Ooshie

It does look very peaceful, though... I'm half way through Shadow by Karin Alvtegen, which I am enjoying; I think she has another few books out too.

I wasn't very inspired by the beginning either, but really enjoyed it once it got going. My 15 year old loved it too. I only read The Tommyknockers once when it first came out, and didn't really enjoy it, but I'll be interested in your comments on it - perhaps it's time I tried it again!

It's what my younger brother used to call me before he could talk properly! A very, very long time ago...

Yes, that's just about where I started to flag in The Stand! I was blaming my lack of stamina! Glad to hear it's not just me

That ruined the whole film for me too, Kell.

My top five are: 'Salem's Lot The Shining Firestarter It Duma Key I reread The Stand recently, and although it's a great story, I wouldn't put it in my top 5. I didn't find it as gripping or scary - although maybe I was just numbed by the length of it!

I have read quite a lot of Jodi Picoult, but not that one (Vanishing Acts) yet. I like the sound of the storyline, rach, and your 8/10 means I will probably buy it soon!

Wombles. Headache tablets or icepack?

Quintin Jardine

Girls on Film - Duran Duran

I agree, I think the woman is an idealisation of his biological mother, and reflects his longing for her (which I think is probably to be expected by someone who is still very young and was abandoned as a baby). Like vodkafan I think that it was a bit unrealistic that the details of the dream always changed to reflect what was going on in his life, but I suppose if you think about the story the way his life experiences gave him the answers to all the questions and the way everything tied up with no loose ends at the end of the book was pretty unrealistic, too. I admit I just treated it as an enjoyable book when I read it and didn't bother too much about the realism of the storyline!

I didn't enjoy Wuthering Heights very much, but I know lots of people love it, so hopefully you will get more from it than I did.

I have the novel Flowers for Algernon waiting to be read too, I'll be interested to hear what you think of it. I read a (very) abridged version of it in a book of short stories when I was a child, and was very moved by it.

No reading at all today; I had to spend several hours filling in forms this evening, and my brain has turned to sludge!

You have certainly have had quite a time of it. Welcome back!

Yes, that's right - I had never even heard of TCP&TW until the Rory Gilmore book challenge! And I will be reading The Apple as a result of that, too. I love the way the forum is expanding my reading horizons; I have always read a lot, but I guess I had got into a bit of a rut with the type of books/authors I was choosing. Oh, and I had never heard of Wicked either, which I'm reading now - Rory Gilmore again!

Look forward to seeing you around!

Q & A by Vikas Swarup I wouldn't have chosen to read this book on my own, as a novel set in the slums of India wouldn't have appealed to me, but I am very glad that it was chosen as the May Reading Group book. I found it a quick and easy read and thoroughly enjoyed the whole story -even the more tragic parts - and I particularly liked the way it was presented almost as a series of interlinked short stories.

Thanks for the review of The Apple, Chrysalis, I'm looking forward to reading this and your review has definitely whetted my appetite for it even more. Hopefully I'll get to it by the end of the week.

Finished Q & A. Back to Wicked now!

1. Who was your favourite character and why? My favourite character was probably Salim, because he didn't seem to bear a grudge that Neelima Kumari chose Ram as her servant instead of him, or that Ram hadn't tried to find him on his return to Mumbai. 2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? I enjoyed pretty much the whole book so it is hard to pick out a bit I enjoyed most, but I did very much enjoy Salim giving Babu Pillai's details to the contract killer! 3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? I have read other novels set in India, although they have tended to be more historical fiction (The Far Pavilions, A Passage To India etc). I haven't read anything else set in modern India that I can remember, and while I might not seek them out in future, if they came my way I would be more likely to read them. I would definitely read another novel by Vikas Swarup. 4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? I always find reading about children suffering or being rejected a bit upsetting. 5. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Very much so. Why does Vikas Swarup choose the name "Ram Mohammad Thomas" for his protagonist? The names represent three different religions -- besides displaying India's diversity, what does this say about Ram Mohammad Thomas as a person? I think that if the author had fixed Ram as being part of one religion, it would have changed the book as Ram would have had to have seen all his experiences through that filter, whereas being free from that made him able to have a more open outlook. When Ram recounts the story of Father Timothy, he repeatedly refers to himself as an "idiot orphan boy" (pg. 49). Considering how well Father Timothy treats him, why does he describe himself in this manner? I think he begins to refer to himself in that way after Father John Little calls him that a few days after Ram spills soup on him while trying to serve him (page 58 in my edition). I purposely didn't go and see the film because I had heard it had torture in it and that didn't appeal to me.

Still only half way through Wicked and Shadow, but thought I had better get started on Q&A, so 230 pages into that now too!

I can't afford new clothes or a bottle of wine - but you see where my money goes! I'm not spending money, I'm making an investment, honest...