[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

Frankenstein is a great book

Again, thanks Steve I do know a little bit more about it than I did Dracula because I have heard it read .. but it was abridged so only half a story really.

I have always wanted to read Frankenstein too, another one that I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on

Thanks Laura I have a feeling I will love it

 

Touching on Frankenstein .. which copy shall I read? .. the 1818 text or the 1831?

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

Ah it wasn't all bad - I don't sleep very well so it wasn't as much of a problem for me as it was some others (judging by the scowling faces on show!). Haha, you're right on the alcohol front, I'm sure I could gather some pretty damning photographic evidence of that (though not of me, of course! ). Ah, you know I didn't mean it like that! I meant because it's so entertaining and makes for good reading! I have indeed managed to fly (creepy bats at windows anyone? ) threw it today and it certainly picked up pace (I've got about 80 pages left). Indeed, Renfield was one of my favourites, although he is pretty gruesome! Aha, you do crack me up!

I sleep badly too, it's a right pain isn't it? .. though I get lot's of extra reading done in the middle of the night but still I would like to be one of those people that see a pillow and zonk out. I'm glad you're getting on well with Dracula again Ben (just don't go out for a drink with him will you? ) .. I expect the last eighty pages will fly by .. they were almost turning themselves for me, I was that anxious to get to the end to find out what happened .. especially to Mina. Then of course I was sorry to have finished it. My TBR's are going to look funny now without the old Count propping them all up .. I'm so used to seeing him there.

Ahh I think you'll like this - it's one of my all-time favourites! Enjoy!

Well that's encouraging .. thanks Ben

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

The thing about that version of Emma is that it looks so dated. And somehow, I don't think period dramas should look dated - after all Emma was set 200 odd years ago! Also, what was going on with Mr Knightley's hair??? I was distracted by it every time he appeared on screen.

 

I quite liked the Gwyneth Paltrow version, but by far my favourite is the one with Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller. There's also quite a good version from 1972 with Doran Goodwin as Emma. It also looks dated, and it's quite obvious in some parts that it was mainly filmed in a studio, but it's very faithful to the book, both in story and spirit.

 

Sorry; I've gone off at a tangent there

Yes, I normally like Mark Strong but I didn't like him in that .. I didn't really like anyone in it though Samantha Morton was good as Harriet if I remember rightly. Gwynnie's version was ok ... but I thought Toni Colette wasn't at all right for Harriet .. and again she's someone I love normally. I'm not sure Juliet Stevenson was right for Mrs Elton either .. it was gorgeous to look at though.

I do like the old one though like you say it's very dated ... but it had the absolute best Harriet Smith, Mrs Elton and Miss Bates in it .. all excellent and Doran was good too .. a bit prim and proper but probably exactly what Jane Austen had in mind. Also Mr Knightley actually looked as if he was sixteen years older than Emma .. which they don't even usually try to get right.

Some of the old one's are funny, the costumes in the old Persuasion were just hilarious .. poor Anne might have been past her bloom but was there any real need to put her in that hideous green check gown. It was filmed in the seventies and you can just tell from looking at the fabrics.

 

I haven't seen the more modern version, I'm not sure why, it passed me by somehow. I will have to rent it or something Thanks for the recommendation Ruth

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

She was acting? I quite enjoyed the first movie, the others were pretty meh. And please don't mention Winslet in the same sentence - can't stand her!

well I agree, she is a bit of a luvvie but she's our best actress .. in Hollywood anyway .. that's why she gets all the cream and the others are left playing waitresses and .. vampires Keira can't act imo .. or has a wooden style anyway and it's perhaps too soon to judge Carey .. but I do like her a lot.

 

Lol, poor Celine

[Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2012]

I thought the article was great – it’s the paper I don’t like. I don’t actually buy a newspaper very often but when I do I only buy a weekend paper – and then only a broadsheet (Guardian, Times or Telegraph depending on my mood).

 

The Mail is (in my opinion, and I don’t want to offend anyone who reads it) a rather bigoted paper . I have glanced through it at it at work in the staff canteen if there is no other paper available to read and it all seems to be about immigration, people on benefits and what gives you cancer, and whilst I don’t support people who are ‘layabouts’ and stay on benefits because they want to, I do realise that some people have to be on benefits – but to me the Mail seems to go for a “one size problem fits all” approach. As I said, it’s all personal preference and I don’t want to offend any Mail readers.

Oh the Mail are so negative .. it's a national joke now. Their job is to demoralise the nation ... well done them I don't buy a newspaper either .. I long ago came to the conclusion that nearly everything in it is hogwash. All this making celebrities out of people who have actually done nothing and pushing anyone that they think are the beez kneez (Cheryl Cole, Katie Price, Kerry Katona, Amanda Holden, Victoria Beckham, Pippa Middleton ... I don't want to know about their every move or their secret this and that exclusively revealed here.) I will read a paper occasionally .. if I'm at a coffee shop or at my Mum & Dad's but I only ever buy one at weekends .. then it's usually The Observer .. especially if there's a food supplement

I listen to or watch the news .. that's enough for me.

[Julie -2012 Book List]

Thanks Pontalba !

The link you sent certainly looks like an interesting story . Sounds like she will have another good one on the way in a few months too . I guess I should bump up Mr . Whicher . Sounds like several of you have enjoyed it .

Sorry about not keeping up on The Stand, you know ,sometimes you just aren't in the right mood for a particular book ? It seems I am like that right now.Can't seem to stay focused on one very well now .

Put it to one side Julie .. you can go back to it when you're more in the mood for it. Read something that grabs you ... have a look at all the first chapters of your books and see which one sparks your interest.

Anyway it sounds like you need a hug .. so I'm sending as many as this post will allow :friends0: :friends0: :friends0: :friends0: :friends0:

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

Well, it works for Kate Beckinsale in Underworld. I'm just sayin'

Men!! :roll2: what are you like? I've always thought those films had a terrible reputation .. for being rubbish I mean. I guess you weren't judging the acting though Lol, I haven't seen them but I do like Ms Beckinsale .. she's not in the Winslets league (acting wise) but she is lovely and I liked her very much in Serendipity. I didn't like her as Emma though .. she looked sick and cross through the whole thing .. but I think it was the script .. more or less everybody looked sick and cross in it.

[Julie -2012 Book List]

What does make them tick Julie? .. if you ever find out let me know

It must be terrible for the parents of those lost children, especially if the circumstances are never explained .. you would always be wondering. One of the Moors murder victims has never been found although the police have pin pointed, more or less, where they believe him to be .. the area is still too vast. That must be absolute torture for the family. The letter that his mother wrote to Myra Hindley asking for help would break your heart.

Have you read The Suspicions of Mr Whicher Julie? It's a really intriguing read .. true story too.

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

Ooh no I haven't. I will look into it .. thanks Pickle

[Mistress Masham's Repose by T H White]

I'm going to cut these questions into bite sized chunks

12. Did any of the dialogue stick out for you as being either very good… or very bad!

Frankie has quoted most of my faves already .. some more stuff I liked ..

 

'Prisoners had scratched their last remarks upon the walls. The Little Princes, who were finished off at Malplaquet and not in the Tower, had written 'Adiew', 'Adiew'. A witch had inscribed, before they burned her 'I come, Graymalkin', and some homesick Scot, tired by too much thumbscrew had suggested 'East, Quhest, Hame Ys Best'. An anonymous villain had written 'yis hurte me mo than it hurtes yow.'

 

'He searched the Rent Room, where the Wicked Earl had once run his estate agent through the body - the former claimed during his trial by the Lords that it had been in a duel, but the agent still walked on Tuesday nights, with the hilt of a sword in the small of his back, which was a good argument to the contrary.'

 

'She climbed the Grand Staircase and trotted down the Ducal Corridor, mounted the Second Best Staircase and passed the Corridor for Distinguished Strangers, plodded up the Privy Stairs in Ordinary and tiptoed down the Third Best Corridor Once Removed'.

 

I'd quote all of Chapter 28 where the Professor wakes up the Lord Lieutenant if it wouldn't give me writers cramp. I laughed the whole time.

 

but for some reason I didn't like ..

 

'The campaign, Ma'am, which follow'd the Declaration, was exasperated by the old Bitterness of the Big-Endian Heresy - A Topick of Dissension, which I am happy to say we have since resolved by a Determination to break such Eggs as we are able to find in the Middle - and, no Quarter being ask'd or given by either Schism, the War was signalized by Atrocities and Inhumanities hitherto unexampled in the Legends of our People.'

 

My head buzzed every bit as much as Maria's whilst listening to the History and I hated the word Oeconomy whenever it turned up

.

13. Were you engaged immediately with the story, or did it take you a while to get into it?

It took me a while to get into it .. I was expecting to find it easy and I didn't at first. He has quite a quirky style and one that I didn't immediately fall in with. Once I got into his stride I was fine .. more than fine I learnt to expect the jokes and enjoyed them more as a result although anything to do with the History bored me.

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

I have Dracula on my Kindle, maybe I need to read it sooner than later, judging by your fab review

Great review of Dracula Poppy

Thanks both .. hope you like it Laura. I've had the book for ages (have actually got two copies .. one rather interestingly is a Puffin childrens book and it's not abridged I've been meaning to look in it to see if they've kept true to every word .. I'll be surprised if they have) it was one of those books I never seemed to get around to reading ... next stop Frankenstein

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

Found myself up because one of my house-mates (I say mate.. I'll certainly be less 'matey' with him tomorrow), decided to set off the fire-alarm. At half past two in the morning. In fairness I think he's been drinking, but nevertheless, I live in a huge halls-type-place with tons of tenants, so he's not going to become the most popular guy over night, as there were some weary looking (and scantily dressed) people shivering outside in the cold just now. In any case, I digress.

 

I just wanted to say that I found myself reading your book blog because I'm now wide-awake, and I really enjoyed your review of Dracula (which I have been patiently waiting for), and the fact that I agree with lots of it means I'm definitely only not getting far quickly with it, because I have to keep casting it aside to read required reads. I'm going to have another proper shot at it tomorrow and immerse myself in the world of fluttering bats, wolves, vampires and deranged lunatic asylum patients.

 

Much apologies for my ramblings, I think may try go to bed now!

Sorry you had such a bad night Ben what an idiot your house-mate is .. though alcohol will make people do the strangest things (and I have the photo's to prove it ) Hope you got some decent sleep, wise move to read this blog before retiring, I've found it's a great cure for insomnia Glad you liked the review, hope you're able to bury yourself back in the book soon (and that is SO the wrong word!) Hehe I did like the asylum patient Renfield ... how creepy was he? I'm not fussy about my food but even so He reminded me of 'The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly' .. though he had thought it out more

The old David Hedison version? Cos if you mean the Jeff Goldblum version is vintage I will cry.

Yes I did mean the David Hedison one. I haven't seen the other one .. would probably freak me out.

Great review of Dracula, Poppy. I don't necessarily agree with you, but great review nonetheless. I think I'm one of the few people who though the book was a huge disappointment.

Oh that's a shame .. but it wouldn't do for us all to like the same books (especially if they were all by Alan Titchmarsh ) You've probably read a whole lot more horror than me and have plenty of other stories to compare it to. It read very much like a classic novel and that suited me down to the ground. It had just the right amount of gore in it .. ie: not much I did think though that Bram must have had a bit of a thing for vampire brides because from his descriptions they were quite hot babes .. or they would've been .. if they hadn't been dead

[Frankie reads 2012]

Me shaking hands with the bookstore owner, having replaced the titles between us.

heeheehee .. what a great image that conjures up

As I was writing my posts about the books I shall be getting rid of, I realised I can never part from my copy of Finnish Misery ( ), and I also want to keep my Jane Austen. The Bosisto's worked miracles on P&P and I do love the cover so. Eventhough 'Elizabeth' looks a lot more like Jane. But it's beautiful anyways.

It wasn't the space really that was the biggest issue. I guess I was just feeling like a hoarder, and I wanted to go through all my books to see which I could get rid of. Books that always stare at me, wantingly, and whom I have no intention of reading in the near future. I promise, all the books that I will be giving away are ones that I probably won't remember owning in the first place. What's more important is that I want to be a lot pickier in the future. My bookcases shall be looking fine in a year or two.

Is it the mistress's influence? I must admit when I see photos of her lovely library .. I want to clear all the books off my bookshelves and start again. The fact that Kylie has that lovely room full of them .. all neat and tidy .. like a real library .. oh the green eyed monster rears up and starts thrashing about .. in fact his tail did knock some of my books on the floor so he's helping me making a start

Oh, and believe me, MB was chucked out ages ago. But you must've known that!

Yes .. but I use it as a collective noun now for all terrible books The scary thing is, I think I still have mine somewhere but as I never see it it doesn't offend me. Woe betide it though when it falls into my path .. the retribution will be terrible.

Donnie the Australian Kelpie? He goes to bed with me every night, we read books and then cuddle up for our beauty sleep. And then he comes with me to my 'livingroom' to guard me in the days. He's adorable. He was sitting on my table, looking at what I was doing with Bosisto's when I took the picture.

Awww your Kelpie buddy .. how cute

Well, the place definitely smells of Bosisto's When I went out yesterday and later came back, the whole apartment reeked of it Good lord!

Your apartment is now Kylie's ideal place on earth

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

 

Dracula - Bram Stoker

 

Waterstones Synopsis: 'There he lay looking as if youth had been half-renewed, for the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey, the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin and neck. Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst the swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood; he lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion.' Thus Bram Stoker, one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative, describes the demonic subject of his chilling masterpiece Dracula, a truly iconic and unsettling tale of vampirism.

 

Review: Why didn't you tell me about this book before? Why did I wait so long to read it?.. and why didn't I read it before I compiled my bestest books list? .. it definitely deserves to be on it.

 

As usual with books I love I'm probably going to ramble on for ages so the short bit is here .. It's fantastic .. I would lick it copiously if it wasn't for the fear that licking Dracula might be bad for me Apologies in advance for all the spoilers which make for a rather jumpy review but when I love a book it all just comes blabbing out. It's one of the drawbacks of loving a book, if it was Madame Bovary I could just say 'meh' and have done

 

I don't know what I was expecting, something a bit hammy I think. I've never really seen the films, I don't watch or read horror although I do like vintage horror films because nine times out of ten they're really quite unintentionally funny .. The Fly for instance .. that cracks me up. But I think Dracula passed me by ... I have half remembered images of Christopher Lee thrashing about with Peter Cushing .. but it's all quite vague. Somehow it made me feel that the book wouldn't be worth reading .. or wouldn't be my cup of tea. But the title always appears on all the best lists and has a fearsome reputation so it's obvious that if you want to have at least a stab (?) at reading the cream of literature then this book is a must.

 

What struck me first was the beauty of the writing .. gorgeous atmospheric stuff, very gothic as you would expect but nicely balanced especially early on with the more everyday gossipy correspondence between Lucy and Mina. From the start I was terrified. Jonathan's journey to the castle along the Borgo Pass with all the villagers crossing themselves and flinging crucifixes about and then that image of the count exiting from a window and crawling down the building like a reptile just made my hair stand on end. I liked the way that the story was written from several viewpoints .. the narrative taken mostly from the journals and letters of those involved .. it gives a real insight into their individual characters. I also loved how the reader was one step ahead, at least for a time (a very unusual position for me to be in I can tell you.) It made me agitated but in a good way, in a 'look it's behind you' type way .. I wanted to rap loudly on their heads to make them see what was (literally) outside their own window. I mean puncture marks in the neck! ... and a big bat outside every time they looked! ... even I would have been hot footing it to the supermarket for garlic.

 

Now the other thing I liked about it is that Stoker doesn't pull any punches with his villain. Not for him this wishy washy notion of vampires/werewolves that can temper their urges because they're in love .. Dracula doesn't have a social conscience. He would just as likely bite his own mother and nowhere is this better illustrated than with the sad decline of

Lucy Westenra .. a girl who when we're introduced is gaily writing about her beloved Arthur .. until that is her tendency to sleepwalk leads her to go visiting churchyards in the dead of night. At the end of her life she appears eager to bite her beloved, though still human enough to be tortured by it also. As the undead though she shows no such scruples ... roaming around Hampstead Heath snacking on children.

It's a quite terrifying image.

 

As soon as the name Van Helsing was mentioned I knew he was the hero of the piece because even my dim brain had heard of him. He seemed a bit like Poirot, in that he had that same cool, calm and calculating way about him and spoke in a similarly broken English. I learnt very early on to trust him although I did occasionally have doubts ..

those blood transfusions which were so necessary for Lucy? .. with blood taken from four different men??

.. I could see problems there. But then medical matters in fiction are always a minefield.. I've learnt to accept most things after seeing Daphne in Neighbours give birth without taking her tights off. Van Helsing was pretty Sherlockian in his deductions which is interesting because Stoker was good friends with Conan Doyle. He was a bit more collaborative though in his quest ... collecting around him a band of heroes (and heroines) all devoted to the cause and all equally determined to seek out and vanquish the demon Count.

 

The one thing I swore I wouldn't do was read this at night .. but the story was just too gripping I had to read on. It gave me the chills like no other book but then as I said I rarely, if ever, read horror. When I read what had to be done to poor

Lucy to release her soul I got the shudders. However, the thought of the alternative was far worse. It's better to be safe than sorry and I explained to Alan about the stake through the heart and the decapitated head with a mouth stuffed full of garlic flowers

but all he could say was that he didn't know if the Co-op Funeralcare offered that service, perhaps a really potent vindaloo last supper might suffice

 

I only have one slight criticism in that the ending didn't quite live up to my expectations after the build up. I expected there to be a bigger struggle, not from the Count necessarily but from

Mina .. it was as if she had a bit of a fever or something and an aspirin or two saw her right. I was delighted for her sake that this was the case but would've liked to see a bit more of an inner struggle from her .. perhaps it couldn't be because had she gone one step further she might not have feasibly been brought back.

It didn't make me think less of the book though, I think I was expecting too much or had let my ridiculous imagination run riot in a territory it never usually wanders in.

 

I've made a lot of feeble jokes which is always a sign that the book I'm reviewing freaked me out somewhat. I have to make light of horror or I'm done for ... but really this was just a gloriously rich and spine chilling piece of literature. The language used in particular .. all the different dialects and styles .. was just fantastic. I'm enjoying the books I'm reading now but to be truthful they are paling in comparison somewhat. It turns out Bram Stoker is a hard act to follow.

 

I must just say a word about this particular gorgeous edition .. the Penguin Classic Deluxe no less. It was such a pleasure to read from. Not only are the front and back covers beautifully illustrated in gorgeous colours but the pages are all uncut which makes it very tactile.

 

10/10

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

Isn't that strange .. a dragon on the cover is more likely to lure me in .. unless it's wearing clothes .. I draw the line at that

[Charles Dickens]

Well done Ben

I might try and get to Rochester this year for the celebrations, I've been there before and it's a lovely place but this year will be be extra special.

[Mistress Masham's Repose by T H White]

Very .. but put me out of my misery .. which of those does it mean? I'm guessing the latter but only because of the 'five'.

 

I will study the questions later and see if my brain can come up with anything .. it came up with a combination for a sandwich about half an hour ago (chicken and lettuce with some garlic & herb dip as a sort of mayo) so it's possible

[Janet's Reading 2012]

Initially I was going to colour co-ordinate it so that I set a standard throughout my posts , so for example, this colour for fiction, this colour for non-fiction, this colour for children's/YA books, this colour for plays etc, but it never quite happened and instead each post is different, although usually this colour!

That would've been nice but I like it as it is anyway I do like this colour best ... though all your other colours are favourites too.

There was a serial version of Carrie's War on the BBC when I was about 9 or 10, I seem to remember, and I also saw the remake a few years back with Alun Armstrong (I love him as an actor) and Pauline Quirke (I like her too!) which was very good, although it's been so long since I read it that I don't know how accurate it was - so it will be interesting to find out.

Yes that's the one I saw and it was very good as I remember .. I sniffled through a lot of it. The little girl playing Carrie was good too .. she used to be in a sitcom .. At Home With the Braithewaites .. don't know if you saw it, it was a while back now with Peter Davidson and Amanda Redman.

I finished book #9* last night - Boy by Roald Dahl. What a cracking book - I really enjoyed it.

Oh hurrah I'm so pleased .. you'll be wanting to read the sequel too now .. like me

 

Don't stress about the reviews If you haven't got time to do them just give us a few words ... something like (and you can copy and paste this )

 

Janet loves .. go beg, borrow or buy

Janet hates .. avoid like the plague

Janet likes .. worth a look

Janet is indifferent .. please yourself

 

I'm telling you a Janet loves would be all I'd need to start searching the bookshops

[Frankie reads 2012]

I will also have to consider giving away my Finnish copies of the Austens. I now have all the Austens in English (except for Mansfield Park, but I hate that book anyways), and I don't really need the Finnish copies. But I love my copy of P&P, it has such a beautiful cover (although it is in bad shape otherwise), and it was the first book I ever read by Austen, and probably the exact same copy And I also love my Finnish copy of Persuasion. Do I really have the heart to give them away? S&S I can give away, I'm not attached to that copy.)

Don't get rid of any books that are beloved to you frankie, you'll only regret it. It sounds like it's not many so finding space for them wouldn't be a problem. Only get rid of books you don't care three straws for.

I know what you mean about being picky regarding books for your bookshelves. I tend not to keep the old broken down copies I buy at charity shops unless they're favourites .. I just throw them back at the shop (they've learnt to duck now when they see me coming ) but it's still a great way of buying books that you're not sure are going to be keepers. Try not to make any rash decisions .. I wish I'd kept all the original Enid's that I read ... I have a great fondness for the covers even though they were a bit naff. Getting hold of those now is not so easy (being antiques like me ) Good luck with the clearout though .. you'll probably feel better once you've offloaded all those books and rearranged all your favourites. It's nice to look at your shelves and see all your favourites .. you don't want to be disturbed by any errant Madame Bovary's (I'm not highlighting her .. she doesn't deserve it )

 

That Bosisto's stuff works wonders .. like magic

[Poppy's Paperbacks 2012]

It means the drone was in the wrong place at the wrong time and its insides ended up on its outsides. Or something like that.

That's only the tinsiest bit clearer Just the word 'drone' makes me want to lie down in a darkened room

I reckon you should give Hyperion a go, just because there are so many literary allusions in it - Keats' poetry and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for a start. Plus it's blimmin' marvellous.

I love the first line ...

 

"The Hegemony Consul sat on the balcony of his ebony spaceship and played Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp Minor on an ancient but well-maintained Steinway while great, green, saurian things surged and bellowed in the swamps below."

 

I read that in Waterstones and thought yep, this is for me, went and bought it straight away

Well I can see why you were intrigued .. it still sounds like the sort of book that would make my brain melt though

Hi Poppy if you are not into Photon Inducers and such like there was a lot of scifi written in the 60s that was very people based.

Here are a few:

The World Inside Robert Silverberg (overpopulation)

Up The Line Robert Siverberg (time travel)

Beyond The Barrier Damon Knight ( time travel)

The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K Leguin

The Cloud Walker Edmund Cooper (future where technology is not allowed)

Farenheit 451 Ray Bradbury (future where books are not allowed)

Restoree Anne Macaffrey ( Human woman taken to alien planet skinned ready for eating)

The Ship Who Sang Anne Macaffrey (handicapped girl child's brain is implanted into a cargo ship so she grows up as a spaceship)

I will try to think of some more. I have read all of the above.

Now I've heard of Ursula Leguin (she'll be very glad to know ) and I believe Kylie has Farenheit 451 on her 'bestest books ever' list. Other than that the writers and the books are completely new to me. I can see that Anne Macaffrey's ideas are a bit 'out there' .. she's not playing safe is she These lists are great though, gives me something to refer to

Good point VF, I should've made that clearer - the books on my list you've got there, Poppy, from The Forever War through to The Time Machine are all people based. Big ideas in them, sure, but still character-focused. The ones below that have great characters as well, but you might encounter the odd photon-inside-out-splatty-thing or two in Hamilton, Banks (obviously) and definitely Neal Asher.

Hmm so I should start with the people based and then go on to the photon based or, if I progress well, I could dip into the stuff about the splatty things and see how I get on.

He likes splattering things with big weapons

Yes, men often do

[Hi all I'm sam]

Hello Sam,

My Mum & Dad live in West Sussex and they've always led me to believe that they have the best of weather always .. hmmm .. perhaps they have been fibbing

There probably isn't anywhere in Britain that isn't cold and dreary in Winter but as you say it's a perfect time for reading, you don't feel guilty for reading in Winter .. it's not like you can do much else.

Have a great time looking around, there's lots to inspire you here

[Hi from France o/]

Hello Lucille Your English is fantastic so you've no need to worry there. I'm sure you don't really bring the rain .. I sing terribly but haven't noticed yet that it brings on a deluge (but perhaps this is only the case in France?) I love Walt Disney songs too and regularly sing 'Everybody Want's to be a Cat' .. I sing it to my cat actually but she doesn't look as if she's enjoying it as much as I am

Hope you find lots to inspire you here, look forward to seeing you around the forum

[Hello]

Hello Bree I love your list of books and authors .. we have similar tastes Hope you have fun looking around .. look forward to joining you in the March Reading Circle but will hopefully see you around lots before that.

[Janet's Reading 2012]

I like all the different colours in your posts Janet .. very pretty

I haven't read Carries War but I saw the drama some years ago and enjoyed it.

[Books You're Looking Forward To In 2012]

This thread is scaring the life out of me. Books by authors I like/love are coming out and before reading this thread I was blissfully ignorant.

Of those mentioned I'm interested in

Jasper Fforde Dark Reading Matter (Thursday Next #7) Yes

Jasper Fforde Return of Shandar (Last Dragonslayer #3) Yes

Mark Haddon The Red House Yes

Charlaine Harris Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12)

Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Prisoner of Heaven (Shadow of the Wind #3)

Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Watcher in the Shadows

Markus Zusak Bridge of Clay definitely Yes

Diane Setterfield

I'm looking forward to the Snow Child by Eowyn (she's even got a LOTR's name ) Ivey. I think it is out now but only just and I haven't seen it in the bookshops yet.

Btw is it rude to write in red? .. they always say it is but for the life of me I don't know why .. is it like SHOUTING?