Ooshie

Well, I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, but I have noticed that lots of people on the forum hated it I haven't read The Coffin Dancer, but I have never been disappointed by any of the Jeffery Deaver books I have read. Let us know what you pick!

50 pages into The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly; looks good so far

Thanks, Lucybird

Ah, I hadn't even realised there was a sequel to The Secret Scripture! It will have to go on my wish list when I find out what it's called - which shows that, although I found the actions/attitudes of a lot of the characters depressing, I definitely enjoyed it enough to want more.

Made the mistake of looking at the "buy one, get one free" books in Tesco, and came home with: The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve 216 Bones by Kathy Reichs Trail of Blood/Bad Blood by S J Rozan (a set of two) I would have bought the first three at some point anyway, but I haven't come across S J Rozan before; I enjoy crime novels, though, and hope they will be good. I might put Flowers for Algernon aside for now and read one of today's purchases instead

That's exactly how I felt too. .

I enjoyed the story and thought it was very well written, really bringing the characters to life , but I did find it quite depressing due to the inhumane way lots of the characters treated Rosanne What did you think of it?

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry The story of 99 year old Roseanne, who has been held in a mental hospital since she was a young woman. As the hospital is closing, her psychiatrist has to assess her to decide whether she needs continuing psychiatric care or whether she can be returned to the community, and the book follows the story of her life both from her own memories and from the records that are held in various institutions; there is an interesting twist to the tale towards the end. I found this book a very moving read, and well written, but quite depressing as it deals very much with the inhumanity of ordinary people to someone in need. Having said that, there are some characters who do not fall into this category, and the various strands of the story are tied up well at the end.

What a great review of The Road poppyshake Like you, I thought of the country they were crossing as America, although come to think of it I can't now remember why! I read the book in short bursts interspersed with more cheerful reading as I found it so intense. A great piece of writing, I thought.

Finished The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

Malevil does look good, pontalba, and I hadn't heard of it before - nearly time for an Amazon order, my wish list is building up nicely again! You certainly have a good excuse for your hoarding - unfortunately, I don't, and therefore seem slightly deranged to most people! But hey, you can never have too many candles and boxes of matches... And everybody was very pleased with my bottled water when the whole mains system to our area went down

That's One Second Later on my wish list then! I do like a post apocalyptic novel (Then I start hoarding tins and bottled water and collecting coal... )

Hope you enjoy it here - it doesn't matter how much you read, just that you enjoy it!

Thank you poppyshake 130 pages into The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. Enjoying it more than I expected to so far, although it's not a particularly cheerful read. (OK, not a cheerful read at all!)

I always enjoy Harlan Coben's books, I will look forward to reading that one in the future

I thoroughly enjoyed it, Rose, I hope you do too

The Apple by Michel Faber Having thoroughly enjoyed reading The Crimson Petal and the White (I still find myself thinking about the characters now, several weeks after finishing it), I was really looking forward to this collection of seven short stories which gives more glimpses into the pasts and futures of some of the characters. Having finished it, though, I actually wish I had just contented myself with TCP&TW and not tried to prolong the experience. The short stories were well enough written, but I didn't really find they added anything to my enjoyment, and I have the feeling I will continue to think of the characters just as I knew them in the novel and without the extra details. I haven't decided yet whether to keep The Apple to re-read at a later date, or give it away.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire The story of Elphaba, a green-skinned girl, who grows up to be The Wicked Witch of the West in the classic novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. A marvellously imaginative story of the experiences which shape Elphaba, and of how she came to be perceived in the way she was. I found Wicked a well-written and imaginative book, and enjoyed reading it. I am going to have to buy The Wonderful Wizard of Oz now, though, as I haven't read that yet!

Finished the last few pages of Wicked last night, and read the whole of The Apple by Michel Faber today.

I have ten Dean Koontz books on my shelves - and if I have kept them it always means that I enjoyed them enough to think I will read them again some time in the future; Odd Thomas is one of the ten, but I have to admit that I don't remember anything about the story! *blushes* I have just had a look on the Horror/Supernatural/Fantasy/SciFi etc area and there is a "Dean Koontz - Good or Bad" thread on page 2 which might help you, sorry I don't know how to post a link.

I have hardly done any reading this week Doing more hours at work, having migraines (three different types on three different days!), and worrying a bit about my mum going in on Monday to have her gall bladder out have all meant my concentration has been pretty poor. I do hope to finish Wicked tonight or tomorrow though.

Nita is the first who comes to mind as suffering solely due to being female, pimped by her brother to earn money for her family, with her virginity sold off to the highest bidder when she was 12. Also Neelima Kumari, although a successful actress, is seriously assaulted by her lover and also suffers torments as she ages and loses her beauty, finally committing suicide. While being abused by a partner and being distressed at the loss of youth are not only female problems (my brother was frequently physically assaulted, threatened with knives etc by his ex-wife), it seems to me that they are problems more common to women than men - although I stand to be corrected! I don't remember Mrs Taylor (the Colonel's wife) or Swapna Devi (Shankar's mother) needing protection by Ram. In general, I think I would say that Ram tended to idealise women. I need to think a bit more about that question, though.

George Orwell