bobblybear

Great review of Gone Girl. I'm waiting for this one at my library. I know it has received some rave reviews, but a few people haven't liked it, so I thought I'd borrow it first.

I have The Psychopath Test on my wishlist. Just waiting for it to come down a bit in price.

Heard that this morning. Sad news. I'm planning on reading The Rats quite soon. I think that was one of his most popular books? Loved Fluke (it's about a dog, so how could I not), but wasn't that keen on The Secret of Crikley Hall.

I've never heard of it. As silly as it sounds, I don't like the idea of Book Crossing in case one of my books just gets left, and it's sat there forever neglected on it's own.

I had my usual two boiled eggs. Well, one and a bit, because I have to share them with Reuben.

Sounds interesting. I've added it to my wishlist.

The only time I lose my mojo is if I'm reading something that I'm just not enjoying, and the thought of picking it up is a chore. The best solution is to just stop reading it, and pick up something that interests me, or revisit an old favorite.

A bit further on with Wolf Hall and I've started to hit some of the 'grammar problems' now that there is more dialogue. I do find myself wondering who is saying what.

Hope you find your mojo soon! I've started Wolf Hall and so far I'm pleasantly surprised.

Thanks for the tip, Karsa. I recall trying Judas Unchained but put it down very early on. I shall re-read Pandora's Star before I try the sequel again.

Definitely agree with you here. I didn't find Gretta that much of an interesting character, compared to the others. I think Aoife was the most complex person, perhaps because of that particular unique 'trait' of hers. All three of the children were flawed, yet fundamentally good people trying to do the right things in life. It was more about their relationship in the past and present, rather than Robert's disappearance. Michelle, how did you think it compared to her other books? For me, it's not as brilliant as The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox or The Hand Which First Held Mine, but only by a very slight fraction.

Thanks Chalie. Looks like yet another one to add to my wishlist. I hope to get to it later this year. It certainly is a chunky sized book! Just finished Instructions for a Heatwave. Will gather my thoughts about it for a while.

Playing it Safe: Crazy Stories from the World of Britain's Health and Safety Regulations - Alan Pearce In 1998 the Lord Chancellor ended Legal Aid for personal injury clams and recommended that all future claimants seek redress through ‘no win, no fee’ legal firms. The author says that this opened the floodgates to courtcases, and led to the current Health and Safety obsession, due to the ‘compensation culture' which resulted. It's a very relevant read, with all the emphasis on Health and Safety these days which seems to have taken over everyone’s lives. Selection of articles from various papers, so easy to pick up when you have a few minutes to spare. Some memorable ones: - Elderly residents being banned from receiving cakes from friends. - The Greater Manchester fire service has drawn up a 4 page safety manual on how to instruct crews to sit in a reclining chair. They’ve been banned from using the chair until they have received the training. - A shop policy on 'no-hoodies' made a grandmother remove the hood her 2 year old grandson was wearing. - A councillor wanted rose bushes dug out in the village in case they harm children. - Children being banned from playing tag, because of the physical contact. - The government spending £100K on a study into the problem of opening plastic bags. - Yo-yos, daisy chains and climbing frames being banned at a school (I remember the climbing frames in our school when I was growing up. They must have been about 10 ft tall (or so they seemed at the time). You used to have to climb all the way up the top, and then use a 'fireman's pole' to slide all the way down. Loads of fun!) - Flowers in vases being banned at a cemetery because a child cut himself. Not much else to add really. It doesn't mention anything that you wouldn't pick up from reading the local news. Still, somewhat interesting. 2/6

Zombie Fallout - Mark Tufo In the rush to get a cure out for the H1N1 virus (swine flu), a ‘faulty vaccine’ is released and 95% of the recipients succumb to the vaccination, which kills them but also 'reanimates' them. The story is told in diary entry by Mike Talbot, an ex-marine who is also a bit of a survivalist, with a previous fascination with zombie flicks. Early on, he tells us that he has watched every zombie movie from the early Dawn of the Dead to Shaun of the Dead, and so sees himself as someone totally prepared. He admits that he kind of welcomes this zombie apocalypse as a way to escape the responsibilities of every day life. That pretty much sets the tone going forward. This was such a fun and funny read. It was written with gusto and enthusiasm and huge amounts of humor. It was very gory but in an over the top, tongue in cheek way, that is just 100% silly (but brilliant in it's own way). The writing isn’t the greatest, and it won’t win the Man Booker Prize that’s for sure, but as far as being a fun and entertaining read, this one gets top marks. I thought this was a Kindle freebie, but it wasn’t, though at £0.77 it’s near enough. Looks like there's 6 others in the series. I wouldn't rush out and buy them all (as much as I loved the first one) but if they drop in price I'll give them a go. Good for total escapism! 4/6

The Woman In Black - Susan Hill Set in the Victorian era (correct me if I'm wrong) a young solicitor, Arthur Kipps, has been tasked with sorting out the paperwork for the recently deceased Alice Drablow. The house where she lived is separated from the mainland during high tide, and surrounded by marshland and dense fog, and he is required to spend some time there to unravel her life. Upon his arrival at the town, people behave strangely when they find out his reasons for being there and it's obvious there is something about this Alice Drablow that no-one wants to talk about. He also sees a mysterious woman in black when he attends Drablow’s funeral, and again at the Drablow house. I was very surprised at how short this book was when I first picked it up. At a smidgen over 200 pages, it’s more a novella than a novel. The story is very simple, with quite a linear plot and no bells and whistles. There is not a lot of backstory or overly descriptive writing, or meanderings into characters and their lives, etc. It's fair to say that there isn't much filler. What you have is the basic story of Arthur Kipps' experiences, and not much more. That sounds like a criticism, but it's not. It's just something which stood out because it was in contrast to what I was expecting. I don't read many ghost stories, but I imagine them to usually be more complex with more mystery. I would have preferred it to be more detailed and more fleshed out (Ok, so maybe that was a bit of a criticism ). Something seemed to be lacking in it. It’s simplicity took me by surprise I think. While I enjoyed it, it wasn’t actually as scary as I thought it would be. The ending was a bit abrupt, but thinking on it, there probably weren't many other ways it could end. I don't think I would rush out to buy any more of Susan Hill's books, but if one fell into my lap and I didn't have anything else to read, I'd happily read it. 3/6

Woke up this morning, looked out the window and there was a sprinkling of snow!

Haven't tried the other flavours yet. I 'ummed and ahhed' about the choc fudge one, glad I didn't get it as I find quite a few things too sickly. Eating scrambled egg now for brekkie.

I must read this as I keep hearing great things about it. It's a Fastback at my library, but when it goes onto being a regular loan, I shall borrow it for sure.

Chalie, I can't remember if you read Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. If you have, is it as good as that one? I saw a book by her while I was in the library yesterday, but didn't borrow it.

Interesting books she has in that article. I never would have thought of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as particularly political, but then again I read it when I was a lot younger and perhaps didn't see the other layers. Of the others, I've read To Kill A Mockingbird (loved it), Whoops! (struggled and gave up) and Huckleberry Finn (read it for school, but can't recall much detail).

Fell asleep last night on the sofa. I meant to finish Instructions for a Heatwave, but was so tired so I thought I'd 'rest my eyes for a moment'. Two hours later, I woke up..... Once I finish that today, I'll make a start on Wolf Hall for fiction, and The Big Necessity: Adventures in the World of Human Waste (yes, toilet waste!) for non-fiction.

Coconut flavoured Chunky Kit Kat. It was yummy!

Really? Oh, goody then. Something to look forward to! Glad your mojo has picked up. Funnily enough, mine picked up again after I gave up on Dangerous Liaisons.

Picked up Wolf Hall at the library just now. It's a big book, especially the hardback version.

Oh goodie, I may read that one sooner rather than later then.