Lucybird

I saw the new Harry Potter today. I liked it quite a bit.

I've bought Twilight and the Harry Potter series. I have some Mr Men but my parents brought those. I've read my Mum's copy of The Hobbit

He's managed to dodge the bullet so far. I hate him too

Neighbours

Well I'm liking it so far at least

Synopsis (from Amazon) Insomnia, exhaustion, recurring nightmares – Stephen Sharkey is suffering the aftereffects of his career as a war reporter, most recently in Afghanistan, where Ben Frobisher, war photographer and friend, has been shot dead on assignment. Hanging up his flak jacket and turning his back on the everyday reality of war, Stephen moves into a quiet and peaceful cottage in the north of England. It seems the perfect environment in which to write his book on the representations of war – one that will be based largely on Ben Frobisher’s work. But Stephen’s supposed isolation offers no protection from other people’s suffering or the shattering effects of human brutality . . . Review Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy was a favourite of mine while in college, and I always have high hopes when I come across other novels by her. I thought I may have found it on reading 'Winner of the 1995 Booker Prize' on the front cover of Double Vision. As I into the novel though I began to think this couldn't be true. For one thing the book spoke of 9/11 which of course hadn't happened in 1995. On further research I found that Barker did win the 1995 Booker award, but for The Ghost Road, not Double Vision. I did think the cover was very misleading however and it probably effected somewhat how I approached the book. The book started off quite well. I liked Kate and found her interesting. I think a whole story focussing on her would have been interesting, and I ended the book wanting to know more about what had happened to her, and about the mystery to do with her sculpture. Steven I liked well enough but was more interested in him as a vehicle for Ben's story. In fact I had the impression that most of the story would be about him and Ben and felt let down that Ben's story was only really given a mention a few times. I think in this sense the blurb was very misleading. I thought Peter was a really interesting character and I would have loved to see his view point, and found out what his motivations were, although there is something I like about the mystery there and I am happy to imagine. I got the feeling that Barker started this story with one idea in mind, but gradually got distracted by different story lines, meaning that none were ever really completed to my satisfaction. Although I generally enjoyed the progression of the storys I was disappointed with the conclusion of them. The actual ending that was there I found pretty pointless, in fact it felt like Barker believed she needed some action and added the end of the story simply to give that. I do think a lot of what I disliked was to do with the way the book was presented. From the synopsis I expected more of a 'war' book (which in general I enjoy). From the cover I expected an award winner. If you're not a reader of Barker please don't start with this one. Start with Regeneration. Please. The series is fantastic. Life Class isn't bad, but not a patch on Regeneration. This one feel free to read, but don't expect too much, I think half my dislike was caused by my expectations. 3/5

Finished Double Vision, can't say I was very impressed. Started Kafka on the Shore

Yes I think it will stay with me for a long time too. I'm glad you 'enjoyed' it.

Wooo more people wanting to read Room!

We went to see Another Year last night. It was a little depressing but good. Today I watched Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightly version). Interestingly Peter Wight is in both who is somewhat of a family friend.

I started Double Vision- Pat Barker

Double Vision- Pat Barker arrived in the post.

Yay! I'm sure you'll both love it.

Oh do read it Paula. I think you'd like it

Synopsis (from Amazon) It’s Jack’s birthday, and he’s excited about turning five. Jack lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures 11 feet by 11 feet. He loves watching TV, and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real – only him, Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there's a world outside . . . Told in Jack's voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room is a novel like no other. Review This is the first book in quite a long time that I can say I've devoured. I wanted to just keep reading it, I didn't want to put it down. I had to force myself to put it down before going to sleep (I always read in bed before going to sleep). It went far too fast, I almost wish that the story had continued, but, although it could have continued and still been interesting, I think it did end in the right place. I thought Donoghue got Jack's voice just about right, I could really believe that the story was being told by a 5 year old boy. Maybe he was a bit too bright, but some kids really are that bright- and I can understand with all that one-on-one time with his Mum, with nothing to do that he would learn pretty quickly. I found the actual topic really interesting, I don't want to give it away but I found the later chapters more interesting than the first, although they were interesting in other ways. There were quite a few references to childhood today that may be better read by parents but not knowing them wouldn't really matter, and most of them could well be familiar from your own childhoods. Read it! 5/5

Finished Room, already I miss it!

Hia Vicky welcome to BCF. I went to Bangor Uni too, I studied psychology. What years were you there?

Yeah, I predicted it would be her. I want Stuart to go next. He really annoyed me yesterday, especially his comment about Stella having to write things down because she was 'old' and would forget things otherwise.

oh all paperback Harry Potters....when did you start reading them?

Finished Therapy yesterday, and started Room.

Synopsis (from Amazon) Josy, a twelve year old girl, has an inexplicable illness and vanishes without trace from her doctor’s office during treatment. Four years later: Josy’s father, well-known psychiatrist Viktor Larenz, has withdrawn himself to an isolated North Sea island in order to deal with the tragedy. Until he’s paid a surprise visit from a beautiful stranger. Anna Glass is a novelist and she suffers from an unusual form of schizophrenia: all the characters she creates for her books become real to her. And in her last novel she has written about a young girl with an unknown illness who has vanished without a trace. Is the inconceivable possible? Do Anna’s delusions describe Josy’s last days? Reluctantly Viktor agrees to take on Anna’s therapy in a last attempt to uncover the horrible truth behind his daughter’s disappearance . . . Review I'm not really a big reader of crime stories. The nearest I usually get is Jasper Fforde, which sn't exactly typical crime. I'd read a few good reviews of this one though and it sounded a bit different. I must admit though that I wasn't very impressed with it. It's not that it was bad. It had some good twists and turns, although I was able to predict most of them. I never really cared about the characters though, except Josy, and only really because you can't not care about a missing child. It was an easy read, and towards the end I found the twists less predictable so it became more interesting, but still nothing special. 2.5/5 As an added note the review of this on the BCF blog is quoted on Amazon

Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy is a good 'one' too.

Hia. to BCF. What types of books do you like?

The lid of my waterbottle broke the other day and drenched my copy of Vanity Fair to the point where it's no longer read-able in parts.

Started Therapy- Sebastian Fitzek