Hayley

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

I've just finished The Fog, one more book from the list which is starting to seem much longer than it did at the start... Overall I enjoyed reading it. It was easy to read, a grippingly action-packed plot and actually becomes a more feasible story line than the blurb suggests. I found the story actually had a few similarities to Cell, the main similarity being the theme of human instinct. In both books this is split into two different categories. One explores survival instinct, what a person is actually willing and able to do in the interest of self preservation, and the other explores what would happen if the human mind were completely stripped bare so that basic instinct and nothing else controls us. It's an interesting concept, certainly a thought-provoking one. I did have a couple of negative feelings about it though. Firstly, I found some of the content a bit unnecessarily disturbing. In particular there were a couple of occasions in which frankly paedophilic acts or thoughts were just mentioned and glossed over as though there was nothing unusual about them. I'm not really sure if this was intentional but it just felt a bit odd and unnecessary, none of them were in any way important to the plot. My other negative would be that there just wasn't anything really new or exciting about the story or the writing. It had me hooked because I wanted to find out what happened with this tragedy at the end of the book, but it's not something I would read again. Anyway that takes me on to my last classics section book, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Horror, which doesn't feel very festive but oh well . I am going to re-read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde because it's been a while since I did and I like it anyway. The other two stories included, 'Olalla' and 'The Body Snatcher', are new to me and I'm really interested to see how they'll compare. So I'll be back once I've finished

Is anyone playing this year? I think it's worth a try for a years supply of books http://caboodle.nationalbooktokens.com/hiddenbooks/default.aspx?competition=8#.VIzd2U1yaP8 I have 9 so far but now I'm completely stuck!

Ok definitely time to update this! I finished Possession and Raising Steam a while ago now but I've had a LOT of work to do for uni, including a lot of reading which has taken up most of my time. A few days ago though I picked out The Fog by James Herbert as my next book for this challenge (partly because it was one of the shortest ones I have left in the sci-fi/ fantasy category ). Blurb... The peaceful life of a village in Wiltshire is suddenly shattered by a disaster which strikes without reason or explanation, leaving behind it a trail of misery and horror. A yawning, bottomless crack spreads through the earth, out of which creeps a fog that resembles no other. Whatever it is, it must be controlled, for wherever it goes it leaves behind a trail of disaster as hideous as the tragedy that marked its entry into the world. The fog, quite simply, drives people insane. I did think originally that it might be a bit too far-fetched to get into, but having read the first couple of chapters it's actually quite addictive, so we'll see how the rest goes! Edit: I just realised I haven't changed my 'Reading now' since I read The Spy Who Came in From the Cold...

Hi I'm glad you have time for reading again, if you stay here long enough though you'll have a wish list longer than you could ever read . Do you have any favourite books?

Hi I love Carlos Ruiz Zaphon too, but I also really liked The Historian! What didn't you like about that one?

Terry Pratchett's Nac Mac Feegle (from 'The Wee Free Men', 'A Hat Full of Sky' and 'Wintersmith') come to mind (or at least they did after I read Frankie's explanation )

Has anybody here ever used the website 'webuybooks.co.uk' to sell books? I did a search for reviews of it but they were quite mixed. The main problem seemed to be that few books are actually accepted by them. If these are just from people trying to send poor condition books I don't mind as I know mine are in very good condition, but I wouldn't like to think they reject them for no reason once they have them.

I want to go to them all! I was in Ross Old Book Shop on Monday and it was lovely, much bigger than it looks on the outside or even in those pictures, and there's a 'books under £3' section at the back which is just brilliant.. I seriously wanted to buy the whole case! If I could add one I would say Bosco Books in Looe, which is in a converted chapel right by the harbour. They have the most amazing rare antique books. Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture of it when I went... Oh well I'll just have to go back for one...

Daily unless I'm away without my laptop. Although as others have said, I don't always have time to post, I often just have a quick check of what's new

I saw this on twitter this morning and I did wonder why he tweeted at Waterstone's after being stuck for two hours rather than just phoning the police to be let out... however, I do completely understand wanting to remain stuck in an enormous bookshop by yourself all night I also liked the suggestions that he should build a giant book fort

I was actually surprised to find I barely knew any of the books on my list! (1992). I have read three... Terry Pratchett - Small Gods Terry Pratchett - Lords and Ladies Jacqueline Wilson - The Suitcase Kid I also discovered that Angela Carter and Isaac Asimov both died that year. Interesting thread idea

I thought I should come back and point out that I haven't abandoned this challenge! I started reading both 'Raising Steam' by Terry Pratchett and 'Possession' by A.S. Byatt while on holiday and Possession just seems to be taking forever to read (although I stopped reading Raising Steam to try finishing faster). I'm quite close to finishing it now and it never takes me long to finish a Pratchett book so I should be back to the challenge soon!

Aww! I saw a similar video on a documentary about the born free foundation, I just tried to find it but for some reason none of them seem to have the sound, this one had a little explanation at the beginning though so just in case anyone needs more emotional lion videos... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGKWoJi5qM

This sounds like a great challenge, you'll certainly get a lot of variety! Are you going through them in the order of the list or just based on what you feel like reading next?

Done, this is so sad

I read differently depending on what I'm reading. If it's something factual I usually sit at my desk chair to read, where I have easy reach of all my post-it's and notepaper! (although actually I don't usually sit normally on the chair, I sit with one foot up on it and rest the book on my knee... I must have lazy arms ) If it's a book I'm reading just for pleasure I mostly read in (or on if it's daytime) bed, propped up with all my pillows (and sometimes a fluffy penguin which, turned sideways, makes a really good head rest). If I've been reading for a long time like this though it starts to make my back hurt, so then I turn onto my side (left because that's the side my light is on). And if the book is particularly big or heavy I sit cross-legged on the floor with it in front of me..

I like the UK one

It's actually really hard to decide! I think I'd go for A Love Like Blood, the first sentence in the description is definitely intriguing!