chaliepud

I think I would have to read Human Traces by Sebastian Faulks again, it's a good long read and I still haven't managed to find a book that I have enjoyed more..

Finished Colleen Hoover's 'Hopeless', I can't remember the last time I finished a book in one day (involving a 1.30 am finish though so will be shattered today). An excellent YA read, but for older teens only as fairly graphic and dealing with upsetting issues.

Yes I've read them both and very much looking forward to "Detergent"!! My lot go through phases where they'll read lots and then have very quiet spells where they're more interested in their phone and xbox's

Would also highly recommend Finding Sky by Joss Stirling, the first in the Benedict Brothers/Soulfinder series.. Fun, exciting, romance, action, what more can a girl need?! The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a wonderful book and definitely age appropriate, but it may get the usual teenage response (that I got from Charlie) that it is boring as it's not current day.. He really enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time though..

I can't speak for the older books as mine have revisited anything classic, although Charlie is partial to Shakespeare since doing Lamda this year but I can't imagine that would float Beth's boat? What about something like A Christmas Carol? It's fairly short and she would know the story? Charlie read Divergent and Insurgent when he was 13 and Maddie (just 12) has just finished them too, they both loved them.. I can see there being some competition when the third is delivered later this year!!

The snow has hit here, I thought we were going to escape it again but no such luck. Will have to assume Robbie's football is off and not sure whether the leisure centre will be open for badminton as its entrance is through our country park and the road is steep and usually the first to cause problems.. That and the fact that I'm not a snow fan means we'll probably have a snow day at home..

Well done Chesil, it's especially hard in this bleak cold weather, the snow has hit here this morning so it's a day at home with the kids and I'll be trying to keep us all busy and warm so we don't feel the need to snack all the time!

You'll be thirsty now then BB, pork scratchings are so salty! I just enjoyed a large bowl of semolina made with skimmed milk, lovely and warming after an hour watching footie in the cold!

I watched the first ever episode earlier, so funny.. Just watched Chicago Fire, what's not to like in a show full of firemen!!!

I reached my 10 stamps last week but mainly because I had to buy revision books for my kids, but was very good and used my £10 voucher online to download books for my Kobo as sticking to my not buying tree books resolution..

It must be great to watch something filmed so close to home, I hope the weather is better for you though! I couldn't wait this week, so I just waiting until it was 15 mins in then I could do the same... It was a good one!

Looking forward to Broadchurch later, anyone else watching it?

Hi BB, it was very good, it was different to MBY, more romantic, maybe I'd just mark it a 4.5 where I marked MBY as a 5, definitely worth a read.

Judy Garland and other child actors of the time were given amphetamines and sleeping pills by the film crews in order that they would always be alert and ready when the cameras rolled, this began her slide into addiction, very sad and unfortunately very acceptable at the time..

Finished The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes, excellent!

Matt Smith is on Jonathan Ross now..

I can order books from anywhere in Surrey (the county I live in) but alas there were none to be found last I looked.. I may download one to my kobo next time I need a new e-read.

Home Front is great, if you enjoy that I'd suggest reading "Night Road" after, it was the book that introduced me to Kristin Hannah and was a fantastic roller coaster of a read.. I'm trying to read through her back catalogue now but unfortunately our library has none of her older books...

I can't settle to reading anything at the moment, may be a combination of a bad virus I'm just getting over and some other stuff going on, but have downloaded a few books to my Kobo using a Waterstone's voucher in the hope of kickstarting my reading.. I downloaded.. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong and Hopeless - Colleen Hoover The first and last have been recommended on here, the second is the third in a series of books I've enjoyed so far.. Here's hoping!!

The main problem I find in teenage books isn't the swearing or the violence, my kids know what language is and isn't acceptable and I don't think reading the odd word will do them too much harm, same with the violence.. It's the sexual content, and some of these teen books can be waaaay too detailed for my liking... My 12 year old daughter was just asking last week if she could read Looking for Alaska by John Green.. Fortunately I'd had a brief read of it last year as within the first chapter or two a sexual act was detailed that whilst my children may have scant knowledge of, I really don't want them reading about just yet!

A few of my friends read as much as I do and a lot at least always have a book "on the go", some friends say they only read on holiday as that's the only time they can spare the time, only a handful of my friends don't read at all.. I think it's really important to encourage the next generation of readers, my children could quite easily not read and spend all their time on electrical devices but I make sure they have 'screen free' time and put time into resourcing books I think they will like, whilst making sure as best I can that they are appropriate to their age and maturity.. My nearly 14 year old son will only read at bedtime as a rule but he has just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and has just started To Kill A Mockingbird, both books that were on a recommended reading list he got from his English teacher.. Saying that they wouldn't consider taking a book on a sleepover or school trip in case they were to be teased for it, sad but true..

I find it a bit of a minefield too Ian, I have a nearly 14 year old son and 12 year old daughter and I've actually read some books just to see if they are appropriate for them, and in the case of some definitely not! So many books are marketed as teen reads but that's not particularly helpful?. Some books are now putting recommended ages on them which is great and I also came across a website that can be useful... http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ This book has been helpful too, as much for suggestions as guidelines.. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Teen-Book-Guide-Guides/dp/1408104377/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363094704&sr=8-1 Hope that helps a little.

Finished "All These Things I've Done" by Gabrielle Zevin which was very disappointing after enjoying "Elsewhere" so much... Have started "The Girl You Left Behind" by Jojo Moyes, I'm hoping its going to be as good "Me Before You"...

The Lucky One, very predictable but ok.....