bobblybear

I hope you enjoy it when you get to reading it. I quite liked it. I think his recent books have been pretty good.

Nice try, missy!! Congrats on your two new acquisitions.

Sounds interesting. I have added it to my wishlist.

I finished The Secret Life of Bees last night. Quite good. I'm still behind on reviews, so it may be a little while to get around to it.

Oh dear. I bought this one recently. I guess I better not read it in public then, or else I'll be blubbering in front of everyone.

I'll be sure to let you know, Kay. Yes, very proud that my purchases so far this year are zero! What an accomplishment!

You have some good ones on your TBR list (Stephen King's The Stand is my absolute favorite), and we share a few as well. I hope to read some more Steinbeck too, in 2014 after enjoying The Grapes of Wrath so much. Hopefully Jojo will be a bit more settled this year, and give you more reading time. I'm trying to think when Reuben settled down.....I think it's probably around the one-year-old mark. I'd imagine the agility training will wear her out a bit? Reuben is up at the same time every morning as well - he's a very reliable alarm-clock if mine every broke. Happy reading for 2014!

Thank you, Chrissy! I hope you have a great reading year in 2014.

Hope your mojo picks up in 2014. Happy reading for the new year.

Oh dear! Something must have gone very wrong at the printing press. You'd think they would destroy all those copies instead of releasing them. Maybe it will make the book more interesting to read?? Could be like an extra challenge for you? Ooh, I like that idea! Quite a few people have it on their TBR lists, and I'm sure there would be lots to discuss. I have read the sequel but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much. It was written a long time after Pillars of the Earth, and I had such high hopes for it because I'd been waiting so long for it. Maybe my expectations were too high. I can't actually remember too much about it, but I don't think it was a strict sequel in that it followed the same characters. I think it may have been a sequel in that the earlier characters from Pillar of the Earth were briefly mentioned, but it was it's own separate story with new characters.

Had to delete some emoticons... Yeah, believe it or not I've never actually counted them before. I think I've just been burying my head in the sand, but I will be really curious to see how big the pile is by the end of the year. I hope it reduces, but one never knows (being addicted to buying books, and all that!). Hmm, maybe it shouldn't be on my TBR pile given that I've read it twice before! I bought it on Kindle because I don't know where my paper copy is, and I just automatically added it to my TBR pile as it was a 'recent' purchase. I have a few others on there that I've already read (Stephen King ones)...but basically if I've bought a Kindle version even though I've read it before, it means I'd like to read it again at some point. (Although it would be a great way of reducing my TBR pile! ) I hope to get to this one fairly soon. I've heard so many things about it, and many people say it's a 'must read'. I think I bought this one because it was free. I will get to it eventually, but I need to psych myself up to read classics. I'm actually reading this now (about a third through) and I'm really enjoying it. I'd say so far it's as good as The Help. I will be sure to let you know, but I suspect they don't get too lonely when they have sled dogs to play with. You too, Frankie! Good to hear. Maybe I will get to them sooner rather than later. They are probably the kind of book that I kick myself for not reading sooner. Hope you have a good reading year too!

I know - it's scary! It's just so easy to buy them without actually feeling like you are spending any money either. I hope you have a great 2014, with loads of reading, too. Thanks, Karsa.....I just wish I would stop adding to it so much!! Hope you have a great 2014, too!

I loved this book. It's a re-read for me, but because my memory is a bit rubbish, it was a lot like reading it for the first time. I mean, I knew the basic plot (Bunny's murder), but couldn't remember any of the finer details, so I was glad to have a reason to revisit it. 1- Who was your favourite character? Were there any characters whom you disliked? Hmm, I didn't have a favourite as they were all pretty abominable and screwed up. Richard (the narrator) was perhaps the least abominable, but that's only because we had more access to his thoughts, and he could in a way attempt to justify his actions. I found Henry to be the most interesting character, but I think that's because he was so calm and 'above it' all, and I think we were meant to be fascinated by him. At the end, he lost his big act of self-preservation when Julian found the truth out, and you saw the more human-side to him. The whole Charles and Camilla thing (incest) just creeped me out. I mean, what was the point of that? Was there supposed be to some link with Greek mythology? Bunny was unbelievably irritating; he's probably the one I most disliked, though I would say I disliked all of them at some point. 2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest? All of it really, but the beginning most of all, because it sets the scene for what happens (Bunny's murder) later on, and the way it was written made you want to find out what happened, especially when you know that the narrator was directly involved. 3- Did you like the writing? I loved the writing. I think she has a very artful way with words, quite effortless and suited to a character study like this. 4- Was this the first book you've read by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? This was the first book I read by her, and I loved it so much that I picked up The Little Friend. Unfortunately I didn't like that one, and couldn't finish it, but I did buy a Kindle copy recently as I'd like to give it another go. I also bought her most recent release, The Goldfinch, which I will read in 2014, and fingers crossed I will enjoy it as much as The Secret History. 5- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? Not really, though the constant state of drunkeness of the characters annoyed me, but it was to be expected given the circumstances. 6- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes, very much so. It's one of those books that I always recommend to people, and I do think there's something very unique about it.

Oh my, you have so many books on your lists! Fabulous - must have taken ages to organise it all! A few comments on your TBR list: Adiga, Aravind: The White Tiger : I read this last year (or maybe the year before) and really liked it. I wasn't sure it was going to be my kind of book, so I was very pleasantly surprised. Bryson, Bill: A Short History of Nearly Everything : This is a great read, both for learning new things and the humor in the way Bryson describes things. He gives a lot of attention to the people behind the science (and the various squabbles they have had), which is often as interesting as the science itself. Danielewski, Mark Z.: House of Leaves : I couldn't finish this, but at the same time I'm glad I bought it because it's so unique. I still plan on reading it one day, but it's the kind of book that I know will take me months to finish. Follett, Ken: The Pillars of the Earth : A firm favorite of mine. I've read it a couple of times, and really want to re-read it again. Hall, Steven: The Raw Shark Texts: I didn't really enjoy this, but I liked the quirkiness of it. I can't actually remember too much about it, but I think it reminded me of House of Leaves. Levy, Andrea: Small Island : I've read this twice...it's a very good book, which likeable and interesting characters. Banks, Iain: The Crow Road : I bought this a few months ago...heard many good things about it. It's one that I hope to read in 2014.

I've started The Secret Life of Bees. Very good so far.

Nothing at the moment, but in about half an hour we're having a Chinese takeaway. I'm starving.....haven't eaten anything since breakfast.

Very true!

Happy reading for 2014. I suspect your "BCF Member's Favourites" post will be quite a long one by the time the year is up!

Oops, I meant 2014.... It's funny you say it's a literal cliff-hanger, because I thought that when I was writing my reply, but I couldn't remember all the details about it. I probably could, but I wouldn't mind reading it again. I did enjoy it a lot the first time around, and I like re-reading books as you pick up so much more the second time around. Besides, I bought a Kindle copy even though I own the paper-back, so I may as well read it again as I bought it again.

Yeah, I am a bit disappointed that I didn't love A Tale of Two Cities. I had somewhat high expectations as I had heard so many positive things about it. A co-worker said that she had heard that it wasn't the best Dickens to start with (and she had tried it a few times, but given up), but so many other people said the opposite. It hasn't put me off reading other Dickens, but it hasn't made me any more excited about reading his work.

I read this in the last couple of days, so I'll be interested to read your review. I haven't reviewed it yet, because I'm still playing catchup.

Green tea.

Not sure....I'd be surprised if I get to it this year. I think I need to re-read Pandora's Star because I only remember bits and pieces of it. I recall the ending being a bit of a cliff-hanger, but I don't remember the details, so I imagine I'd be a bit lost with the sequel if I don't give it a re-read.

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens I have to start off by saying that I’m generally not a fan of the classics, but occasionally I read the odd one to see if I like it. A big part of the reason I don’t like them is that I find them to be hard work to read. A Tale of Two Cities was what I expected of a classic in a number of ways. The first few chapters were most difficult, and I did struggle a bit to decipher what was going on (though I do think I make things worse for myself by telling myself I will struggle, before I even start reading), before I found my stride with it. I did read a chapter guide at the same time I was reading it to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. It covers events leading up to and during the French Revolution, in both London and Paris (being the two cities). There are numerous characters, but most of the plot revolves around a former French Aristocrat who has denounced his position, changed his name and married an English girl. Some passages are beautifully written and there were a couple that I read several times because I was so taken with them. But as I expected, there were big chunks that took a lot of effort to get through, which I found immensely frustrating. After I finished it, I tried to imagine if it had been written in modern parlance but with the same plot, to see if it was the story or writing that I struggled with, and I don't think I would have rated it any differently (if it were a modern novel). I have a feeling I will probably remember it more fondly than I felt at the time. 3/6

For some reason I really wanted to like The Hundred-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. I don't know why I wanted to like it, perhaps because it was so quirky.....I think the premise of the story was more interesting than the story itself.