ian

Oh well, just me them! Yes, I knew I was laying myself open with the river comment, but hey - I'd rather drop a £8 paperback in the river than a £100 kindle. Anyway, back to my low-tech life. Where did I leave my quill & parchment scroll! Ian

Am I just a technophobic middle aged Victor Meldrew, or is anyone else seriously annoyed at the Kindle advert on TV? It shows a woman reading at a riverside. Why is that supposed to entice me to buy one of these things - at £100 ish? Can I not already just read an ordinary book at the riverside? It doesn't cost me £100 plus, I don't have to worry about the batteries going flat, or dropping it in the river! Please tell me I'm not alone! Ian

No, I was still thinking of Dean Koontz. I googled it - it was Life Expectancy. I also agree that Lightning was an excellent story

What was that one with the evil clown? Loved that one! Ian

A pity it's your first book by him, but don't let it put you off. Get "Odd Thomas" which is much more representative. Ian

"In the Colorado mountains something miraculus comes into the life of Grady Adams, a strong, gentle man whose past experiences have alienated him from the modern world and driven him to live in the wilds. When he sees it, he knows that one of Nature's great mysteries has been revealed to him." OK, let me be clear - I've read a lot of Dean Koontz' book, and I've always been happy with them. Yes, I will admit that his newer stuff isn't as good as his earlier work, and they have got a bit formulaic. Nevertheless, I've always enjoyed his charactors, both good and bad, as they are generally witty and the writing style is fast page-turning stuff. Something went wrong with this book however. His recent books have all had a moral message. I don't have a problem with that - Mr Koontz is a fellow Catholic, so our philosophies largly agree, but he seems to have written this book AS a moral message, with the story taking a (very) backseat. But the biggest fault with this is that it takes nearly three-quarters of the book to get to the point, after which he takes just a couple of chapters to end the story. Minor charactors, that you spend most of the book wondering what point they have to the major storyline, then come in and out of that storyline in the matter of a few lines. I don't know, but it reads like it should have been a much longer book, that has been severly edited down. Maybe the publishing deadline ran out? It won't stop me reading any more of his stuff, but I will be wary next time. Disappointing. Ian

For me, in Little Women It actually made me shout out NO! loudly and I had to put the book down for a while.

I recently read "The Narrows" by Michael Connelly, where he switches between the two - First person for the protaganist and third person for the other major charactor. It was an interesting style and I'm surprised I haven't come across it more often Ian

Strangely enough I disliked the film for the same reason that Vodkafan likes it! I thought by changing the ending, they took away the central point of the book. Marcus fixates on the charactors of Will and the older girl at school (name escapes me) because he thinks their cool nd so different from his mother and other people in his sphere. The ending of the book does a much better job of showing that not to be the case IMHO. I'd love to put a lot more, but I hate spoilers! Ian

Herbert George Wells

Tock (ticks are horible) Black ink or Blue ink? Ian

I read this a while back. The general consensus is that the ending sucks. I actually don't think it's that bad (I agree with Sedge; Cell is much worse) and at least the ending fits in with the theme of the book. But it is the low point of the book. You expect something a bit more inventive after all that has gone before. If this low point had only been in the middle of the book rather than the end....... Ian

I've just finished reading "Love among the chickens". Typical Wodehouse. Very funny, quick and easy read. Along with all the other stuff of his I've read, I highly recommend it Ian

lol. you got me!

Granted. Unfortunately the rest of the team miss the tube and don't make it to the stadium. You have to play the game on your own. You're beaten by the Faroe Islands. Badly. I wish I could stop time Ian

I could suggest several places that this thread could go. Politeness however, stills my typing fingers!

They're something I've learned to appreciate as I've got older. I was introduced to some classics far too early at school. Result: I avoided them like the plague whilst still being an avid reader until well into my thirties. In a way it's been good. I can appreciate them now in a way I never could have in my teens/twenties, plus I have this whole genre of unread books to explore! I'm currently reading "Emma". I know that if I had tried to read this 10 years ago, I wouldn't have got past page 2. Does nothing for me, I'm afraid! Ian

I last read these books in my mid-twenties. As you say, very enjoyable. Get the rest (including the four full length novels) as they are all good reads. The short stories are pure story, nothing else, so actually fit in quite a lot for their length. Ian

From this point forward, I will only read what I have written myself and eat only what I have cooked myself (how could I be SO lazy as to eat someone elses cooking) It's a toss-up as to whether I die from boredom or starvation first! Ian

These days I'm not bothered which, but I used to prefer the third person narrative. I can't justify why, or say that I actively disliked first person writing. Or indedd why it doesn't bother me now. (I don't know much do I ). One thing (slightly off topic) that I always thought of as strange is the convoluted lengths that some authors went to get to a first person narrative. Bronte novels are like that I find, especially Wuthering heights and The Tenant of wildfell Hall, both of which spend the first chapter introducing the narrator. Ian

This is a great series; I've been really looking forward to it's return.

I'm so glad someone else had said this, as I thought it was just me being a bit weird! There is something deply satisfying in picking up a book, opening it randomly and smoothing the pages out. Glossy and new. Or the crinkly sound from really old books as you turn the pages.

Mac - with reference to your comment about Harlen Coben. My mother-in-law saw an interview with him recently. Apparantly, he's deeply embarrassed that this book has been re-released. He acknowledges himself that it's a load of rubbish! Ian