Chrissy

I do like them Mau, they have a fascinating 'feel' to them and are tales well told. Septimus is a lovely character, and like all the main characters is so well depicted in the books you can almost smell him! The stories are unusual and original despite often using familiar concepts at times. A fabulous and colourful series contained in such lovely designed books.

I can only second Karsa Orlong's words here. They do start young, but they mature well and develop a depth and detail that is highly readable for all ages. Something I read a while ago was one reason they are so compelling is that we the reader never know more than Harry at any given time. It was described as us being the monkey on Harry's shoulder seeing and hearing what he sees and hears. As Harry is propelled forward through the story, so are we and that makes them compelling to us. As a 44 year old I comfortably recommend them. Ultimately a good story is a good story, no matter the age group for whom it is intended.

The three winners of the competition are The Funniest ~ Echo I hate my landlady. Hey, is that an ax? Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Most Intriguing ~ Pipread Sleep. Wake up. Who's he? Who's she!? Aghh!! Before I go to Sleep by S J Watson The Ultra Short Yet Still Accurate ~ Poppy Too much information. The Dictionary (The Oxford English) A huge thank you to everyone who took part. The entries were fabulous and made the final selection really tough. OK winners, let me know the paperback of your choice!

This competition is closed! The winners will be announced over the weekend.

Hello ireader, and welcome to the forum. It's great that you are getting into reading, and nice that you want to join in with our discussions on the forum here. How did you find this book? I am always looking for new authors to try but I can never really find debut lists, so what's your secret?

You have until midnight tomorrow to get your entries posted here.............So come on peoples get your entries in!

I have only just seen this! First of all, my heartiest congratulations on your boy. How wonderful. I'm so sorry that you have had to deal with such a worrying situation with him since he arrived, but I truly hope that all will be well. Big hugs to you all.

Great shelves Kylie, and I note that you have your furry book guardian in place at all times!

No embarassment necessary - look how many people rushed to check! Whichever one was felled, it still feels like we have lost a living (plant) dinosaur. Long may Sherman stand tall! And yes please I'd love some pics put up in here.

One of my favourite scenes in the entire thing has just been shown; Emily arriving at the diner to berate Luke, and Luke using his newly inputted speed dial to call Loralei. It shows the controlling aspects of Emily in sharp sharp detail, and Loralei's resistance to it all. Luke does good by keeping a low profile in the scene while not letting Emily take any credit for their

I think it really does depend upon personal factors. With illness, pregnancy and travel all abound, I would probably have the jab. I live a quiet life, and have not had (grasping wood for luck as I type this) a bout of flu for years, and when I have it has been pretty mild.

I had a rewatch of Paul ~ laugh out loud stuff yet again!

Husband has a yearly flu jab as he is a diabetic and also because he always had a mind blowingly awful bout of flu whenever he did come down with it. Poor lamb. I don't have the jab. I am generally healthy and am very lucky in that on the rare occasions I do get ill I have a day or two of utter cr*ppiness followed by a week of under-the-weather-rather-than-ill bleurghness.

Raise The Alarm ~ The Living End

That's awful news Vanessa. My best wishes to you both, I hope all goes well in the coming weeks and months.

That's great! What a fab selection they are currently doing ~ they should get the choir soaring!

I haven't, but I have earmarked a showing of her youtube for later. Thank you for the tip! I love how the recorder can fly so easily between melancholic notes and fanciful ditty. Good luck with the audition. I will want to hear all the details once you're done.

I'm not really inclined toward undertaking challenges as they give me the reading wobblies, and when I originally posted on this thread is was more out of astonishment then anything else. There are too many books on the list that I just do not want to read, so I think I will be keeping the list as a guide rather than a must read list. *gulp*

Is this a book you are having trouble getting hold of? Because if so, I would be happy to locate a copy for you. Swap it, or whatever.

I have hit a reading slump of late. I have made a tentative start on 'The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd' by the fabulous Agatha Christie. I read and adored this book many years ago, so I may need to start a book that is new to me, maybe that'll shake up my flagging reading mojo.

My husband's nickname for my son is Numpty ~ he even got him a mug with the word on! I won't mention my son's nickname for my husband! I hadn't heard of dreich or outwith, but a big thumbs up for both.Great words that I will use!

A brilliant site that can give you the order in which a series was published is fantastic fiction. You get some biographical details on the author you are looking up, listings of their books, and you can 'click' each title to get a synopsis.

Wasn't he a vegetarian? Maybe too many bean based meals.

Although I can't enter the comp, I couldn't resist thinking of one or two, I love her. No, I will love her. No, hang on, I did love her. When am I? (The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger) Life can be a mountain that only real love can help you ascend. (Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard) COME ON FOLKS ~ GET POSTING!

I have got to stop reading your thread for the sake of my bank balance! Your reviews have a way of sneaking into my mind and lurking there until I next visit Amazon or a bookshop, and those reviews come forth and say "That one, buy that one!"