poppyshake

ahh poor Terry, as if he hasn't got enough to worry about .. now you're blaming him for your missing mojo .. I call that callous.

Good choice, it's my favourite Marian Keyes book too but I love all of her Walsh family books. I haven't read her more recent books .. their reviews haven't been that good. Is Marian still unwell?, I know she's been having a rough time with depression etc and haven't seen or heard much from her in a while. It's not really cheating is it and he is such a character. I like his style too, his books are always a pleasure to read.

I quite like his looks but had to laugh at the comments like 'uggh no .. he was the last person I wanted to see cast as Jace' ... surely not, you mean you would rather see Danny DeVito or Ricky Gervais? You've got to hope that the poor guy doesn't read these comments or he'll never be able to face his first day on set. This reminds me of the brouhaha there was when Renee Zelwegger was cast as Bridget Jones and then the film came out and everyone loved her.

Heehee .. you have an evil mind mistress we'd always be wondering who got the better half.

Yes, wasn't it .. really gave me the creeps I love anything Mitford but haven't read this book of Debo's yet .. I loved the letters between six sisters so this would be a good companion to it .. thanks for the recommendation cosy I enjoyed it but I heard it read rather than read it and, from what I've heard, that seems to be the better option as there was no confusion with the narrative. I imagine, if it's not gripping you yet, then it probably won't .. it doesn't really change much in style or pace. And it is an awfully large book to plough on with when you're not enjoying it.

The Bell - Iris Murdoch Waterstones Synopsis: Dora Greenfield, erring wife, returns to live with her husband in a lay community encamped outside Imber Abbey, home to a mysterious enclosed order of nuns. Watched over by its devout director and the discreet authority of the wise old Abbess, Imber Court is a haven for lost souls seeking tranquility. But then the lost Abbey bell, legendary symbol of religion and magic, is rediscovered, and hidden truths and desires are forced into the light. Review: Firstly I must say a big thank you to Frankie for sending me this book. I loved reading it with all your additions, I was sure there was a subtext amongst your underlinings (but, just as I can never fathom out a whodunnit, I couldn't work it out ) I am such a fan of Iris, she writes so intelligently and her characters always seem so real, she doesn't make them particularly likeable or striking, they're always fairly ordinary but with just a few words she manages to paint them into life and you feel as if you could pick them out anywhere, similarly she gives you such a great sense of location that you would know the place immediately should you come across it but she's never flowery or overly descriptive. She clearly loves delving into the psychology of her characters and finding out what makes them tick, that's always a major part of any Iris novel (or those I've read so far anyway,) she often makes her characters disagreeable, they do things or have done things that are distasteful but the author never seems to be judging them or condemning them .. she's merely observing them and, for the most part, the reader is inclined to do the same. This story has multiple narrators, firstly we are introduced to Dora who, after a short separation (and I loved the first line .. 'Dora Greenfield left her husband because she was afraid of him. She decided six months later to return to him for the same reason.') is joining her husband at the mysterious Imber Abbey where he is working on the research of some ancient manuscripts. The Abbey is home to a lay community, with the addition of an adjoining enclosed order of nuns (why that should be creepy I don't know but there's something a little sinister about silent nuns.) What should be a place of calm is really a seething mass of repressed feelings and inner struggles .. nobody is saying anything out loud but they're all paddling like mad beneath the surface .. struggling to keep up a sense of normality with the nuns silently observing. The other characters in the community are a mixed bunch .. most of them have secrets to hide and there is a lot of moral deliberation and soul searching. Apart from Dora, one of the main characters is Michael, the leader of the community who has all sorts of demons perched on his shoulder, the main one being a disgraced past involving a homosexual encounter with a teenage pupil at a public school where Michael taught. He felt he had put most of this behind him but that young teenager is now a dissolute young man and he has found his way to Imber seeking refuge. There is also young Toby, a newcomer to Imber, who has rekindled some of those old memories. Michael finds he is back in the struggle between the spiritual side of his nature and his sexual inclinations, it's a struggle that has never really gone away. The community are awaiting the arrival of a new bell, the old bell having mysteriously vanished centuries before. After Dora arrives at Imber, Paul tells her about a legend surrounding the bell '...sometime in the fourteenth century, that was before the dissolution, the story runs that one of the nuns had a lover. Not that that was so very unusual I daresay at that time, but this order had evidently had a high standard. It was not known who the nun was. The young man was seen climbing the wall once or twice and ended up by falling and breaking his neck. The wall, which still exists incidentally, is very high. The Abbess called on the guilty nun to confess, but no-one came forward. Then the Bishop was called in. The Bishop, who was an especially holy and spiritual man, also demanded that the guilty one should confess. When there was still no response he put a curse on the Abbey, and as the chronicler puts it, the great bell "flew like a bird out of the tower and fell into the lake" .. the guilty nun was so overwhelmed by this demonstration that she forthwith ran out of the Abbey gates and drowned herself in the lake.' and this legend seems all the more thrilling when Toby tells Dora of an object, that he has discovered, buried deep in the lake which may well be the ancient bell. I love the suspense Iris builds in this novel, it was palpable .. I was always waiting for the shock or jolt to come and it frequently gave me the shivers. I got a bit carried away at times (having seen too many episodes of 'Midsomer Murders' most likely) and expected the giant bell to come crashing down on an unsuspecting victim but Iris is subtler than that. Like all the novels that I've read of hers so far, the story is multi layered and it's almost impossible to give an accurate account of it .. it's the sort of book that has so much going on that a repeat reading is a must. I'm sure I missed lots of subtleties. I'm always marvelling at how clever she is, she doesn't make it complex but there's always lots to contemplate. Like a really good episode of 'Cadfael' 9/10

5.Book/series you would take with you on a long flight: I'm terrified of flying so it would have to be a really absorbing book/series to stop me from freaking out and one that didn't involve plane crashes or disasters of any kind. So again a nice comfy cosy and preferably funny book. Actually I think it might be the perfect time to re-read all of the Enid Blyton Mystery books with the five find-outers (Fatty, Bets, Larry, Daisy, Pip & Buster the dog .. plus Mr Goon of course ) .. they would take me back to a world where my biggest dilemma was what to wear to the school disco .. lovely anxiety free days. I want to re-read them anyway but with so many books waiting on the shelves re-reads take a back seat, a long flight would be just the thing .. I'd probably get some funny looks though

No, and I'd love to be able to. My hubby draws and paints well and is hoping to illustrate a book written by a family member .. it's early days though and it'll probably come to nothing. I love illustrated books, I think I have at least three illustrated versions of 'Alice in Wonderland' .. I can't resist them.

2.Favorite series: 3.Favorite book: Hmm I've definitely answered number two before ... that was the Thursday Next series, number three I funked last time, I couldn't really come up with an answer so ... 4.The one book you would have with you if stranded on a desert island: Ok, well the smart answer is to have some sort of survival guide but let's face it, even if I had full instructions, the chances of me ever becoming self sufficient and being able to gut a fish, harvest the eggs from a turtle, or erect some sort of bivouac are nil so there is no point in me choosing it .. I'd just have to hide under a tree and hope for the best. Now I'm left with two schools of thought, one is that I'd want a nice comfy cosy read that would make me feel comforted and the other is that I'd want something challenging to keep the brain ticking over and to stop my mind from running around like a headless chicken until insanity arrived. I'm tempted to say 'Lord of the Rings' but there are too many evils lurking around in it, I'd be a nervous wreck. For the comfy cosy option I'd choose the complete works of Jane Austen (in one book) and for the challenge I'd choose Marcel Prousts 'Remembrance of Things Past' (in it's entirety) .. that'd give me something to chew over. I would either become engrossed and not notice the time fly or be so flummoxed by it that, in contrast, building a raft would now seem to be a doddle I think you'll like it Janet

I do a lot of walking and listening to books. I try and pick things which are fairly easy otherwise there is a danger of concentrating either too much (which is lethal when crossing roads) or not enough (mind wanders off and starts thinking about trees and flowers instead.) Most nights I go to sleep listening to some story or the other, the I-pod has a sleep timer so I just set it and off I go, it's usually a book I've heard before and at the moment it's 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' .. I'm marvelling at it all over again. Yay!! I loved 'The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society' too .. good choice. People on here do rock don't they .. and you do too .. you are the Queen of rock

Awww .. thanks for thinking of us Kylie .. hope you're sleeping better now and having peaceful dreams

Alan tells me that I take it out of context and that, in Dickens day, the wife was seen as subservient to the husband (he looks almost wistful when he says this ) and therefore the fact that Dickens was a bit of a tyrant to her (not violent or anything just incredibly dictatorial) was probably the norm. But poor Catherine, her health was ruined by having so many children (ten) and as time went by she grew old and fat and he became embarrassed by her. She had two sisters who Dickens idolised, I think most of his heroines were based on one or the other of them .. one died quite young and he was devastated. Catherine who he had once found sweet and shy was now to him dull and obtuse, he lost all respect for her. I read that after they separated she used to buy her own copies of his books and write to him and tell him how much she enjoyed them and he would either not answer or send a terse little note back. She ended up living very modestly too, compared to what she had been used to. He wasn't impressed with any of his children either, I think he was disappointed by them. In contrast her sister Georgina sided with Dickens and continued as a sort of housekeeper to him (she took over the wifes role really which she had already been doing for years) after Catherine had moved out. His friends for the most part always spoke well of him and to them I think he was always genial and good tempered (though not to Hans Christian by the sound of it.) The saddest thing was reading that, just before she died, Catherine gave his love letters to her daughter and asked that she would give them to the British Museum .. "that the world may know he loved me once" Having said all that, don't avoid the biographies Kylie, his life story is absolutely fascinating and there's always so much to be learned about the novels.

well, you never know .. and I did hear he was looking for a lady (but then your bf might have something to say about it ) Was that 'Melissa'? I remember seeing that and thinking it was odd to see her in modern clothes and with blonde hair (though I think she is naturally blonde) but even weirder was seeing her more recently on a talk show and hearing her talk with a pronounced american accent. She played Oscar Wilde's wife (to Stephen Fry's Oscar) and I have wanted to see it for ages but still haven't. I'm sure he could, and it would be fab. He's sometimes a guest on QI (have you seen QI?) it's a sort of panel quiz show with Stephen Fry as host and he's just so brilliant whenever he's on it, he's also on radio a lot. He used to be in a comedy programme that Jennifer Saunders wrote called 'Jam & Jerusalem' .. which also had Jennifer, Dawn French, Joanna Lumley and Sally Phillips in it but it was cancelled after three series. Not everybody got on with it but I liked it .. especially Sally who was brilliant as usual (David and Sally played sister and brother and they were chalk and cheese .. David was a serious rather pompous doctor and Sally was a sort of hippy, new age type.)

Haha . you're right Roland .. we wouldn't only want complimentary copies, we'd want dedications Thanks for the extra questions Frankie .. they look hard!! but I'll try my best. 1.Book next to your bed right now: On my side of the bed there are two books, one is 'Our Spoons Came from Woolworths' by Barbara Comyns which is a funny little story that I'm really enjoying, the other book is 'The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas' by Gertrude Stein which I've only just started dipping into, but so far so good .. Alan has Neil Gaiman's 'The Graveyard Book' which he's liking although not as much as 'Mr Chartwell' which he loooooooved (even more than I did )

Good luck Frankie I wish that reading burnt off more calories and didn't go so well with tea and biscuits. Still, finding books usually means walking which is the best exercise of all (or almost ) You've made me want to read Rebecca all over again, just to remind myself of it. I'm sure you'll love it too, though I don't know how it compares to My Cousin Rachel .. but I intend to find out

So who's looking forward to the film out this year with Daniel Radcliffe? I must say I am and pics of Daniel on set look great.

I like your user name .. taken from Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy I presume now those books I could get along with and understand. Glad you're still enjoying the Malazan Book of the Fallen series Karsa

Yes, but there's that worry isn't there? that they'll think it's codswallop too and resent you for lumbering them with it I know, I know .. I'm being too super sensitive about it .. people are wise enough to make their own decisions. I know, it's enormously difficult to find the exact books you want. I almost never find books, locally at any rate, from my wishlist .. the library is the only possibility. But then it's good not to be so regimented ... some of the best reads are books you come across by accident I've only read Rebecca which I loved. I have a vague understanding of My Cousin Rachel and Jamaica Inn but must read them because I'm sure they'd be even better than the abridged readings I've heard of them. Ahh it must have been the adaptation then, I will read it because you say so and also because I liked the sound of it. What a treasure Lois Lowry is and what a lovely reply. I've not read any of her books but I will seek them out. Perhaps if you encouraged all BCF members to read them then the publishers might think again! Re: Hans Christian Andersen/Dickens: I lost respect for Dickens when I read about how he treated his wife I admire his novels tremendously but, the more I read about him, the more my opinion of him sinks

I lost most of mine for him when I read about how he treated his wife I admire his novels tremendously but, the more I read about him, the more my opinion sinks

ahhh .. I'm with you now, yes that bit was unsettling.

Yes, you're right .. but you know it's hard to pass a book on without a recommendation. It's like 'here, have this ... I thought it was codswallop but you might like it ' He's originally from Des Moines,Iowa but he's lived here, on and off, since 1977 .. and we're very glad to have him I meant I couldn't see many of them on your list but I missed the two from the 1001, so apologies I see from my Goodreads update that you loved 'My Cousin Rachel' ... does it have a bit of an ambiguous ending? only I was listening to it being read on the radio, over a couple of days, and it sort of ended without me really knowing what happened .. I thumped the radio a few times to see if it was at fault but no, there was the lady announcer telling me that a new story would begin the following day. Is it one of those endings where you have to make your own mind up or did I miss an important clue? (I am a bit obtuse when it comes to endings .. I need them spelt out loud and clear or I start looking for missing pages ) I was so hooked up to that point that it made me miserable to think that I hadn't properly understood it.

That's settled then, they're definitely related

well I can think of two (it was a couple years back that I read it now) but the one I meant was the one that it all leads up to. I got caught out by the one involving his sister, wasn't expecting it and had read it before I could stop myself .. it really upset me (and on my holiday too )

Yes, I must list some books, the trouble is if I like the book I tend to want to keep it and if I don't I feel mean about offering it for swap. I do have quite a few duplicate copies of books though (don't ask .. I've no idea how that happens) so I must get myself organised. Bill is great, I think we claim him as British now Let's face it Frankie, you've done more than a bit of freestyling here .. good, I approve

Great choice Hayley I loved it even though it made me cry buckets.