vodkafan

He invented the Geostationary satellite you know.

Welcome Dori. Your English is very good by the way.

When you and Kylie come over I would like to cook you my healthy speciality meal, chicken in white wine and cream! Don't worry I have had plenty of practice, I cook it for the kids every week.

Hey Gabbie how was The Forgotten Waltz ? I just read another Anne Enright I reviewed on my reading blog. Can't decide whether to give her another go.

Hey! Hi Millhouse ! Welcome to the forum.

The Gathering Anne Enright I picked up this book in a charity shop because I remember somebody read it on here and liked it about 2 years ago and thought I would give it a go. I found it hard going although there is no doubt that the writing is very good; it wasn't that at all. I think I struggled because the subject was sad, death and what happens to us in childhood affecting how we turn out as adults, leaving us very little choice. The story is told in first person by Veronica, brother of Liam who has just committed suicide; The actual time is the weeks between finding out about Liam's death, running sequentially through the events of getting the body back, the wake and finally the funeral. Veronica is in charge of all this, although there are 7 other surviving siblings. During this period she is detached and feels estranged from her husband; most especially she cannot sleep with him while she sorts her head out. She feels disgust for men during this time. She is writing down her thoughts and memories, some real, some imagined, and the reader has to pay close attention to these flashbacks , as they build into the answer to why Liam's life turned out the way it did. For only Veronica knows, and she had blotted it out; now she must re-live it to be at peace with herself. This one will definitely stay in my head for a while. I think I will not dump this one straight away but keep it to re-read in a year or so.

Sure, of course it will work you two! You just haven't got to "one day" yet. Don't give up. Patience + Perseverance = Progress

Hi Gabbie, welcome aboard.

Dad actually liked reading Westerns mostly but in Sci Fi he only extended to Asimov and Clarke. That's why I have always regarded those writers as a bit "stiff" I suppose. When I started reading a lot of Vance and John Varley and Damon Knight and LeGuin and a bit of Moorcock and Siverberg , my dad never liked those writers much. The ideas in them were too far out for him. It was a generational thing I suppose. But in fact all those writers were around at the same time. Nothing wrong with a bit of Clarke really, he was a very clever man I just thought his writing was a bit old fashioned. Asimov's 3 laws of Robotics are genius.

I just finished The Gathering by Anne Enright. Will review it tomorrow. 32 tree books to go.

I know, but you're young

aah interesting...well if I can finish the one I am on I will start The Accidental this very day ladies!!

Ok, I am going to have to check out your other reviews now. Your spider web rating thing is interesting, but I could not quite make out how it worked as I have had a couple of beers and it looks like I might have to make an effort. I will come back tomorrow.

Oh my that's a big responsibility

Hi Kidsmum longtime no speak!! Hope you are well and doing great. You are right that is strange. Maybe it is one of those books that affect you so profoundly that once you have read it you can't bear to be near it for a while. So I guess that would make it good? It's going to be my next read anyway.

I had to look back through this thread a bit- I was so surprised that What Katie Did was published in 1872! I will have to read this, and Sounder too. Thanks Bree!

Hi RaeLea, welcome to the forum. I know it's a completely different Genre,and out of the blue, but I wondered what you thought of Janet Evanovitch? Or who would you recommend as a good wordsmith?

I am happy for you to be reading each book for the first time! The first Vance book I ever read , when I was a teenager, was The Languages Of Pao. I had up until then been reading either Andre Norton YA SciFi or my Dad's Arthur C Clarke or Asimov "Old F**t" Sci Fi. Jack Vance just blew me away!! Every book of his just seemed to throw off new exciting concepts like sparks from a catherine wheel. I envy you your new journey of discovery.

Now that's a collector.

If you want to go more fantasy, go Lyonesse. If you want to go more "spacey" you can go The Planet Of Adventure series (aliens) , or the Demon Princes, or The Alastor Clustor series. There are lots of stand alone novels too.

Cor yeah 9/10 ! Glad you enjoyed it Tim.

I think only women can write about sex well anyway. When a guy writes about sex it is " He does this there and then then they did that.." It is not erotic in any sense. Just using her as an example, but I bet if Ali Smith wrote about sex it would feel like the reader was actually there!. I think erotica is OK, same as any other genre, so long as it is good writing that's what counts.. I am getting very intolerant now of bad writing..life is too short!

He must have had his weetabix that day!

That's OK Claire at least 4 of mine are huge doorstops- one of them is 700 pages. History of the British Raj

I read 10 this month..am I still in with a chance? Maybe I could sneak round to Chesil's place and put something in her cocoa to slow her down