chesilbeach

I don't have any valuable books in monetary terms, but I do have a most cherished book. It's my copy of Postcards From The Edge by Carrie Fisher. When I first started work (way too many years ago) I made friends with someone who recommended this book. I absolutely loved it, and we still quote phrases from it to each other. It's travelled to all the way around the world with me on various holidays, it's dog eared and has numerous coffee and cake stains on it, but it is the one I would most hate to lose.

If only I had that excuse!

I didn't spoil it for me, but I've only read Jane Eyre once, and although I enjoyed it, it isn't a beloved favourite for me, so I was happy to embrace another dimension to the story by reading Wide Sargasso Sea. My friend thinks Jane Eyre is a children's book, and by that measure, I would say Wide Sargasso Sea is the grown up companion to the story.

I was determined to read the book before I watch the series (can't bear to do it the other way round!), and I enjoyed both the book and the series. I would also recommend reading Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. It was inspired by Jane Eyre and tells the story of the first Mrs Rochester and her life before she married, through her wedding to Rochester and her move to England to be cared for by Grace Poole. Although very different, it was excellent and a very good companion to Jane Eyre.

Despite it staring down at me from my shelf, I don't actually have it on my TBR list. I bought it years ago, and my friend read it before me, and asked if I'd read it because she wanted to ask someone what it was all about, as she'd struggled to get to grips with it. Needless to say, this put me off slightly, and haven't been inclined to start it since then. Maybe one day ...

Hello Liz, welcome to the forum!

Mr Hungerton, her father, really was the most tactless person upon earth - a fluffy, feathery, untidy cockatoo of a man, perfectly good-natured, but absolutely centred upon his own silly self. The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle

I'm sure others have mentioned it before, but if you love Jane Eyre, you should try The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. It's a funny twist on a detective/crime novel, and everyone I know who's read it has loved it. There's a thread on it here with a bit more info, and a few other reviews. I absolutely loved it, and if you know Jane Eyre, it increases the enjoyment.

You're welcome.

I think it's to do with the copyright laws only lasting for so many years, and that's also why lots of publishers have specialist "classics" lines, and they can all publish the same books.

I've been doing a bit of digging for you, and I found a couple of suggestions for Andorra when you get to it later ... Fantastic Fiction has a listing for Jane Welch, who although she is a British author, she wrote her first novel while living in Andorra. It might be a bit tricky to get hold of, but could be an option. Also, if you can allow yourself a bit more leeway, then Peter Cameron's Andorra, A Novel is getting a new issue published in June this year (not sure why). It looks like it was originally published in the 1990's, so you might be able to keep an eye out for an old copy in second-hand/charity shops, or according to amazon, it's released in the UK on 1st June. Don't know if either would suit you, but hope it's been helpful and gives you a couple of options when you do have to come back to find something!

Finally managed to finish Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer. It was a bit dry and academic in places, and as I've seen and heard her talk on television and radio, I could actually hear her voice throughout her writing, with her phrasing and intonation jumping off of the page at me! I've don't read much non-fiction, and never any academic history books, but this was, for the most part, a fascinating conjecture on the life of Ann Hathaway. As well as evaluating the evidence and theories previously put forward by other scholars and historians, Greer also sets out her views on laws, customs and the society that Shakespeare and his wife would have inhabited. It required plenty of effort and concentration to read and contemplate the theories put forward, but a very satisfying and educating book. I needed a bit of light relief after that, so it was on to Size Doesn't Matter by Meg Cabot. The third of her series of Heather Wells mysteries, it was a fun, easy, light-hearted murder mystery novel, and an excellent antidote to all the brainpower required for the previous book! I love Meg Cabot's writing for pure escapism and entertainment, and this one was no exception.

Although I voted "Sometimes", it's really more of an "Occasionally"! I've just read Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer and as it's an academic style book I did start with the introduction, but usually, I'd probably avoid it. I have read a few, but I often find they take enjoyment away from novels, so I don't bother.

It's been a few years since I read any Austen, but like you, Kell, this is my favourite Austen and the book of hers I've read most often. Again, I agree! Emma is my least favourite Austen, in fact, I don't actually ever remember getting to the end, despite a few attempts to start it. I think Northanger Abbey would be an ideal introduction to Austen for modern chick-lit fans, as it's the very comparable to a good romcom style novel, just in a historical setting. It's great fun, and a relatively easy read for a classic, and I actually think it would be great to adapt into a modern setting for a film, like Emma was the inspiration for Clueless, I think you could make a fantastic teenage romcom out of this book! Just thinking about Northanger Abbey for this post has made me want to read it again, so I'll definitely have to add it to the end of by TBR list.

I don't keep a list of them anywhere, but if a quote has particularly stood out, I'll probably remember it anyway - I have one of those brains full of trivial rubbish, and yet can't remember to pick up the bottle of milk before I leave for work in the morning! My favourite book for quotes is Postcards From The Edge which my friend and I quote from all the time, and my favourite quote from it is "Instant gratification takes too long."

I would recommend Alexandra Potter's first two books, What's New, Pussycat? and Going La La, which are my favourite of her books. They were straight forward rom com chick-lit novels, and very entertaining. She changed publishers after her third book, and I didn't enjoy the first couple of books with her new publisher, but Me & Mr. Darcy was a lot better, and this one, Who's That Girl? was very enjoyable.

I read this about 15 years ago and it still sticks in my mind as a great piece of writing. I'd only read one novel by Orwell (1984 which I had to read for Sociology 'A' level at school), and wasn't impressed by it, so have never read any of his other fiction. Someone suggested that I might still like his non-fiction, so I tried this, and it was an engrossing, interesting read. I've had Homage to Catalonia on my TBR pile for about a year now, but I'm hoping to read it in the not too distant future!

"Anyone steeped in western literary culture must wonder why any woman of spirit would want to be a wife." Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer

Didn't get round to starting the Agatha Raisin book last night, but have had a lovely, cosy Sunday morning reading it instead. Funny and fast-paced - the Agatha Raisin books are pure indulgence, and Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison was no exception. Already looking forward to the next! The next book at the top of my TBR pile will, I suspect, need a bit more brain power and attention. It's Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer. I'm not a huge reader of non-fiction (other than travel literature), but I've heard her interviewed about the book on a few different radio programmes, and she makes it sound fascinating, so I thought I'd give it a go. Might take a break from reading for today though, and start to tackle it tomorrow.

"Mrs Bloxby, wife of the vicar of Carsely, looked nervously at her visitor." Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison by M. C. Beaton

When thirty one-year-old Charlotte Merryweather, a successful businesswoman who runs her own PR company follows a diversion because of road works and finds herself face-to-face with her twenty one-year-old self, she realises she has the perfect opportunity to undo some of the mistakes she made ten years ago. Things to advise her younger self include, wearing sun block, not wearing PVC trousers and don't attempt to bleach your hair with lemon juice - it only attracts wasps! But will the twenty one-year-old she take the advice of some one so old? And what will the consequences be for Charlotte? She's about to find out .... For anyone who's read my previous musings on this author's books, they'll know I loved her first two novels, What's New, Pussycat? and my absolute favourite, Going La La, but I'd been disappointed with some of the later ones. Her previous book, Me and Mr Darcy was a lot better, and I was hoping the start of a return to form, so I was really hoping for the best from Who's That Girl? I was delighted to find this was a really enjoyable, modern chick-lit novel. There was enough romance to keep it in the romcom genre, but was more about the main characters relationship with herself. I've written a full review on my blog, but as I've summarised here, that I thought it was very good, and recommend it to all my fellow chick-lit lovers.

Just finished Who's That Girl? by Alexandra Potter, which was very enjoyable. I thought it was almost as good as her first two books, which I adored, and I'm so glad, because some of her books in between those and this one had disappointed me a lot, but this was very entertaining. I've got the latest Agatha Raisin book by M.C. Beaton from the library at the moment, so I'm going to curl up in the armchair this evening and devour the latest adventure of my favourite detective!

I've not read a huge amount of books set in China, but two I enjoyed were this historical novel Empress Orchid by Amchee Min, and a book of contemporary short stories A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li. Both were very good, and friend I know who've read them, also thought they were great.

I'm sure I've read this, and the follow up, The Ballroom on Magnolia Street, but I just can't remember it, even from the blurb. I can even remember which coffee shop I was in as I read it, but I just can't recall the story at all! I must have enjoyed it because I did read her second book, which I do remember, and also liked. I've just looked on fantasticfiction.co.uk to see if the cover would jog my memory, and I do definitely remember it, but I still can't recall the story. However, I have noticed the author has written a book every year, and has five more books out since I read the last one, and I haven't seen any of them jumping out at me in bookshops - something to look out for next year when I've reduced my TBR pile!

This was a one day read for me. I had a day off, so went for a day trip, and with a 90 minute train ride, plus a few coffee shops, I was nearing the end as I had lunch in a cafe. I was so shocked by the events everyone above has mentioned (see the spoilers!), as they were unexpected and brutal, that I ate my lunch with tears running down my face. I loved the book completely, and some of the highlights were the villagers coming into the school house to tell stories to the children, and the joy of the children remembering words, lines and scenes from the book. A very enjoyable read, and I absolutely loved it.