Ooshie

To me, a weedjie would be a Glaswegian (someone from Glasgow). I had never heard the term soapdodger and would just have assumed it was someone who didn't wash often (dodging the soap!), but I have just googled it and Probert Encyclopaedia informs me that it is Scottish and Northern Irish slang for a Protestant! Never heard that one before... (Although Urban Dictionary agrees with me about it being someone dirty, smelly or generally unkempt - complicated!)

I will join in with The Bell Jar, too; I have never read it either. Like you, though, frankie, I will need a wee break after that for Miss Smilla

I'm glad I'm not the only one whose wish list gets bigger every day! I'm going to join in with The Bell Jar too, as I haven't read that either

Great idea! My ratings are: - Gone with the Wind 5/5 (I didn't read it with the group, but it's one of my favourite books ever ) - Wuthering Heights 2/5 - The Crimson Petal and the White 4/5 - Wicked 4/5

210 pages into A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve. Ordered from Amazon: The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Malevil by Robert Merle

That's it on order. Along with another four books...Amazon, you make everything too easy for me!

Wilfred Owen

Sounds good to me!

I had enjoyed Wicked, but not enough to be sure I really wanted to read the sequels - I don't think I can resist now, though!

Paw Tracks in the Moonlight by Denis O'Connor

I would love to drink green tea as it's meant to be so good for you, but the few times I have tried it, it has always made me feel sick

What a good list, kez952! I hope you enjoy the forum. When you said you liked chick lit I was going to suggest I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson, but I see you have read it already. What about Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro? Blurb on back of book: Audrey Hepburn had it. Grace Kelly had it. Louise Canova does not. Elegance, that is. Nor does she have the answers to get her life, her looks or her marriage back on track. Then one day she discovers a faded hardback in a second-hand bookshop. Elegance, an A-Z of style written by French fashion expert Madame Antoine Dariaux, is a revelation. From Accessories to Zippers, there is nothing that Madame cannot advise upon, including types of husband (and how to manage them) and shopping with girlfriends (don't). When Louise takes the book to heart, her life is transformed. But as her old self begins to disappear, it is clear there is more to true elegance than she bargained for. Looking the part is only the beginning.

The short story The Rosewell Incident by Irvine Welsh is one of the funniest things I have ever read - don't want to give anything away, but I read it in a collection called Children of Albion Rovers, I don't know if it's available anywhere else or not. I'm 64 pages into A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve.

I am born and bred Scottish and still living here, and I find the language hard to read, too! I basically have to say all the words silently (or sometimes not silently) to myself to work out what they are I speak Scots, but I definitely don't read it!

Shorter and quicker would suit me too, and I would be happy with any of the three you mention frankie

I got Rose Garden and Ceylon to try

How does everyone feel when they have finished one book but haven't yet decided what to read next? It actually makes me feel quite anxious - even when I have lots of lovely books I am looking forward to reading, I don't feel comfortable until I have settled on the next one and made a start to it. I have a feeling I might just be strange...

Decided now! Started A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly A fast moving and easy to read crime novel, this follows reporter Jack McEvoy on the final story he will write after being made redundant. He is determined that his story will be the best he has ever written, and follows up on a phone call that usually he might have ignored. He discovers a serial killer - but the serial killer has discovered him, too...

Finished The Scarecrow by Michael Donnelly last night. Can't get back into Flowers for Algernon as the 15 year old has started it, so not quite decided what to read next

I'm suffering from the fact that I forget the details of books really quickly now, so please excuse me if my answers are very inaccurate! 5. Several characters, especially Ram and Salim, are big movie fans. Is there a reason for this? Do films help them escape their frequently dreary lives, is it simply a significant part of their culture, or is there another reason? When reading the book, I very much thought of them seeing films as pure entertainment to take their minds off the awfulness of their daily lives. But thinking about it a bit more, of course film is a huge part of Indian culture, too. 6. What are Ram's ambitions in life? Why does he tell Prem Kumar he doesn't know how he's going to spend the billion rupees? I don't remember thinking much about Ram's ambitions in life, although to me his aim was to find someone to love that would love him back and provide the sense of belonging that was missing due to his being abandoned. The only thing I can remember about how he was going to spend the money was to buy Nita's freedom from prostitution so he could marry her, and maybe that was a bit too personal to want to talk about. 7. Why does Ram turn in Colonel Taylor? Is this retribution for the colonel's spying, his derogatory comments about Indians, or for the way he treats his family? Or does Ram simply want to collect his wages before returning to Mumbai? I certainly wouldn't have been surprised if Ram had turned him in for any of the unpleasant ways in which he behaved that are mentioned above. But when I was reading I just thought the time had come that he needed to collect his wages.