vodkafan

Yes it's the sequels that divide most peoples opinions. You have both made me want to read Dune again now .

I never thought of it like that before pontalba but yes your husband has it exact. This new dumbed down sexed up Star Trek is not for me I feel.

Kidsmum, Frank Herbert is a very readable SF author. Stories like the Green Brain are not heavy on "Sciencey" elements at all. I would not hesitate to recommend him to you at all . But Dune is the one that everybody argues about! It is a novel with a huge cult following. You will either really like it or you won't get into it at all is my guess. Impossible to say. I am excited that you want to try though. Ask Karsa for his opinion he is fond of this book I think. I liked the book and the film.

I love the original series! I am gradually collecting them on DVD from charity shops when I see them...got about half the episodes now..

I don't know if I can watch this on principle after what they did to the character of Uruha in the first film, they sexed her up and made her into a complete tramp.

Welcome Dave. Look forward to reading your thoughts on some books! Does your wife read the same type of books as you?

To Miss With Love 5/6 Katherine Birbalsingh This is the book written by the celebrated teacher who spoke up at the 2010 Tory Party Conference about the state of education and consequently lost her job. Afetr reading the book this seems deliberate spite on the part of the Government. It was originally written as an anonymous internet blog and everybody in it has a pseudonym. The blog was not written for laughs but as a true record of life in an inner city London school. As such I found it truly depressing and frightening. I hope this fine teacher is doing something good.

Millenium 3/6 John Varley This was a re-read for me, a short little time-travel SF novel I first read about 30 years ago. Up to then all the SF I had read had been written in the 50's and 60s, Asimov.Clark, Vance, Van Vogt, Moorcock. So this book and the concepts in it came as a bit of a shock. I quickly got hold of another Varley book which was a load of short stories . My dad did not like John Varley at all. This book was later made into a truly awful film that everyone wanted to disown and has been forgotten. The book is not too bad though.

I share (unread) most of the classics on your TBR with mine, although I have read almost all the Jane Austens already (Sense And Sensibility still to go). A couple each off your other TBR and your wishlist I have read, I think The Time Traveller's Guide To Medieval England was one of the first books I read when I first got here! There is a thread on it somewhere a few folks have enjoyed it. A lot of your titles are new to me though. So good luck and look forward to reading your reviews.

For the last 9 years The Apprentice is literally the only programme I would watch the whole year! Religiously every week for the whole 12 weeks. This year is no exception. I do think the standard of contestants has gone down though in recent years. The first two that got sacked this year should not even have got through the selection process to be in it they were so clueless.

Believe it or not I had never seen this show until very recently as I hadn't watched any telly for years. But when I bought my telly a few months back the kids would always switch this on so I have seen several episodes now but all in the wrong order and disjointed. I do think it is a great show. Sheldon is superb in all ways but I also like Penny for two reasons. One is that she is a normal healthy shape for a girl she has hips and broad shoulders, not the usual Hollywood stick insect! The other thing I like about her is that it is quite obvious that often she is having trouble keeping a straight face during filming, if you look you will notice she is often trying not to laugh. Some of the episodes I have seen have Bernadette and Amy in them. I don't like Bernadette (although I do like Horowitz) but Amy is a great character . I love that she is so geeky smart but so obviously sexually frustrated; although she clings onto the hope of some sex with Sheldon she fantasizes just as much about Penny. I saw a thing about the actress online and she really is scientist-type brainy just like Amy

Wow you are a reading machine Athena . I noticed you gave The Crimson Petal And The White top marks so that's 2 good reviews I have read on it..

Liked your reviews of The Crimson Petal and The White and The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.....going on my wishlist thanks

A broad taste in books does you credit!

Good reviews Pontalba I liked the sound of all the books but I think I will make a point of looking for the Morgue Drawer series that looks quirky.

I just didn't "get" his style of fantasy. But I have only read 2 so I will give him one more shot.

I like the sound of A Fire Upon The Deep too. I remember you recommended The Wind-Up Girl and that was superb. I have forgiven you for Guy Gavril Kay .

Do you have Warrior too Brian? It semmed like something you would read as well.

I can see what you mean about the hype, the back cover blurb really bigged it up (which did make me buy it out curiosity I must admit) . It did get better in the second half but you probably did the right thing. Having read it certainly won't change my life.

Hi Frankie, liking the condensed "half-assed" review style. I knew someone who went for that opening up sinus thing, maybe it was the same. He said he could hear the bones in his skull crunching and cracking and it bled quite a bit. He had to have it done every few years! Parcel is on it's way to you. I put a Jack Vance in with it so now you have to read it Mwahaha

Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You 5/6 Marcus Chowns My Big Son's original degree is Science Communication (which means writing about science so that ordinary people can understand it) which is why I like to read this type of book. Marcus Chowns has a different style again to Mary Roach and Bill Bryson. Even the scientists don't understand Quantum theory so Marcus breaks everything down into little examples and anologies one concept at a time. I still found it best to read only one or two chapters at a time though and let things sink in. I enjoyed this book and if his other books are similar then Mr Chowns could become my favourite science writer .

Warrior 3/6 Geoff Thompson I had heard of this author before. He is about the same age as me. He was a celebrated nightclub bouncer in Coventry (10 miles away) but he seems to have become a sort of martial arts teacher and now a film screenwriter and self help guru while I wasn't looking . This book is about living your life with integrity , looking after your body and directing your energies. If this was easy of course he would not have to right a book about it! There are many pitfalls , addictions, junk TV, the seductive culture of instant gratification. We have grown weak, soft and lazy. I cannot say that none of the lessons in the book did not apply to me. They all did! At the end of each chapter are simple tasks like making lists and action plans. I did not do any of these as this first time I just wanted to read it through as a book rather than use it as a manual. But certain parts have stuck in my mind and I think I will reread this again at some point and incorporate some elements.

This Book Will Save Your Life 2/6 A. M. Holmes Well with a title like that I couldn't not read it could I ? This also fitted in well with the themes in Warrior and Girl, Interrupted. (I tend to read books in clusters that have somewhat related themes) As soon as I started reading it I had the weird feeling I was reading The Dice Man all over again, even though I read that book about 30 years ago. A rich man in his isolated house on a hill in LA one day has a sort of breakdown. He is in overwhelming pain and starts to cry. He realises that he has lots of money but he knows no one and sees no one except his housekeeper and his nutritionist. He realises that he has done this to himself over many years. It is a special sort of LA mental illness. Everybody functions and is successful but everybody is messed up and alone. This is about his struggle to reconnect with people around him. The book is OK but I am sorry to say nothing special. My problem with it is that there was no real conflict in the story, it was all very easy for him as he had so much money he just had to think about a thing and it was done. Rent a beach house by the sea for 3 months? Easy. Buy someone a car as a gift ? of course you will make a friend that way. It got a bit more interesting when his son came out to visit. I can see that the author was trying to put over some human truths and that was a noble aim so I am not dissing the book completely. I just could not identify with the principle character.

Oh my gosh yes of course they would be. I never thought to check. Picked up all my Wilkie Collins and Dickens and Austen that way. Kindle comes into its own if you like classics

Hi Lauren yep you probably belong here. Welcome and don't be afraid to just jump into any conversation and if you read something great let us know! Have you read any Linda Gillard?