" came in? The title is Comme un Roman in french, The rights of the reader in english I love these and I love Daniel Pennac so I really want to get hold of it... but I have a huge dilemna The thing is the french editions are boring whereas in the UK you have a translation illustrated by Quentin Blake! Would it be a sacrilege to read the translation rather than the original (in my own language) just to get the nice book and illustrations? I really enjoy Pennac's writing style and I'm afraid it wont come through in the translation. If you've read it have you found the translation good? Are there many illustrations or just the cover and a couple drawings inside?

Lexi - to you. What a wonderful brother you have! Mine as well... as a result we were fighting all the time and driving my mother crazy as well. I really feel for her when I remember the walks to school Over the years we've grown more friendly But not that much closer unfortunately Weirdly its his fianc

Very true. However what I resent in that book is not the ending (which though not perfect was perfectly acceptable and most importantly was her ending to the series she wrote) but the way a lot of it was badly explained/ not made believable like she did so well in the rest of the series. But all in all it does remain an amazing set of books and she certainly did have her job cut out for her having to end it.

argh. That goes without saying (or thinking)!

m4 And not just when I pile them. When I set them on a shelf they have to be in size order (as in how tall they are but also how deep in the shelf). And series also have to be in the right order ... problem is, these rules dont always work together and I then get an impossible dilemna May I join the OCD club? *laughs* EDIT: hadnt seen enthusiast's post. 5 then!

Definitely! Actually it feels weird viewing everyone's book cases: it feels like it's a big part of their home Me too! My books are spread out between my parent's house and my apartment at school... I keep imagining how they might look if they were all nicely arranged on a set of shelves Especially as I'm buying lots at the moment (blame bcf! )... Should happen soon as this is my last year as a student and my parents are moving and putting the house up for rent next summer. So I'll have to find a new home for my books (and myself)!

Ah well you know, the risks of internet relationships and all that... Wouldn't want to risk my precious book this way!

*cracks up* Cant, sorry... i'm saving it for the worthy person

*piles up her collection of french classics as munitions* Excuse? Who needs an excuse? Other than having had enough of forced readings in school and looked for something completely different... Oh and lately getting all my recomendations here on BCF of course *laughs* But I really should get back into it now.

Same here, note taking is just too distracting for me... Even when reading for classes I could never take notes because as Katie I ended up taking far too much and then I had to stop all the time. For reviews I sometimes take notes just after reading: first impressions and feelings about the book. Otherwise they disapear too quickly.

Or I'll volunteer myself to be the lucky recipient EDIT: Actually I think I'm a book posting virgin myself... Let's start a dedicated bookring *laughs*

mmm well actually I'm ashamed to admit it but... nothing comes to mind I also noticed recently that I'm reading increasingly in english and the rare books I do read in french are actually translations *laughs* Well, there is Madame B

Yep and very good when well made! I think the real recipe is actually quite complicated but everyone simplifies it now... So long as nobody mixes it up with the stuff shown in the 'Ratatouille' film...

Yep, that's it. Thanks!

Favourite genres: Crime fiction, contemporary authors, fiction giving insight in other cultures Favourite authors (I dont really have favourites, so I'll just some I really enjoy): J.K. Rowling, Agatha Christie, Khaled Hosseini, Ren

Traveling is great! I live for traveling Though I dont always have the funds or time... Japan never appealed to me particularly. i'd go more for latin america (spent some time in Mexico which was amazing!), africa or some of the landscapes in New Zealand... Same here, i'd rather explore with a backpack or live with local people. But relaxing on a beach (especially if deserted) is very nice from time to time! I had started a thread dedicated to traveling some time ago. Not sure were it is anymore.

Ok, put like this I guess the question must sound stupid. After all why would book lovers NOT want to enjoy a book? But please bear with me... I'm sure you've had situations were you reluctantly chose a book: because you were stranded in a train station and just picked up what their small shop had, because you had to read it for a class, because some friends nagged at you until you surrendered and gave a try at the latest bestseller... In all those cases you might have wanted, in a way, not to like the book: because you thought it was ****, too serious... or just to prove your point And maybe you ended up enjoying it anyway, despite your best efforts! *cracks up* Anyway I have to confess it's happened to me a couple of times The first was with Ou es tu? by Marc Levy... I had always thought he was an overrated, cheap writer (sounds snobish I know, shame on me!). But then whilst on holydays with some friends there was nothing else to read so I picked it up and it was... riveting! Not the best book ever but a very enjoyable and well written read. The second was Surviving with wolves by Misha Defonseca: the author's (true) account of how she travelled far and wide and lived with wolves during WW2 whilst looking for her parents who had been deported. I'd learnt after buying and starting it that it was all fake but decided to finish it anyway as I had it on hand... by then I didnt really want to like it as it was a scam but I found myself enjoying it: I felt that if it had been openly fiction it could have been a great book. So, any similar experiences? Or are you just not as crazy as I am ?

True, I noticed that as well. At first I thought it would become a theme: him discovering little by little that she wasnt so vain and/ or her changing. But he seemed to get over it so quickly! In the following chapters Batsheba's 'vanity' doesnt seem to be much of an issue which contrasts with that first categorical declaration.

Clearly the central character at that point is Gabriel Oak... Batsheba only is someone exterior impacting on his life. hardy is telling us to follow Farmer Oak. It's also a way of getting us to discover us at the same rithm as he does: like him we are puzzled about her attitude and like him we will want to know more...