chesilbeach

Thanks! What film does this quote come from: "I remember the first time I saw Gareth on a dancefloor. I feared lives would be lost."

They do still do the Masterclass - this year it's got a twist - they recreate iconic Strictly moments! Some of the ones they've done so far are some of Jill & Darren's jive, the opening of Mark & Karen's salsa and the beginning of Julian & Erin's samba. I agree on both counts! Bless Jo, she tried really hard, and she seemed to love it, and I think Len was right in that Brendan really tried to make Jo look as good as possible and forego his own dancing performance. Well, James pronounces it "Ol-la", so I would hope as her husband, he's got it right!

Authors do it for a variety of reasons, but in this case, I think it's a way to distinguish between different styles of books. Her real name is Madeleine Wickham, and her first books were written under this name, it was only when she started writing the Shopaholic series she started to use Sophie Kinsella. From the bio on her website: "She submitted her first “Sophie Kinsella” novel anonymously to Black Swan, who were already her publishers, and it was snapped up without her editors knowing that she was already one of their authors. It was with the appropriately titled Can You Keep A Secret? that Sophie revealed her true identity for the first time." It's not that uncommon, some authors are easy to spot - Iain Banks (literary fiction) and Iain M. Banks (science fiction) - while others are less obvious - John Banville (literary fiction) and Benjamin Black (crime fiction).

Is it from Igor?

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

I can't resist .... Oceans Thirteen

Nope, it's a series I'll definitely be keeping and re-reading, so I'm determined to keep all the books the same, in paperback. I will resist, I will resist, I will resist.

Just realised the copy of Frostbitten I picked up from the library yesterday is brand new, so it'll be like reading my own copy of the book! I had a

Oceans Twelve

I'm glad to hear good things about this book - I read her book of short stories A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and thought it was excellent, and I'll probably put The Vagrants on my wishlist for Christmas.

I know what you mean - I've re-read a few times as well now, and I tend to skim through until arrives, and then it's heart stopping action all the way to the end!

Smiles Of A Summer Night

(500) Days of Summer

Still haven't had any reading time today, but I'm determined to finish my current book this weekend, as I need to review it by the end of the month for my reading group and my reservation arrived at the library today ... Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong, and I'm desperate to read it, so I'll use it as an incentive!

I love series of books - although I'm one of those obsessives that once I find a series I like, I have to read the whole lot as quickly as possible to the exclusion of most other books But without doubt, my favourite series of books ever (and I've read quite a few in my time), has been the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Once I'd read the first one, it wasn't long before I'd devoured the whole series. Brilliant. Clever. Funny.

It's going to be an independent production - Stephenie's website links to this news item http://weblogs.variety.com/bfdealmemo/2009/09/twilights-meyer-tackles-adult-pic-fare-with-niccol.html?ref=ssp

I almost bought this the other week, but I'm trying to resist buying any books at the moment, so I put it back on the shelf. I'll definitely put it on my wish list though

I put my book in my bag and carried it around with me all day - does that count? I've had no reading time all week

I guess I'm lucky in that I rarely know who any of the celebrities are, and I love watching it for the professionals as much as the celebrities anyway! I find not knowing anyone helps me develop favourites over the series, as I can watch how they progress and how entertaining they are both in the dancing and on It Takes Two. I's a shame you're not watching It Takes Two, as I think this years ITT has been much better than the last couple of years. They haven't had any celebrity "fans" on so far this year - you know the ones who just come on to promote their latest film/TV series/play/single/CD/tour, and they've concentrated on the contestants plus people involved in the series, such as production runners, lighting directors, set makers, costume designers etc.

Andalus by Jason Webster is a very interesting read looking at Spain's forgotten Arab legacy. This was my review:

Hi Sue

We also had The Various Haunts of Men for our reading group but I must admit, I couldn't get past page 30. Like Mysterioso, I really enjoy Susan Hill's other work, just not the crime, but then I'm not a big reader of crime anyway.

Hello!

OH fell asleep during the first episode, so we probably will watch it on DVD anyway!

You can download it in iTunes, or you can go to this website, and follow the instructions to download it http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/books or you could listen to the whole programme again on the iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00n7j1z/Simon_Mayo_15_10_2009/ but the book reviews are usually at least an hour into the programme, sometimes two.