chesilbeach

Well said, emelee! Elizabeth is definitely what we would cal feisty nowadays, but also clever and determined, and you get the impression that while she does indeed learn about herself as the book goes on, her character grows and matures and she learns about the mistakes other people have made in their choices of marriage partners and how not to go about it, and in the end makes a suitable match for love.

Hello emelee!

I'd forgotten Clueless was based on Emma - now that film is much more enjoyable than the book!

Test cricket - Australia v Pakistan

Emma is the only Austen book I couldn't finish, and I've only seen the Gwyneth Paltrow film version of it - that's pretty awful as well, but at least I made it to the end, so I guess I must have enjoyed the film version more than the book!

I'm just about to start Christmas Spirit by Robert Westall as my last nod to Christmas 2009 before I go back to my normal TBR pile of books.

I think I'm going to be the only one who didn't like it then The script was a mess, it just seemed like an opportunity before he left for RTD to cram in all the things he hadn't managed to crowbar into the series so far and an excuse to go overboard with SFX. Not my cup of tea, I'm afraid. I will watch the second part, and I'll probably cry at the end of the tenth Doctors time, but these aren't my favourite style of stories and I'm now looking forward to the new era with Matt Smith and Steven Moffat.

I've just finished the sixth book in the House of Night series, Tempted by P.C. and Kristin Cast. Continuing the story of fledgling vampyre, Zoey Redbird, this instalment is much more character led with the eternal battle of good versus evil within the individuals taking the centre stage rather than the formula followed in earlier books, where it has been plot driven building to a battle at the end of each one. I'd been wondering whether to continue with the series as they were becoming so formulaic, but this one has piqued my interest in the story arc of the series, and it also finishes on a huge cliff-hanger, so there is no doubt I will be searching out the next book when it arrives on the bookshelves.

Just finished Tempted. Not bad, a lot more story development and less formulaic than the earlier books, and with a huge cliffhanger at the end, I'll have to read the next instalment when it comes out

I adore the BBC adaptation of Persuasion, probably even more than P&P, but you're right that P&P shouldn't be described as a bad book, but you do have to have an inclination to invest in the period and writing style to appreciate it, especially if you've never read any classic literature. My favourite Austen in Northanger Abbey, but I personally think Mansfield Park is her best piece of writing, however, I've only seen one adaptation of Mansfield Park (which was okay but mediocre) and none of Northanger Abbey.

I completely agree with you BJ. I've been watching the BBC adaptation over the last few days and it's absolutely wonderful, but I love it so much because it's so true to the book. The only other adaptation of it I can stomach is the Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson film, which you're right, does take a lot of liberties with some parts of the story, but I remember watching it as a child before I even knew about Jane Austen or her books and have fond memories of laughing at the absurdities of Mrs Bennett, the silliness of Lydia and Kitty, and the toe curling obsequious Mr Collins. It did lead me to read the book as a teenager, and a love of Austen grew from there. However, I have watched exactly six minutes of the Keira Knightly version before I could bear it no more and had to turn it off. Although I don't think P&P is Austen at her best, I think the BBC series and the book are on a par for me, so I think we'll have to agree to disagree with you, Lit_Driven_Girl, but you'll find no tar and feathers on this forum - we're much too friendly

Fortunately the libraries in my area have a couple of copies and I've put in a reservation, but the two copies are out on loan and I'm not the first reservation, so I guess it could be a while before I see it arriving.

I'm glad you liked it, joe. I read it with my book group a couple of years ago, but most of the group were ambivalent about it whereas I enjoyed it a lot. I do remember thinking it read like a film or television drama rather than a novel, and after a bit of investigation I found that the author is actually a lecturer in media studies which has obviously influenced her writing style.

Hello!

I haven't listened to them yet, but I love The Magic Numbers, so I'll probably go for this version of the soundtrack when I come to buy it - although I think it's a bit of a cheek calling them bonus tracks when you have to pay

I've just had a look on iTunes, and there are two different albums for New Moon on there - one for

I bought the Twilight soundtrack on iTunes this morning and I've had it on continuous play for about 2.5 hours now, but I absolutely love it! Will definitely have to look at getting the New Moon one as well I think, but will save it for another day.

I agree with you, Kylie. Paula's reviews make me want to read every book, so I have to be very careful and try to really consider whether each one would actually be something I would want to read and not just something she's made sound irresistible!

I love to watch Flavia dance whereas Camilla could get on my nerves at times, so I was more than happy to see the gorgeous Gethin dance with Flavia! She deserved a decent celeb after spending so much time with Craig (now officially nicknamed "The Deluded One" in our house )

Haven't done much reading so far, just about 20 pages of Tempted, but I have updated and organised my amazon wish list, and matched that with the book database on my computer so that I can put it on my phone for my next visit to the bookshop, where I can ignore it and just buy whatever takes my fancy

Great review, but that sounds like quite a tough read!

I'd never read any Kingsolver before this one, and to be honest, I don't think I'll bother with any more. I actually liked the letters, diary entries and newspaper articles in it, but what I didn't like was the concept of a retrospective on the impact of the McCarthy era through the eyes of a fictional character but also trying to incorporate the personal biography elements of Trotsky, Khalo and Rivera. I felt there was so much emphasis on getting the historical fact into the fictional diary that it was cumbersome - the reading equivalent of trudging through a muddy field. It might have been an interesting non-fiction book to read, as I didn't have much previous knowledge of the McCarthy era, but it was just too fact and event heavy for a novel.

Outnumbered

Glad you enjoyed Frostbitten Charm - I loved it too! I think Elena is my favourite of the characters in the series, so I'm always pleased when she's in one of the books. I've been debating whether or not to try The Men of the Otherworld, but I've seen a few reviews here, and you've tipped the balance in its favour, so I'm off to reserve it at the library website now I've kept going with the House of Night series, but I'm sort of getting to the end of my affection for it, in fact the only reason I bought tempted was because I got it in the Border closing down sale for a couple of pounds, so it seemed to good a bargain to turn my nose up at. I think this may be the last chance for the series to move on for me though, and if it doesn't move away from its own formula, I might give up.