bobblybear

Well spotted, as I never noticed the bit about the dog's name. I remembered the Rhu, and for a while thought her name was Ruth, but then figured I had it wrong. Here it is, if you scroll down to the comments at the bottom. I really wish I could have re-read the book with that in mind, so I could see if it's plausible or not. I'm still googling to see if there's anything else I can find. I'm glad you say that; people seem to come up with things that I never considered. Maybe I take things too much at face value. It is very interesting though, all these different ideas, isn't it?

Good grief, googling brings up all sorts of theories. One is that Mrs Ross is the long lost Amy Seton. She was placed in the asylum by her father, I guess after she was found (if she is indeed Amy).

Well I've just been googling the book, and Mrs Ross' name was revealed to be Lucie - the same name as one of William Parker's sled dogs. It's on p.170 of the paperback version (if you don't have it, let me know and I'll transcribe the section), but I find it a bit vague and wouldn't have picked up on it myself. So I guess the end dialogue can have a double meaning of sorts?

I'd never actually thought about it that way. I suppose that makes sense. I admired Mrs Ross, but I couldn't say I warmed to her. She was quite a stony, serious person, but her inner dialogue revealed the softer side in her thoughts for William Parker. Oh yeah, I forgot about that bit! It was only mentioned in dispatches, wasn't it? Was it revealed why she spent time in the asylum? I have a feeling it was, but I can't remember (and I only finished the book a week or so ago ). I might have a google to see if anyone has any theories about Line and Espen. They could have been missed out entirely and it wouldn't change the story. Ouch, that sounds painful. I'd never thought of that happening in such cold temperatures and I was wincing at some of those descriptions. What did you all think of the ending between Mrs Ross and William Parker? I loved the description of how she felt looking at his smile: "A knife in my heart that I would not remove for all the world." That's so brilliant. I do wonder how authors can come up with such phrases, and how long it takes them to think of these things. What was meant when he said: 'You have never told me your name.' and she replies back: 'You have used it often enough'. Is that Mrs Ross putting up a boundary, so that he can never become overly familiar with her? I'm not very good an analysing or reading into subliminal messages. English was my worst subject at school - odd for someone who loves books.

I'm about 25% through PopCo and really enjoying it. It's also (so far) set in an area very local to me and that's always a plus.

Chicken in a bucket.

I've nearly done that before, but luckily manged to stop it in time. Hope it wasn't too painful!

I remember reading about that, and I was so gobsmacked that the police officer handed him back. I never knew about the police officer keeping his job and being promoted. How disgraceful! You are right, Frankie - serial killers are all so different. I do find it fascinating reading but some of it can really be stomach-churning stuff. I read loads of true crime books when I was younger, and then stopped reading it for several years (after reading the Black Dahlia case), but am getting more interested in it again. I find the forensics and profiling side of it most fascinating. It's amazing what profilers can predict about these serial-killers, and the tricks they do to catch them out. I don't know how they do it for a living day after day though, I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night. Or I'd be suffering from a severe case of depression from being surrounded by so much harsh realities.

I liked it a bit more than 11/22/63 purely because the plot interested me more. I hope you enjoy it Tim.

Re: Quantum by Manjit Kumar, it looks like it is very highly rated, which hopefully means it's accessible for the average person. I do like reading science books, but sometimes they can be so difficult to understand it takes any enjoyment out of it!

I read the first two books of the Millenium Trilogy but wasn't overly impressed. However as they were so cheap I thought I should get them. I plan on re-reading them at some point to see if I was missing something. I do remember finding the plot from the first one very detailed and well planned, but Lisbeth Salander didn't strike me as a believable character. She was more of a caricature rather than someone I could relate to. Happy reading to you this year, too! If I recall correctly, it was a Kindle Daily Deal. I thought it sounded interesting, but I haven't actually gone back and read the blurb since I bought it so I have no idea what it's about. Thanks chesilbeach! Thanks for the endorsement of these books - perhaps I shall bump them up my TBR list. They certainly have interesting titles, and I've head high praise for the Wendy Jones one. All the best for your reading in 2013. I don't mind Cesar Millan; I know he gets a lot of flak and people deem some of his methods questionable, but I do think other parts of his training (from what I've seen on TV) are quite effective. I think you almost have to take different parts of various authors and use a bit of your own judgement as well. I read one of Ian Dunbar's books about raising a puppy - my goodness, it was so depressing. At one point, he said something along the lines of your puppy will end up in a coffin if he isn't raised correctly!! It was unnecessarily harsh! I've got The Perfect Puppy - that's the main one we used when training Reuben, and it's so good I've lent it out to a few people who have been able to use it for training their grown dogs. I'm really looking forward to these three. I've read great things about the first two, and I'm keen on The Invisible Ones because I loved The Tenderness of Wolves so much. Her books tend to divide opinion quite strongly, but that can only be a good thing, eh? Hope you have a great 2013, Chaliepud!

Under The Dome was great. It looks like he's back on form, as some of the books he wrote several years ago weren't the best.

Love the socks!! Fish Change Direction in Cold Weather - what an odd title! Hope it's as intriguing as it sounds.

I read faster on my Kindle, as in I get through a book quicker probably because I spend more time with it than I did with a paperbook. It must be the convenience of it and the ease at which to hold it. I've started using the Notes and Highlighting feature as well, to remember key points for when I write my blurbs.

I read a book on Dahlmer (can't remember the title) and the thing that stood out was how much he hated what he was doing (at least in the early years). He was quite repulsed by it and tried to stop doing it, but he ended up murdering someone when he was in a 'blackout state of mind' and couldn't recall anything about it. That's when he decided to give in to his urges. It was very gruesome reading.

Me Before You was a great read, very different to what I was expecting. I'd also definitely recommend Gone With The Wind. It's another one that took me by surprise.

I would say it was a dark book, that I found unsettling especially at the end. I remember going straight onto Google to try to find out if I was interpreting it the 'right' way. For what it's worth, I read Remarkable Creatures recently and loved it. The only other Chevalier book I have read is Girl With A Pearl Earring which I also liked, but as I haven't read any of her recent books I can't say whether I think they are any better or worse.

Good review of When We Were Orphans. The only one of his I have read is A Pale View of Hills, and I enjoyed it. He had a very distinctive writing style, that really gelled with the plot of the book, so maybe that's what he was trying to do with When We Were Orphans. I'd have to read more of his books to see how his style changes depending on each story.

Oh no, I think about things like that as well, but I try not to dwell on it too long or I'd be quite depressed. I try to tell myself that when I retire (in 30 odd years ) I'll have more time to read, but at the rate I buy them....well it's still not looking good.

I really enjoyed that book the first time I read it, but the second time I was a bit disappointed. I can't quite remember why though as it's quite a few years ago now. I hope you enjoy it as much I did on the first read.

Don't mean to add to your book list () but Watchers is really good too, especially if you like dogs.

I've read Atonement and Saturday by McEwan. I really enjoyed Atonement, and liked Saturday except for the ludicrous ending. I do think he writes very well though.

I hope you enjoy this book; it's such an epic story. I've read it twice and I plan on reading it again at some point (when I finished all my other books perhaps!).

1- Who was your favourite character? Were there any characters whom you disliked? I don't know if I had a favourite character. I was intrigued by William Parker (I keep wanting to say Richard Parker, who is the tiger from Life of Pi ), amused by and admiring of Mrs. Ross, and I also liked Donald, although I initially thought him weak (as he thought of himself). I think he was the character we were most involved with and we almost always knew what was going on in his head. He was always thinking about things, wanting to do the right thing, but fearing he lacked the strength and courage. He was the most developed character and in a way, he was more of a central character than Mrs Ross. Mrs Ross was a bit elusive. While I liked her strength and her determination, and the way she did things with minimal fuss, I found her a tad dull. I thought Laurent Jammett was not a very nice person, for how he treated Francis, and he was probably my most disliked character (even though he was dead!). 2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest? I enjoyed all of it; though after reading Ooshie's comment I went back and re-read the chapter and it is very beautifully written, and very sad for him to be thinking about the life he could have had with Maria. I'll think on this a bit more as I'm sure more will come to mind. 3- Did you like the writing? What did you think of the way the story was told (partly from Mrs Ross's point of view, partly third person omniscient narrator?) I loved the descriptive writing. A lot of people complain that the writing and dialogue was too modern, but I never noticed. I was quite wrapped up in the story and I think she was very effective at describing the cold climate of Dove River and it's surrounds. I didn't give too much thought about the story being told in partly first person and partly third person. In fact I was quite a way through it, before I actively noticed and had to flip back a few chapters to double check. 4- Was this the first book you've read by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? Here's a link to Penney's second novel The Invisible Ones. Yes, first book I have read by her, and I will definitely read The Invisible Ones. I bought it as part of the 12 Days of Kindle sale so I'm pretty chuffed! 5- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? I don't understand the storyline of Line and Espen and why they were relevant. They didn't have any influence or effect on the more central characters, so they could easily have been omitted, unless to show the hardship of the land when they are attempting to reach Dove River? I also found Mrs Ross falling in love with William Parker a bit hard to believe. That seemed to come out of nowhere, unless I missed something? 6- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes, hugely enjoyable for me, although it's not a positive book per se. I thought the ending was gloomy, with Mrs Ross just choosing to carry on with her normal life, instead of perhaps finding a better like with William Parker. But I also thought the ending was quite fitting. A 'happily ever after' ending would have seemed at odds with the rest of the story.