Lucybird

Yes, the great things they bring! Do look out for it...and look out for the show too....if you can find it somewhere

Synopsis (from Amazon) The indispensable compendium of popular misconceptions, misunderstandings and common mistakes culled from the hit BBC show, QI. The noticeably stouter QI Book of General Ignorance sets out to show you that a lot of what you think you know is wrong. If, like Alan Davies, you still think the Henry VIII had six wives, the earth has only one moon, that George Washington was the first president of the USA, that Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, that the largest living thing is a blue whale, that Alexander Graeme Bell invented the telephone, that whisky and bagpipes come from Scotland or that Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain, then there are at least 200 reasons why this is the book for you. Review Seeing as I love the TV show QI I was hopeful for this book, but actually loving the show probably made the book not so good for me. Most of the facts were copied from the show so I already knew them- especially as I watch the repeats on Dave. The book was a little dry too. Although the facts were interesting, and it's kind of amazing to think that all these things that you think you know aren't actually true. The way it's presented is just not as good as the TV show which I find funny, and of course quite interesting! If you haven't seen the show you probably wouldn't think to read the book, but if you have seen the show you'll get little from the book. If you haven't seen the show then the book is worth the read- but I'd say go for the TV show if you can. 3/5

Couple of days ago I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and last night I started House Rules- Jodi Picoult

I don't like he new Coca-Cola Christmas one, what was wrong with the old one, it was so Christmassy!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- JK Rowling Synopsis (from Amazon) arry has been burdened with a dark, dangerous and seemingly impossible task: that of locating and destroying Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. Never has Harry felt so alone, or faced a future so full of shadows. But Harry must somehow find within himself the strength to complete the task he has been given. He must leave the warmth, safety and companionship of The Burrow and follow without fear or hesitation the inexorable path laid out for him. In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectactular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again. Review I am a complete Harry nut but all the same it’s been a couple of years since I last read a Potter book, and I’ve only read Deathly Hallows a couple of times. Part of it is that there’s a sadness to this book other than the story itself. It’s the end of something which has been in my life for so long, and which has effected my life. If it wasn’t for Harry I would probably never be a member of BCF because it’s Harry that started my internet life. I wanted to re-read Deathly Hallows after seeing the film, I felt I wanted to know it better- as well as I know the other books, and I wanted the satisfaction that doesn’t some from the film. I never really like the films, they just don’t match up to the books. As far as the book itself is concerned it’s not my favourite (that jumps between Chamber of Secrets and Half-Blood Prince….can you see the common theme?) but it’s not my least favourite either. There is a lot of time when there isn’t actually that much happening. When they have no idea where to find a horcrux- or at least no probable idea. In fact finding out where the next horcrux is was pretty much good luck really, and not that much they actually worked out for themselves. That’s not to say it was boring. Maybe it’s my love for Harry that kept me reading, that I had to know how it ended? But I don’t think that would keep me reading a second and third time. I think that there was the right balance of realistic timing and events which kept the reader reading. This book is by far the saddest for me. In a way it is sadder after the first reading because you anticipate what is coming. You’re sad before what makes you sad has actually happened. There was one bit which was less sad than the first time for me because I know what was about to happen, although it was still somewhat upsetting. Deaths wise this book was so sad because there was a realism there. That war isn’t fair and the people who ‘shouldn’t’ die aren’t exempt. It’s not nice but it seems right, I think I would have disliked it if only people we didn’t care for died, because it would be like Rowling was trying to stop fans from being upset. As for the controversial epilogue? I’m not a fan. It answered very little for me, and somehow made everything as the fans expected- not that that’s a problem, but it’s kind of too perfect, and it’s what I would have presumed for myself- I wanted to know other things. Some of it Rowling has revealed in interviews but I am still hoping for the rumoured encyclopaedia. I like to debate but it would be nice to know. 5/5

I hope you like this one, it's been one of my favourite reads this year, possibly even my favourite

Watched The Changeling last night, really enjoyed it although it dragged on a little towards the end

I'm feeling much better thanks frankie, my new read is going much better too

I was cheering too Sue, my parents were laughing with me. I do feel a bit sorry for Joanna, she completely fell apart in the interviews, but everyone seemed to like her, it seemed like she was fired because someone had to be as much as anything else. I'm glad Stella is through, she's my favourite.

Oh yes and it seemed like Picoult was trying to get around it a bit. Have you seen the film?

I loved My Sister's Keeper, it was my first Picoult. What did you think of the end?

Disclaimer: War on the Margins was given to me free in exchange for an honest review Synopsis (from Amazon) France has just fallen to the Nazis. Britain is under siege. As BBC bulletins grow more and more bleak, residents of Jersey abandon their homes in their thousands. When the Germans take over, Marlene Zimmer, a shy clerk at the Aliens Office, must register her friends and neighbours as Jews while concealing her own heritage, until eventually she is forced to flee. Layers of extraordinary history unfold as we chart Marlene's transformation from unassuming office worker to active Resistance member under the protection of Surrealist artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, who manage to find poetry in the midst of hardship and unimaginable danger. Drawn from authentic World War II documents, broadcasts and private letters, 'War on the Margins' tells the unforgettable story of the deepening horror of the Nazi regime in Jersey and the extraordinary bravery of those who sought to subvert it. Review Well it certainly has taken me a long time to read this book considering it has less than 250 pages. Part of this is because I've been ill and have had no concentration for any reading at all (even facebook was taxing at times!), and partly because I had real trouble getting into it. I was really hoping to like this one. I enjoy historical fiction focused around this time and started reading it when I was in primary school. This one sounded like it would have a good balance of historical fact and story, plus I hadn't read anything set in Jersey before so was interested to see what the UK was like during occupation. I must say on the second point I did get my wish and the book gave me a good sense of what it was like to be in an occupied country. However I felt the novel read more like a history book than a story, you could really tell that it started off as Cone's masters dissertation. I didn't feel particularly connected to the characters, I didn't care much about what happened to them, although I was I didn't really like Lucy and Susanne, I found them kind of fake. Like they were purposely trying to be 'different'. Although I did admire their action. I did however like the authentic documents included in this novel. It backed up what Cole was writing and gave a security with what to take as fact that isn't given in most other historical fiction. Overall there are probably better history books, and there is better historical fiction, but you wouldn't do badly with this. 3/5

The Boat that Rocked. Really enjoyed it, wish I'd seen it sooner.

Finished War on the Margins, took me long enough! I'm going to be swapping between The QI Book of General Ignorance and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (a re-read) now.

Kafka on the shore is great Frankie!

Haven't been reading too much over the last few days, have been ill and have no concentration. Is getting better now though. Yesterday went Christmas shopping got: Brown bear, brown bear what do you see? For my niece To Kill a Mockingbird for a friend House Rules- Jodi Picoult for myself (whoops)

I couldn't believe it either. I was hoping Stuart would go but somehow he managed to convince Lord Sugar to keep him on.

Started War on the Margins- Libby Cole

Finished Kafka on the Shore

Synopsis (from Amazon) Kafka on the Shore follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his pleasantly simplified life suddenly turned upside down. Their parallel odysseys are enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerising dramas. Cats converse with people; fish tumble from the sky; a ghostlike pimp deploys a Hegel-spouting girl of the night; a forest harbours soldiers apparently un-aged since WWII. There is a savage killing, but the identity of both victim and killer is a riddle. Murakami's novel is at once a classic quest, but it is also a bold exploration of mythic and contemporary taboos, of patricide, of mother-love, of sister-love. Above all it is an entertainment of a very high order. Review In a way this is a coming of age novel, but to call it that is far too simple, and to compare it to any other coming of age novel would be pretty much impossible. As with my previous experiences with Murakami this book is completely bizarre and like nothing else I've ever read- even, to some extent, Murakami's other novels. I found this one a little more logical than the others. Maybe it's just because I am used to Murakami's style. It's not that the story itself was 'normal' but that the events fitted together more logically than in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles for instance. I can't say I could exactly predict things most of the time but what happened didn't surprise me. There was one point when I was able to predict what would happen but when it did happen the way it was written was as if Murakami expected you to have guessed, almost like he was saying 'yeah you thought you'd got to the point where you understood me but I'm way ahead of you, I meant for you to guess'. As far as characters go I felt much more attached to the characters in Kafka on the Shore than I have in previous Murakami novels. I think there was something sort of more realistic about them, except they weren't like anyone I've ever known, at least for the most part. I guess what I mean is that I got a clearer view of them as characters. I really liked Hoshino, mainly because he seemed like the reader, completely confused by everything going on but still enthralled. In a way I think Hoshino was the reader. Murakami speaks a lot of the importance of metaphors and I think that explains his writting to a certain extent, although God knows how long it would take to get to the bottom of the metaphors. I did get the sense by the end that everything had been a metaphor for something Kafka has to go through on his journey. In a way though I think the metaphors are a little misleading and Kafka puts too much emphasis on them and gets into trouble for it. Every time I read a new (to me) Murakami I love it even more than the next. I think I forget how beautiful and engrossing his writing is. If you have the chance you should really give him a try. 5/5

War on the Margins- Libby Cone arrived in the post, sent to me for review.

Me too Laura. He's dodged the bullet to many times now

I read these books when I was in college, they are great

Have just sat reading a couple of chapters of Kafka on the Shore. I am really enjoying it.

I'm watching School of Rock now. I've seen it a million times, it's a great film.