vodkafan

Hi bobblybear, sort of a Coincidence because I was just looking at both those books (Rivers Of London and The Horse Whisperer) only minutes ago, they are on my shelf ready for next year....was turning both of them over in my hands, then I clicked on your thread and saw this....

As It happens I am drinking a glass of Australian red wine before I go to sleep...it's not bad Kylie

Thanks Amanda. That was all very interesting. I wish you well in your new career which you have worked hard to get into. That was a good point about bloggers and tweeters and YA readership. I think that whole internet realm is something that young people own and feel is their own and are familiar with-it has it's own sort of integrity . Young people mistrust traditional methods of book advertising I think- the "blurb". They are a lot more savvy than we are.

Karsa, I have Tigana on Kindle and also the 3 Ffffonovar novels. Which should I start on?

Hi Frankie, well, here is my review (if the link works!) Be careful it has a spoiler in it. The story was OK I think I just expected something different. And because it is a fantasy I expected to see fantasy elements in it. Otherwise what is the point of making it just like real life history? okay I didn't know how to do the link properly sorry . It's on page 11 of my 2012reading blog http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/9534-vodkafans-2012-reading-list-and-genre-challenge/page__st__200#entry298898

Fasting, Feasting Anita Desai. I enjoy books about India and had not read one for a while. It's a story about families . Poor Uma has not had much of a life. Although her parents are fairly well off with servants, she is forced to stay at home out of tradition and duty. However she observes the world around her and notes that her prettier younger sister and cousin are also not happy in their marriages and are more or less prisoners in their own way too. The "fasting" here seems to mean a lack of spiritual sustenance rather than food. Then the story jumps across the world to America through the eyes of Uma's brother Arun. where the contrast in cultures is overwhelming. Arun is staying with an American family. Here they have everything in abundance (including a surplus of food) and yet Arun sees that they are still not happy, this family is as disfunctional as his own. This was a slim book and an easy read, I could have finished it in a few hours but found it was better to spread it out and read a chapter then think about it for a bit to get the full meaning. I would read another by this author.

Oh yeah so I did ! Thanks. I will fill in the TBR pile maybe tomorrow. Or a few tonight if I can remember them.

Anna Dressed In Blood Kendare Blake Supernatural Romance YA book. Not vegetarian vampires or zombies or werewolves. So I figured worth a look. Cassius is an unusual teenager. His mother is a witch and his father was a Ghosthunter who hunted out and laid to rest troubled and vengeful ghosts. Until one night he didn't come back from a job. So Cass took his place. Moving from town to town , no friends. Deliberately not getting to know anyone and doing just fine, thanks. .Then one job changes everything in Cass's life. Because he has to go up against a killer ghost so powerful that he doesn't know if he can win. The terrifying apparition of a murdered and cursed young girl called Anna, whose dress drips blood, and who has so far killed everyone who has entered her house.. Well so much for my blurb. I enjoyed this book OK. The author managed to blend an interesting story with the usual teenage concerns. Most YA books at some level are about relationships. This one is no different. But the descriptions of the ghosts are quite exciting and I think youngsters will enjoy them. There is a bit of gore and horror, and also some swearing, (which I think was unnecessary) which makes the book not for younger readers , and the book had a warning on it to this effect. But 15 and up, fine.

2013 Wish List Ones with a line through have been purchased and moved to TBR pile Me Before You The Story Of Us Born on the Night of the Living Dead: Growing Up With Talking apes, Killer Sharks, and Flesh Eating Zombies -David Young Red Leaves Restless Vanished Kingdoms What's Wrong With Eating People Bonk donated by Sofia Wedlock The Dead Of Winter God Is Not Great Oranges are Not The Only Fruit UR A Little Girl In My Room Rosie's War If Walls Could Talk The Book Of Human Skin The Sisters Brothers Bleak House Woman In White Toms All Alone Girl Meets Boy A Beautiful Blue Death Apocalypse Cow Sister Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children Kindly donated by Sofia The thoughts and happenings of Wilfred Price, purveyor of superior funerals Dancing in a distant place Whispers underground Pure The Snow Child

I always get Ella Fitzgerald and F. Scott Fitzegerald mixed up. Thanks for the review, might look this one out.

TBR pile (in no particular order) Love-act M.E. Austen It's A Small Medium And Outsize World John Taylor Good Behaviour Molly Keane The Rituals Of Infinity Michael Moorcock The Duelling Machine Ben Bova The Siege Of Krishnapur J.G. Farrell Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers The Green Brain The Heaven Makers Dune The Unlikely Pilgimage Of Harold Fry Up The Line Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure In Victorian Britain Judith Flanders Inventing The Victorians Enquire Within Upon Everything 1890 The Steampunk megapack (26 stories) Viridis Lady Of Devices A Steampunk Adventure Steampunk Erotica The Monster In The Mist (Chronological Man) Miss Peregrine's Home For Unusual Children - Ransom Riggs Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood World War II London Blitz Diary vol 2 World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 3 World War II London Blitz Diary vol 4 - Ruby Alice Side Small Island - Andrea Levey The Victorian Time Traveller - James D Quinton Abandoned Born On The Night Of The Living Dead - David Young The Circuit - Bob Shepherd Mansfield Park Jane Austen Emma -Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen World War II London Blitz Diary - Ruby Alice Side The Maid's Tale - Rose Plummer and Tom Quinn Climbing The Stairs - Margaret Powell Below Stairs - Margaret Powell Balti Britain - Ziauddin Sardar Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You - Marcus Chown Stephanie Plum series 4-20 - Janet Evanovitch The Memory Game Nicci French Forgotten Voices of the Blitz Joshua Levine The Book Thief Markus Zusak One Day David Nichols Survival Of The Fittest Jonathon Kellerman For The Sins Of My Father Albert Demeo Moon Dust Andrew Smith Just Six Numbers Martin Rees The Victorians AN Wilson Victorian London Liza Picard Geisha Liza Dalby In The Heart Of The Sea Nathanial Philbrick Another Day In The Frontal Lobe Katrina S Firlik Spycatcher Peter Wright Inside The Tardis James Chapman Best New SF 25 The Midnight Palace Carlos Ruiz Zafon Pemberley Emma Tennant This Book Will Save Your Life am homes Ways Of Seeing John Berger Gunners On Tour Maurice Court The Power Of Now Eckhart Tolle Girl Meets Boy Ali Smith Mother Tongue Bill Bryson The Almost Moon Alice Sebold The Martians Kim Stanley Robinson Abandoned boring Rivers Of London Ben Aaronovitch The Horse Whisperer Nicholas Evans The Women Who Lived For Danger Marcus Binney The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer Michelle Hodkin The Memory Game Nicci French The German Invasion Of Norway Geirr H Haarr Raj Lawrence James The Mad God's Amulet, The Sword Of The Dawn, The Runestaff Michael Moorcock Flowers For Algernon Daniel Keyes Accidents In The Home Tessa Hadley Devoted Ladies Molly Keane A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Lord Of The Flies William Golding Murder On The Orient Express Agatha Christie Breakfast at Tiffany's Truman Capote Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier Battle Royale Koushun Takami Untying The Knot Linda Gillard The Primitive EC Tubb The Picture Of Dorian Grey Oscar Wilde Nicholas Nickleby Charles Dickens The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irvine Meeting At Infinity John Brunner Little Women Louisa May Alcott One of Our Thursdays Is Missing, Thursday Next First Among Sequels, Something Rotten, The Well Of Lost Plots, Lost In A Good Book, The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde God Collar- Marcus Brigstocke abandoned Saving Faith - David Baldacci Stalin's Ghost - Martin Cruz Smith The Spire - Richard North Patterson Eye Of The Needle - Ken Follet The Dark Of The sun - Wilbur Smith Smokescreen -Dick Francis Lurulu - Jack Vance Emphyrio - Jack Vance Life Of Pi - Yann Martel Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories - Lizzy Ford The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson Pure - Andrew Miller No Nice Girl Swears - Alice Leon Moats The Sexual Life Of Catherine M - Catherine Millet I'm Only Being Honest - Jeremy Kyle Who Dares Wins The Age of Revolution 1789-1848 The Age Of Capital 1848-1875 The Age Of Empire 1875-1914 Shirley The Colonel The Puzzle Of God The Clothes On Their Backs abandoned boring Alone In Berlin Perfume Bonk The Terror Daily Life In Victorian London Bleak House The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde The Moonstone The Woman In White Ruth The Importance Of Being Earnest Basil Les Miserables Wuthering Heights Life as A Victorian Lady Workhouse Life In A Victorian Household The Seven Curses Of London The Victorian House -Judith Flanders Victorian Worthies The Blackest Streets Girl Interrupted Mrs Oliphant The Book Club Bible The Northamptonshire Village Book Shout At The Devil Thieves' Kitchen The Lost Continent The Crowded Street Round the Bend A Special Relationship Hayfever (Parragon health guide) The Selfish Gene Richard Dawkins Sharpe's Company Bernard Cornwell Two Eggs On My Plate Oluf Reed Olsen A Plague Of Angels Sheri S. Tepper Slavery A New Global History Jeremy Black Tales From The Workhouse (Mary Higgs, James Greenwood etc) The Martian Emperor (Chronological Man book 2) Andrew Mayne The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot The Warrior Queens Antonia Fraser Redemption Stanley Tookie Williams Infidel Ayaan Hirsi Ali The Caged Virgin Ayaan Hirsi Ali Nerd Do Well Simon Pegg Mrs P's Journey Forensic Clues To Murder Brian Marriner Confessions Of An English Opium Eater Thomas De Quincey Farnham's Legend Helge It's Not About The Bike Lance Armstrong Toast Nigel Slater Bad Blood Lorna Sage The Dark Of The Sun Wilbur Smith I Know My Own Heart Anne Lister The Voyage Out Virginia Woolf D-Day Stepehen Ambrose The Book Of The Dead Of All Possible Worlds William Tenn The Makeshift Rocket Poul Anderson Life The Universe and Everything More Than Super-Human AE VAN Vogt Behold The Man Moorcock The History Of London Sir Walter Besant Can You Forgive Her Trollope The Anome The Asutra The Brave Free Men Araminta Station Ecce And Old Earth Throy Star King The Face The Book Of Dreams The Palace Of Love The Killing Machine The Blue World City Of A Thousand Suns The Towers Of Toron Out Of The Dead City Postal Pleasures : Sex, Scandal Between Women: Friendship Desire and Marriage in Victorian England Sharon Marcus Testament Of Youth Vera Brittain Arise Sir Michael Caine William Hall Journey Through A Small Planet Emanuel Litvenoff Notes From A Small Island Bill Bryson The Other Side Of The Dale Gervaise Phinn Nineteen Seventy Nine Rhona Cameron Foundation Isaac Asimov The Naked Sun Isaac Asimov Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze Edited by Mick O'Hare The Road To Samarcand Patrick O'Brian

Wow that's good going kidsmum more than a book a week.

Notes: (k) denotes kindle ebook. There are no challenges and no targets this year. Instead I just have a big pile of books I have collected that took my fancy. Among them are books from favourite authors still not read; I wish to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of these writers. Something new for 2013! For the first time I have decided to add a Books Bought In 2013 feature . I promise to update this honestly. Books Bought In 2013 Doris Day Her Own Story kindly donated by Frankie Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers £3.99 The Green Brain amazon £2.81 incl p&p The Heaven Makers amazon £3.79 incl p&p Dune amazon £2.81 incl p&p The Unlikely Pilgimage Of Harold Fry (k) £2.66 World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 2 (k) £1.90 World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 3 (k) £1.90 World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 4 (k) free Miss Peregrine's Home For Unusual Children kindly donated by Sofia Oryx and Crake kindly donated by Sofia Small Island £1.50 charity shop Pure £0.95 charity shop No Nice Girl Swears £0.20 charity shop The Sexual Life Of Catherine M £0.99 charity shop I'm Only Being Honest £1.99 charity shop Below Stairs £0.99 charity shop Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You £0.99 Charity shop Balti Britain £1.50 charity shop Who Dares Wins £0.20 The Age of Revolution 1789-1848 £0.20 The Age Of Capital 1848-1875 £0.20 The Age Of Empire 1875-1914 £0.20 Shirley £0.20 The Colonel £0.20 The Puzzle Of God £0.20 The Clothes On Their Backs £0.20 Perfume £0.20 Alone In Berlin £0.20 Bonk book swop with Sofia The Terror book swop with Sofia Daily Life In Victorian London kindle £0.66 Bleak House free kindle download The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde free kindle download The Moonstone free kindle download The Woman In White free kindle download Ruth free kindle download The Importance Of Being Earnest free kindle download Basil free kindle download Les Miserables free kindle download Wuthering Heights free kindle download Life as A Victorian Lady kindle £1.85 Workhouse Via Amazon £2.81 inc postage Life In A Victorian Household kindle £0.66 The Seven Curses Of London kindle £0.99 The Victorian House Via Amazon £2.81 inc postage Victorian Worthies free kindle download The Blackest Streets Via Amazon £5.05 inc postage The Book Club Bible £0.20 Girl, Interrupted £0.20 The Northamptonshire Village Book £0.20 Shout At The Devil £0.20 Thieves' Kitchen £0.20 The Lost Continent £0.20 The Crowded Street £0.20 Mrs Oliphant £0.20 Round the Bend £0.20 Sophies' World £0.20 (for daughter for the philosophy) A Special Relationship £00 (picked up at work) Up The Line £2.81 amazon incl.postage Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure In Victorian Britain £6.92 inc postage Inventing The Victorians £6.68 incl postage Enquire Within Upon Everything 1890 £5.00 incl postage The Steampunk megapack (26 stories) Viridis Lady Of Devices A Steampunk Adventure Steampunk Erotica The Monster In The Mist (Chronological Man) £2.59 total for all 5 books above To Miss With Love £0.50 Charity shop Confederates In The Attic £0.49 Charity shop Love-act £0.20 It's A Small Medium And Outsize World £0.20 Good Behaviour £0.20 The Rituals Of Infinity £0.20 The Duelling Machine £0.20 The Siege Of Krishnapur £0.20 Hayfever £0.50 The Selfish Gene £0.50 Sharpe's Company £0.50 Two Eggs On My Plate £0.50 A Plague Of Angels £1.49 Oxfam Slavery A New Global History £1.49 Oxfam Tales From The Workhouse kindle download £0.77 The Martian Emperor (Chronological Man book 2) kindle download £0.77 The Fall Of The Towers trilogy kindle download £5.97 total (3 books) The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot £0.50 The Warrior Queens Antonia Fraser £0.50 Redemption Stanley Tookie Williams £0.50 Infidel Ayaan Hirsi Ali £0.75 The Caged Virgin Ayaan Hirsi Ali £0.75 Nerd Do Well Simon Pegg £ 0.75 Mrs P's Journey £0.50 Forensic Clues To Murder Brian Marriner £0.50 Confessions Of An English Opium Eater Thomas De Quincey £0.20 Farnham's Legend Helge £0.10 It's Not About The Bike Lance Armstrong £0.10 Toast Nigel Slater £0.50 Bad Blood Lorna Sage £0.50 The Dark Of The Sun Wilbur Smith £0.20 I Know My Own Heart Anne Lister £0.20 The Voyage Out Virginia Woolf £0.20 D-Day Stepehen Ambrose £ 0.20 The Book Of The Dead £0.75 Of All Possible Worlds William Tenn £0.20 The Makeshift Rocket Poul Anderson £0.20 Life The Universe and Everything £0.20 More Than Super-Human AE VAN Vogt £0.20 Behold The Man Moorcock £0.20 The History Of London Sir Walter Besant Free kindle download Can You Forgive Her Trollope Free Kindle download The Anome kindle £2.99 The Asutra kindle download £2.99 The Brave Free Men kindle £2.99 Araminta Station kindle £2.99 Ecce And Old Earth kindle £2.99 Throy kindle £2.99 Star King kindle £2.99 The Face kindle £2.99 The Book Of Dreams kindle £2.99 The Palace Of Love kindle £2.99 The Killing Machine kindle £2.99 The Blue World kindle £2.99 City Of A Thousand Suns £4.99 The Towers Of Toron £4.99 Out Of The Dead City £4.99 Life Of Pi free kindle download Our nig free kindle download Postal Pleasures : Sex, Scandal £ 5.99 kindle Between Women: Friendship Desire and Marriage in Victorian England £8.99 kindle Testament Of Youth Vera Brittain £0.20 Arise Sir Michael Caine William Hall £0.20 Journey Through A Small Planet Emanuel Litvenoff £0.20 Notes From A Small Island Bill Bryson £0.20 The Other Side Of The Dale Gervaise Phinn £0.20 Nineteen Seventy Nine Rhona Cameron £0.20 Foundation Isaac Asimov £0.20 The Naked Sun Isaac Asimov £0.20 Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze Edited by Mick O'Hare £0.20 The Road To Samarcand Patrick O'Brian £0.20 Running total £163.71 140 books January: The Circuit - Bob Shepherd 3/6 Four To Score- Janet Evanovitch (Stephanie Plum #4) (k) 4/6 The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak 6/6 Another Day In The Frontal Lobe - Katrina S. Firlik 4/6 World War II Blitz Diary (volume 1) - Ruby Alice Side (k) 5/6 High Five - Janet Evanovitch (Stephanie Plum #5) (k) 3/6 The Maid's Tale - Rose Plummer with Tom Quinn 4/6 For The Sins Of My Father - Albert Demeo 4/6 Emma - Jane Austen (k) 5/6 World War II London Blitz Diary Vol 2 - Ruby Alice Side (k) 5/6 Rosie's War: An Englishwoman's Escape From Occupied France - Rosemary Say (k) 5/6 February: Battle Royale - Koushon Takami (k) 5/6 Below Stairs - Margaret Powell 4/6 Climbing The Stairs - Margaret Powell 4/6 Breakfast At Tiffanys - Truman Capote (k) 5/6 The Primitive - E C Tubb (k) 3/6 Okinawa- The Last Battle Of WWII - Robert Leckie (k) 3/6 Hot Six - Janet Evanovitch (k) 4/6 Murder On The Orient Express - Agatha Christie (k) 5/6 Girl Meets Boy - Ali Smith 6/6 March: Mansfield Park -Jane Austen (k) 5/6 The Victorian House - Judith Flanders 5/6 April: Life As A Victorian Lady - Pamela Horn (k) 3/6 Life In A Victorian House - Pamela Horn (k) 3/6 Seven Up - Janet Evanovitch (k) 3/6 Daily Life In Victorian London - Lee Jackson (k) 4/6 Workhouse - Pamela Oldfield 2/6 The Blackest Streets - Sarah Wise 5/6 Bonk - Mary Roach 5/6 No Nice Girl Swears - Alice Leone Moats 2/6 May: Pemberley - Anne Tennant 3/6 Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen 6/6 The Lost Continent -Bill Bryson 4/6 Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You - Marcus Chown 5/6 Warrior - Geoff Thompson 3/6 This book will save your life - A.M. Holmes 2/6 Millennium - John Varley 3/6 To Miss With Love - Katherine Birbalsingh 5/6 Inventing The Victorians - Matthew Sweet 4/6 The Seven Curses Of London - James Greenwood 2/6 June: Survival Of The Fittest - Jonathon Kellerman 2/6 The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry Rachel Loyd 6/6 Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers Philip Stokes 2/6 The Heaven Makers Frank Herbert 3/6 Love-act M.E. Austen 4/6 Confederates In The Attic Tony Horwitz 4/6 Doris Day Her Own Story A E Hotchner 2/6 The Sexual Life Of Catherine M Catherine Millet 2/6 WW2 Blitz Diary Vol 3 Ruby Alice Side (k) 5/6 Saving Faith David Baldacci 5/6 Moondust Andrew Smith 4/6 Small Island Andrea Levy 6/6 July: The Duelling Machine Ben Bova 2/6 The Mad God's Amulet Michael Moorcock 2/6 The Sword Of The Dawn Moorcock 2/6 The Runestaff Moorcock 4/6 The Monster In The Mist Andrew Mayne 4/6 The Rituals Of Infinity Michael Moorcock 2/6 Flowers For Algernon Daniel Keyes 6/6 Up The Line Robert Siverberg 5/6 A Plague Of Angels Sheri S. Tepper 3/6 Inside The Tardis James Chapman 1/6 Dune Frank Herbert 4/6 August: Tales From The Workhouse Mary Higgs,James Greenwood 1/6 The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloon 3/6 Consuming Passions Judith Flanders 3/6 Between Women: Friendship, Desire and Marriage in Victorian England Sharon Marcus 4/6 The Martian Emperor Andrew Maine 2/6 Behold The Man Michael Moorcock 5/6 Toast Nigel Slater 5/6 Araminta Station Jack Vance 4/6 September: Ecce and Old Earth Jack Vance 4/6 Throy Jack Vance 4/6 The Caged Virgin Ayaan Hirsi Ali 5/6 The Anome Jack Vance 3/6 The Brave Free Men Jack Vance 4/6 The Asutra Jack Vance 2/6 WWII London Blitz Diaries Vol.4 Rubie Alice Side 3/6 Dream Science Thomas Palmer 3/6 The History Of London Sir Walter Besant 4/6 Sharpe's Company Bernard Cornwell 4/6 The Star King Jack Vance 6/6 October: The Killing Machine Jack Vance 5/6 The Palace Of Love Jack Vance 4/6 The Face Jack Vance 4/6 The Book Of Dreams Jack Vance 5/6 Out Of The Dead City Samuel R Delaney 3/6 The Towers Of Toron Samuel R Delaney 5/6 143 Jade Winters 2/6 Miss Appleby's Academy Elizabeth Gill 5/6 Nineteen Seventy Nine Rhona Cameron 6/6 The Maid's Tale Rose Plummer (re-read) November: Can You Forgive Her? Anthony Trollope 5/6 London In The Nineteenth Century Jerry White 6/6 Gaslight Villainy; True Tales of Victorian Murder Grahame Farrell 5/6 December: Jonathon Strange And Mr Norrell Suzanna Clarke 6/6 Best Book Of The Year The Tower Grave James Moncrieff 2/6 The Secret History Of Our Streets Joseph Bullman, Neil Hegarty Brian Hill 4/6 98

Hi Julie, that's a tough (but varied ) challenge. Looks a lot of fun though.

I found the whole first series of Dead Like Me in a box set in a charity shop. I only watched one or two of these episodes years ago back when I used to watch TV. I am working my way through the whole set of 4 dvds an episode at a time.

Glad you are liking it Frankie. I wasn't bowled over with it myself but I have 4 other GGK books on my kindle to read eventually so if you read any others by him let me know .

I am reading two books at the moment, Android Karenina and Berlin The Downfall 1945. Both pretty huge tomes. Will try to catch up on reviews tonight.

Hi Noll,

Brave - brilliant TED - didn't find it as funny as others have, too much swearing, Mila Kunis looks fantastic though. Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World-

Kindle dude, kindle !

Aeon Flux. Absolutely terrible and also virtually the same plot as Ultraviolet, which was also terrible. Is that the Charlie Chaplin lampoon of Hitler, Echo?

Sightlines Kathleen Jamie It was a complete fluke that I bought this book for my kindle at all, I was reading my kindle in the pub and it was the kindle book offer of the day, with only an hour to go, and the blurb mentioned Norway so I downloaded it there and then. It is rather a strange and unique book, ( I should have mentioned straight away it is non-fiction) . It is a hard job to summarise what it is about. Basically her travels , things she sees in nature and how she sees connections in them. There. That made it sound completely boring, which it is not. The author has not lost her childlike sense of wonder at things , and she communicates this very well indeed. So much so that it makes the reader want to go see these places, which have both human and animal history entwined in them . There is one place I must now go to in Norway for sure. There are some recurring themes in it, for instance whales. Anyway, I recommend this book as a guaranteed change from whatever you are reading now!

Packing For Mars Mary Roach This author is easy to read and very entertaining. I was a bit disappointed with STIFF, as it seemed to wander off topic a bit, no such worries here. This is no facts and figures type science book, it is instead about space exploration from the human point of view: what's the food like? What's it smell like to wear a space suit with a nappy for 2 weeks and nowhere to wash? what are the problems with a zero gravity toilet? Is it possible to have sex when floating? Will astronauts murder each other on long space journeys cooped up together? These and other burning questions are dealt with in Mary's usual fearless fashion .She asks all the experts she can find until she gets some answers. She doesn't stop at asking awkward questions either, she likes to have a go at everything, including a centrifuge, and experiencing weightlessness in an aircraft . Her husband drew the line at her keeping her recycled urine in the fridge to drink though. A great book, very different in style to Bryson but just as funny.

I had to change two of my answers! Below is the revised version... Your favourite read of the year? The Shadow Of The Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon Your favourite author of the year? Jeanette Winterson for her way of looking at things, and time. Your most read author of the year? a tie: I have read 3 books each of the following authors: Janet Evanovitch, Jack Vance, Jeanette Winterson Your favourite book cover of the year? A lot of my books were on kindle, and of the ones that weren't I don't remember any good covers. The book you abandoned ? Truth or Dare The book that most disappointed you? Catcher In The Rye. I had heard it was good. The funniest book of the year? Woman's World by Graham Rawle Your favourite literary character this year? Norma from Woman's World Your favourite children's book this year? Anna Dressed In Blood (YA) Kendare Blake Your favourite classic of the year? Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Packing For Mars Mary Roach Your favourite biography this year? Autobiography Of Malcom X Your favourite collection of short stories this year? The First Person and Other Stories Ali Smith Your favourite publisher of the year? Gollanz for putting Jack Vance onto e-books Your favourite re-read of the year? Trullion Alastor 2262 Jack Vance

Here we have those DVDs distributed under the "Tartan Asia Extreme" label. Some of them are good, some have left me unmoved to say the least. I will look this one up Frankie.