anisia

Finished One Day by David Nicholls and starting A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle just now.

Author: David Nicholls Title: One Day Book Description (amazon.co.uk) ‘I can imagine you at forty,’ she said, a hint of malice in her voice. ‘I can picture it right now.’ He smiled without opening his eyes. ‘Go on then.’ 15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY. From the author of the massive bestseller STARTER FOR TEN Personal Note I’m not sure how I feel about this book, I think the first word that comes to mind is disappointed. I have read impressive reviews about it and I’ve seen it advertised everywhere, I thought I must read it, and definitely before seeing the movie. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the book, I did and it’s a good story but I ended up not really liking the characters and the ending really disappointed me. What I initially liked about both Emma and Dex was their tries to discover who they are and to make a life for themselves – being at a similar age and phase right now, it certainly appealed to me. But then Emma became a person I didn’t like and I felt there were many times in the story when she could have done more for Dex, could have changed both of their lives for the better (not that Dex is an angel!). Overall, an enjoyable read, but I wasn’t impressed.

I don't have the waiting problem because I already feel the need to take a break. I'm starting volume 3 probably in about 2 weeks. It's just that the books are SO big and so packed with details, I can't read all of them at the same time. Brianna has made an appereance, but she's not yet a very important character so I'm looking forward to read more of her development

I'm starting the Sherlock Holmes stories today...although I plan on reading everything written in chronological order The books look good (I understand the desire for shelves, I don't have any either) but Pedro has taken the spotlight

If season 3 was commisioned in the same time with season 2 (that's what Gatiss said on Twitter) then maybe they've already worked around all the commitments or at least around some of them *fingers crossed* . I also agree with the ideas written above, I'm very curious to see what the new season brings!

It makes me very happy that my opinion is so valued and important Oh, I need to get A Polysyllabic Spree - I always enjoy seeing what authors/actors/singers read and it's good for the TBR list I've watched the BBC adaptation of Stuart, but after I read the book. I found out about the adaptation first (cause I love Benedict Cumberbatch) but I prefer reading the book first so I just recently saw it. Very much enjoyed it, and I think Tom Hardy was absolutely brilliant. I think he portrayed the character incredibly well, but I will say the book is better.

Seeing as I bought three books just a day after I posted the above...I guess the rule's off. So Ben, buy as many books as you want

I loved the new episode! I think I liked the first one a bit more, but I'm slowly changing my mind on that. The thing I enjoy the most is that there's this approach to humanise Sherlock, while still keeping him completely in character.

While I can't offer recommendations, as I'm in a similar position, I have to THANK YOU for starting this thread

Umm...thank me? It IS a good book! I've decided to buy one book/month this year, I think it's doable. I don't even have bookshelevs, so I'm starting to really have no more space for books.

I got "A Study in Scarlet" from the library a few days ago, can't wait to read it It feels like a lot of us are reading Sherlock Holmes these days! Good luck with the 2012 reading!

Good luck with your 2012 reading!

Author: Alexander Masters Title: Stuart: A Life Backwards Book Description (amazon.co.uk) A major new launch for the paperback edition of the most original, capitvating and award-winning memoir of the year. Stuart, A Life Backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator (‘a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, Alexander) and a chaotic, knife-wielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. Interwoven into this is Stuart’s confession: the story of his life, told backwards. With humour, compassion (and exasperation) Masters slowly works back through post-office heists, prison riots and the exact day Stuart discovered violence, to unfold the reasons why he changed from a happy-go-lucky little boy into a polydrug-addicted-alcoholic Jekyll and Hyde personality, with a fondness for what he called ‘little strips of silver’ (knives to you and me). Funny, despairing, brilliantly written and full of surprises: this is the most original and moving biography of recent years. Personal Note I didn’t know what to expect from this book. It is such a tragic subject to write about and knowing it was an actual biography, I thought it would be a difficult read, full of tears. It turned out completely different. Alexander Masters presented Stuart’s life in a very different way – the book is funny and sad in the same time. I think what I liked most is that while Alexander is Stuart’s friend, he has moments in the book in which he just doesn’t like Stuart, doesn’t want to be in his company, and he isn’t afraid to write about it. There’s an honesty through the whole book that I liked. It’s an unforgettable book.

Hope the delivery gets sorted soon! I'm awful when I order things, I want them NOW. Just went through the thread, so many interesting books in the TBR list. Good luck with the 2012 reading

Thank you, and defintely give the series a try, it's very well written

I really wanted to see him in Frankenstein, the reviews were amazing! Both Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller got awards for their performance. Back to Sherlock, counting down the hours until Sunday Although I have to say, it saddnes me that after three weeks, the series will be done already. Way too short

I got this from the library yesterday, it's next on my reading list

Finished "A Clash of Kings" and have started "Stuart: a life backwards" by Alexander Masters, so far it's very good I was going to watch the BBC adaptation and then decided I really want to read the book first.

I don't always write in my diary, but I've kept one for many years - I can't imagine sharing what I've written with a group of people. Those are private thoughts, the point of having a diary is to write whatever I want...why would I then share with strangers?

Title: A Clash of Kings Author: George R.R. Martin Book Description (amazon.co.uk) George R.R. Martin writes sword-and-sorcery which concentrates on the swords. A Clash of Kings is the second volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, the sequence which began with A Game of Thrones and will take another four volumes to complete. The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud; beyond their Northern borders, the men of the Night Watch fight the coming of a great cold and the walking corpses that travel with it; on the other side of the ocean, the last of the Kingdom’s deposed ruling house mourns her horseclan husband and rears the dragonlets she hatched from his funeral pyre. This is character-driven fantasy–we see most events through the eyes of the sons and daughters of the Stark family, the once and future Kings of the North, whose father’s judicial murder started the war. Martin avoids the cosy Californian cheeriness of many epic fantasies in favour of a sense of the squalor and grandeur of high medieval life; there is passion here, and misery and charm–and a profound sense of moral ambiguity as we learn to like the Richard III figure in this epic as much as the more virtuous Starks. Personal Note As I mentioned in the note regarding A Game of Thrones, I am impressed with the author and the way he manages to keep up with every detail of the book and have it make sense at the end. It was an excellent continuation of the series full of unexpected twists. Tyrion slowly became my favorite character, mostly because he is so misunderstood and it feels like he is the only one who thinks about the future. Daenerys on the other hand is a character I really liked in the first book of the series, but I’ve lost interest in her in A Clash of Kings, perhaps because she doesn’t have too many chapters and it feels like her story is so separate from the others. After a short break from the genre (I can never read such long series in one go) I will definitely return to the third volume!

Currently Reading: "Shadows Return" - Lynn Flewelling Reading List January 1. "A Clash Of Kings" - George R.R. Martin, 752 pages 2. "Stuart: A Life Backwards" - Alexander Masters, 304 pages 3. "One Day" - David Nicholls, 435 pages 4. "A Study in Scarlet" - Arthur Conan Doyle, 176 pages February 5. "Robert Schumann: Life and Death of a Musician" - John Worthen, 384 pages 6. "The Human Story: Our History, from the Stone Age to Today" - James C. Davis, 466 pages March 7. "A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow" - George R.R. Martin, 623 pages 8. "The Sign of Four" - Arthur Conan Doyle, 160 pages April 9. "A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold" - George R.R. Martin, 637 pages May 10. “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” – Lew Wallace, 428 pages 11. “A Clockwork Orange” – Anthony Burgess, 141 pages June 12. "Stories I Only Tell My Friends" - Rob Lowe, 357 pages July 13. "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" - Ransom Riggs, 352 pages 14. "Target" - Kathleen Jefrrie Johnson, 175 pages 15. "Luck In The Shadows" - Lynn Flewelling, 479 pages 16. "Stalking Darkness" - Lynn Flewelling, 501 pages August 17. "A Place Called Here" - Cecelia Ahern, 485 pages 18. "Trainspotting" - Irvine Welsh, 344 pages September 19. "A Feast for Crows" - George R.R. Martin, 778 pages October 20. "Last Breath" - Rachel Caine, 479 pages 21. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Book 1)" - Douglas Adams, 192 pages November 22. "The Casual Vacancy" - J.K. Rowling, 503 pages December 23. "A British History of Serial Killing" - David Wilson, 308 pages 24. "A Brief History of Time" - Stephen Hawking, 256 pages 25. "Traitor's Moon" - Lynn Flewelling, 540 pages 26. "About a Boy" - Nick Hornby, 278 pages 27. "Clockwork" - Philip Pullman, 92 pages 28. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" - J.K. Rowling, Kindle edition