chesilbeach

La Belle Saison by Patricia Atkinson made me cry at then end. And I finished reading Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner yesterday through a veil of tears, as there was a completely unexpected plot twist which caught me off guard, and brought rather a lot of emotion out of me.

I read this earlier this week - awesome book, fantastic description of the bookshop, and heartbreaking study of loneliness.

Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka The Road Home - Rose Tremain Queen Lucia - E. F. Benson Miss Mapp - E. F. Benson Lucia In London - E. F. Benson The Girl from the Chartreuse - Pierre P

I don't read much fantasy, but my favourite would have to be: Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling By far the best book of the series. Lovely to listen to on audiobook as well, beautifully read by the delicious Stephen Fry.

Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka The Road Home - Rose Tremain Queen Lucia - E. F. Benson Miss Mapp - E. F. Benson Lucia In London - E. F. Benson The Girl from the Chartreuse - Pierre P

Certain Girls - Jennifer Weiner

I haven't read masses of classics, but I have read both "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre" and I would say that I think "Jane Eyre" is an easier introduction into the world of classics than WH, which I found a difficult read and I didn't really enjoy it, whereas I felt JE was written in a way which felt more modern and felt almost like a contemporary book in a period setting.

I think this is the Victoria Wood one you wanted to know about (from the BFI website) Credits JACKANORY: TEN IN A BED TOO MANY BEARS Director SECOMBE, Christine Production Company BBC TV Producer BEECHING, Angela Author of the Original Work AHLBERG, Allan Designer GREAVES, Mary Illustrations BRYCHTA, Jan Reader WOOD, Victoria Additional Voices JARVIS, Martin Additional Voices AYRES, Rosalind

Me too! Especially because my favourites are really old ones ... Bernard Cribbins, Willie Rushton and Kenneth Williams - all amazing storytellers.

I'm so glad you liked it Frankie; it's always a pleasure when someone enjoys a book I've recommended! About ... Yes, Yes, Yes! I wasn't too bothered but due to the circumstances around the author writing the book, I wonder if it was something that was intended to be explained but missed out, or maybe even part of a potential sequel?

The audio books of the Agatha Raisin series are read by Penelope Keith, and I can only picture her in the role now! The Marion Chesney books sound promising; maybe I'll have a look for them once my TBR pile is reduced.

Arboretti are a British company who make the most beautiful wooden bookmarks. I've bought a selection from Borders, although I can only one of them at the moment! I'm terrible at keeping bookmarks in one place, but I'm sure they're dotted around all over the house. This is an example of what they look like: In fact, I'm so bad at losing bookmarks, and these are so beautiful, I tend to use something less valuable now. My current bookmark is an old train ticket from a particularly great day trip last summer.

I'm not a fan of crime in general, and read very few crime books unless they come up at my library reading group. Having said that, I'm addicted to the Agatha Raisin books, and think she's the funniest "detective" ever!

Decided to read The Girl from the Chartreuse by Pierre P

My friend read that a couple of years ago, and thought I would like it (as we both loved "Postcards From The Edge") but I picked it up in the bookshop and read a little, but it didn't grab me so I never bothered to buy it.

I've never read any of her books before, but this was a 10p find in a charity shop, so I thought I'd give it a go.

She's American

I haven't seen the trailer, but it seems stupid to change the location setting from London to New York, when the second book is all about Becky going to Manhattan! I think Sophie Kinsella's books are rooted in their Britishness, so I'm disappointed Hollywood has decided they need to change it in order to get the American audiences to watch it.

So far this year I've read: Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka The Road Home - Rose Tremain Queen Lucia - E. F. Benson Miss Mapp - E. F. Benson Lucia In London - E. F. Benson After the purge of my TBR list, I succumbed to temptation in the book shop today, and I've added another five books Think I'll have a break from Mapp and Lucia series, and have something contemporary before starting the second anthology

Just looking at "Women's Fiction / Chick Lit" authors, I would have to say that Annie Sanders is my favourite. I've loved every one of their books, all very satisfying and funny. Most of my other favourite authors can be hit and miss, in that I've loved some of their books, but not all of them. This would include: Alexandra Potter (first two books were fantastic) Jane Green (loved probably three quarters of her books, but some weren't great) Sophie Kinsella (liked the standalone books more than the Shopaholic series) Jennifer Weiner (loved first two books, but others didn't engage me)

Mostly Waterstone's, occasionally Borders and Blackwells, but I think I might try and use Amazon.co.uk more often, just because I'm less likely to be tempted by impulse purchases!

Snap! Plus, anything by Oscar Wilde, although I did download the audio book of Selected Short Stories read by Stephen Fry today, so if that goes well, maybe I'll add some Wilde to my ever increasing TBR pile.

I discovered audio books a few years ago when I had to go to the hospital for treatment one day a fortnight and sit in a chair for 6 hours hooked up to an iv. I will be eternally indebted to Stephen Fry for reading the Harry Potter books to me and keeping me entertained, sometimes sending me to sleep, and generally making the time go quickly. Since then, just the sound of his voice calms and soothes me, and I could listen to him read the back of a cornflake packet and be happy. I have listened to audio books since then, but what I've found is that I need to have read the book before I listen to them - they're like watching a film on DVD at home in that I have to have seen the film on the big screen at the cinema to get the full effect, and the DVD is just a reminder of that first viewing. Stephen Fry was on the Jonathan Ross show this week, and was advocating listening to audio books, as it was the only thing that kept him going while walking, which is the only exercise he can face! Audio books are also great for my dad, who suffers from Parkinson's and is now unable to go out on his own, so gets bored during the day. He can't concentrate on a book if he reads it himself, and forgets what he has read each day, but he found that he can listen to an audio book on CD, and it has really captured his imagination, and he now gets through about 1 - 2 a week - the same number of books as I read each week! We source them through our local library, who about six months ago, increased their selection of audio books on CD, and have also started stocking mostly unabridged versions. I tend to reserve them online (at the cost of 65p per book), and then we know there will be some to collect for him as he finishes each batch. The library charge for unabridged versions to be borrowed, and that costs me

"Considering that Philip Lucas's aunt who died early in April was no less than eighty-three years old, and had spent the last seven of them bedridden in a private lunatic asylum, it had been generally and perhaps reasonably hoped among his friends and those of his wife that the bereavement would not be regarded by either of them as an intolerable tragedy." Lucia In London - E. F. Benson

I was desperately hoping someone would buy me this for Christmas, but alas, it wasn't to be, so I'll just have to buy it myself at some point. I've always been fascinated by how a script is developed for Doctor Who, and the writers are nearly always my favourite talking heads on Doctor Who Confidential, so I'm really looking forward to getting this soon.