chesilbeach

Five Run Away Together - Enid Blyton

Hi Readwine - are these books you've already read, or one's you're planning to read in the future? I've read a few of them, with A Suitable Boy being my favourite on your list, and it started my interest in books set in India. A Fine Balance is excellent, although a tough read at times, but rewarding. For me, Labyrinth was a great holiday/beach read, a great page turner, but I didn't get on with Half of a Yellow Sun very well, and found it quite irritating and unsatisfying. Lots of people have recommended The Poisonwood Bible to me, but I'm not sure it's really my cup of tea, so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

No more than five days after she had despatched an urgent missive to her brother, the Most Honourable the Marquis of Alverstoke, requesting him to visit her at his earliest convenience, the widowed Lady Buxted was relieved to learn from her youngest daughter that Uncle Vernon had just driven up to the house, wearing a coat with dozens of capes, and looking as fine as fivepence. Frederica by Georgette Heyer

Postcards From The Edge - Carrie Fisher

The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman

Glad you liked The Raw Shark Texts - I read it when it first came out. I thought it was inventive and thought provoking, but did require a lot of effort to stay with it until the end. I was going to recommend it to my reading group, but I didn't think they'd get it.

The Woman In White - Wilkie Collins

That's exactly how I feel when I read New Moon! In fact, I tend to skim read the first half now when I re-read it.

Ok, thanks for that. I might just get it from the library then, so if I don't like it, at least it hasn't cost me anything. Have you been to the lost mojo support group for cookies yet? You never know, it might help.

Hi Mac, I noticed you're reading a Tim Winton book at the moment - have you read any others of his? I've only heard of him recently, but I've had an eye on Breath since I heard him talking about it on the radio. Are you enjoying Dirt Music?

I think it might be exclusive to Waterstone's, or at least only the big chains are stocking it, as the two indy shops I went in only had the standard copy of the book. Unfortunately, the Waterstone's didn't have any comfy (or uncomfy, for that matter) chairs, and I think they were predicting that people might pick up the book just to read the extract, as they had a paper slip around the book so you couldn't open it.

I noticed in Waterstone's the other day, that they are selling a new edition of Shadow Of The Wind with an extract from The Angel's Game included. Very annoying, as I don't want to buy another copy of a book I already own, but I really want to read the extract. Must see if it's online anywhere ...

Glad to be of service! I have to admit, I'd never heard of it, but came across it by accident on a visit to a new independent bookshop where it was just on top of a display case. I was drawn to the cover and unusual binding, and then when I read the blurb, knew I had to have it.

I've now written a full review of both Chocolat and The Lollipop Shoes on my blog, which can be found here.

I've just savoured the last pages of The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. An absolute gem of a book, and I've written a review here. Next up, I'm trying a new author, Georgette Heyer. I've never read any of her books before, but I watched the Daisy Goodwin documentary, Reader, I Married Him about romantic fiction, and she said Heyer was one of her favourites for immersing herself in utter pleasure of the genre, and even Stephen Fry said that some of her books should be judged for their literary merit and not dismissed as throwaway romances. Someone on another forum also asked for my opinion on it, as she'd not read them since she was a teenager, and wondered if the book would stand up to her memories now she was an adult, so I'm going to report back to her afterwards as well. The book I've chosen in Frederica, but I am slightly apprehensive, as if I like it, the author was quite prolific, and there will be an awful lot of books added to my wishlist!

The blurb from the inside cover: For anyone who loves the the very tactile nature of books, this gem is a must. The author has worked in bookshops as well as a publisher's sales representative from an early age, and has spent a lifetime enveloping himself in the world of books. He describes how the first spark the stated his fascination with books, the bookshops that inspired his choice of career, and the current state of the book industry. But more than this, he tells the history of the book itself, as well as the education he received from others on the make up of the book, with facts about books and bindings casually mixed with tales of how he learned the information himself. There is more of an emphasis on the constantly changing face of book selling in the last thirty of so years, and the effect of the internet and technology in the current publishing industry, and a look to where the future may take books. After learning an important lesson as a young man about judging people by they read, there is no prejudice or elitism about readers or books, or about independent bookshops, multi-national chain stores, or even internet sellers, just an account of one persons continued love of books. For all book lovers, as well as book shop addicts, this book is a must, although it should come with a warning, as it will make you want to hunt out every bookshop in every place you ever go!

The Other Boleyn Girl was adapted as a television drama first (BBC2 with Natascha McElhone and Jodhi May) and was later made into a film (Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannson)

I love this programme. I have the first series on DVD, and I'm planning to get the rest at some point as well. Although it's a sitcom, it also breaks my heart how hard Martin tries to get everyone's friendship and approval, and still fails, while it all comes so easily to Paul. I love the undercurrent of the chemistry between Paul and Anne running throughout the series, and I think Penelope Wilton played it beautifully. You have to mention Howard and Hilda as well, ditzy, annoying, naive yet utterly charming. Great decision to regularly put them in the same jumper or same coat. Very funny. I also love the series just because it's got Richard Briers in, and it's probably my favourite of his television work, running a close second to The Good Life. When I was at school, we studies Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw for English, and my teacher had a video recording of Richard Briers and Peter Egan playing the two male leads in a stage production of the play which was brilliant.

I do remember reading the Sweet Valley High books when they first came out in the 1980's. I probably read the first 20 or so, but grew out of them. OMG! I've just looked them up on fantasticfiction.co.uk to see when they were first published and realised there are 144 books in the main series alone!!! How on earth can anyone write that many books? Some of them must have been ghostwritten, surely? In fact, if you look at the covers, they actually say "Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley High", so I'm guessing she came up with the idea and other people have written them. She has 695 books listed on her page in total.

When I walk into a bookstore, any bookstore, first thing in the morning, I'm flooded with a sense of hushed excitement. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee

I'm looking forward to Birdsong, but it's probably a couple of months away yet, as it's 24th on the list! I've never read anything else by Greer, but I'd heard her talk about this book in a few interviews and it sounded really interesting. It's essentially an academic book, so it quotes facts and figures and is a bit dry in places, but she does some interesting analysis on the information available, and gives quite different interpretations to other academics and commentators who've previously considered Hathaway, her influence and life with Shakespeare.

Hello RCee, I'm sure you'll enjoy it here, and can't wait to find out what you're reading as well!

Although I've finished The Lollipop Shoes today, I'm still chewing it over at the moment. I'm surprised by the direction the author continued the story from where Chocolat left off, and I'm feeling a bit ambiguous about it. Will mull it over and write a full review later. I've bumped The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop to the top of the TBR stack, as it's a lovely compact size and I've got a day out tomorrow and it won't be so heavy in my bag! I might make a start on it this evening, but it's been a tough week at work so I might leave it for when I'm refreshed in the morning.

No, I haven't read Seeing yet; it's definitely on my wishlist, but will be a while before I get to it (still got 70 books in my TBR pile that I own, without buying anymore to add to it!).

I love Saramago's work. I read Blindness a couple of years ago, and though it's a tough read, both in style and theme, it was a very rewarding and thought provoking read. I've read a couple of others, my favourite being The Stone Raft, which I would definitely recommend. Hope you enjoy (if that's the right word!) Blindness.