chesilbeach

I finished Little House in the Big Woods this morning. Not sure what to start next, but I'm thinking of maybe trying Diving Belles by Lucy Wood, as I haven't read any short stories for a long time.

Black

Wreck

Happy birthday Hayley! Sounds like a lovely selection of books you've got there. I started Little House in the Big Woods today, ready for next months reading circle, and my book group have been given The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell for our next read.

Attack

Shack

Struck

Pluck

That would be smashing, Janet. Absolutely no rush for it, just let me know when you're ready and I'll PM you my address. Thanks very much!

Hello Lauren! I'm sure you'll get plenty of recommendations here - we're notorious for increasing wishlists and "to be read" shelves.

Man Walks Into A Room by Nicole Krauss Review: I finished this book yesterday and I still can't stop thinking about it. Funnily enough, it wasn't even on my radar until last month when a friend lent it to me, as we'd both enjoyed The History of Love by this writer. I can't tell you how glad I am, as this was even better! The police find a man wandering in the Nevada desert. Checking the name on the ID in his wallet, they find out he is Samson Greene, a professor at Columbia University who has been missing for eight days. He has no memory of who he is or how he got there, and at the hospital, is diagnosed with a brain tumour. The tumour is removed but leaves gaps in his memory, in fact, he can remember nothing of his life after the age of twelve. Astonishingly though, he can create new memories, and so has to rebuild his memories by learning who he is from those people who know him. He returns to his home in New York with his wife, and you see the strain on a relationship he has no memory of. Imagine going from the thoughts of being a twelve year old to being a man in your mid thirties with no recollection of your education, your career, your friends, and even the woman you share your bed with. What was fascinating was how as a reader, just like Samson himself, you had no knowledge of who he was as a man, and as he attempts to fill in the missing years of memories, you and he find out not only what has happened to him in the intervening years, but what sort of man he had become. It's not without flaws, and there is a scientific experiment relating to memory towards the end of the book, which while it was convincing and believable within the confines of the story, it felt a little bit too fantastical for me. However, it does work brilliantly within the story, and forces Samson into action to move on with his life in the present. There is also a fascinating epilogue - obviously I don't want to give anything away about it, but it did leave me questioning the conclusions I'd made by that point, and the idea of identity itself. I read Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer a couple of years ago, which is a non-fiction science/travel book that is also all about memory, and this would make a fascinating companion piece to read, and in a strange (or perhaps not!) coincidence, Foer is the brother-in-law of Krauss. Regardless, Man Walks into a Room is highly recommended by me.

I read Hooper's Fallen Grace last week when we were on holiday, and thought it was pretty good, although perhaps a little predictable as it went on, but Newes From The Dead sounds very interesting. Wishlist amendment completed

Just watching the one where Penny falls and injures herself in the shower, and ends up getting Sheldon to sing Soft Kitty in a round!

Definitely looking forward to About Time - the new Richard Curtis film.

Just finished reading Man Walks into a Room by Nicole Krauss. Excellent book - would make the perfect fiction accompaniment to Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer, who coincidentally (or perhaps not!) is her brother-in-law.

I started Man Walks into a Room by Nicole Krauss, and it's very intriguing so far!

The first three Phryne Fisher books were on offer on the Amazon Kindle Daily Deals on Friday, so I bought them, but haven't started them yet, so I'll have to come back and let you know how I get on with them! I haven't come across any of her other books yet though.

I enjoyed it! It's an Earth based story, but I liked the mix of modern and historical with the extraterrestrial. It was a bit strange, as one of the memories I have of Doctor Who as a child was the fifth Doctor in a village location going back and forth through a lychgate, and this story had that in abundance, so it may well be one of the ones I watched as a child and have just forgotten the story. I liked that it was only two episodes, as it kept the story tight, and it actually made me think it would have fitted well into the RTD Who series, although the Doctor was a little bit too serious for me - could have done with a bit more humour, or is that just a new Who trait? Anyway, a thumbs up from me.

Hello Artemis. I think you've picked an great forum for your first go - we're a friendly bunch, and we love to talk about books! I'm sure you'll find lots of recommendations and look forward to seeing you around the forum.

I've found some on YouTube myself, and I'm keen to watch some fifth and sixth Doctor adventures, and I think I might watch The Awakening this afternoon - a two-part story for the fifth Doctor.

I've found that classic series DVDs we have already are: Earthshock The Caves of Androzani The Robots of Death After I mentioned it to my other half, he's keen to watch them too (not surprising as he was the one I bought them for in the first place, and he was a big fan when he was a kid), so we've been having a look at which ones are available on iTunes as well, so there's a few others we'll look at getting at some point in the future. I will, however, not be watching any third Doctor stories, as I'm sure I've mentioned elsewhere, but I can't watch Jon Pertwee as I'm still traumatised by Worzel Gummidge all these years later, and can't watch him without coming out in a cold sweat and feeling a bit queasy! Anyway, when you come to watch any of these, let me know, and we'll try and watch them too.

The Various Flavours of Coffee by Anthony Capella Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) It is 1895. Robert Wallis, would-be poet, bohemian and impoverished dandy, accepts a commission from coffee merchant Samuel Pinker to categorise the different tastes of coffee - and encounters Pinker’s free-thinking daughters, Philomenia, Ada and Emily. As romance blossoms with Emily, Robert realises that the Muse and marriage may not be incompatible after all. Sent to Abyssinia to make his fortune in the coffee trade, he becomes obsessed with a negro slave girl, Fikre. He decides to use the money he has saved to buy her from her owner - a decision that will change not only his own life, but the lives of the three Pinker sisters ... Review: I have to admit, I didn't really read the synopsis before I bought, or even started reading the book, I chose it because I'd loved Capella's first book, The Food of Love. Within the first couple of chapters of The Various Flavours of Coffee, I was reminded of The Crimson Petal and White with a similar setting and period, and although it didn't have quite the lush, dense detail of that book, the story engaged me from the start and it didn't detract from that. The real delight, however, was once Wallis has accepted the commission to categorise the flavours in coffee, with rich, evocative descriptions of the scent, look, feel and taste of the both the beans and the coffee drink itself. The central characters of Robert and Emily seem very real, and I enjoyed how they matured over the period of the book, and the story of their romance was interesting to follow, as it was not a straight forward love story, and there are some unexpected twists and turns throughout. The secondary characters are a mixed bunch, some of whom I felt I knew well, while others weren't quite as well realised. What I loved most, however, was that after two thirds of the book, I had no idea how the story was going to develop and resolve itself. I had no idea where it was going, and I thought the ending was unexpected, but still interesting and satisfying. Overall, I would say that although there is some discussion of the role of women and feminism, as well as looking at class, sexual politics, colonialism and economics, it is very readable, and a very entertaining story.

We've got roasted vegetable and Brie pastry puffs.

Death at Wentworth Court by Carola Dunn Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) No stranger to sprawling country estates, well-heeled Daisy Dalrymple is breaking new ground at Wentwater Court to cover a story for Town & Country magazine. But her interview gives way to interrogation when suave Lord Stephen Astwick meets a chilly end on the tranquil skating pond. With evidence that his death was anything but accidental, Daisy joins forces with Scotland Yard so the culprit can't slip through their fingers like the unfortunate Astwick slipped through the ice ... Review: I bought this book after reading Ruth's review on her reading blog, and it was exactly what I was expecting. A (albeit gentle) murder mystery set in a country house among the upper class of the 1920s. The author gets the tone exactly right, with the dialogue, setting and all the period touches, and gives us a sensible, clever and brave heroine, with a nice touch of the middle and working class from the servants and police officers, with some humour and fun amongst the investigations. I'm very fussy in the crime novels I like, but this was just my cup of tea - not graphic or too realistic, but a bit of escapism for a smashing Sunday read.

Umm, funnily enough, we did go out this morning, and I had a creme brulee tart. But, will be back doing my exercise this afternoon, and still counting myself as on holiday until Monday morning!