bobblybear

Yep, I thought, "Did I just read that right?" It's getting really good now!

Oooh, just finished Part 1 of Fingersmith. Brilliant - now it's going to get really good! I was trying to guess where the story would go and couldn't get a feel for it.

I had a shop-bought bacon, egg and sausage baguette. It's now 6pm and I'm still full from it!!

I've heard of quite a few of these, but only read Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. It seems like more of an accessible and 'easy' list of books than some of the other book awards.

Just had a chinese takeaway, and I'm about to stuff down a Belgian Bun as well.

Just water again. So thirsty after I've had a chinese takeaway.

Really?? Mind you, I remember a coworker who was in her early 40s telling me about sitting in her mothers front room as a child, and being so cold she could see her breath coming out. I hate being cold - and it doesn't matter how many layers you have, sometimes you just can't get the cold out of your bones. Hate it!

I read this one as I quite like dystopian novels. While I loved the story and the experiences of the times (thought the concept was brilliant), I would have preferred it to be written in a more adult way (but I suppose that defeats the purpose of it being a YA book). I don't know - I just lost count of the number of times Anna blushed because Peter may have possibly looked in her direction, and Peter's eyes were constantly 'flashing' whenever a cross word was uttered. Aside from those two little niggles, I enjoyed it a lot.

A Gathering Light sounds interesting. I have added that and An American Tragedy to my wishlist. I'll be interested to see what you think of The Raw Shark Texts. I attempted it a while back and while initially fascinating, it just couldn't hold my interest all the way through to the end.

Water.

I've never used a slow cooker, but I know our oven has a slow cooker function. I'm paranoid, and hate the idea of leaving something cooking all day while no-one was home. I won't even duck out to the corner shop which is 5 minutes away if I have something in the oven. I could try slow-cooking something on a day we were home all weekend, but I think those delicious smells would send me loopy.

I'm one for kebabs, absolutely love them and our last two takeaway meals have been kebabs (hold the mint sauce though!). They are impossible to eat even when you are sober, so I don't know how drunk people manage! We usually eat ours with a fork and knife, to cut down on the mess. I'm quite open to new foods, but husband is quite picky, so we don't usually try that many new foods. I love Chinese, Thai and Mexican, but am quite happy to try most foods.

I'm clearly in the minority but I wasn't a huge fan of it. It started off great, and I loved the fun style at the start and the quirkiness of it, but after a while it started to irritate me a little. I never actually realised this before, but I think that I don't particularly like humor in fiction. It's the same reason why I didn't like the first in the Jasper Forde series that I tried - which Rivers of London actually reminded me of while I was reading it. I'm not a miserable cow (honest ) and it kind of took me by surprise to realise that that is what I don't like. I don't mind when characters say or do funny things, but it seems that when there is a humorous tone through the whole book that it grates on me. Go figure!

I just finished this one and thought it was brilliant. I haven't read a Nicholas Evans book that has disappointed me. Hard to say which one is my favorite - possibly this one or The Divide. I googled

Just found this thread - I was very surprised to see how many mixed reviews it has received. I absolutely loved it - one of the best I've read this year, but then again I love slowly unraveling mysteries where the last chapter or so changes the whole perspective of the book. I can't say I felt bothered by not knowing what period it was set in. I assumed it was around the 1990's and didn't really give it much thought.

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 is today's Kindle Daily Deal for £0.99. I bought it as it's such a popular book - like Judy Blume for boys maybe (even though the author is female)? I have actually read it many years ago, but I think I was far too young to understand any of it and I remember being disappointed. Hopefully I'll see it differently now that I'm (apparently) an adult.

It is, but I always tend to think about how cold it must have been without central heating. I mean I know they had fireplaces, but it's not quite the same. I feel cold just thinking about it. Hoping to read more of it tonight, but I only seem to be reading a few pages at a time. I need to take myself away from all distractions, so I can concentrate on it. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do that this weekend.

That reminds me that I've yet to finish this one. I put it aside in favour of some library books that need reading. I'm about 2/3rd through, and amazed by the amount of walking Bryson did. I found it exhausting just thinking about it.

Great choice, Janet! I read it earlier this year and found it very moving. One of the best I've read this year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I've started it, and enjoy it so far. I like books set in 'the olden days'; they have a certain feel to them. I think life in those days must have been quite harsh and I think that's what fascinates me about it.

FInished The Loop by Nicholas Evans. So good - I always feel quite emotional after finishing his books. Fingersmith is next on the list. Looking forward to it.

Looking on my book blog I've given up on two this year. The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H Cook - didn't care about the characters and wasn't interested in the story. I was so disappointed, because I'd loved Red Leaves by him. Pure by Andrew Miller - thought the story was interesting, but didn't like all the fictionalised characters and peripheral storyline.

I'm partway through The Loop by Nicholas Evans. Very good so far.

Great review of Ella Minnow Pea. I loved it, thought it was brilliant and so original. I remember just loving the creativeness of the characters trying to omit the fallen letters from their correspondence.

I've got this on my Amazon wishlist as it has been promoted by them a few times. It's a bit expensive for the Kindle (£8.29 - and I never realised it was a short book until now) so I will wait till it comes down in price.