Alexi

In Cold Blood is on my wish list, every time someone mentions it I think I must transfer it from wish list to TBR as soon as possible! It sounds fascinating.

Confession: I read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was about 18 and thought it was "alright". Do I give it another go or accept it just wasn't for me?

I'm finding that a lot of people's recommendations are on my TBR pile (whether paper books or on iBooks) but I've been intimidated by them! I set myself the personal challenge of ticking off more from the 1001 list (I started the year on 12, now on 19) but a lot of them have been the more modern ones on it. I promised myself I would read my first Dickens before the end of the year and next month's reading circle shall be my first Jules Verne so that's progress of a kind!

I meant triple figures for the TBR pile... Approaching double is a dream I suspect I shall never achieve!! Well the second bedroom is meant as an office for my OH...but given all he needs is a desk for his two computer monitors (men ) that surely leaves the rest of the room for my books, yes?

I never had a written wish list before I joined here - I keep it in my iPhone notes so I can access it when I go to the library - and it's now massive! I keep wanting to buy things off it but I think my TBR pile is now approaching double figures so I'm trying to reduce my pile of "tree" books before I move so I can cart them to a charity shop rather than carting them to the new place! Your reviews have also made my wish list grow Frankie!

I finished Veronika Decides to Die this morning. I really enjoyed the first half of the book but did feel it tailed off - although that might be because I guessed the ending! Still a good read though and another to add to my woeful total of books read from the 1001 list! Now starting A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Is that your wallpaper?! *bows down*

I finished Instructions for Living Someone Else's Life last night, really not my cup of tea this. I only stuck with it because I was stuck with nothing else on a train and then by the time I'd got off I'd battled over halfway through so felt I'd invested too much time to abandon! I've now started another book off the 1001 list - Veronika Decides to Die. The title and the first few pages are a bit morbid, the blurb promises it's uplifting! We shall see!

I saw this yesterday and loved it! I hadn't seen the trailer, just wanted to see it because I loved American Pie 1 and 2 and wanted to see all those characters again. It's funny and sweet amidst the grossness and ridiculous situations. If you liked the first one I think you'll love this one too. (I'm 25 if that makes a difference )

Thanks guys chaliepud - reassuring to know I'm not alone. None of my friends are pet owners but their reaction still made me a bit unsure! I should have asked my OH's Mum really, she was brilliant when she saw me just afterwards, gave me a hug as I had a little cry! She has dogs. I still have one of my cats with me - she's getting a bit spoilt now though, whoops. Madcow, Freya looks adorable!

I picked up my cat's ashes from the vet on Thursday. I'm waiting for Mum to help me spread them in his favourite places round the garden, can't face it alone. My friends were a bit disbelieving I actually got him cremated but he died at the vets so they rang me asking if I wanted to pick his body up or get him cremated - I couldn't face the first one He was 12 and hit by a car. Died 2 weeks later. But he looked so miserable for the last week or so, at least his suffering is over.

I started Instructions for Living Someone Else's Life by Mil Millington today. Picked up a massive stack of library books including Me Before You by Jojo Moyes because I'd read good things about it on here...can't remember who it was though!

Book 10: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan) 8/10 Well, this challenge has certainly been educational. As well as ticking off books from the 1001 list, I'm learning about history and in this case geography - I had no idea Pakistan shared a border with Afghanistan. Given I did a module at university in Indian (and obviously by extension Pakistan!) history, that's a tad worrying. Anyway, I know it now. I was sad this book was as short as it was (200 pages of large writing) because I loved reading it. The style and the story were wonderful. The reason I have docked it 2 points out of 10 was the ending was so frustrating! I've never really read a book displaying the anti-American sentiments that Changez does, and it did rather open my eyes somewhat. While I did read a lot about the suffering of Afghanistan and Iraq and their citizens in the news, it was interesting reading about how it impacted on India and Pakistan after the September 11 attacks. Given this is fiction I should probably go and get out a politics textbook from the library, but I love books that make me think, and this one did that.

I finished 1977 by David Peace (it's due back to the library tomorrow, just in time!) I really enjoy his style, but Christ this Red Riding series is gut-wrenchingly violent. Given it's fiction around the Yorkshire Ripper, of course it will be violent, but I sometimes feel the level of violence is there for the sake of it, rather than adding to the story. Anyway, now reading the Reluctant Fundamentalist.

I finished Notes From a Small Island - my first Bill Bryson which I really enjoyed. (Although, if you're going to do a tour of England and Scotland, October does not strike me as the best time of year to do it!) Lots of thrillers coming up for me it seems (curse library due dates) so I'm reading something lighter now before I tackle them - The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend.

My Mum says it's very violent. While I read a lot of crime fiction, including Tess Gerritsen who gets very graphic when describing an autopsy, I find that so much easier to deal with in book form... maybe the film industry makes it more horrific than my imagination is capable of doing?!

Finished Q & A, now starting Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson, This is a bit of a departure for me, I very rarely read travel books like this, but I saw it on the return shelf at the library and picked it up. Hope it was the right choice!

Book 9: Q & A By Vikas Swarup (India) 9/10 The version of this book I borrowed from the library is now entitled Slumdog Millionaire, but given it is the same story and wording as the book was when published as Q & A I refuse to pander to Hollywood, or the publishers who fall over themselves to republish under the new name to make money. I haven't seen the film of this (I'm rubbish with films, lose all concentration and fall asleep), and once I realised it was based on a book I knew I'd have to read the book first. Mainly because I'm damn cool. I really, really enjoyed this. Other than knowing it was about a guy who wins a quiz show, I didn' know much about it and so how his story stitched into each of the questions asked was constantly interesting and made me want to keep picking it up. I liked how each question was a chapter and they could be taken as standalone short stories in many ways, but everything fitted together even though his life wasn't told in chronological order. Obiously the book tackles in 350 pages a whole host of issues we'd prefer not to think about, murder, rape, forced prostitution and others which I won't say for fear of spoilers, but because the main character is in many ways such a positive guy I think it works without becoming too maudlin. My favourite bit was at the end though, with his "lucky" coin! Loved this book...now to dust off the DVD and see if it lives up to it.

Don't worry, I won't blame you if I hate it we seem to have reasonably similar tastes in that we seem to loathe the same things! I've also downloaded an H G Wells you recommended - that also ticks off a 1001 book and was free so seems very low risk!

This is on my wish list J - can't remember why, but it may have been you mentioning it elsewhere! I enjoyed your review, and given I don't normally 'do' fantasy either, comforting! I must make efforts to transfer it from the wish list to the TBR pile

I haven't read the reviews on Amazon, but it seems you agreed more with them judging by the comments about them from Willoyd and VF!

I really enjoyed Along Came A Spider by James Patterson but that was his first (and the only one I've so far read), maybe they deteriorate down th line? I'll definitely read his second and see how I go though. Agree on JD Salinger and the Twilight woman. I read Twilight because I had nothing else to read when staying with my 15 year old cousin. Ugh, ugh and ugh, never reading the rest of the nonsense saga or anything else she churns out! I'd like to add Matt Beaumont to the list - I loved his book E, but recently read the most vile tripe ever in Small World and wont be picking him up again. Also Freya North, I read one of hers years ago while travelling and remember nothing about it other than it was in my top ten worst books ever read.

I'm only up to 16! I'm making efforts to put that right though. It's only a couple of years ago I got back into reading after 4 years of undergrad uni then a year's post grad basically put me right off. 1977 by David Peace is next because at some point I need to take it back to the library rather than endlessly renewing the far too large stack I have! I'd like to see the movie Ruth - I always read books before seeing the movie and then am often disappointed but Dad said they were very similar.

I finished One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - more progress made on the 1001 list! I enjoyed it but it was hard going in places so rewarding myself with something a bit easier - The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen.

Only 3/5 J? Disappointing, won't add it to my list You're doing well!! 34 countries is ace.