ian

Not quite the same, but I remember once being confined to bed with food poisoning,and not being able to sleep, started reading a book on the introduction of tanks in world war 1. Well, I developed a fever that night and had a completely realistic hallucination that I was there, in the trenches, at the Somme! I also remember having to put down Gerald's Game by Stephen King at a certain point (no spoilers!) and sit down and rub my wrists for a good half hour! Ian

Another new author for me. "The border between Maine & Canada is porous. Anything can be smuggled across it: drugs, cash weapons, people. Now a group of disenchanted ex-soldiers has begun it's own smuggling operation, and their cargo is stranger and more terrifying than anyone can imagine. Anyone, that is, except private detective Charlie Parker, who has his own intimate knowledge of the darkness in men's hearts. Brought in to investigate an apparant suicide, Parker discovers an epidemic of deaths among the former combatants." I was intrigued at trying a book that mixes a detective style with a supernatural style. I wasn't sure it would work, but I was drawn in by the first few pages. Even though this book is some way into a series, I didn't find that to be a problem. Important back-story is gone over in enough detail for newbies like me to get what's going on. I found that you could almost split this book in two. The first half of the book is mostly straight detective fiction. I was most reminded of Ian Rankin in style (which is no bad thing IMO!). Slowly the supernatural elements creep in, and by the second half of the book, it's almost entirely supernatural. Mixed in with this a good dose of social comment about the plight of injured soldiers and their treatment when they come home. While I wasn't completely convinced that the book worked - I thought the ending was rushed as the author was trying to get too much into the last few chapters, I have certainly read enough to tempt me to read more by him Ian

Finished The Whisperers. Not bad, but I thought that towards the end the different elements of the story didn't really go together, so the ending was a little rushed. Wouldn't stop me reading other books by him though. Books read so far = 9 After a false start with a Phillipa Gregory novel, I'm now reading; The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

I'd agree with that Easy reader - the first section you wonder " when is this going to get started? All this explanation about circus animals and zoo's and religion? It pays off in the actually part on the lifeboat though. It almost became too unbeleivable for me when he gets to the island (like being on a lifeboat with a tiger, Zebra Hyena etc IS beleivable! ) I'm very glad I read this, and think a re-read will be in order soon Ian

Finished "Life of Pi" although I think I may be pondering the ending for a while yet! Books read this year = 8 Next The Whisperers by John Connolly

I watched Wanted last Saturday on the TV. Oh dear. Very poor.

Welcome to the site, Seraphy!

There didn't appear to be a seperate thread for this book, although that is possibly down to my search rather than there not actually being a thread! From the sleeve notes; After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a 16 year old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, a female orang-utan - and a 450 pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extrondinary works of ficton in recent years. Where to start! I have been completely blown away by this book. It starts umpromisingly with a rather rambling first few chapters about Pi growing up in India, Zoos, Circuses and religion. My mother-in-law passed this on to me after she couldn't get past those first few pages. After this, the story proper starts, as Pi's family decide to move to Canada. Pi's father runs a Zoo, so after selling most of the animals, they end up on a cargo ship with the last of these animals, which then sinks somewhere in the Pacific. The rest of the book deals with Pi's time in the lifeboat with the tiger. I won't spoil anything by revealing any more than that! I should have been throwing this book across the room because of it's unbeleivable story-line. I didn't because Yann Martel MADE me believe it. It should be an horrific tale of starvation, thirst and hopelessness. Instead, it's funny, poignant and full of hope. Yes, it's also tragic at the same time; you're never allowed to forget the pain of Pi's existance. And then there is the ending. I'll say no more except to say I didn't see it coming! Ian

I can't recommend it enough, Poppyshake. Reading the notes about the author at the front, I see that Wilkie Collins was a comtemporary of Charles Dickens and this was published around the same time as A tale of two cities. Have to say, having read both, TWIW was better. Next book chosen - Life of Pi - Yann Martel

I've just finished TWIW - my first Wilkie Collins, and I've really enjoyed it. As others have said here, it's a real page-turner. A real testament to the author that he manages to keep the suspense up for the whole 600 odd pages.

Phew! After a marathon reading session late last night, I've finished "The woman in white". Excellent read and my first Wilkie Collins, so I shall have to get hold of some more. I would have preferred to have read it a little more slowly, but it has to go back to the library Wednesday! I have a couple of choices for my next read, but I may leave off until I have been to the library, as I will undoubtedly pick something really long that I will need to start right away to guarantee finishing before THAT has to go back! Books read = 7

Hello Sally! You consider yourself to be a slow reader, but you can face up to a challenge of a book a week? Trust me, you aint a slow reader!

Dean Koontz does this to me. I absolutely love some of his stuff, find others boring (which is strange as, these days, he tends to re-write the same story over & over, with differently named charactors) Stephen King has gone off the boil for me. Yes, Under the dome was a return a form (weak ending excepted), but it's a old story! He first had the idea around the same time as The Stand. I also think sometimes you get to a point with a writer where the scales fall from your eyes, and what you previously thought off as good, now looks like rubbish. Tom Clancy did this for me, about halfway through The Bear & the Dragon. I've never read anything else by him since Ian

I agree, it's difficult to see where the charactor of Salander could have gone after the 3rd book. It feels like the end of trilogy, not the end of a third book of a possible ten. For me, the one unanswered question was that of the sister..... Ian

Finished "Close Range". Books read this year = 6 Now starting "The woman in white" - Wilkie Collins. Need to get a shift on, I borrowed both of these from the library and they need to be back by the 31st Think I bit off more than I could chew here! Ian

I would say that Jane Eyre is my favourite Classic. Lots of people here seem to also be saying that they are struggling to get into Wuthering Heights. I would encourage anyone to endure the first 2 chapters, which are a bit of a grind (IMHO), put it does pay back the effort! Stick with it! Ian

Really? It's only the second of his (I think! - if "Rat run" is one of his, and in both cases I found them difficult to get going, but once in, I couldn't put it down. What else would you recommend? Ian

I've been watching Outcasts - even though they've moved it to Sunday night. I've really enjoyed this, there's good acting and good story-lines. Yes, the first couple of episodes were slow, but they built the characters. A shame the BBC have already said there won't be another series - 'cos I think I'm the only person in the country actually still watching it!

Finished The Collaborator. See elswhere for my review, but I did eventually enjoy it! Books read this year = 5 Now onto "Close Range" Annie Proulx

This follows the story of a woman (Imacolata Boreli) who is the daughter of a powerful Mafia clan in Naples. Following the death of her friend, she makes the decision to collaborate with the police and give evidence against them. Her English boyfriend,Eddie, not understanding who she really is, travels to Naples to look for her, and so walks into the middle of a vendetta. Struggled a bit with this, but I think that was down to me & my mojo rather than the quality of the book. It did annoy me a little that there was no conversation in the first half of the book; it was all told second hand. Any way, it seemed to take off after the halfway point (the book or my mojo, I'm still not sure!) and I really enjoyed it from that point onwards. Gerald Seymour writes the charactor of Imacolata so that we don't have a lot of sympathy for her, which, for me, made her more beleivable. You're not allowed to forget that she was an active part of a Mafia clan, and so not entirely innocent. I didn't really warm to Eddie, and again that might have been the writers intention, but it did mean that the first half of the book had no sympathetic charactors. This might be why I struggled. The second half introduces a hostage negotiator, who I did warm to. So for me, second half flew by. 4 out of 5 Ian

Shakespeare in love is a really good film! At the other end of the scale (in terms of content) I watched Harry Brown last week. Excellent, well acted, but very depressing. Ian