bobblybear

Nice review of The Shining. I read it many years ago, but wasn't too impressed with it. I'd like to read it again, to see if my opinion has changed, and also because I'd like to read Doctor Sleep.

I've got that same bookmark!

I'm now reading The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals. Good so far.

I finished The English Monster. That's going to be tough to review! I think I need something light and easy next.

Hello Jeckyll, and welcome to the forum.

Yes, very much so!

Feeling a bit miffed by The English Monster. It's a fictionalised account of The Ratcliffe Highway murders, but the author has

Just watched this now....brilliant stuff. I was quite shocked for Brody to go the way he did, but it really was the only way out for him. They couldn't drag his storyline out any further and he couldn't return to America, so they really needed to end things for him. I never got the Brody - Carrie thing.....it just never felt real to me. I also hope the show doesn't turn into a soap opera with her pregnancy either. I can't see where the show can go....I think they will have to bring in a completely new storyline.

Great review, and interesting comments on The White Tiger. I read it last year (or maybe the year before) and enjoyed it. I did like the satirical element and the sly humour in it, but I understand what you mean about the amorality. I think it was a case for everyone fending for themselves, and getting their own way regardless of who stands in their way (the belief that the end justifies the means, I suppose).

It's gone straight on my wishlist. Yeah, I'm quite happy with the amount I've read so far, and also that I'm reading some books that I've had on my TBR pile for a while. No doubt my reading will slow down a bit now that I'm studying again, but I still manage to read for at least 30 minutes a day. I must keep an eye out for it....I'm glad it sticks closely to the book. Thanks, Pontalba. It's worth a re-read, I think. Thanks, Kidsmum....hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks, Athena. I hope you enjoy it too.

The English Monster is pretty good going. It's a fictionalised account of the Ratcliffe Highway murders in 1811 (which I've never heard of). I've been reading a few things online about it...interesting and gruesome stuff.

My copy is 600 pages long....bummer that they published your version in 3 different parts. Makes it a bit confusing!

I've pre-ordered Kindle books before; basically on the day of release (probably even shortly after midnight) if you turn your wi-fi on, the book will download to your Kindle.

The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd Set in the 1960’s, Lily Owens has just turned fourteen, and has grown up believing she accidentally shot and killed her mother when she was four. She is constantly in conflict with her father, T. Ray, and is not feeling loved or wanted by him. After a racially-fuelled incident which ends with her maid Rosaleen in jail, Lily decides to break her out and run away. Her mother had always been a mystery to her, and a while back she had discovered a box with her mother's belongings and some clues as to where she may have lived in the past. Desperate to find answers and the truth about what happened, she heads to a small town called Tiburon, which has a connection with her mother. There she meets three sisters – May, June, and August – who take her in, and introduce her to the secrets of beekeeping and their way of life. I really enjoyed reading this coming-of-age story. A lot had to do with Lily being such an interesting and likeable character. I really felt for her situation and how lost she was, and wanted her to get the answers she needed so she could move on. Actually, all the characters were pretty interesting, and unique in different ways (May was my favorite). Religion also plays a small part in the story, and told from a unique viewpoint which was quite fascinating. I thought it was very well written, and I enjoyed the little snippets about bees which prefaced every chapter. The ending surprised me a little when Highly recommended, and I will be looking for other books by the author. Also, apparently there's a movie. Anyone seen it, and is it worth watching? 4.5/6

I have Let The Right One In on my bookshelf. I hope to get to it this year, as I've only heard positive things about it. There's a movie too (I think), which is supposed to be pretty decent.

I finished The Lost Daughter by Diane Chamberlain. Really enjoyed it, and I must read more of her books. I'm now going to start on a book called The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd.

Glad people struggle with positive reviews too! I thought it was just me, as all the reviews generally tend to be well written and I can get what appealed about the book. I do agree about negative reviews - they are fun to read and write. I've just finished The Lost Daughter by Diane Chamberlain. Loved it, and it's my 5th book of the year so I really need to get on with reviews.

Oooh, this sounds like my kind of book!! I've just bought it on Kindle. Great review, too!

Sounds like one to avoid then! I read the spoiler (because I don't have any intention of reading the book), and.......ewwwwww!

Nice review. It sounds like a pretty interesting subject, so I have added it to my wishlist.

Thanks, Athena! I occasionally make notes while I'm reading (easy to highlight something on the Kindle), but sometimes it's so hard to put into words what I've felt about a book. At times, I know I liked a book, but can't really figure out specifically why (aside from generalities such as plot or writing), or can't express why. I actually find it easier to review books I didn't like, because it's often clear to me why I didn't like it, and writing a review helps me get some of my frustration out.

Thanks for that Pontalba. Now that you mention it I remember Henry being surprised about man on the moon. So, early 1980's sounds like it.

I'm really enjoying The Lost Daughter. I was hooked from the first page, and I'm about a third through it.

I am really struggling with what to read next. I've gone through my TBR pile, and I've got so many on there it's hard to choose one. I wanted to read the ones I'd had the longest but none of them appeal. For now I'll go with The Lost Daughter by Diane Chamberlain, even though it's one of my more recent purchases.

Last review of 2013! Inferno - Dan Brown Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital, with no memory of where he is or how he got there. Shortly after awakening, an attempt is made on his life, and a young female doctor (Sienna) helps him escape. Whilst hiding out at Sienna’s apartment, he finds a cylinder sewn into his jacket; the cylinder contains a modified image of Botticelli’s ‘Map of Hell’ based on Dante’s Inferno. Langdon (with the help of Sienna, of course!) must work quickly to decipher the image, whilst outrunning and outsmarting the people trying to kill him. I read this one straight after The Secret History, and perhaps because that one was so good I could see how this one was so poor. It’s very fast paced, with plenty of twists and turns, but ultimately quite silly, and quite forgettable. The character of Sienna was so one-dimensional and corny and cliched (beautiful, with an off-the-charts IQ, yet troubled - due to her sheer brilliance) it was rather embarrassing to read. I know he's an easy target, but the quality of Brown's writing is quite poor, something I have never actually noticed until now. I did enjoy the beginning of the book, but as things went on, it just got more far-fetched and outlandish...I would have preferred it to be toned down a notch and hence more plausible. Not a total loss though - I can be thankful to the book/author for making me aware of such a thing as 'Death Masks' which led to a very fascinating internet session! 1.5/6