chesilbeach

Hello!

His name is Fielding Wopuld. The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks

I realised last night that I've only got 10 days until my next book group meeting and I haven't read either of the two chosen books, and I've also got an ARC copy of a new book that we've been asked to give reviews on by the end of the month, preferably at the next meeting if we've read it in time! This means I've had to put The Moonstone to one side for now (although I'm a bit disappointed there weren't more readers of it in the reading circle as I might have found extra minutes here and there to read it more quickly). So, I started The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks last night, and I've read about 100 pages so far and I like it a lot, although having heard him interviewed a lot on radio and television, I find myself hearing it in my head in his Scottish accent!

Please don't do that! There are some fantastic books on the list as well as some truly awful ones, so please don't allow the R&J sticker to influence whether you decide to buy a book or not.

Definitely! One condition - I feel the cold, so I'd like to sit next to the fire

Although I've never been there, this bookshop looks like the most inviting bookshop I've ever seen! I'd be quite happy to move in tomorrow http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2009/oct/02/secondhand-bookshops?picture=353694601

This is a vague memory, so some of the details may not be correct, and I don't have them any more, but I did have some neon coloured plastic records that I think were given away with Smash Hits(?) at one point. I had a green one and a red one, but have no idea what songs they were!

Hi Sara

It's one of the mysteries that has never really been cleared up. In previous series of It Takes Two, I've heard some of the professionals talking about finding music to suit their celebrities and music they like, but then I've also seen them handed the piece of paper that tells them what music they've been given. My guess is that the professionals put forward a selection of songs they'd like for the dances, the legal department go into battle to get clearance to use the songs, and the musical director and producers review the choices as well, and eventually the song is chosen and the professionals are then told which song of their selection they can use. That's just my guess, though, I've only got snippets of info to back that up, no concrete evidence!

Well, I did watch the last episode of series 1 on FX last night, so I have seen the entire first series, but I won't be bothering with any more of the television show, and will stick to the books, as I just didn't enjoy it that much, and didn't like the changes to the characters from the book. As much as I love the casting for Eric, it's not enough to convince me to carry on watching, and I'll just be picturing him in my mind when I read the books from now on!

I'm loving this series of Strictly! I think it's got a great mix of couples, and in the early stages, unless a very good celebrity gets voted off, I don't think it matters too much who stays and who goes. I don't think Rav was a particularly good dancer and didn't appear to have much potential, and I don't actually think he was much better than either of the two Jo(e)'s today. He obviously doesn't have public support as he's been in the dance-off twice in his two competitive shows, so keeping him in would only have postponed the inevitable. The much bigger issue for me tonight was the generally awful choices of songs for the paso doble routines. I'm a traditionalist for my favourite dance, so I always prefer traditional songs but I know other songs can work well (in previous years, I loved "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" for Darren Gough, and "Live and Let Die" for Letitia Dean), but tonight's choices were just awful - how on earth Zoe & James could dance to "You've Got The Love" is beyond me. So far this year though, my favourites are Phil Tufnell, Natalie Cassidy, Ali Bastian and Ricky Whittle.

They're probably in the bookshops as we speak: From The Guardian newspaper:

I'm still struggling to find time for reading at the moment, but I'm about halfway through The Moonstone now. I'm eyeing up a couple of suspects, so I definitely want to finish to find out what happens!

Sounds like it was a very entertaining evening. Like you, I've never read a Mark Billingham book as I don't like that particularly style of crime novel, however, I do know him as an actor, as he was in one of my favourite ever children's television programmes - Maid Marian and Her Merry Men. Absolutely brilliant show, and Mark played Gary, one of the Sheriff of Nottingham's henchmen. Glad you had a good evening.

Hey Ned!

I saw this last night - really enjoyed it. Gentle, funny, warm and some really beautiful framing of shots at times (sorry to be such a geek, but it's important to me!).

I don't mind how thick the book is, as long as it's well written. With regards to the various comments about the cost of smaller books, I worry that the length of a book is a deciding factor as to whether the book is worth the price. It sort of indicates that you're paying for the amount of paper and printing costs of the book, but surely books aren't sold by weight, they're sold for art and/or entertainment? Would you expect to pay twice as much to see "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" at the cinema than you to watch "WALL-E"? It's twice the length, but until you go to see both of them you can't compare the entertainment of both films, but you would still expect to pay the same ticket price. And, surely an author has put as much as much effort, sometimes more, into writing their 150 page beautifully crafted novel as someone who's written a fast paced, action packed thriller when both books are priced the same? Would you rather read a 500 page book that's okay or an amazing novel that's 120 pages? Which did you get better value for money from? How would you know before you'd bought and read them? Don't get me wrong, I also think twice about buying a short book for the same price as a longer book, because it's in my spendthrift nature, however, usually if the book is intriguing enough to catch my eye, and sounds like something I would really enjoy, or has been strongly recommended to me, I will usually decide that it's worth investing in.

The first tapes I remember actually buying myself were No Parlez by Paul Young and Fantastic by Wham!, but the first record I bought with money I earned in my first Saturday job (as opposed to birthday present money or pocket money) was A New England by the late, and much missed, Kirsty MacColl - all purchased from my local Woolworths.

When I was about 10, there was a proliferation of collections of short story books, such as The Big Book of Girls Stories, The Big Book of School Stories etc., and I still have The Big Book of Horse and Pony Stories (at least I think that's what they were called - it was something along those lines), and oddly enough The Big Book of Horse and Pony Stories is the only one I still have. I say oddly enough because it's the only one of those books I didn't like! I'm actually quite scared of horses, and I never really warmed to the stories in the book, but for some reason, it's the one that I've still got.

I've only read a few of them, but I would say they're suitable for a 12 year old (although I don't have kids so I'm not an expert). None of the ones I've read have been as scary as episodes like "Blink" or "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" which I found really creepy. I've read The Stone Rose (Tenth Doctor/Rose), Sick Building (Tenth Doctor/Martha) and I've listened to the audio of The Feast of the Drowned (Tenth Doctor/Rose) and I didn't find any of them scary.

Thanks Kylie, I'll look out for that

Funnily enough, my book group has also read these two books, and I didn't like them either! Fortunately, we do tend to go for a wide range of books, and I don't mind not liking the books chosen all the time, because occasionally we'll read a book I would never have picked up myself, and find I completely love it. The thing about my reading group I like is the social factor of getting together with other people and talking about books. Even though we mainly discuss the selected books, during the coffee break or at the end of the meeting, we always recommend other books we've read and loved as well.

I'm still only up to page 90, but I'm still enjoying it. Hoping to have time for a reading session tomorrow.

Ok, sorry for that. Thought I'd clicked on all the links, but must have missed that one

It looks like there is a new edition coming out next year http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6933309. No details on the booksellers site yet, but it might be worth doing a bit more investigation (and it's purple, just for you BookJumper!)