bobblybear

Finished A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Not very impressed with it. In fact, I'm a bit irritated with it. Anyway, I went to the library today, and picked up a few books: A Pale View of Hills - Kazuo Ishiguo. Recommended by someone on here who read it recently. Can't remember who though. Florence and Giles - John Harding. Another recommendation from here. Last Light - Alex Scarrow I've just started A Pale View of Hills, which seems like a reasonably quick read.

I didn't stuff them with anything, Morrisons did. They were stuffed with sage and onion stuffing. Delish!

Oh, I love Happy Accidents. Such a sweet film.

Stuffed chicken thighs, roast potatoes, and broccoli.

11/22/63 - Stephen King I don't really know much about the assassination of JFK. I studied it at school, and watched the movie, but aside from that, I don't know much about it. I wasn't alive when it happened so it clearly didn't impact me as much as it would have affected people alive at the time. I was a bit worried it would be "too American" and too much about JFK, and that all that would get in the way of a story I would really enjoy. However as I'm a King fan, I typically bought it as soon as it came out. I needn't have worried. 11/22/63 has turned out to be one of his better books (especially of his recent ones). It wasn't too focused on the political events of America in the 60's. In fact it was probably a good third of the way through the book before there was any detail of JFK or Oswald. If anything, it was almost more of a love story, with a bit of time-travel and history-altering thrown in. The only bit I wasn't that keen on were the events after All in all, it was a good read. 4.5/5

Still reading A Visit From the Goon Squad. It's ok - nothing as great as I thought it would be.

^Same here. One fiction and one non-fiction. I do usually end up favoring the fiction though, and the non-fiction can take several weeks (sometimes months) to finish.

Sprial sounds good. I've added it to my Wishlist.

Oh no, I'm reading this now. Only read the first chapter but it seems ok so far. I hope I enjoy it more than you did.

Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Finished The Divide by Nicholas Evans - loved it, very moving read. I was going to start The Windup Girl, but I think I will go with A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan instead. I know nothing about it, except that it was cheap on Amazon's Daily Deals.

Your favourite read of the year? Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes Your favourite author of the year? Probably JK Rowling, just for introducing me to the world of Harry Potter. Your most read author of the year? JK Rowling and Stephen King Your favourite book cover of the year? I've mainly read Kindle books this year, and of the paper books I have read, none of the covers have stood out. The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver. A real shame. I had such high hopes for it. The book that most disappointed you? The Zombie Survival Handbook - Max Brooks The funniest book of the year? I don't think I've read any really funny books this year. Oh hang on, I just finished Packing for Mars, and that had some funny bits in it. Your favourite literary character this year? The main character in Eleven. Your favourite children's book this year? The Harry Potter series. Your favourite classic of the year? The Picture of Dorian Gray. Your favourite non-fiction book this year? A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson Your favourite biography this year? Didn't read any. Your favourite collection of short stories this year? Didn't read any. Not really a fan of the short story format. Your favourite poetry collection this year? I don't 'get' poetry. Your favourite illustrated book of the year? A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson Your favourite publisher of the year? No idea! Your favourite audiobook of the year? I haven't listened to any. Honourable mentions: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, for it's originality Red Leaves by Thomas H Cook for such a moving story. Eleven by Mark Watson. Such a likeable story and character.

^She is very very funny! Started The Divide by Nicholas Evans today. Good so far.

Love Actually. I watch it every year, usually around Christmas. Great film.

^You won't be sorry - it was such a good read!

Great comments on the Kindle (and on Tom Sawyer, which I hope to read in the near future). I ummed-and-ahhed for quite a while before getting a Kindle, but I have to say it's one of the best purchases I have made. I use it pretty much every day, and for some reason I am reading more now, that when I was just reading tree-books. It's just the convenience of having such a wide choice of books to read at your fingertips, without having to lug around a personal library. I also love the fact that you can change font size to make it a bit easier on the eyes. My local library has started lending books for the Kindle as well, though I haven't tried it out as their selection is limited. I'm not fussy at all about paper-book or e-book, it's the content that counts for me.

I'm still reading Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, which is a very interesting read about preparing for space travel. Today I was in town, so decided to go to the library for the first time in about a year. I came away with The Divide by Nicholas Evans and The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. It will be weird to read a tree book for the first time in quite a while.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde I'm not a huge fan of classics (I find them quite difficult to read, grammar/language wise), but decided to give this one a go as it was free on the Kindle. I think most people know the story - Dorian Gray desires to hold on to his youth and 'purity'; in turn his portrait begins to age and change in line with Dorian's actions in the real world. I was surprised by how dark this was. I guess I thought that because it was written 'back then', there couldn't be anything like murder/violence described in a book. So, some of the subject matter did take me by surprise. I found Lord Henry's manipulations and little speeches on amateur psychology quite repulsive yet interesting at the same time. He toyed with Dorian, for his own amusement, and so I found his character quite deplorable. Most of the book wasn't too difficult to read, although there was one chapter which was almost a stream-of-consciousness that covered 18 odd years of Dorian's life, that nearly had me putting the book to one side. I'm glad I stuck with it though, as the story after that section was very compelling. Loved the ending, too! 4/5

Go Michelle!! I did find it such an enjoyable read and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Finally finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King. It has been such a slow month for me, reading-wise. Next up is Packing For Mars by Mary Roach.

I've just finished 11/22/63 and loved it (even though it took me forever to read it!). I'm glad that it didn't only focus on the JFK assassination, as I thought that would limit my enjoyment of the story (not being American or alive on 1963). I thought it faltered a bit towards the end I think it's a book I will need to read again maybe in a few years, as I'm sure there are probably things that I missed, given it took me nearly a month to read it.

^I'll be reading this one as well, as I'm looking for a good book that describes (in very simple terms) what went wrong.

I'm about 55% through, but haven't had a chance to read it as much as I'd have liked. It's very good, and will probably be one of his top 5, IMO. I'm very curious as to how it will end. I think that That's just my theory, but they are so often wrong.

I'm still reading 11.22.63. I'm really enjoying it, but I haven't had as much time to read as I would have liked. I have an exam in two days, plus Skyrim just came out....well, you know how it goes!