Angury

1Q84 is the first book of Haruki's that I'm reading, mainly because it seems to be such a popular novel. Although I've been told Norwegian Wood is a better book to begin with if you haven't read his books before, since 1Q84 is pretty long. Despite only being 100 pages in, I'm enjoying it - I think he writes very well and there are some beautiful sentences in his chapters. Anyway, I forgot to say what I would write about if I wrote a book.. I think I'd probably write a fictional book about mental illness - maybe from the point of view of the person suffering from it, but you don't realise they're ill because you're seeing everything through their perspective. I think I'd start off with a short story though. I'd also like to write a nonfiction book about healthcare, particularly mental health - things like how people view the mental health services, differences between physical and mental health, and the way medicine is changing as more patient-centered. I also think the placebo effect is very interesting, and the argument on how it can be used to benefit patients, what with deception being a big issue. I have a lot of ideas being thrown around my head, so I think I'd probably just write some blog posts to begin with, to try and find my voice.

I use Goodreads a lot to track my to-read list as well as books I'm currently reading. I've stopped looking at reviews before I read a book now though, because I've found myself disagreeing with the reviews a lot of the time. I guess I'd rather read a book with a clear perspective before looking at what other people have to say. It's a great community though - bookworms unite.

I like your idea of a young wizard inheriting a kingdom, sounds like a fun read. I'm a fantasy fan myself which is probably why it appeals to me so much. It'd be nice to have some more humour in the genre rather than the typical good vs evil archetype.Your idea reminds me of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series (love the username btw ). I have to remind myself of this often. I used to have an English teacher back in school who published a book and won many awards for it. At the time I wanted to be just like her, but what I didn't see was the years of work that went on behind her success, all the competitions she entered and the hours of work she put into her craft everyday.I've decided that my aim isn't to be published, but just to write everyday. I've found it reveals so much about your mind and how your thoughts come together, not to mention the improvements you notice as you keep writing.

You are about to dive into an incredible world. I am currently reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, which I'm enjoying so far. His writing is very easy to get into, and there's some phrases that I might note down because of his choice of words. Although I've got the entire trilogy as one massive book so look a bit silly carrying such a tome around coffee shops. I'm also currently reading Collected Short Stories by Lydia Davies. I've been thinking about entering a short story competition, so decided to look around a bit to become familiar with the art. Glad I did, I didn't realise you could write about absolutely anything, no matter how mundane until I read Lydia Davies. I'm also reading The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine by James Le Fanu, as healthcare is something I'm interested in. Yeah, I read three books at a time..

Apologies if there is already a thread about this author, I couldn't find one. Sarah Hall has become one of my favourite authors. I've read How to Paint a Dead Man by her which I thought was written wonderfully. She has such a way with words, she could describe the most mundane of things in a beautiful and eloquent way. I also finished reading her collection of short stories in The Beautiful Indifference and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work. She also won the BBC National Short Story Award with her story called Mrs Fox. I'm still trying to hunt it down atm. Are there any of her fans around here? I am trying to find more of her work to read, it's such a wonderful escape delving into her writing.

I thought this was interesting: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/06/nathan-filer-costa-award-first-novel The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer wins the Costa Award. There was also a 11-publishing bid war over the book. It's now my next book to read. The story sounds very interesting, about a boy with schizophrenia. Especially since the author is a mental health nurse.

I started reading these books a few days ago, and I'm hooked. So far I've read Mort and Small Gods, and I'm just about to start Guards! Guards! I was about to start reading Thud, but then came across this: http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-20.jpg So thought it might be best to start with Guards! Guards! first. I know there's no particular order to the books, but is it best to follow the above guide, to understand the characters arcs? I was hoping to go on to Thud straight after Guards - does it matter that I'll have skipped some of the books in the Nightwatch 'series'? What are your favourite books from Discworld? I've heard a lot about Sam Vimes which is why I've decided to give Guards a go. I also enjoyed the character of Death in Mort, I'm planning to buy Reaper Man soon.

I've just finished De Profundis by Oscar Wilde. Loved his use of words, it was a touching letter. I want to read The Importance of Being Earnest, but I'm not too sure since it's a play.

That's a lovely book, hope you enjoy it. I've just started reading Metamorphosis by Kafka. My mother asked me what it was about, then gave me a weird look when I told her. She must think I'm a very strange child..

I have both a Kindle Paperwhite and a tablet, admittedly not a fire. I've tried reading on my tablet, but the light irritates my eyes, and I find I can't read on it for a long period of time. I spend hours everyday on my laptop as it is, so I feel like I need to give my eyes some rest. I find reading on a Paperwhite so much easier, and more relaxing on my eyes. Plus, if you already have a tablet and enjoy using it, I don't think you really need the Fire. Although I have never used either the Surface Tablet or the Fire, so my opinion comes from no experience whatsoever. If you are interested in getting a Fire, perhaps try it out in a shop and see what it's like? Maybe it's not as straining on the eyes as other tablets.

One of my favourite books of all time is Nineteen Minutes. I'm not sure if it's a book that I could read again, but it made me think a lot. I've read a couple of her other books, including House Rules, and although I found the topics to be interesting, they became bit repetitive for me. I've had a glance at some of her other books including the new ones, and they sound really good, but not sure if I should go back to reading her work.

I'm currently reading Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, but I keep jumping between books. So I'm also reading The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine by James Le Fanu and On Writing by Stephen King depending on my mood.

One of my favourite books, sounds like you're enjoying it just as much as I did. I'm trying to read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.. I'm not getting very far though. I'm tempted to take a break from it and read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I've been meaning to read it for a while, and it's been getting some good reviews from a couple of people around here.

I quite like reading a series which hasn't been completed yet and waiting for the next book to come out. Part of the fun for me is discussing the plot with other fans and predicting what will happen next to the characters. I usually get most of my books from the library, and will only buy a series if it's something I really enjoy reading and would read over and over again.

I'm usually in the middle of a fantasy series, while at the same time reading a non-fantasy book. Mostly because I cannot get enough of the fantasy genre but I still enjoy reading books outside of this range so that I don't restrict myself. For example, at the moment I'm currently reading the 4th book of the Game of Thrones series (The Feast of Crows by George Martin) and at the same time I've just started Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It also means I have a choice, depending on my mood which can change a lot.

I'm from Northern Ireland, of which a lot of people don't seem to know it's location.. at least the people I've met. Glad to see some other Northern Irish folk lurking around here though.

18 here, just becoming an adult and taking on new responsibilities.

The Hobbit for sure; judging by how good the Lord of the Rings trilogy were, I'm expecting a brilliant film from Peter Jackson. I still need to finish the book, but luckily I've got a whole year to do so. I'm glad Ian McKellen is back as Gandalf, there's no one else who could have been that character, and from what I've seen so far from the trailer, it looks like it's going to be a fantastic film. Also looking forward to the Great Gatsby. I wasn't a big fan of the book (I didn't hate it before any fans jump on me) but I'm interested in seeing how it'll play out in screen. Maybe it'll persuade me to give the book another go.. who knows!

Hey there! My name is Angury (not my real name ), I'm 18 and I'm from Northern Ireland. I'm currently a student and I'm hoping to study medicine next year at university! I've always been a big fan of books, but I've mostly stuck to fantasy such as the Game of Thrones, the Wheel of Time, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter etc. I recently decided to broaden my horizons and delve into books from other genres. After reading a few classics here and there, I realised how much I'd missed by restricting myself to fantasy.. so I decided to join this forum in order to discuss books with other avid readers and look for suggestions for other great books to read. At the moment I'm reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding and have just borrowed The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger from my local library. I look forward to chatting with you all about our favourite books and hopefully entering some great discussions!

I joined Goodreads a few months ago and had a lot of fun checking out books that are now on my to-read list. I haven't been on it recently, but it's a great way to discuss your favourite books and look for suggestions for something new and interesting to read.

I just finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird and A Clockwork Orange. To Kill A Mockingbird was a lovely book, I loved the way we got to see racial injustice from a child's perspective; it definitely added humour to some of the chapters. I'm still not sure about A Clockwork Orange at the moment. I started reading it after learning about aversion therapy in my Psychology class, and I'll admit that the book certainly made me think about free will. It also wasn't as hard to understand the language nadsat as I thought it would be, but it did make the book more interesting to read. I've just started Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It's read by students in my school for GCSE English Literature so I've heard a lot of grumbling over it, but I'm going to delve right in with an open mind.

I always end up losing my bookmarks so now I just fold the corner of the page. Yes I know, I'm a criminal. I get some dirty looks from my friends when they see the worn pages, but I don't mind. It's almost like my books are full of memories; most of my childhood books are tattered and ragged but they remind me of the joy the stories brought when I'd open the books and bend the spine. Whenever I get a new book, it doesn't feel like it's mine until I've managed to fold a few pages.

I've promised myself to expand my reading list this year and not restrict myself to fantasy like I normally do. I've read a couple of books already that I would never have picked up, and have added 1984 and A Thousand Splendid Suns to my list of all-time favourite books. After reading some opinions on different books, I recently borrowed To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and The Time Traveler's Wife by Aurey Niffenegger from my local library. I'm about a quarter of a way through To Kill a Mockingbird at the moment and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm glad I decided to move out of the fantasy genre and throw myself into some of these novels, they've certainly made me think.