Laura-Jade

Salad Cream sandwiches. Beetroot and coleslaw sandwiches (they are seriously delicious!) American dramas - Gossip Girl, 90210, The OC etc. TV shows with people falling over - Total Wipeout, Takeshi's Castle etc. They always cheer me up Disney Channel - Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montana, JONAS, Sonny With A Chance etc. I'm 18 years old Power ballads and 80's hair metal bands - Air Supply, Heart, REO Speedwagon I love belting out rock songs while I'm cleaning

I use my local library quite often but what I usually find happens is I completely fall in love with the book I've borrowed and end up buying a copy anyway . Luckily my town has 2 libraries - one about a 20 minute walk from my house, which is very small but still has a semi-decent selection, and one about a 20 minute bus ride which is bigger and has a great, wide range of books to choose from. There's also another library, even bigger, about a 45 minute bus ride away, so if I ever run out of money to spend on books I'll be fine .

I cried for hours after reading A Walk To Remember. The film version also makes me cry but the book was much, much worse. I was a wreck! I actually prefer the film version of The Notebook to the book, but I also believe that the film is a little overrated . I enjoy Nicholas Sparks' novels, but they can get quite repetitive as they often deal with the same themes - romance, death etc. I've just finished The Last Song which also made me cry, but the ending felt a little rushed. The Last Song also focusses heavily on religion, the characters are big on Christianity and (without giving too much of the plot away) the local church features heavily, which made me a little uncomfortable as I am not religious. But I enjoyed the story very much, I'll probably see the film version when it's released later this year, even if it does star *gulp* Miley Cyrus .

Oh, I loathe that version of Hamlet . My friends and I fell in love with the play while studying it for A-Level and we watched as many versions and adaptations as we could to contrast and compare, but were all left cold by that one. But, Zeffirelli's Romeo & Juliet is my all-time favourite interpretation, it's absolutely gorgeous, and the only adaptation of Romeo & Juliet that's ever made me cry. I agree with the idea of watching movie versions of the plays. It helps when you see the scenes and hear the dialogue spoken, it makes it easier to understand. Also, if you can, try and see some on stage. There was a theatre group a year or so ago that performed Hamlet at Lancaster Castle and it was amazing. It was set up so the audience had to move around the castle and the scenes with Old Hamlet's ghost were truly chilling to watch against the backdrop of the castle. The climax of the play was performed outside, it was wonderful

I finished Nicholas Sparks' The Last Song while babysitting today. I cried my eyes out, the kids thought I'd lost my mind . I've just started reading Persuasion by Jane Austen. I really want to read all of her books - I've read Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility so far. P.S. rach.at.the.disco - I love your avatar! It's gorgeous

A friend of mine got the Sony Reader for her birthday just before she went away to university, for convenience's sake. I had a go and while I was impressed with how good it was, I still prefer real books. I like holding them, looking at the cover art, watching how you progress through. I take great delight in cracking the spines . Also, and this is the show-off in me, I like seeing my bookshelves full to bursting with books I've read. It makes me smile .

I was surprised at how many people actually talked to me. I'd just make the odd comment such as 'Oh, I love that author' or 'have you read his latest?' or something like that, and it usually took off from there. There were, however, quite a few people who looked at me like I was mental . And, yes, they should know by now!:) Oh, I adore Lolita!

I love the Cravendale adverts . And I also adored the bread advert (Hovis, IIRC) where the young boy goes through history. It's lovely . I hate any of the compensation adverts and the cash for gold ones. There's one fairly recent ad for a website that will lend you money with the bloke acting out a conversation between two people. The interest rates in the tiny print on the bottom of the screen are unbelievable, I can't believe they get away with it .

Even if I've got a pre-planned list of what I want to buy, it's still rare for me to get in and out straight away. I end up wandering around, looking at the displays, visiting my favourite sections (Mystery and Classics) and all the Bestsellers lists and everything. I'd estimate I take about an hour, average. There was one memorable afternoon just before Christmas when I was in my local Waterstone's for around 4 hours. I kept striking up conversations with strangers and the staff about certain authors and books, they probably thought I was lonely . I can't walk past a bookshop without having a nosy, it's become a bit of a family joke. If I'm ever out shopping with my family they try and take the route which won't lead me past a bookshop. And if I ever wander off while they're shopping the first thing they do is check the bookshops before calling me .

I thought it was a clever theory. When I've got time I plan on re-reading it (again! ) and seeing if I can spot anything that supports the idea .

I read this years ago when we studied it for GCSE and, even though the rest of the class hated it, I loved it. I bought my own copy about six months ago and re-read it immediately. It's such a classic plot, and so famous. I'd definitely count it among my favourite horror/thrillers. A friend of mine is studying English Literature at university and they discussed Jekyll and Hyde. Something she emailed me has always stuck in my mind - her lecturer commented how Jekyll could be gay, and that Hyde is his subconcious expressing his 'darker side' - bearing in mind when it was written. I just thought it was an interesting idea .

I absolutely love the TV show, it's one of my favourites. However, I do also love The OC and it's made by the same people so... I haven't read the books yet, they're just not high on my list at the moment. But, I have been told the TV show is very different from the books - the storylines are different and many of the characters are nothing like their book counterparts. So perhaps I won't enjoy the books as much as the show.

That's lovely I also liked Rowling's dedication in Deathly Hallows - the way it was arranged into the shape of a lightning bolt was very clever, as was the way it was split into seven.

He's single as far as I know, which makes it all the more odd!

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

I always lose bookmarks, I'm useless! I usually use bus/train tickets or post-it notes. I never fold down corners! The horror! I bought a used copy of Birdsong off Amazon that had a passport photo of a very attractive man stuck inside as a bookmark I couldn't bear to throw it out . Because I never fold corners, I've had to improvise quite a bit. A coffee shop napkin or a playing card or something. My favourite is when I borrowed a book from one of my closest male friends that he said he couldn't finish. Marking the page where he'd stopped reading was the wrapper from a sanitary towel I have no idea where he got it from!

The only one I can think of is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I collected my copy from Woolworth's () at 8am, got home at half past and didn't put it down until 9pm that night. I even took it into the bathroom with me (TMI!) and read it while eating. My parents loved it, I was silent for the majority of the day!

Mostly Waterstone's and WHSmiths, they're what we have in our town centre. I used Amazon a lot when I was in high school, I always bought used copies of the books we studied that often came with scribbles and highlights and stuff . I still use Amazon a hell of a lot . There's a brilliant secondhand bookshop in town that I can spend hours poring through. I try to use the Library as often as I can but I often find I'll borrow a book, love it and just buy a copy anyway . Supermarkets are also quite good for new releases, I enjoy seeing what's on the shelves at ASDA and more often than not end up bringing home another book with the weekly shop. They're quite decently priced too, always a plus!

I don't mind a bit of background noise - low music or quiet conversation, something like that. But I can't have the TV on because I'll just get distracted! I'll read generally everywhere - on the couch, in bed, on the bus, outside (weather permitting), in cafes etc. It's quite easy to block out noise, especially if I'm really into a book. The amount of times I've missed my stop because I've been too engrossed doesn't bear thinking about . I don't read books in the bath though, I'm scared of dropping them, but I'll happily read magazines in the bath. I live right by the sea so I've spent many summers walking down to the beach (if you can call it a beach - bring a towel and a bag of sand!) with my dog and letting him run around and play in the sea while I sit and read a while. I've wasted whole afternoons doing this . I do eat while I read, mostly snacky stuff like chocolate and I always have to have a drink nearby. I try to read at least a little bit every day, whether it's just a page or half the book in one go. It also depends on the book and how it flows. Like a lot of posters, I take a book everywhere so I'm never stuck without one. I do get quite funny looks when I'll just pull out a novel when I'm queuing for something, but at least I'm entertained

When I was a kid, my parents used to read Enid Blyton to me . I also loved the Babysitter's Club series and Nancy Drew. I credit Nancy Drew for my love of Agatha Christie now . And I still adore Roald Dahl, I read his stories now to my young cousins.

I enjoyed the Twilight Saga, and found them interesting and quite easy to read. And the phenomenon that they have become is astounding. But the Harry Potter series captured my imagination immediately and I completely fell in love with the characters, the setting and the magic . I still re-read them now. I could talk all day about Harry Potter .

I completely understand. It really resonated with me and has stuck with me since I read it. I also agree with the posters who mentioned American Psycho - what an amazing powerful book. I couldn't put it down! I'd also mention We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. One of my favourite books of all time, it raises some very interesting points and questions. The beginning was a little hard to get through, but the story really picked up from when Kevin was around toddler-age. You could sense the mother;s frustration. The end made me cry. Also, The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. It was simply bone-chilling, the fact that, unlike Stephen King who I've often seen Ketchum compared to, the antagonists didn't have anything to do with the supernatural. It was the simple story of how humans can be so unhinged. Terrifying and brilliant.

Beaches never, ever fails to make me cry like a baby. I can't watch it with my Nanna because we both just end up blubbering embarrassingly . A Walk To Remember also gets me going. The film is bad enough but when I read the book, I had to put it down and leave the room for a while to get myself together . I also cry at most Disney films, especially Beauty and the Beast. And there was a rather embarrassing time at Disney Princesses on Ice a couple of years ago, but that's a story for another time

Hello everyone My name is Laura, from Lancashire, I'm 18 and a receptionist. I've always been a big reader and, as an only child, had plenty of opportunity to form a love of books. I have quite a varied range of tastes. I love reading horror and thriller, as well as mystery novels. I love any kind of murder mystery! I also enjoy chick-lit and romance novels, I see them as a way of escaping the humdrum of daily life. I'm also trying to make my way through some of the classics. I've fallen in love with Jane Austen's writing and, because of various English Literature assignments when I was in high school, I also enjoy Gothic literature - namely Stoker and Shelley. My parents often joke that I should buy shares in Waterstone's because I spend so much time in there I also frequent my local secondhand bookshop a bit too much! From what I've seen of the forum, you all seem to be a friendly bunch and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in I apologise for the massive introduction - I talk almost as much as I read!