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I wonder if this is something I'd be into? I'm tempted to have a go, because of the 10/10 rating you've given it. What do you reckon? It's possible you have a notion about my tastes already. Hope you're very well.

Hi Rach. This was the last Harry Potter book that I read all the way through. I only got half way through The Prisoner of Azkaban before I lost interest. People keep going on at me to read more, saying they get better and better, but I can't bring myself to even buy the buggers. I think I was spoiled a little by reading another series of books for young adults called His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. The questions his writing raised I found compelling, and his characters were full of shades of grey - nothing was as black and white as it first appears. I also loved the development of the characters. I shall cease banging on about it now. I think another thing that put me off the Potter books was that, at the time of my reading them, I was a peripatetic teacher. Every child in every school I went into had a copy in their mitts or on their desk, like it was a talisman or something. People were raving about how J K Rowling had given children the reading bug and that this was a marvellous thing. I agreed with this whole-heartedly, but only in the cases of the children that went on to read other authors - most of the kids went on to read all of the Potter books again, then, over time, stopped reading to play on their x-box or Playstation. Does this post sound grumpy? I hope not, because I do not mean it to! Maybe I should give them another go? What do you think? A part of me is resistant, because that's what I do. I resist stuff, and it's very silly of me. For example, my friends (who know me very well) were going on about how I ought to watch Flight Of The Conchords because I would love it for ages. And because eveerybody was telling me to watch it, I refused. Stubborn and stupid. Because when I finally sat down and watched it, guess what! I loved it. I ought to be given a pill or something. Hope this finds you well, Rach.

Great review, Charm. I really loved The Historian, it being in my Top *non-specified number* of books. I, like you, felt drawn into the locations she describes so well to the point where they're on another list of mine, my 'places I'm gonna go to' list. I think I must have been in the mood for a long novel, as it's length didn't bother me, which it sometimes does (easy, ii, don't get saucy with that sentence...) And, you guess correctly, I am a huge history fan - I wasn't at school, though. It's only since I entered my Thirties that it began to fascinate me, weirdly. I found the book eerie and it even, on a couple of occasions, gave me unsettling dreams. I'm not into vampire books at all - for some reason I just can't sink my teeth into them...but this really caught me. Thanks for the excellent review, Charm.

Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? And I can't understand why anyone would miss the prologue out. Of course, skipping the middle, I'm totally down with...

Hi guys. Charm is quite correct in the chronology what-sit. However, I would personally (obviously this is highly subjective) read them in this order: Red Dragon; Silence of the Lambs; Hannibal; Hannibal Rising. The reason I would read them in this order is because, as one bangs through them, one begins to empathise with Lecter (I hope this is universal, otherwise I'm going to need to see a Psychiatrist pronto!) and then when one reads Hannibal Rising, you understand how he arrives at this state from his origins. I enjoyed them this way round, anyway. But you're probably better off following Charms advice, because my middle name is 'Oftenwrong'...

Here's the prologue to the book I'm currently reading, The Stormwatcher by Graham Joyce: "All motion in the atmosphere is caused by the unequal heating, by the sun, of different parts of the planet. Heat is constantly seeking to exchange, between the warm tropics and the cold polar regions. This causes the movement of air, winds, changes in air pressure, temperature fluctuations, clouds, precipitation of rain and snow. Everything we call weather. Going round and round in an endless effort to settle and even out that which can never be settled or evened out." I thought this very short prologue was a highly skilled piece of writing, drawing me in with an unwritten promise of upset, excitement and unpredictability. I wanted to read further immediately. I also thought of this thread. A valuable thing, this prologue.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami The midnight hour approaches in an almost empty all-night diner. Mari sips her coffee and glances up from a book as a young man, a musician, intrudes on her solitude. Both have missed the last train home. Later Mari is interrupted again by a girl from the Alphaville Hotel; a Chinese prostitute has been hurt by a client, and she needs Mari's help. Meanwhile Mari's beautiful sister Eri sleeps a deep, heavy sleep that is 'too perfect, too pure' to be normal; she has lain asleep for two months. But tonight as the digital clock displays 00:00, a hint of life flickers across the TV screen, though the television's pug has been pulled out. Strange nocturnal happenings, or a trick of the night? This is the third Murakami novel I've read and I've been pondering for some time how best to describe his style. The other night I was chatting with some friends and it suddenly struck me that, if Murakami was a food, he would be Sushi. Crisp, refreshing, unexpected sometimes, yet interesting, fragrant, somewhat clinical... Murakami is Sushi for the mind. I've said that on another thread somewhere when I thought about it. After Dark is a shorter novel that follows the paths of three events occurring simultaneously, and I've rattled through it. As usual, it's left me ruminating on some of the more heavier questions in life, but this is something I have come to expect from this guy. As usual, his writing is beautiful and absorbing, very clearly creating the atmosphere of the time, drawing one in as though an independent, completely ineffectual observer. The writing makes me feel as though he is heading in the same direction as us, but just slightly off the tracks, running parallel to our own juggernaut of a train but somewhat off-kilter. I also enjoyed the fact that many things were left unexplained. Sometimes this would bother me, but not here. He fashions something that is 'other-worldly' for me and therefore demands exemption from my need to have things sorted out. Once again, I highly recommend that Murakami should be read. This might be a good one to start with. Again, as Sarah says: Read Haruki Murakami. 8/10

I've been talking to some friends and it struck me while this was occurring that Murakami is very much akin to Sushi. Clean, fresh, fragrant, stimulating, crisp... Murakami is Sushi for the mind!

I've updated the list a little. Will do more as and when.

I've never read any Neil Gaiman. Have you any pointers for a first book? I'm very tentative about reading him as I'm not a massive fan on SF/Fantasy fiction - although if it's skilfully written, I'll probably devour it anyway...

I woke up one morning after a night out on the tiles to find a steering wheel wedged down the front of my jeans. That drove me nuts... Ha ha ha...don't ban me anyone...

The thing is, Sarah, I absolutely swear that I get the male equivalent of this time every month - and I've got no excuse for it, dammit! I'm like the biggest jessie on the block! I tell you, I'm up and down like a brides nightie... My best friend Kirree told me it's something to do with...erm...biorhythms? Or something like that. She tried to get me to chart my emotions over the course of a few months, but I couldn't be ar**d. Anyway. The first meeting of 'Soft Sh**es Anonymous' will take place in two weeks time.

I take more care buying books than I do a bikini, too. They're not very good at covering my modesty when I jump in the pool, though...

I hadn't heard of this follow-up, no. I wonder if I'll enjoy it as much if it doesn't feature Stanley Yelnats? I'll have a look for it, though.