chesilbeach

Hello blencathra Like you, I love Jane Austen, Peter Ackroyd and Jasper Fforde, and my other half is a huge J.L. Carr fan.

It's been confirmed on the Stephenie Meyer website that this book will be adapted for the big screen with Andrew Niccol writing and directing.

Does anyone else watch and listen to book programmes and podcasts? I watch "The Book Show" on Sky Arts, plus I listen to: BBC Radio 4 - Open Book, A Good Read and Book Club (all through iPlayer) BBC Five Live - Book reviews on The Daily Mayo (Thursday afternoon via podcast). BBC Radio 2 - Claudia Winkleman's Arts Show podcast - (often includes a book review or author interview) If I run out of podcasts to listen to, I'll also download to the ABC Radio National Book Show podcast from Australia, but it's a daily programme, and if I've got other stuff to listen to, I'll probably stop downloading it for a while as I just end up with far too many to keep up with. I like The Book Quiz on BBC Four, and keep an eye on the BBC Four television schedules as they sometimes have a documentary on a specific book or author, such as recently when one of the "Mark Lawson Talks To ..." programmes was an hour long interview with William Boyd, which was thoroughly enjoyable.

I love Karen - she's been my favourite professional dancer since she joined in series three, and I'm loving this series of It Takes Two after only two days! I wasn't particularly bothered that Arlene was no longer a judge - I don't think she's ever really looked natural in front of the camera, and she always seemed to struggle to find the right words when she ran out of the scripted notes she'd made on a dance, but she did know what she was talking about to a certain extent. However, I'd been hoping that when Karen stopped competing she would take on a judges role in the show, as like Len at least she is a professional level judge. At the moment, I'm giving Alesha the benefit of the doubt, especially in light of the complaints and the media backlash, I think she'll settle down well into the role, and I don't see the problem with her taking on the role. After all, it's a celebrity dancing competition for light entertainment purposes, not a World Championship Professional competition. I think Martina was better than Rav and on Saturday night I was dumbstruck when both Bruno and Len saved Rav. However, having seen Rav and Aliona on It Takes Two last night, I think overall they'll be better entertainment for the show as a whole than Martina and Matt would have been, although that's not a valid reason for saving them in the dance-off. Matt will still be in the professional demonstration dances, and the professionals that get voted out earlier on tend to be included more in the dances accompanying the musical guests and more involved in It Takes Two. Sorry for going on, but Strictly does take over my life for the last three months of the year!

Yes, me! I love it - I don't watch any soaps on television, but I download The Archers podcast to listen to on my iPod. I must admit that I'm a few weeks behind at the moment, but I actually like to do that occasionally, then when I've got some tedious time-consuming task to do, listen to the whole batch in one go.

Hello Lauren

I have made a start on this, but I've only read about 50 pages, and with other commitments, I don't think I'll be finishing it this month. However, I have enjoyed what I've read, and as a classic, I'm finding it accessible so far. I'm intrigued by the characters I've been introduced to, and even though I'm still clearly in the scene-setting opening, there's already clues and snippets of information being laid down, and I definitely want to find out how the story progresses. I think I read somewhere that this was the first ever detective novel written in English, and it's amazing to think that so many books have been written subsequently in this style.

Hi Holly

A Winter Book is a collection of short stories by Tove Jansson, and a completely lovely book to read snuggled up in front of the fire. Synopsis from Waterstones.com:

I saw an article in the Guardian about that yesterday My congratulations go to him as it was a wonderful book.

Hello Kelly!

Lovely to have Strictly back but apart from Ali & Brian, I wasn't too impressed, although apart from Joe & Kristina, they weren't awful. Most of the problem seemed to be the song choices, which I thought were mostly awful! Looking forward to the latin round tonight - hoping for a bit more excitement and fun with Cha Cha Cha's. I love Alesha, but I'm going to reserve judgement on her judging ability - you can only say how nervous they all must be so many times - I hope she maybe judges more the music choice and the entertainment factor in the dances tonight. I'm not a particular fan of Arlene, so I'm not bothered she's gone, but my choice would have been to make Karen Hardy the fourth judge since she's not dancing anymore, and she's a professional judge anyway. Group dance was hilarious. When they circled round and the boys lifted the girls, the legs were all over the place, and then in the middle it was more like a group fight when they had to find their partners! Don't think Lilia or Brendan will be winning again this year

Watched the entire third series of Strictly Come Dancing this week.

I love Sam Bourne too! They're perfect holiday reads for me, and there was supposed to be a new one out this year, but I think publication has been pushed back, so it was the first holiday in four years I haven't had one of his books to read (Never mind - with so many recommendations from this forum, it wasn't like I didn't have anything to read ) His books are just so easy to read, fast-paced thrillers with plenty of action. I've lent them to one of my colleagues, who rarely reads anything, and he's raced through them, so they must be good! Oh, and I agree with you, Hannah, The Final Reckoning has been my favourite of his as well.

I don't know, I haven't started it yet! I'll post a review when I've finished it. Although I don't read many crime novels, I've found I tend to enjoy them if there's a comedy element to them, and these seem to have that according to reviews, so thought I'd give them a go. Started The Moonstone this morning for the reading circle, but didn't have much reading time, so only about 10 pages in. Will try and get stuck into it this evening.

I think this is one of the reasons I don't like the television series very much. I find Tara annoying, as well as Jason, Tara's mother, Lafayette and now Amy as well, plus I don't like the actor playing Sam or the different storyline they've written for him. Basically, anything that's different from the book is irritating me, and I'm just not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped. I think I'll watch to the end of the series since I've started, but I don't think I'll bother with it after that.

We went to see Julie & Julia tonight. My expectations were low, but it was actually a very enjoyable film. Meryl Streep is completely over the top as Julia Child, but I don't have any experience of the real Juila so maybe that was a genuine portrayal, while Amy Adams was her usual enchanting self. Very light-hearted and entertaining, with a few giggles along the way. I even enjoyed it despite the man in front of me who I had to ask to stop texting on his phone as it was distracting, and the two girls at the back of the cinema who kept talking throughout the film.

Well, I've finished Mourning Ruby by Helen Dunmore and I'm confused. I don't know if I liked it or not. (I'm going to sound a bit pretentious now, but this is exactly how I felt when reading some sections of the book, so please bear with me). There were passages when the grief and sorrow of Rebecca seemed to flow off the page like a huge wave that threatened to overpower me and drag me under the surface, and I had to stop reading, but, I never felt that it was too much and I couldn't continue on with the book. However, I personally got confused by the inclusion of Boomdiara into the book (I can't really explain what this is without giving some of the plot away), and wondered whether it added anything to the story or whether it actually detracted from the main focus of the plot. Because of the emotions I felt, and how the reading of the book brought some of my own memories and experiences to the fore, overall, I would have to say that it was a successful and moving read, but I'm still not sure if I liked it.

Finally finished Mourning Ruby but I can't make up my mind about it at the moment, so will cogitate a bit longer before putting down any reviews on it. Hopefully going to make a start on The Moonstone this evening.

I'm more than happy to lend my books to my friends, as I trust them all to look after them (especially as they know what I'm like about my books). I rarely borrow books as I've already got shelves full of my own I want to read, and I worry that I would borrow a book and not get to it for months, or possibly years, and would feel guilty for keeping someone else's book for too long.

I've almost finished Mourning Ruby, taken much longer than I thought it would, despite being very good, I just haven't had the inclination to read too much at the moment. Despite that, I had some book vouchers burning a hole in my purse, so it was off to town this morning, where I spent two hours wandering round and round before deciding on the following books (some of the ones I was planning on getting weren't on offer so it was just mooch around and pick up anything that took my fancy): The Tango Singer - Tom

Don't know if you're interested, but Iain Banks was on the Daily Mayo on Five Live today talking about this book, and the podcast should be available for the next week if you want to listen. I haven't listened to it yet, but he's usually an incredibly engaging interviewee. You can download the podcast here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/books

For hardback books or those I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy, I'll probably reserve it at the library. Other than that, I'm very strict at making a note of any books that I like the look of, based on reviews here or in the newspaper or on the radio. I collate the list on my computer and synchronise it onto my phone. Then, I go to the bookshop, completely ignore the list, browse the display tables and shelves, and buy whatever takes my fancy.