chrysalis_stage

I have a HTC Desire phone and have over the last 6 months downloaded many different reading/book apps (all for free) for my android phone, apps that help me organise my books such as My Book Droid (many more available) and others which allow me to download ebooks at a price or free. Everyone already knows of the kindle app for android phone where you can download books for a fee or sample books before hand which is great but I have come across a few others which I thought I'd share in case anyone wasn't aware of their existence and if anyone knows of any other good reading/book apps please do share. Aldiko is pretty good, they have all the usual classics for free as well as some modern and independent writers works. I have about 20 books downloaded on that. Moon+reader is a recent one I've downloaded and I haven't quite got my head round it, I do have a couple books on there such as H.PLovecraft, Jack London & Oscar Wilde The one I have been most impressed with is: Laputa I have over 20 books on Laputa thanks to the many sources you can download ebooks from such as: Public domain which covers classics Original books which covers self published books Blazer which covers classics and modern Manybooks mobile site which covers 28,000 ebooks Gutenberg mobile site (familiar site with many) Avayewn which covers many books I did not think were available for free as far as I was aware. This source is the best so far for more recent reads, I was amazed at what books and series they were provfiding for FREE, ones such as 'His Dark Materials trilogy', 'Twilight series', Anita Blake series, Dexter series, Dune Series, Harry Potter series, The Southern Vampire Mysteries:Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris, Mortal Instruments series, Outlander series, Percy Jackson series, The Dark Tower series, The Hitchhiker's Guide series, The Lord of the Rings series, The Vampire Diaries series, The Wheel of Time series and The Hunger Games and Catching Fire is available as well as many more. I also downloaded some stand alone books such as: To Kill A MockingBird by Harper Lee, On The Road by Jack Kerouac, The Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Little, Big by John Crowley, The Host by Stephenie Meyer, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, Dial M for Monkey by Adam Maxwell and Move Under Ground by Nick Mamatas. Many more to choose from. I have come across a couple others but in my experience they were not as good as the ones described above Has anyone come across these readers before or any different ones? Edit: I must say I'm not a massive fan of ebook readers atm, I can see the benefits but I much prefer a book in my hands. Alas I can't grumble if it is for free and on my phone so I need not go and buy an ereader such as a kindle. I think if I got that far into a book on an ereader I would believe the book was worth purchasing and finish it in book form.

Kopparberg, elderflower and lime

Sausages in seeded bread with lettuce and a dash of peri peri - yum!

Hi sniff28, I would definitely recommend Vellum by Hal Duncan. It is a marmite book, I've found, some people love it while others just don't get it and write it off but I personally loved it. It is a book which could do with multiple reads to truely grasp everything I feel as it is non-linear and you can get muddled while reading but it is worth the brain power! It also has a sequel called Ink. Synopsis: It's 2017 and angels and demons walk the earth. Once they were human, now they are unkin, transformed by the ancient machine-code language of reality itself. They seek The Book of All Hours, the mythical tome within which the blueprint for al reality is transcribed, which has been lost somewhere in the Vellum- the vast realm of eternity upon which our world is a mere scratch. The Vellum, where the unkin are gathering for war. The Vellum, where a fallen angel and a renegade devil are about to settle an age old feud. The Vellum, where the past, present, and future will collide with ancient worlds and myths. And the Vellum will burn... Review from publisher's weekly: (says it better than me and sounds better than the synopsis) Scottish author Duncan's challenging SF debut, the first in a two book series about an epic battle between good and evil, reveals the history of the advanced, ancient and powerful civilisation of Kur through Egyptian, Babylonian and East Indian myth as well as bitmites, cyberavatars and warring bands of fallen angels. A book, The Vellum (aka The Book of All Hours), is both portal to parallel realities and guide to a language of power that can be both inscribed in the skin and on the soul. Since individual characters like Seamus Finnan, Jack Carter, Thomas Messenger and Thomas's sister, Phreedom, whose lives are detroyed, prolonged and forever scarred by contact with a realm called the Vellum, tend to appear and reappear at intervals often 20 or 40 years apart, their adventures in the human, parallel and cyber universes can be hard to follow. Readers who persevere will find this a truly rewarding read. Review by Lucius Shepard: In Vellum - a monstrously brilliant and often hilarious novel of mad Irishmen, bad angels, femme fatales, and demons - we are presented with the tale of war occuring throughout the breadth and depth of time and space. Hal Duncan has, at the very least, created the Guernica of science fiction. SFX - 5 star must read review: A mind-blowing read that's genuinely unlike anything you've ever read before....Vellum has expanded fantasy's limits like nothing published in years. Hope you chose to read it sometime and enjoy it Hal Duncan deserves more recognition!

Dvd - Seraphine - stunning film! Tv- Men that stare at goats - not bad.

That is good to hear feedback about The Vesuvius Club, I have had it on my tbr list for a while, you have peaked my interest in it again I am continuing reading Cabal by Clive Barker - tis very good although the book looks to not have been edited throughly enough, with obvious grammar mistakes as well as words with letters missing, but I can look past that

Popped into the works, got 3 books for £5. Galilee by Clive Barker, Ship of magic by Robin Hobb and Chelsea Cain omnibus of Heartsick and Sweetheart. I already have an unread copy of Heartsick which I'm planning on giving to my cousin who has recently got into crime novels.

The Scar - China Mieville - 795 pgs started 2010 - finished 2011 Synopsis: A human cargo bound for servitude in exile...A pirate city hauled across the oceans...A hidden miracle about be revealed...This is the story of a prisoner's journey. The search for the island of a forgotten people, for the most astonishing beast in the seas, and ultimately for a fabled place - a massive wound in reality, a source of unthinkable power and danger. From the author of Perdido Street Station, another colossal fantasy of incredible diversity and spellbinding imagination, which was acclaimed in The Times Literary Supplement as: 'An astonishing novel, guaranteed to astound and enthral the most jaded palate...exhilarating, sometimes very moving, occasionally shocking, always humane and thought-provoking'. My random thoughts: The second book in the New Crobuzon series/set in the world of Bas Lag and my second book read by China Mieville. After reading Perdido Street Station and being blown away with the world Mieville had created, his choice of vocabulary and impressed by the imagination used to create such a piece of work, I was totally up for reading another Mieville. When I read the synopsis for The Scar I was not too keen, I wasn't in the mood for a pirate story, I wanted to be back in New Crobuzon, the dirty, corupt city with weird and wonderful dwellers, but I began reading and was sucked into life on Armada, a floating pirate city spanning miles with all the wierd and wonderful races seen previously. All the characters were interesting but I found myself empathising with the characters in P. S. S. more than The Scar. The Scar is not a direct sequel to P. S. S. and can be read alone but having read P. S. S. first I am glad I did as there were references to New Crobuzon and the events which occured in P. S. S. prior and I feel I got more out of the read with that prior knowledge. P. S. S. also describes the different races and the history behind them which is only glossed over in The Scar. Bellis Coldwine (who fled New Crobuzon after the events in P. S. S and also has links to previous characters) is the main character in The Scar and the anti-hero, which makes her more of a realistic character in my eyes, it wasn't easy to like or dislike her as was the same of many other characters. The overall theme I took from this book was taking a look at freedom in its many forms, mixing fantasy, horror, sc-ifi and steampunk. The Scar ended up impressing me just as much as P. S. S., I didn't want it to end. Both P. S. S. and The Scar are fantastic, with The Scar being the more positive read as well as a smoother reading experience from page 1. I would have loved to read more on the journey of Armada and its inhabitants but will willingly continue on and read Iron Council which is not a direct follow but the third book in the series set in the world of Bas Lag.

Cabal by Clive Barker (basis of Nightbreed horror film, not seen the film myself) enjoying it so far.

Global reading challenge Expert level - 2 novels to be read from each continent/region, each from different countries or states within and different authors Africa Asia Australasia Europe North America (inc Central America) South America Antarctica (books set in, not author from) 1001 books you must read before you die (continued) tbr 1700's Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe 1800's Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe R.L.Stevenson - Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde & The Merrymen & Other Tales and fables Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy The Death of Ivan Ilyich - Leo Tolstoy The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Walden and Other Writings - Henry David Thoreau 1900's J.R.R.Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings The Trial - Franz Kafka Tarka The Otter - Henry Williamson Sons and Lovers - D. H. Lawrence Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami At The Mountains Of Madness - H.P.Lovecraft Already Read: 1800's The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman Frankenstein - Mary Shelley Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte The Purloined Letter - Edgar Allan Poe The Pit and the Pendulum - Edgar Allan Poe 1900's Animal Farm - George Orwell The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams 2000's Kafka On The Shore - Haruki Murakami Under The Skin - Michel Faber The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time - Mark Haddon

Reading Challenges Chunkster reading challenge 2011 Feb 1 2011 - Jan 31 2012 Definition of a Chunkster: A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more Level of participation: Do These Books Make My Butt Look Big? - this option is for the reader who can't resist bigger and bigger books and wants to commit to SIX Chunksters from the following categories: 2 books which are between 450 - 550 pages in length; 2 books which are 551 - 750 pages in length; 2 books which are GREATER than 750 pages in length 450 - 550 pgs long 1. Kraken - China Mieville - 481 pgs 2. Jeff Vandermeer - City of Saints & Madmen - 496 pgs (next to read) 551-750 pgs long 1. Iron Council - China Mieville - 614 pgs 2. Greater the 750 pgs long 1. 2.

Books finished in 2011 China Mieville - The Scar ***** Clive Barker - Cabal ***** Adam Maxwell - Dial M For Monkey **** J. T. Warren - The Lemonade Stand (ebook) *** Clive Barker - Hellbound Heart **** China Mieville - Iron Council ***** G. B. Corbet - Finding & Identifying Mammals in Britian **** Wilfried Schober - Bats of Britain & Europe **** Ian Stewart - Nature's Numbers: The Unreal Reality of Mathematics *** Flight Vol. 1 - Kazu Kibuishi **** China Mieville - Kraken ***** H. G. Wells - The Island of Dr Moreau ***** Currently Reading Richard Dawkins - The Ancestor's Tale Gail Carriger - Soulless Anne LaBastille - Woodswoman: Living Alone In The Adiondack Wilderness Toni Morrison - Beloved - on hold Haruki Murakami - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman - dipping in Mary Mycio - Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl - on hold My 11 top books tbr in 2011 1. China Mieville - Iron Council 2. China Mieville - Kraken 3. Clive Barker - Abarat 2 4. Paolo Bacigalupi - The Windup Girl 5. Richard Dawkins - Ancestors Tale 6. Haruki Murakami - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman* 7. Haruki Murakami - The Wind-up Bird Chronicle 8. H. P. Lovecraft - Haunter of the Dark (finish stories) 9. Mary Gentle - Rats & Gargoyles 10. Jeff Vandermeer - City of Saints & Madmen 11. Marion Zimmer Bradley - The Mists of Avalon

I like the sound of this also

! So true! I've read half of the stories from Tales of Ordinary Madness so far.

Hello and welcome to the forum Toni I did an Animal Management course when I was 18 also, it was great fun! Happy reading!

Cast announced for BBC Two's The Crimson Petal And The White http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/08_august/11/crimson.shtml

I gave my mum a list of 3 books so she could at least find one of them in waterstones but ends up two of my other relatives have nabbed two of the books for ideas so I expect all three now. Thats if they can find them as no one buys from online stores that I know of. They are: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi Galapagos - Kurt Vonnegut Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman - Haruki Murakami I asked for dvds also but either way, s'all good.

I felt the same after reading a few in a short space of time. Only read one Murakami myself this year and that was short , After Dark. I have Hard Boiled, Wind-up Bird, Hear the wind sing and Pinball 1873 staring at me ready to be read. Think I'll pick one to be my next fiction read once I've come to the end of The Scar by China Mieville, it will be a fight between a Murakami or Clive Barker's 2nd Abarat book.

Your favourite read of the year? Michel Faber - The Crimson Petal and The White Your favourite author of the year? China Mieville Your most read author of the year? China Mieville Your favourite book cover of the year? Jacqueline Kelly - The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, then the one you read the least of)? Peter Hoeg - Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow The book that most disappointed you? Michel Faber - The Apple (Still enjoyed it but wanted more) The funniest book you read this year? Douglas Adams - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy/The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Your favourite literary character this year? Calpurnia Tate Your favourite children's book this year? Clive Barker - Abarat Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Richard Fortey - Dry Store Room No.1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum Your favourite biography this year? N/A Your favourite collection of short stories this year? Julio Cortazar - The Blow up and other stories Your favourite poetry collection this year? Edgar Allan Poe's Complete Collection Your favourite illustrated book of the year? Joan Aiken - A Necklace of Raindrops and Other Stories (Illustrations by Jan Pienkowski)

Which one did you almost pick up? I'm still reading 'The Scar - China Mieville

I agree with Univerze! Horror is largely subjective though.

Only one I officially bought myself was 'The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien. I did use my pocket money when younger on Mr Men books from the local market book stall. I possibly may have also bought a Goosebumps book for myself from the travelling book fair in primary school.

That is a good idea, sad to hear of your relative's illness though. I have a recently terminally ill relative who 5 months ago was an avid reader, she has also developed cataracts in one eye and is very weak so I was thinking of buying her some audio books for xmas but unsure which ones yet especially as in my experience some are hit and miss depending on the narrator. If I were to re-read a book under these circumstances and for comfort it would probably be His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.

That doesn''t sound strange to me, I would assume many people would turn to the bible whether they religious or not for some kind of comfort. Personally I'm in two minds I would either stop reading fiction and just read non-fiction on nature, science etc and be out appreciating it all (that's if I wasn't bed ridden) or I'd read lots of dystopian lit. in order to make myself happy at the thought that I'll not have to experience/witness all the inevitably bad things in the future (hopefully enabling me to forget about all the good things I'll miss) Well, that's my opinion now, liable to change