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I read a couple of his books many years ago now, and none of his later stuff. I seem to remember it as very easy to read; with a narrative that goes along nicely - more action perhaps than Stephen King. I've been planning to read some more by him, for some time now, so I'll be interested to see other opinions.

Welcome to the forum!

Plus, I found it got more Scottish as it went along - so it seemed to me anyway. There came a point where I was reading it in a Scottish accent in my head. I guess that's the point, so that worked. It made it more real for me, but I can certainly understand how it could make it difficult to read. I've decided on a change of direction, but still on the older books theme. So, now I'm reading " The ragged-trousered philanthropists" by Robert Tressell.

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson Set in Scotland in 1751, Kidnapped remains one of the most exciting stories ever written. Young David Balfour, orphaned then betrayed by his Uncle Ebenezer, his so-called guardian, falls in with Alan Breck, the unscrupulous but heroic champion of the Jacobite cause. Shipwreck, murder and dramatic escape through the Highlands are just a few of the ingredients of this highly charged tale of intrigue, action and adventure. My thoughts As I said above, I've been waiting a long time to read this book, having read an excerpt in an adventure stories for boys compendium when I was about ten. I really did enjoy this book. There is no let up in the pace of the story; poor old David Balfour goes from one disaster to the next, yet at no point did I feel that what was happening was unlikely. It's a fairly easy read as well. My only difficulty was with some of the Scottish dialect words; the Kindle edition I was reading, downloaded from Guttenberg for free, didn't have notes that explained all of them. In fact, it seemed only to explain the ones I already knew! Still, thanks to the internet, I managed to solve most of these in a matter of seconds, only the word "wame" giving me a problem (it's belly, apparantly!) Still, I wouldn't be without the dialect in this, or any book. It makes it seem more realistic. Well recomended - 5/5

I didn't know that Willoyd - I admit that particular "fact" came from Wikipedia, (that he wrote adult fiction now considered children's) so that's my comeuppance for lazy research! As it happens, my first experience of Kidnapped, and probably of RLS was from a "Boy's book of Adventure stories" that I was given at around age ten. It included an excerpt from early in the book that had always stuck with me, so I'd always wanted to know how it turned out. Well, 35 years later, I've finally got around to it! Moonfleet was one of our set texts at sencondary school. I'd already read it by then as my brother had a copy. I would agree it's a fantastic book

And so, onto Kidnapped. Reading Treasure Island has really fired up my enthusiam for reading this!

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson I'd convinced myself that I'd read this a number of years ago, but in all honesty the only part of the book that felt familiar was the final line. I either read some hatchet job "condensed" version, or my memory isn't what it was. Whatever, I really enjoyed re-reading this. Some books from this era can be a bit difficult to read; the writing style is very dense. Perfect for quiet evenings in front of the fire with nothing else to do, but more difficult if trying to read in todays world where I sometimes struggle to find 10 minutes to snatch a few pages. Classic books demand commitment from their readers! Not so with this. The writing is easy and fluid. This book would be considered a childrens book these days, but I don't believe it was written as such (and frankly who cares anyway - like that's gonna stop me reading any book!) and is just simply enjoyable. 4/5

Definitely roll on pay day anyway. I've got a serious case of too much month left at the end of the money! This is the main advantage of my new year's res - it doesn't cost me anything.

I love stuff like this! This is awesome!

I've not read any Murakami, but I'm intrigued by this now - great review! Do I need to read the other books you've mentioned first?

Decided to make a start on the very vague reading resolution that I made to myself, which is to read some of the classics that I, so far, haven't got around to reading. I'm being very fast and loose on my interpretation of classics. I think for the moment, especially as I still haven't got around to moving the bookcase back into the living room, and I'm suffering with No-Money-January Syndrome (herein called NMJS ) they will all be those books that I can download free onto my Kindle. I'm starting with a bit of a cheat - I wanted Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, but while downloading that I realsied that I could remember virtually nothing about Treasure Island. I know that I've read it at some point, but I just can't remember. So, I've started with that.

It's not much of a spoiler, but it would be enough to potentially give away a big plot development.

Just finished this and I loved it (my full review on the book blogs page). I thought Brady was a very good villain - but it was actually Aunt Charlotte that made me the most angry! I think this is now going to be a trilogy of books? Cannot wait!

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King A cat-and-mouse suspense thriller featuring a retired homicide detective who's haunted by the few cases he left open, and by one in particular - the pre-dawn slaughter of eight people among hundreds gathered in line for the opening of a jobs fair when the economy was guttering out. Without warning, a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. The plot is kicked into gear when Bill Hodges receives a letter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the perpetrator. He taunts Hodges with the notion that he will strike again. Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing that from happening. Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. And he's preparing to kill again. Only Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, can apprehend the killer in this high-stakes race against time. Because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim hundreds, even thousands. My Thoughts. SPOILER ALERT!!! I can see on Goodreads that this book has divided people - some hate it, others love it. I can see where both viewpoints come from in all honesty, but I'm going to have to plump for....loved it. First up, congratulations to Stephen King. At 67 years old and having written 54 novels, you decided to write something different from your normal genre (ok it's not a million miles away, but still). A straight thriller, with a wickedly insane antagonist and a rag-tag group of "heroes" - I'm thinking SK has gone deep into Dean Koontz territory. That, for me is not a bad thing. And what shines through, as always in King's books is the characterisation. He has never been afraid to build up a character in the first few pages only to kill them off in chapter two; It doesn't surprise anymore, but it certainly adds a frisson to the reading. You care about these people, straight from the off. There have only been a handful of times that a character's death in a book has drawn me up short - and now Stephen King has done it to me 3 times. Yes, you see it coming - that makes it worse! In short, I really liked this book. It ins't the best thing King has written, but as I've said before, even his not so good stuff is head and shoulders above a lot of writers, in my opinion. 4/5.

I'm really enjoying it at the mo - about halfway through.

So here we are in a new year - just a quick look back at what I read last year, which was: Books read in 2014 - 33 average score (out of 5) - 4.3 Seems what I lacked in quantity, I made up for in quality. Hopefully, this year I'll get both. Sadly, I only got the one book for Christmas, Mr Mercedes by Stephen King, so I'll be starting that today. Happy reading, everybody!

Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson When Karen Drew is found sitting in her wheelchair staring out to sea with her throat cut one chilly morning, DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern Area, gets lumbered with the case. Back in Eastvale, that same Sunday morning, 19-year-old Hayley Daniels is found raped and strangled in the Maze, a tangle of narrow alleys behind Eastvale's market square, after a drunken night on the town with a group of friends, and DCI Alan Banks is called in. Banks finds suspects galore, while Annie seems to hit a brick wall--until she reaches a breakthrough that spins her case in a shocking and surprising new direction, one that also involves Banks. Then another incident occurs in the Maze which seems to link the two cases in a bizarre and mysterious way. As Banks and Annie dig into the past to uncover the deeper connections, they find themselves also dealing with the emotional baggage and personal demons of their own relationship. And it soon becomes clear that there are two killers in their midst, and that at any moment either one might strike again. My Thoughts I've always had a slight problem with Peter Robinson. The publishers would love you to think that these books are as good as Michael Connelly's "Bosch" or Ian Rankin's "Rebus". They are good, don't get me wrong.....just not that good. The problem I've always had is that I occasionally come across little details that don't feel realistic, and they throw you out of the story, making you question other things. As daft as it sounds, one of those things is the names he gives some of his minor characters. Some of them feel a bit old-fashioned, and so not "real". Like I said it's very minor, ultra-picky point. But I always get past that and end up enjoying the story. This is a good one, and while guessing the killers identity is pretty easy, the enjoyment is waiting for the main characters to get there. Still enjoyable, and I will always read more 3/5

Streaming seems to be the way that the industry believes is the way forward, but I do wonder. I seem to remember that when cable and satillite TV started to take off in this country, there were a plethora of companies you could choose from. Now, there is Sky & Virgin. At the moment, there are a plethora of streaming TV services. I can't see people wanting to subscribe to 2 or 3 different ones just to pick up one particular programme. I think a lot of these going by the wayside till we end up with just one or two giants. One positive note - I was listening to an interview with David Lynch this morning and he was saying that while alternative cinema is dying in the US, he sees a bright futire for it on cable TV, which has, in his opinion, become the new home of alternative film & TV. It doesn't seem a big jump for that to also translate to streaming TV. At the moment, with lots of companies all vying for our attention, it may be that people power willl mean that, for a short while at least, these companies will be very keen to listen to viewers needs and programmes will be made that we actually want to watch! That's my optimistic view anyway

As for what to read next, I'm finding it a bit difficult. I've already started and given up on two books within the first chapter which is really unusual for me. Part of the problem is that I've been doing a lot of running around over the last couple of weeks, so I haven;t had the chance to pick up anything from charity shops (which is where I get the majority of my books at the mo) and I don't want to go and buy anything new in case I get it from someone else for Christmas. For the same reason I don't want to re-read anything lengthy 'cos once I see all those books I get on Christmas day (hopefully! ) I'll want to get into them right away. Nice "problem" to have!

The Black Box by Michael Connelly May 1992, and after four LAPD officers were acquitted after the savage beating of Rodney King, Los Angeles is ablaze. As looting and burning take over the city, law and order are swept away in a tidal wave of violence. But under threat of their lives, homicide detectives like Harry Bosch are still stubbornly trying to do their job. With no effective police presence on the streets, murder just got a whole lot easier - and investigating them a whole lot harder. When Harry finds the body of a female journalist in an alley he is forced to hand over the case to the Riot Crimes Task Force, knowing that it will never be solved. Twenty years later, new evidence confirms her death was not a case of random violence but something much more personal. This time Harry is determined that the killer isn't going to escape - even if it means stepping back into the darkest days of the city he loves... My thoughts When in doubt, read Michael Connelly. Yes, there are no great revelations or twists that you don't see coming; but for me, that isn't what M.C. or Harry Bosch is about. What you do have is solid, competent writing, a story that moves along at a nice pace, and a main character that feels real and that you have empathy for. 4/5

I did enjoy the last episode - I thought the acting from Ken Stott at the end (the bit on the boat with James Nesbitt) was brilliant. I have to concentrate very hard when I'm watching it though, or I feel that the plot will get away from me!

A Street cat named Bob by James Bowen Synopsis When James Bowen found an injured, ginger street cat curled up in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation, he had no idea just how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London and the last thing he needed was a pet. Yet James couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent tom cat, whom he quickly christened Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas. Soon the two were inseparable and their diverse, comic and occasionally dangerous adventures would transform both their lives, slowly healing the scars of each other's troubled pasts. A Street Cat Named Bob is a moving and uplifting story that will touch the heart of anyone who reads it. My Thoughts In some ways it's quite difficult to review a book like this. The writing style is a touch repetative and symplistic. Does that matter? Not really! At the end of the day, I was reading this because I wanted a simple, easy read. And at the end of the day, like most people reading this I imagine, I'm not looking for literary style, I want to read an interesting account of a guy that lives a very precarious existence, whose life is turned around by his befriending a cat. James Bowen describes living a life that, thankfully, I have no experience of. Perhaps because of the simplicity of the writing, the story comes across more honest. At times what they (James & Bob) go through is absolutely terrible, but ultimately, this is a very uplifting book. 4/5

The Harry Potter one is hilarious! I haven't watched any for a while, so I must go and have anither look for some new ones

Athena, I couldn't agree more - it's so difficult to find something suitable to read after reading such a long series. In the end it was Ruth that hit on the perfect solution for me. She was given "A Street cat called Bob" a couple of years ago. She doesn't really read at all (but apart from that aberration is almost normal!) so had sat on the shelves. She suggested it: as I say perfect. It looks to be a undemanding read (I mean that in the nicest sense), uplifting and non-fiction.