Kidsmum

I didn't know you were a fan of Patrick Swayze VF or perhaps your an ex fan now

Bl***y h*ll Steve !!! Stop with the 10/10 reviews i don't need to start collecting another series I read the Thorn Birds by her a few years ago & loved it

I was in the charity shop this afternoon & they had a plastic crate of half price books stacked standing up so you couldn't see the covers i had a look through them but most of them were Star Wars books & the Fifty Shades series but nearly the last book i pulled out was Burial Rites by Hannah Kent , i couldn't believe my luck , i ummed & aahed about buying this when i was in Waterstones & in the end i left it... so glad i did now. So now i'm a convert to Chrissy's way of thinking, never again will i leave tubbed books unexplored

Went for a coffee with OH this afternoon & popped into the charity shops & bought some great books I Know Why The Caged Birds Sing Maya Angelou - i've read it before but long enough ago to have forgotten most it The Kitchen House Kathleen Grissom - review on the back says " Forget Gone With The Wind....A story that grabs the reader & demands to be devoured.Wow" Burial Rites Hannah Kent - this was in the half price box.... great find!!!

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on it Ben. Did you study it as part of your university course ?

I finished Gentleman & Players which i really liked & picked a quick read to finish the month with The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson, i loved this book, so atmospheric with some great descriptions of the Lancashire countryside & Pendle Hill, i read the whole book in a day & so now to start June off with i'm reading The Soldier's Return by Melvyn Bragg. It's set at the end of the second world war & tells of a young mans return from Burma to Wigton a small village in Cumbria. I'm only about 50 pages in but am totally hooked as with Bragg's other 2 books that i've read straightaway i feel an emotional connection to the characters & have to know how their lives turn out.

Alexi i didn't feel as strongly as you about The Soldiers Return but i have found myself thinking about it quite a bit over the month. I listened to an episode of All In The MInd on radio 4 where they talked about shell shock & how an awful lot of cases went undiagnosed. Someone said that 'What the state didn't pay for women had to live with' & i thought of Margaret, Kitty & Jenny who had to deal with the Chris's amnesia & how it impacted on all there lives. I must say i had a huge amount of sympathy for Kitty, having your husband come home only to find that he is in love with another woman from his past would be hard for anyone to deal with.

1. Did you like the book? What was it that you enjoyed? If you didn't like the book, what were your reasons for disliking it? I did enjoy the book, it has been on my my TBR pile for years & although i did want to read it i kept putting it off as i was a little daunted by it. I enjoyed the mystical quality to the story as it fits in with how i think of India as being a very spiritual country. It felt to me like i was reading an eastern fairytale. 2. Did you have any expectations about the book before you started reading it, and if so, were they correct? As i've said i was worried that the book would be hard work & perhaps difficult to understand & although i know i didn't get it all, my knowledge of India & partition only being what i've gleaned from other books i've read set in India, I think you'd have to study it at college or university to understand everything, but i loved Rushdie's writing style & i enjoyed Saleem's narration. 3. Who was your favourite character...? I had a few favourite characters, Saleem Sinai i enjoyed his telling of his families history & his meandering style, Tai the boatman he reminded me of the Fool in King Lear as his supposed madness was only a pretence. Nadir Khan the poet i liked the way he kept popping up in the story but my absolute favourite was Evie Burns, Saleem's friend & his first crush. She was just such a fun character with her tomboyish ways & the power she wielded over the other children. To me she came across as a kind of PIppi Long-stocking character. 4. ...and your least favourite? I didn't have any characters that i particularly disliked although i did find Naseem, Aadam Aziz's wife annoying the way she went on hunger strike to get her own way. 5. Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest? I loved the part where Saleem is pushed down the hill on his bike into the language marches & he unintentionally gives the marchers there chant by reciting a piece of Gujarati he knows. Also the relationship between Mumtaz & Nadir Khan, how even though they are married they never become intimate but instead mimic the reserve of the characters in the movies by each kissing either side of an apple to express their love. 6. Was this the first book you've read in this genre / by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? This is my first book by Salman Rushdie & i although i've read a few books set in India & have numerous still to read on my TBR pile i was trying to think if there were any others similar to this & the only one that i could think of was Sexing The Cherry by Jeanette Winterson which also has the same fairytale quality to the writing. 7. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? I really enjoyed the first 2 books but by the time i'd got to book 3 i was starting to feel a bit weary of the story & i found the last 100 pages or so a real struggle. The part set in the jungle was just too weird & i found it hard to concentrate after that so for that reason i was torn between giving it a 3 or 4 but went with a 3 in the end. 8. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes overall i enjoyed the book & am really pleased that i've finally got round to reading it. I didn't find it an easy read just because there was so much to take in & so it took me a lot longer to read than normal but it was definitely worth it. 9. Would you recommend the book and if so to whom? I can't imagine recommending it to a friend just because i think it's a book that you have to want to read yourself but if i knew someone who wanted to try Rushdie i would suggest Midnight's Children if that makes sense. 10. If you were born at the stroke of midnight on the independence of your country what supernatural power would you like to be granted? I think in such a situation where lots of people would have their own agenda's i think the power of clear seeing would be useful. Being able to see into the hearts & minds of men to see what their true motives were.

Welcome to the June 2014 Reading Circle for Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. It is assumed that you have read the book before reading posts in this thread,as the discussion might give away crucial points, & the continuous use of spoiler tags will hinder the fluent reading of the posts. Synopsis Saleem Sinai was born at midnight, the midnight of India's independence, and found himself mysteriously 'handcuffed to history' by the coincidence. He is one of 1,001 children born at the midnight hour, each of them endowed with an extraordinary talent - and whose privilege and curse it is to be both master and victims of their times. Through Saleem's gifts - inner ear and wildly sensitive sense of smell - we are drawn into a fascinating family saga set against the vast, colourful background of the India of the 20th century. Questions for Discussion (Please feel free to answer whichever questions you want) 1. Did you like the book? What was it that you enjoyed? If you didn't like the book, what were your reasons for disliking it? 2. Did you have any expectations about the book before you started reading it, and if so, were they correct? 3. Who was your favourite character...? 4. ...and your least favourite? 5. Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest? 6. Was this the first book you've read in this genre / by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? 7. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? 8. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? 9. Would you recommend the book and if so to whom? 10. If you were born at the stroke of midnight on the independence of your country what supernatural power would you like to be granted?

Nice Haul Pixie I have a couple Elizabeth George's on my shelves but haven't got round to reading any yet

I really enjoyed Rivers Of London, Kylie, i still have the third one of the series to read just haven't got round to it yet. Hope you like it

Is it too late to change your plans Tim Thankgoodness for the internet Do you have a local library Claire?

Is it too late to change your plans Tim Thankgoodness for the internet Do you have a local library Claire?

My neighbour also suffers with it because of the medication she takes for her diabetes so i guess the anti histamines must have the same side effects. It's funny i totally took my saliva for granted till i lost it

That's shocking, no book lover would treat books in such a careless fashion I'm itching to come over there & reorganise things myself That's so interesting Frankie i had no idea there was that connection between the two books . BOTV is a definite must read for me now that i know that Me too, i like the spacious feel that a lack of book reviews gives it

A fellow dry mouth sufferer I chew gum all the time as well, i usually stick with Orbit because i like it, before i had the dry mouth thing i wouldn't let my children chew gum as i thought it looked awful that constant chewing but now of course i'm like a football manager i can't go anywhere without a piece of gum in my mouth. I also get a saliva gel on prescription which i use at night which really helps. If you don't mind me asking Pixie what is the cause of your dry mouth ? My teenage daughter really enjoyed this as well I think it was one of my first King's as well. I loved the movie as well with Sissy Spacek but my eldest daughter went to see the remake & she said it was awful That's a shame that you didn't like the Rabinowitz book Athena, it sounds so good & i love the cover as well. Congrats on your new books Do you have any space left to put them in

Thanks Athena, i haven't read anything by him before but i did watch Parades End on the TV awhile back with the lovely Benedict Cumberbatch & really enjoyed it Goodness knows how big my TBR mountain would become if i had a kindle

Good to hear Frankie, i'm enjoying it so far My eldest DD got it for christmas & she really enjoyed it as well Know what you mean Anna, i always like to go for a quick read after a big book Woop woop !!!! I haven't read it myself BB but i know my sister has read it & she really enjoyed it Still reading Gentlemen & Players, i'm enjoying the story although i'm not getting as much time to read at the moment with it being the school holidays I've also been listening to Longbourn, it's this weeks Book At Bedtime on radio 4 & it also just happens to be my bookgroup read for next month; as i'd already read it this year i didn't really want to re read it so soon but i'm really enjoying listening to it.

Agreed Becky would not win mother of the year Silly me i should have realised it wasn't your first classic Only 250 pages to go, your in the home strait now I love that feeling when you finish a book & you've got the whole of your TBR mountain to choose from I finished Midnight's Children a couple of days ago & decided to go for something lighter for my next read so i'm at the beginning of Gentlemen & Players Joanne Harris, it's awhile since i've read any of her books i'd forgotten how good she is.

Great review Ruth, i've heard Moran interviewed on Radio 4 & she came across as an interesting person she certainly had an unusual upbringing. Have you read How To Be A Woman, that's on my wishlist.

I usually just turn over the top few to see if there's any hidden gems

Picked up a few more books over the last few days The Good Soldier Ford Maddox Ford The Secret Speech Tom Rob Smith The Good German Joseph Kanon

Definitely one for the wishlist, you sold it to me when you said it reminded you of Bernard Cornwell

The Groucho Marx book sounds really good Kay, i think i might buy it for hubby for Father's day & then i can read it myself

No, i gave it up after i had my treatment. The radiotherapy damaged my saliva glands so i don't have as much saliva to protect my teeth from decay & of course as you know sugar is really bad for your teeth so apart from pudding on a Sunday i don't eat or drink anything with added sugar in. Tbh i don't miss it at all & i never get cravings for anything sweet anymore