Hayley

Hi I particularly like fantasy too, who are your favourite authors?

Time for the first finished book of the thread! The Land of Mist by Arthur Conan Doyle - I enjoyed this book in quite a strange way compared to the others. The story itself wasn't as good, and I didn't feel like the characters had quite as much impact as they did in The Lost World, but from a historical perspective it was great! The book is really heavily influenced by Conan Doyle's interest in Spiritualism. I think the reason a lot of people don't like it is because you can tell when reading it that it was designed to instruct about Spiritualism, the story is just there to carry the message. But on the other hand, mainly because of this instructive tone, there are some really interesting insights into both science and religion in the Victorian period. There's even an appendix where Conan Doyle explains the true source of some of the events in the book. Obviously it's well known now that things like faking 'ghost' photographs were common at the time, but to get a view of those things from the perspective of someone who believed them to be as much of a scientific marvel (if not more) as anything being produced in medicine or engineering is just really interesting. Probably not that great if you're not interested in the historical aspect though I did discover though that there are two other short Professor Challenger Stories, The Disintegration Machine and When the World Screamed. I'll probably read these soon but for now I'm going to carry on reading the Chronicles of Narnia with the fourth book, Prince Caspian.

I'm very jealous of people pre-ordering the pip-boy edition of Fallout4! It really did look amazing at E3, I was very excited about building your own settlement... and having a dog . I've been playing the 'Fallout Shelter' app on my phone, which is really addictive but also really making me want to play a real Fallout! I thought Rise of the Tomb Raider looked great too, and Fable Legends, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate (very excited that it's set in Victorian London)... I think I need to start saving up now!

Thanks Athena and Frankie Every time I think I'm going to be really organised something happens and I end up stupidly busy! Kylie the last thing I read was Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (that was one of my challenge books though so it's in the other thread) and now I've just started reading The Land of Mist by Arthur Conan Doyle. I read The Lost World a while ago, and The Poison Belt last month so I think this is the last 'Professor Challenger' book I have to read. I have seen a few reviews where people say The Land of Mist is the worst of the three, but I really liked the others so I'm willing to take the chance I decided not to review The Poison Belt on here because I'd finished it before I started the thread but, in case anyone is interested, you can REALLY see an influence on more modern horror and sci-fi in it. It's only short but definitely interesting if you like those genres. I also just realised my ratings system doesn't have an option for not liking a book. I was obviously very optimistic that day! Maybe they can have this cute little thumbs down hopefully I won't have to use it often though!

Thanks Athena I'm going to try my next challenge book now which, as I've run out of classics, is back to 'bestsellers'. I've picked Beautiful Ruins... 'The story begins in 1962. Somewhere on a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian sea and views an apparition: a beautiful woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an American starlet, he soon learns, and she is dying. And the story begins again today, half a world away in Hollywood, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot searching for the woman he last saw at his hotel fifty years before.' Another one that I wouldn't really have picked up myself, I'm slightly worried that it seems mainly romance focused. On the other hand the blurb suggests a potential mystery element that seems intriguing. So fingers crossed for a pleasant surprise Edit: I also don't like the cover for this one... I know that shouldn't bother me, but it kind of does. I was going to post a picture but I forgot my flikr password... but this is it anyway http://www.bookdepository.com/Beautiful-Ruins-Jess-Walter/9780670922659 .

I've often wondered what the Shannara books are like. I didn't realise it was commonly criticised for its similarity to Lord of the Rings but I have to say that was my first impression too! I'm surprised at it being a 'mindless fun' kind of book though, I would have thought (probably because of the length) it was quite heavy going. Some of the elements (like the elfstones) would definitely be off-putting. But it seems worth another look as an easy read book

Since I've been reading so much outside of my challenge recently I decided I wanted a place to talk about my other books too! I have no hope it will be anywhere near as organised as some of the book blogs on here already though, hence the name I'm also going to keep it really informal... since I write about books formally all the time it's nice to just chat about them sometimes! I thought I'd go for a ratings system of smiley's. So... = It was ok = It was really good :smile: = It was amazing / I loved it I think that's everything to start with so please, come and join the chaos! The more book-related rambling the better!

I have to agree with Poppyshake, I love that kind of buffet! The host would definitely get bonus points for jelly in paper dishes

So I actually ended up reading all of the Peter Grant novels so far (my sister bought me the last two for my birthday) and I'm still really enjoying them, I'm so pleased I found that series. Looks like I will have to wait until November to read the next one but, on the positive side, at least there are more coming! I did actually start reading Zombie Apocalypse , but I decided today to make it the first book I am not going to finish. I can't say what page I got to because it has no page numbers but I gave it a good chance before deciding, I usually hate leaving books half read. I had a bad feeling from the first few pages, where the author was trying to set up the background of the story through an email sent after the event. It sounds like a good idea but it was done in a way that felt very forced. There was no subtlety to the way information was put across. The section was slow and boring and had no purpose other than to drop in chunks of information about a previous event. My second negative was actually in the layout, which I thought I would enjoy. Some of the sections are meant to be hand written letters, and in some cases the font is very difficult to read. I was going to take a picture to show you what I mean but don't have the connecting cable for my phone and laptop right now. An example would be that I had to spend a few seconds reading a word that looked exactly like 'dust' (even with the loop of the 'd'), before I realised it actually must say 'just'. The pace already wasn't great so being slowed down this way was even worse. Eventually I realised that I was literally reading it for the sake of reading it. I didn't care about the story or any of the characters and could happily go without knowing what happens at the end. But anyway, back to a more positive note, I feel like I've had really good reading motivation recently. I had a few books for my birthday and I'm looking forward to reading those in between my challenge books. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to read next so I'll have to update again once I've picked

I read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Terror recently and really enjoyed it. Jekyll and Hyde is a bit longer but the other two stories included ('Olalla' and 'The Body Snatcher') are really very short, and really good atmospheric horrors I also read a book called The Court Painter's Apprentice which had a psychological horror twist. I wouldn't say it's anywhere near as well written as the above if I'm honest but it was an easy read and it was interesting. I have a large print edition which is 178 pages long, I'd imagine normal print would be about half that. Good luck getting out of your readers block!

This made me laugh I won't be rushing to see the film but on the plus side seeing it mentioned did remind me to add the book to my to-read list!

The only film I've watched from the list was Galaxy Quest. I'm familiar with It's a Wonderful Life and Gattaca because we watched clips of both in school assemblies and I can definitely see the philosophical aspects of those but I'm not so sure about the Galaxy Quest argument. I do agree with Susan Haack when she writes that the film can be used to raise questions about the difference between the real and imaginary, as well as the difference between fiction and lies. But then it did make me think that if we follow that line of argument could we not say that every film, or every work of fiction in any medium for that matter, is equally a part of that philosophical question? Also, although it's been a long time since I saw the film, I feel like the importance of Galaxy Quest probably doesn't lie (no pun intended) in the question of fiction vs. lies, but in the ability of the ordinary to become extraordinary when the need arises. The characters in the film don't believe they can be of any use because they are 'only' actors, 'only' human but they push beyond their own expectations to achieve something they never thought was possible. I completely agree Ian, this is one of the greatest aspects of both sci-fi and fantasy

What a great idea! I think I'd choose a year in Middle Earth, 6 months in Narnia and 3 in Discworld Although the chocolate factory itself is a very tempting option

I don't think I'm too bad with remembering character details but I do hate to feel like I'm missing something, like the little hints and connections to a previous book, so I'm going to read it now anyway I might actually make a thread for my non-challenge books since they don't have anywhere to go at the moment... I thought I might give Zombie Apocalypse! a go as my next challenge book. It's one of the ones I wouldn't have bought myself, I have a suspicion it might be a bit cliché, but the story is apparently told through lots of different mediums, like emails, text messages, blogs and letters so that could be interesting.

Ooh will I need to remember stuff from the first book for the second one? I thought they would be quite independent stories. My sister bought out a box of all C.S. Lewis' books yesterday so I started reading (well re-reading, I read it when I was little but I can't remember it well) The Magician's Nephew ... but in that case I will get to Moon Over Soho afterwards, thanks Kylie

I finished Rivers of London which, considering I have actually been quite busy for the last few days, is probably a sign of how good it was! I loved the witty narrative, I loved the historical references (which are included really well - unlike some other books which make you feel like the story has been interrupted by a minor and mostly irrelevant history lesson) and the murder mystery at the heart of it is genuinely gripping and just the right amount of creepy. I also quite enjoyed the edge of conspiracy that builds up around the way in which the police and media hide the supernatural from the general public, along with the rational narrative voice I thought this gave the combination of magic and modern London a more believable atmosphere. If I had any negatives, and this is really quite picky, I would say I didn't always understand the actions of the main character, even though there is a first person narrative. There are a couple of times when in the middle of a pretty dire situation he goes off and does something quite mundane. I imagine this is intentionally part of the character but it did have me slightly confused at the time. That is, as I said, very minor and picky though and I really enjoyed reading this book. I'll definitely be reading the next one (which I think is Moon Over Soho?) soon I haven't actually decided what I'm going to read next, I'm going to have a look through what I have left in my sci-fi / fantasy pile and see what's next for the challenge but I might squeeze a non-challenge book in first, we'll see

This is a couple of days late because I've been pretty busy but, feeling as though I really needed to get my reading motivation back, I decided to start Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. I've been looking forward to this one, I know a few of you have read and enjoyed it too, and it's certainly living up to expectations so far! So more on that soon

I really liked To Kill a Mockingbird and I was pleased to see this new 'sequel' was actually written around the same time. On the other hand, part of the charm of To Kill a Mockingbird was that it's written from the child's viewpoint. This one will be from the adult Scout, so I do have my doubts as to whether it will be as good. Still definitely want to read it and find out though

So I nearly forgot to review The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Horror... I actually finished it a few days ago I suppose it didn't really feel like part of the challenge because it's exactly the kind of book I would read anyway. I mentioned before that I had already read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and enjoyed it and it was still great to re-read. The other two stories were much shorter but equally atmospheric. The Body Snatcher shares some of the psychological influence of Jekyll and Hyde and I genuinely wasn't expecting the ending which was brilliantly creepy. Olalla, while it has the same creepy atmosphere as the others, also has a genuine sadness which I felt was quite unique. One of the things I particularly like with all the stories, and was really glad to see in the two I hadn't read, is the influence of science you can see throughout. This is something I'm really interested in in Victorian literature, at a time when science was progressing so rapidly that its potential future was genuinely frightening. Ultimately they are a great trio and definitely a must-read for anyone interested in the Victorian period I haven't picked my next book yet, there are a couple of fairly short books I want to read first before I carry on, but I'll pick one and update soon

Exchange looks really interesting, I'm definitely going to have a look at that author

Yes But I think I prefer it that way... imagine running out of books to read Also I love your picture, that was one of my favourite films when I was little

Stardust by Neil Gaiman came to mind, there's the festival at the beginning which links the real and fantastical worlds. Angela Carter's Night at the Circus too, maybe. I haven't read this but it seems to be along the right lines. If poetry counts then Christina Rosetti's Goblin Market would be interesting. Maybe some of Dickens' short ghost stories like The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton. That's actually an interesting one from a visual perspective, very 'smoke and mirrors', some people think it was inspired by magic lantern performances. It might be interesting to look at Hans Christen Andersen's The Little Mermaid alongside the images of the 'real' mermaid they 'discovered' in the 1820's (it was actually pieces of different animals sewn together; I'm fairly sure it was a tuna and a monkey but I can check if your interested). This is the illustration of the 'mermaid' by George Cruikshank http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_228623/George-Cruikshank-I/The-Mermaid-Now-Exhibiting-at-the-Turf-Coffee-House-St-Jamess-Street. Slightly disturbing but fits quite well with a freak show theme. Anyway it sounds like a really interesting project, I hope Beth has fun with it

I've wanted to read Neverwhere for a while but never got round to it so I'll be interested to see what you think of that