Abcinthia

I'm nearly half way through The Russian Concubine and I'm half way though Fanny Hill.

I normally have cereal (usually wheetabix or porridge, occassionally something else) or toast with butter and marmite. Sometimes I have yoghurts or muller rices for breakfast. Usually on days when I have had a lie in.

The Grave Tattoo - Val McDermid Synopsis (from goodreads): A corpse is discovered on a hill in the Lake District, adorned with bizarre tattoos. Wordsworth expert Jane Gresham finds herself distracted from her studies of the great Lakeland poet when another mystery surfaces, involving the Pitcairn Massacre and the events of the mutiny on the Bounty. Is it possible that Fletcher Christian, who led the rebellion against Captain Bligh, faked his own death and clandestinely returned to England? Jane makes a connection between the tattooed body and the tattoos on sailors who served in the South Seas--is this the body of Fletcher Christian? And Jane has another problem on her hands--a young girl who she has tried to help finds herself a murder suspect, and tracks her down to the Lakes. And as Jane closes in on a Wordsworth manuscript that may be a direct transcription of Fletcher Christian's confession, she finds herself with someone else on her trail--an ex-lover with similar designs on the precious document. Thoughts: I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy this book. It's well written. The plot is interesting. The majority of characters were well thought out; a few felt flat but there were many characters and it can be hard to make them all interesting. The novel just didn't work for me for some reason, despite all it's good qualities, I had to myself to finish it. Favourite Character: Jane Gresham Rating: 2/5 and those are only for how well it was written and that the plot was interesting. If I was rating on how much I enjoyed it, I'd give it 1/5.

Today I bought The Canteerbury Tales by Chaucer and Women In Love by D.H. Lawrence.

Five Finger Death Punch are American. I know they do a lot for American troops and play shows in Afganistan for them. Yeah I think they quickly realised it was getting out of control. Me and my friends were in the middle of the crowd and it was insane how many people kept crowd surfing, pushing people or trying to jump up ontop of people just to get onto the stage. They tried to tell people to stop coming forward and in exchanged Five Finger Death Punch could continue their set but people paid no attention. I was worried that someone was going to get dropped on me. Somehow I managed to survive that and the Lamb of God mosh pits just to get hurt by an idiot while HIM were playing - the band I was most desperate to see!

I have just finished The Lady Elizabeth and am about to start The Grave Tattoo by Val McDermid. I'm also about 1/4 of the way through Past Mortem by Ben Elton which hasn't been too bad so far.

The Lady Elizabeth - Alison Weir Synopsis (from goodreads): Alison Weir was already one of Britain's most popular historians when she wrote her first novel, "Innocent Traitor", which hit the "Sunday Times" bestseller list to a chorus of praise. Now, in her second novel, Alison Weir goes to the heart of Tudor England at its most dangerous and faction-riven in telling the story of Elizabeth I before she became queen. The towering capricious figure of Henry VIII dominates her childhood, but others play powerful roles: Mary, first a loving sister, then as queen a lethal threat; Edward, the rigid and sad little King; Thomas Seymour, the Lord High Admiral, whose ambitions, both political and sexual, are unbridled. And, an ever-present ghost, the enigmatic, seductive figure of her mother Anne Boleyn, executed by Henry, whose story Elizabeth must unravel. Elizabeth learns early that the adult world contains many threats that have to be negotiated if she is to keep her heart and her head. Thoughts: I did really enjoy this novel which charts Elizabeth's life up until the death of Mary I. I am a massive fan of the Tudor period and so I find I am always hypercritical of fictional books set then. I liked that Weir decided to go a different route when portraying Elizabeth and imagining that the gossip really was true. As she has written non-fiction book about this period, it was very well researched and her attention to detail was excellent. On the downside, I did find the book heavy reading at times due to the writing style. It might just be the leap from non-fiction to fiction and I've read reviews on other websites that said this book is an improvement writing-wise since her first novel (which I haven't yet read but it is on my wishlist!) so I can only hope Weir improves with her next novel because I think she could be great. Random Quote: Elizabeth spent the next few days excitedly anticipating her return to court. She looked forward to the feasts, the revels, the chance to wear her fine clothes, and to the lords and ladies praising and complimenting her. Favourite Character: Elizabeth! Rating: 4/5

Yes I've always to read it.

I am a third of the way through The Lady Elizabeth. I've also started Past Mortem by Ben Elton. Never read any of his work before but my boyfriend has several of his books so I thought I'd give it a go.

Hello and welcome!

I finished Just Before Sunset by Stephen King this evening. I'm a bit tired, don't have the book to hand and got an early start tomorrow so I'll just say it's a collection of 13 short stories. My favourites were The Gingerbread Girl, Graduation Day, N., The Cat From Hell and A Very Tight Place.

No I haven't read 2666. I thought the deaths and the families grief were handled well in The Dead Women of Juarez. It came across that the author really cared and wanted to have an ending where the people responsible, even if they were only responsible for a small percentage of the disappearences, were brought to justice.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase involves a rich family living in a grand house though their circumstances change for a while. I also thought of Tom's Midnight Garden. I haven't read it in a very long time but I think he lives in a flat but he goes back in time to when it was a grand house with a large garden?

I also was really disapointed it came to an end. I probably enjoyed the Harper Connelly series slightly more than the Sookie Stackhouse series. I'm not sure if I would buy the graphic novel. I might have to check it out in the bookshop first and see what I think about it.

Well I am currently a stay at home mum whilst my boyfriend is finishing his degree. I would like to go to university myself at some point but I do not know what I want to study. I'd love to be an archaeologist, midwife (specialising in teenage pregnancies) or a clinical psychologist.

I'm about half-way through Just After Sunset by Stephen King. I'm really enjoying it. Also about to start The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir. I've read some of her non-fiction books and enjoyed them so I can't wait to see if she is just as good at writing fiction.

I'm glad I helped! I've wondered about Chocolat before and only picked it up because it was on the return shelf at my library. Labyrinth - Kate Mosse Synopsis (from goodreads): In this extraordinary thriller, rich in the atmospheres of medieval and contemporary France, the lives of two women born centuries apart are linked by a common destiny. July 2005. In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth; between the skeletons, a stone ring, and a small leather bag. Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade to stamp out heresy that will rip apart southern France, Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father as he leaves to fight the crusaders. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. As crusading armies led by Church potentates and nobles of northern France gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take great sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe. In the present, another woman sees the find as a means to the political power she craves; while a man who has great power will kill to destroy all traces of the discovery and everyone who stands in his Thoughts: I must confess I only picked up this book because I have heard so many people tell me it is awful or the worst book they have ever read. It made me really curious to read this book that so many people dislike. I found it wasn't as bad as I had been told, but it was still a tedious read. What annoyed me the most was the writing style. The split narrative, that works so well in other books, really added nothing to this book. I found it really annoying and boring to read the 13th century parts and must admit, I disliked nearly all the characters from that bit. I think if Alice discovered the skeletons in the cave, then slowly pieced together what happened 800years ago, whilst escaping from all the dangerous people, it would have made a better novel. Random Quote: For a moment everything is silent. Then the darkness melts. Alice is no longer in the cave. Favourite Character: Probably Alice Tanner Rating: 2/5

On one hand, I agree with Pickle that films from books are ripe to be remade. I like seeing the different interpretations of books and I do agree with Pickle that the later versions of Pride and Prejudice are better. Even modern books are fine to be re-made in my opinion due to people interpreting them differently. But on the other hand, classic films from original screen plays have a certain feeling that modern films can't replicate - even when remade nearly excatly the same as before. I probably cannot even describe adequately what I mean, but the way the set is designed (even when it is obviously fake like the painted backdrops of The Wizard of Oz), the type of cameras used, the special effects and the music just add so much and gives the movies such a magic feeling and it takes my breath away to watch. Foreign moves and tv should not be remade. It always feels like something is lost in translation and it's usually the thing that made the movie/tv show interesting in the first place! Like when the Spanish film [rec] was remade as Quarantine. The ending of the film was completely changed to fit in with American problems and what scares them rather than keeping it the same as before. Which was a shame because the ending of [rec] was so unique and interesting it made me desperate to watch the sequal.

ooo I haven't read either of those yet. I really want to read My Cousin Rachel. I thought the blurb was really interesting but someone has taken it out of the library so I'll have to wait to read it (unless I buy it first which I might do!)

I finished it yesterday and it was amazing. It really lived up to my expectation. I am now reading Just After Sunset by Stephen King.

Frenchman's Creek - Daphne Du Maurier Synopsis (from goodreads): Daphne du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek is the scandalous tale of one woman's will to seize adventure by the horns and become the fugitive of her own fate. Jaded by frivolous Restoration London and the numbing civility of its hollow members, Lady Dona St. Columb revolts against polite society. She rides into the countryside, guided only by her restlessness and the indomitable longing for escape. But when chance leads her to meet a French pirate hidden within Cornwall's shadowy forests, Dona discovers that her passions and thirst for adventure have never been more aroused. Together, they embark upon a quest rife with death and glory, and one which bestows upon Dona the ultimate choice: sacrifice her lover to certain destruction or gamble away her own to save him. Thoughts: I adored this book. I am a great fan of du Maurier and this novel did not disappoint. It is a beautifully written with a great plot to match: I felt disapointed that my past 24 hours have been so busy and I wasn't able to sit down and read the book in one go. Random Quote: All whispers and echoes from a past that is gone teem into the sleeper's brain, and he is with them, and part of them. Favourite Character: It has to be Lady Dona St. Columb Rating: 5/5

I am just about to start reading Just After Sunset by Stephen King. I'm also over half-way through Labyrinth by Kate Mosse.

Yes I have read Jamaica Inn which I thought was fantastic.

Hopefully you'll get into it soon. I found it quite slow in the beginning but when it started to get going it was excellent.