Alexi

Great stuff Frankie I'm about to start The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre from the list.

Sorry Julie I missed this here it's a really good book, one of the highlights of the challenge so far for me, because I might not have picked it up if I hadn't been doing it. Good to enjoy expanding my horizons! Book 23: The Dinner by Herman Koch (2/5) There is a full review in my book log, but suffice to say I didn't feel this book delivered on a very intriguing synopsis. Dull for large parts I'm afraid, despite the fact we're discussing murder! I set a challenge to read 10 books for this challenge during 2013. I've got about 8 on my TBR so hopefully this will also provide motivation to get some of them read and my TBR down!

The Dinner by Herman Koch Synopsis: An evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet for dinner. They need to discuss their teenage sons. The boys have committed a horrifying act, caught on CCTV. They remain unidentified - except by their parents. How far will each couple go to protect their child? (From Amazon) Thoughts: I picked this up on a kindle daily deal, partly because it counted as Netherlands for my world challenge. But mainly because the premise sounds great - moral dilemma ahoy, and how four different people react to that. Frankly, the execution was poor. The discussion of "what should they do" is dealt with in about 10 minutes and the ending feels rushed. I was 70% of the way through when they began to discuss it, and then it roared along and the end took me by complete surprise. Although prior to that we had been treated to some interesting flashback scenes from the life of our narrator (one of the boys" parents) we're also 'treated' to what feels like endless descriptions of a really posh restaurant. Of course the small portions can be irritating and the enthusiasm of the waiting staff misplaced, but we all KNOW that, it's irritating to have a good story constantly derailed by it. Although the ending was deliberately left hanging and a but intriguing, it's a major event that occurs in the end that will derail their lives, regardless of what they decide about their sons. It would have been nice to have their reactions to that second event explored. I didn't abandon the book because it held my interest enough to want to know what happened, but on the whole it was disappointing and it didn't deliver on my expectations of the synopsis. 2/5 Can't decide what to read next but leaning towards some non-fiction.

I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did Athena

So do I hopefully!!!! Would be nice to do well in the cup this year.

You should never underestimate United's ability to shoot themselves in the foot in the FA Cup!! I suspect you're right about the police presence Chalie I was spat at when I visited a rivals ground as a 17-year-old girl and I still don't feel safe attending a couple of grounds.

I also did this, and while I was on amazon Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom also fell onto my kindle...

Poor Luton, made it into the 5th round and rewarded with Millwall at home! Also good cupset work from Oldham in the late game.

I finished The Book Thief (and a box of Kleenex) and I've now started The Dinner by Herman Koch, which is so far an intriguing read.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Synopsis: This is the tale of the book thief, as narrated by death. And when death tells a story, you really have to listen. It's just a small story really, about, among other things: A girl An accordionist Some fanatical Germans A Jewish fist fighter And quite a lot of thievery. (From book jacket) Thoughts: Wow. Just wow. I'd heard a lot about this book, and in a way I put off reading it because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to the (considerable) hype, and/or I expected too much as a result. I expected much, but it delivered on every count. I'll always pick a good yarn ahead of flowery prose, but this little treasure combined a great story with writing that I wanted to devour. I fell completely in love with the lead character, Liesel, right from the get go. Her love of books gives the reader an easy 'in', but her relationships with Hans, Rudy and Max were joyous to watch as they developed. I've read a lot about World War II, particularly from a civilian viewpoint, but it never fails to sober me when you think of all those wasted lives, and for those who did survive, all those lost years. Partly it's the event itself that insures that, and part of it is the skill in the writing I think. Liesel and Rudy are just 11 when we meet them in the early part of the war, and have fathers who do not suffer much at the hands of the army (in relative terms, obviously) and yet through the normality of their lives is woven the true horror of war, Nazism, prejudice, and death. I did require tissues! 5/5

Thanks for the review of Homicide bobblybear My bf is really keen to give me this but I wasn't sure, but now I'm quite excited to receive it!

I'm halfway through the Book Thief and it is definitely living up to the hype!

Good luck with reducing your TBR Frankie! Looks like you've got some great reads ahead.

I love when I come in here and find some good old hatred of Catcher in the Rye still peeved I abandoned it because it is on the 1001 list, so if I ever wanted to complete that I'd have to read the sodding thing again! I also love lists, and ticking things off lists Congrats on your AWESOME Dickens haul J.

I think I've finally been convinced to try Rebecca! It gets so many positive reviews on here. Good to see you enjoyed My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece too Chalie - it's on my kindle and your review made me want to read it NOW - but I feel like that about most of my TBR! If they could just stop time for a week or two so I could get through some uninterrupted my work and social commitments that wold be absolutely grand

I LOATHED Lord of the Flies, but I did read it for English Lit GCSE, which was the course which put me off studying English ever again. I was good at both Lang and Lit, but the combined classes at GCSE level left me with a total detest of the subject, so I trotted off to do history instead. Maybe I should give it another go one day Like you J I would like to attempt more classics and I've downloaded quite a few also. I'm hoping that the 1001 book list challenge will also encourage me to tick a few off. I'd definitely like to try another Dickens this year, or maybe attempt my first Austen.

I finished The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and didn't enjoy it as much as the Adventures of.. collection. While I did enjoy most stories, there were a couple in this collection that I found quite weak, which didn't happen in the previous collection. Don't read the below if you haven't read the last story in this collection - The Final Problem. Anyway, thanks to reviews on this forum I bought the Book Thief by Markus Zusak yesterday, and have picked it straight up

I'm just starting The Book Thief. So many positive recommendations - I hope it lives up to the hype!

I really liked Veronika Decides to Die it does seem to be a marmite book though!!

Oh thanks Frankie! I'll try and get the first in the series out of the library then, definitely don't want to spoil her if she's as good as you say! I do love thrillers and crime, right from the very first time I read my first Sherlock Holmes as a 12 year old. I'm currently reading the rest, having downloaded the complete set for kindle. My 12 year old self would have loved it!!

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby Synopsis: It has been said often enough that baby boomers are a television generation, but the very funny novel High Fidelity reminds that in a way they are the record-album generation as well. This funny novel is obsessed with music; Hornby's narrator is an early-thirty-something English guy who runs a London record store. He sells albums recorded the old-fashioned way-on vinyl-and is having a tough time making other transitions as well, specifically adulthood. The book is in one sense a love story, both sweet and interesting; most entertaining, though, are the hilarious arguments over arcane matters of pop music.(from good reads) Thoughts: My only previous experience of Hornby' writing was reading Fever Pitch a few years ago. I very much enjoyed it as a football obsessive, although not an Arsenal fan. I picked this up because it was on the quick selection shelf at the library, and I thought I'd see how his fiction stood up to the previously autobiographical novel. I found it a light, refreshing read after getting so bogged down with Life of Pi. I raced through the first half of the book, laughing and groaning in equal measure along with the well-meaning yet idiotic Rob, the main character, who's just been dumped by his long-suffering girlfriend Laura. I enjoyed the supporting cast, particularly Dick and Barry, his employees at the shop, and liked meeting the ex-girlfriends from years past, having previously viewed the breakup through the blinkered eyes of Rob as he remembered them from his youth. I did think Hornby could have made more of this though, they were dispensed with in just a couple of pages! However, as I approached the end of the book, Rob became progressively more irritating and idiotic. Possibly, this is because he reminds me of one of my younger siblings who also treats his poor girlfriend like she's an irrelevance! By the end, I had concluded that Laura was way out of his league and she could do far better!! That made me downgrade it from a 4, to a solid 3. I'll probably look out for more of Hornby's work though. 3/5

I've got up to 17, but simply because when the first ones were brought out, 1-7 or so, me and Dad used to both read them on summer holidays when I was a teenager. I used to steal them out of his suitcase so I could read them first. The memories associated with them made me want to persevere but I've found the last 3 or 4 uninspiring, due to the overly recycled nature. However, given the memories they evoke, and the fact I can get them done in a couple of days, ill probably get round to the last 3 eventually.

I have definitely started acquiring more since I joined here, and now acquire at a faster rate than I read, which means that my TBR pile is always increasing!! I get a lot of pleasure out of it though, and as a result of that people enjoy passing books on to me, so I don't pay for them all either. I love reading, and I love the anticipation of reading everything on my shelves and kindle, even though I know it will take ages!! (or never happen!) I plan to live forever just so I can finish every book on my wish list, as a friend of mine would say.

I have the first in the series on my TBR and only heard good things. Must get to it soon

I'd be interested in what you think of My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece Chalie - I bought it in the 12 days of kindle sale I'm only a quarter of the way through High Fidelity, but it's wonderful, and lovely to enjoy it so much after struggling with Life of Pi.