chesilbeach

The Third Day, The Frost by John Marsden Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) Ellie and her friends, an unarmed bunch of amateur teen fighters, have achieved more than they ever thought possible. But it's not enough. The war wages on, their families are in captivity and their country is on its knees. Hiding back in Hell, the friends face a big question: what to do next? The gang have another success when they manage to rescue Kevin. He returns to them equipped with a new knowledge of explosives. Suddenly the question of what to do next becomes clear - launch an attack on the major enemy target of Cobblers' Bay. Can Ellie, Homer, Fi, Robin, Lee and Kevin really stage a major military attack on the enemy? And in their attempt to pull it off, what will they have to sacrifice? They have already lost Corrie and Chris; who else will the group have to lose in their desperation to defend their country? Review: This is the third book in the Tomorrow series, and just as heart-stopping as the first two. Marsden manages to convey the rawness of the emotions that the teenagers are going through, having had to grow up in such a short space of time to face a situation they could never have imagined. But it's not all non-stop action and it's the time between their attacks on the enemy that really demonstrates their sense of loss and brings a futility with it, and how the tiniest things can bring about anger and depression but still at times, hope. One of the main characters makes a huge sacrifice at the end of the book, and it was so unexpected and told in such a matter of fact what, that it broke my heart and even now, I can still feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Marsden has created characters you care about, despite their flaws in character and actions, and when events like this happen, I felt very involved and went through the same emotions as the characters on the page. I can't recommend these books enough, especially for older teenagers to make them think about the realities of conflicts and wars.

Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) Whether foiling kidnappers' plans, walking the wings of a Tiger Moth or simply deciding what to wear for dinner, Phryne handles everything with her usual panache and flair! Here, the 1920's most glamorous detective flies even higher, handling an abduction and a murder with style and ease... all before it's time to adjourn to the Queenscliff Hotel for breakfast. Whether she's flying planes, clearing a friend of homicide charges or saving a child from kidnapping, she handles everything with the same dash and elan with which she drives her red Hispano-Suiza. Review: The second book in the eeries, and time for Phryne to set down roots in her new life, so with a new house and a few new characters to introduce, we're beginning to see the regulars who will return every story, and I loved how her world is now rounding out. Another great story, full of derring-do, with that touch of glamour, and the unconventional detective solves the mystery where I never would have guessed how it was done, and kept me entertained throughout.

Hello! Welcome to BCF

Bought a couple of books today - a second hand copy of Nigella Lawson's Feast from the Oxfam bookshop, and a lovely little hardback book Our Songbirds by Matt Sewell from a little indie bookshop, so charming, I just couldn't resist! Still reading Peaches for Monsieur le Curé and absolutely loving it.

I did finish The Great Gatsby this morning in time for going to see the film at the cinema this afternoon. I've now started the third book in the Chocolat stories from Joanne Harris, Peaches for Monsieur le Curé, and I'm already a third of the way through and loving it! In fact, if the film hadn't been about to start, I think I'd probably have finished it by now. Fab read so far.

Just got back from seeing it at the cinema (in 2D). Is there anything Baz Luhrmann can't make wonderful?! I loved the design, the costumes, the music, the script, the pace ... just everything about it! Having just finished reading the book this morning, I could only spot a couple of omissions of minor details from the book but they weren't necessary, and very minor things. Considering I didn't like the book very much - it just left me with an empty feeling - I was surprised by how much more emotion was conveyed on the screen which made me engage much more with the characters, particularly Gatsby and Daisy, and the performances of both DiCaprio and Mulligan were captivating. It didn't match up to The Red Curtain trilogy for me, but it was still a fantastic cinematic experience.

http://blog.waterstones.com/2013/06/waterstones-week-in-books-quiz-21st-june-2013/ A reasonable 6/10 for me this week.

Ok, so I've just finished re-reading it. I think I found it easier to read this time around, but the big problem I still have with the book is that I just don't care about any of the characters. Their wealth makes them indolent and selfish, and I couldn't find any empathy with or sympathy for them or their predicaments. Having said all that, I think it could make a great film (or is that just me being biased towards my beloved Baz Luhrmann? ). I'm off to see it soon, although I'm not sure about the casting of Tobey Maguire as Carraway, but we'll see.

I'm almost finished with The Great Gatsby now, and I've picked up my next books for my reading group too, which are The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier () and House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds (a 500 page science fiction novel ).

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - not bad.

I'm going to try and see the film of The Great Gatsby this weekend, as you have to see Baz Luhrmann films on the big screen, so despite the fact that I didn't enjoy the book when I read it about 20 years ago, I thought I'd re-read it again before I go to the cinema. I'm about a third of the way in so far ...

There is a third book in the Chocolat series now, Diane - Peaches for Monsieur le Curé. I've got it on my Kindle to read, in fact after you reminding me of it, I think I'll start it after my current book.

I've just finished The Hand That First Held Mine - I can't say I enjoyed it, but it kept me interested until the end, although I did see roughly how it was going to pan out from a pretty early point. I'm sure it will provide a lively discussion at my book group though!

RED - dumb, stupid fun! Loved John Malkovich in it

Me! Sorry, I'd completely forgotten to come in and share my thoughts, even though I read the book last month. I read the whole series of books when I was younger as I enjoyed the television series, although I wasn't a dedicated fan of it, but I remember enjoying the books far more. I've still got almost all my original copies from when I was little, all except this first book, so had to borrow this one from the library. 1. Who was your favourite character and why? Laura has always been my favourite, partly because the story is hers to tell, but also because she's very much a Daddy's girl, and I identify with that, as well as her tomboyishness, something I still feel applies to me! I was always a bit of a goody-goody like Mary though, so I think I lived vicariously through Laura's hotheaded and mischievous nature. 2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? This time around, I loved reading all the cooking, baking and confectionery from Ma and I was fascinated by the homemaking skills of the time. 3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? As I mentioned above, I read the whole series of books when I was younger, although I don't remember them being so short! I'd been thinking about re-reading them since peacefield read them a little while back, and this first book certainly hasn't put me off reading the rest. 4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? Not really, the writing itself is very straight forward and aimed at children, so there wasn't anything challenging from that point of view, and whilst I know some have been concerned about the discipline used by Pa, I always felt this was just how it was historically, and that we've developed as a society to realise that this is no longer acceptable. 5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes, undoubtedly. I'll come back and do the rest of the questions later.

I'd add the two Kelley Armstrong YA series too: Darkest Powers 1. The Summoning 2. The Awakening 3. The Reckoning Darkness Rising 1. The Gathering 2. The Calling 3. The Rising Although they can be read separately, there is a link between the two series, so I'd recommend reading them in the order above.

It's the second Maggie O'Farrell book we've had at book group, but I didn't read the last one as I was away when it was chosen, but everyone raved about it. I'm struggling with the two disparate time periods, and I've never been a big fan of reading about pregnancy and new mothers, so it's really not appealing at the moment. That said, I'm over a quarter of the way through, and I'm not finding it so offputting that I can't pick it up, so I'll keep going for now and see how I get on.

Not done much reading this week, but I did finish The Year of the Hare and I've started Maggie O'Farrell's The Hand That First Held Mine for my book group, although I'm not sure it's my sort of thing, but we'll see how it goes.

http://blog.waterstones.com/2013/06/waterstones-week-in-books-quiz-14th-june-2013/ I got 5/10 this week.

Just caught up with the final over of the England innings today - Bopara scoring a whopping 28 runs of it! 33 not out off 13 balls

I read another of her books, A Moment of Silence, which is the first story with Dido Kent and I really liked it, so I've got A Gentleman of Fortune on my wishlist.

My reading tastes change all the time! I think the main thing that stays with me is that, with regards to fiction (which is the bulk of my reading), I want to read a good story and be entertained. I'll accept recommendations and inspiration from all directions, and joining the forum opened me up to a whole load of avenues that I never would have followed otherwise.

Hi Sarah With a TBR like that, you'll fit it nicely here! (Although, you should probably expect it to grow from all the recommendations you find on here )

I've been out for a couple of days, laid low with a stomach bug. Feeling a lot better today, if not 100%, but fingers crossed I'm over the worst now!

I read all three types, but if I know it's going to be a trilogy, I do now try and wait until all three are published before starting the first one, to avoid the dreaded year long wait between installments. I don't mind series being longer that just a trilogy if I know the author has an plan and that there is a conclusion to the story, for example, Anthony Horowitz and the Alex Rider series where he always said it could only last as long as Alex could still be classed as a boy and wouldn't go past Alex being about fifteen, or series such as Harry Potter, where it was always going to be one book for each school year. I do love reading a series of books, but the ones I keep returning to are where there isn't a bit overarching story and each of the books can all be read individually as stand alone novels without having to have read the rest of the books that have come before. I still tend to read these in order, but I do like to know that I don't have to carry on to find out the end of the saga if I don't want to! I do find that a good series that meets these criteria can be addictive though, so for example, I started the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood a couple of weeks ago, and every time I start a new book, I'm itching to go and get the next one in the series instead of picking something else from my TBR. I have given up on a few series where it feels like the author has lost the original thread of the story, or is just expanding the characters and/or story in order to keep the series going, rather than because they have an end point in sight. I'm getting more and more frustrated with books ending on a cliff hanger - I don't mind and ambiguous conclusion where you have to make up your own mind, but a cliff hanger is beginning to feel almost like a marketing ploy to force the reader to have to read the entire series and keep coming back each time to find out what the resolution is (only to be left with another dilemma at the end of the next book).