BB FANS

Well, I've borrowed a copy of the Da Vinci Code, I'm probably the last person to read it in the country but I hope it's as good as Angels and Demons, but not to graphic in the murders as Angels and Demons it was quite terrible all of the murders, I'm such a whimp when it comes to things like that.

I still haven't read it Chad so you're not the only one

Good, my thinking is I'm going to read the book then watch the DVD and O'm hoping I'll understand whats going on in the film better, also they are really addictive books, I still have Deception Point to read, but a friend said it wasn't as good as the others so I've been putting off reading it.

I have nearly finished reading 'Alive' by Piers Paul Read. The story of a plane that crashed into the Andes and 16 survivours lived there in bitter cold and snow for ten weeks until they were rescued. They ended up having to survive on the bodies of those who had died. Repulsed at first but eventually realising it was thier only means of survival they gradually ate the deceased passengers. Quite descriptive and in some parts you need a strong stomach but an absolutley fascinating book though quite old now. It certainly makes you wonder just what lengths mankind is willing to go to, to survive. Even the strongest anti-eaters eventually gave in knowing it was their only means of survival. All Roman Catholic, their faith is what also held this amazing group together. A real page turner.

That sounds really good (the book not the cannabalism, lol)

I still havent finished that Finding Sanctuary book BBoop. In fact I put it down half way through and havent picked it up again yet.

Instead I'm reading a holiday fodder book I found on a jumble stall - Three Men on a Plane by Mavis Cheek. It's about a middle aged woman whose son has just left home and she's trying to choose between her ex husband, an ex lover and a younger man.

Oh to be that lucky

The made a film of that a few years ago. Might be worth a watch to compare.

Alive

Thanks for that CC. I had heard there was a film made about it and there is a website with a photo of them as they are now thirty years on and what became of their lives. I may well watch the dvd of it but hope it isn't as graphic as the book was. It's one thing to read it another thing to see it!


edit: sorry TD I didn't mean to ignore your post I have been known to do that with many a book and then I leave it so long I have to start from the begining again. Failing that I just chuck it out for another one

I rented the dvd and watched it today (with ref to the Alivebook/dvd above) It was very good and well reconstructed but there was large junks of the book missing. That was obviously so that it could be made to a film and some things they had to do to survive were so graphic and terrible that there is no way it could be shown. Also there is respect for the dead people who were eaten and 'used' in other ways as well. The best part was the extras where you saw interviews with all the survivours some 20 years on. It was really interesting to see how they all turned out and how they viewed the whole experience. It is definately a book I would like to read again now I can put a face to the names.

Has anyone else read Labyrinth? It was recommended to me by a friend, I did enjoy it but would like to know what others thought of it if anyone else has read it??

AMAZING TRIVIA IN NEW TOP 10 LISTS

ANORAKS and pub quiz fanatics will be rushing to the book shop to buy The Top 10 Of Everything 2007.

It's a treasure trove of trivia about the world in which we live, with statistics on everything from the UK's favourite pet dog to most downloaded single.

So we've selected some of the most fascinating top 10s to keep you in the know...


TOP UK DOGS
1 Labrador retriever - 45,779
2 Cocker spaniel - 17,468
3 English springer spaniel - 15,180
4 German shepherd - 13,165
5 Staffordshire bull terrier - 13,070
6 King Charles spaniel - 11,165
7 Golden retriever - 10,165
8 West highland terrier - 9,775
9 Boxer - 9,542
10 Border terrier - 6,447

CALORIE CONSUMPTION
1 USA - 3,774 per person a day
2 Portugal - 3,741
3 Greece - 3,721
4 Austria - 3,673
5 Italy - 3,671
6 Israel - 3,666
7 Ireland - 3,656
8 France - 3,654
9 Canada - 3,589
10 Malta - 3,587
UK - 3,412
World average - 2,804
Average requirement for men - 2,700
Average requirement for women - 2,500

MOST WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT
1 Rwanda - 48.8%
2 Sweden - 45.3
3 Norway - 37.9
4 Finland - 37.5
5 Denmark - 36.9
6 Netherlands - 36.7
7=Cuba - 36
Spain - 36
9 Costa Rica - 35.1
10 Argentina - 35
UK - 19.7

COUNTRIES IN THE MOST DEBT
1 USA - £4,712billion
2 UK - £3,790bn
3 Germany - £1,933bn
4 France - £1,507bn
5 Italy - £897bn
6 Netherlands - £877bn
7 Japan - £824bn
8 Spain - £666bn
9 Ireland - £560bn
10 Belgium - £523bn

MOST COMMON TREES IN UK
1 Sitka spruce
2 Scots pine
3 Oak
4 Birch
5 Lodgepole pine
6=Ash Japanese/hybrid larch
8 Beech
9=Norway spruce Sycamore

SHARK ATTACK DIVER INJURIES
1 Calf/knee
2 Arm
3 Thigh
4 Foot
5 hand
6 Abdomen
7 Chest
8=Buttocks Shoulder
10 Back

UK'S GREEN CONCERNS
1 Toxic waste disposal - 66 per cent
2 Livestock methods (BSE etc) - 59
3 Pollution of lakes, rivers and seas - 55
4=Pollution of bathing waters and beaches - 52
Traffic fumes - 52
6 Loss of plants and animals in the UK - 50
7 Depletion of the ozone layer - 49
8 Tropical forest destruction - 48
9=Global warming - 46
Loss of trees and hedgerows - 46

HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS IN UK
1 Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire - £48.6million
2 The Chronicles Of Narnia - £43.6m
3 Star Wars: Episode III - £39.4m
4 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory - £37.5m
5 Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of The Were Rabbit - £32m
6 War of the Worlds - £30.6m
7 King Kong - £30m
8 Meet the Fockers - £28.9m
9 Madagascar - £22.6m
10 Hitch - £17.4m

TOP BRANDS IN UK
1 Coca-Cola - £894.7m UK sales
2 Walker's Crisps - £409.6m
3 Warburton's Bakery - £381m
4 Cadbury's Dairy Milk - £319.9m
5 Nescafe instant coffee - £313.7m
6 Muller yoghurt - £312.1m
7 Kingsmill bread - £301.7m
8 Hovis bread - £301m
9 Andrex toilet tissue - £283m
10 Robinson's drinks - £266m

TOP UK TOURIST SITES
1 Blackpool Pleasure Beach - 5,970,000 visitors
2 British Air ways London Eye - 3,250,000
3 Tower of London - 1,931,093
4 Kew Gardens - 1,514,276
5 Edinburgh Castle - 1,187,342
6 The Eden Project - 1,177,189
7 British Library - 1,113,114
8 Chester Zoo - 1,089,257
9 Canterbury Cathedral - 1,054,886
10 Westminster Abbey - 997,382

TOP EARNING DEAD CELEBS IN 2005
1 Elvis Presley (died 16.8.77) - £19.7million
2 Charles Shultz, Peanuts cartoonist (died 12.2.00) - £18.7m
3 John Lennon (died 8.12.80) - £11.7m
4 Andy Warhol (died 22.2.87) - £8.5m
5 Theodor "Dr Seuss" Geisel (died 24.9.91) - £5.3m
6 Marlon Brando (died 1.7.04) - £4.8m
7 Marilyn Monroe (died 5.8.62) - £4.3m
= JRR Tolkein (died 2.9.73) - £4.3m
9 Irving Berlin (died 22.9.89) - £3.7m
=Johnny Cash (died 12.9.03) - £3.7m

REASONS TO SEE DOCTOR
1 Blood pressure disorders
2 Dermatitis and eczema
3 Skin disorder
4 Acute respiratory infections
5 Eye disorders
6 Ear disorders
7 Other acute lower respiratory infections
8 Chronic lower respiratory problems
9 Back problems
10 Non-inflammatory female disorders

LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN UK
1 English - 58,190,000
2 Welsh - 582,000
3 Eastern Panjabi - 471,000
4 Bengali - 400,000
= Urdu - 400,000
6 Cantonese - 300,000
= Sylheti - 300,000
8 Greek - 200,000
= Italian - 200,000
10 Caribbean Creole - 170,000

UK IMMIGRANTS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
1 India - 11,100
2 Pakistan - 10,025
3 Serbia/Montenegro - 9,590
4 Philippines - 8,200
5 South Africa - 7,565
6 Turkey - 6,060
7 Sri Lanka - 4,875
8 Nigeria - 4,620
9 USA - 4,120
10 Somalia - 3,825

TOP MUSIC DOWNLOADS
1 You're Beautiful - James Blunt
2 Hung Up - Madonna
3 Bad Day - Daniel Powter
4 Push the Button - Sugababes
5 Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz
6 Don't Cha - Pussycat Dolls, featuring Busta Rhymes
7 That's My Goal - Shayne Ward
8 (Is This The Way To) Amarillo - Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay
9 Gold Digger - Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx
10 I Like The Way - Bodyrockers

WEAPONS IN UK MURDERS
1 Sharp instrument - 236
2 Hitting and kicking -124
3 Unknown - 117
4 Shooting - 77
5 Blunt instrument - 61
6 Strangulation - 60
7 Burning - 34
8 Poison or drugs - 30
9 Motor vehicle - 20
10 Drowning - 14


Mirror

I was thrilled to see that Roddy Doyle has a new book - 'Paula Spencer'

Paula was 'The Woman Who Walked Into Doors', and this new book takes up her story 10 years later. She's 48, sober for four months, and the only Irish woman working for a contract cleaning company.

Even as a reflection of the 'new Ireland', the book would be very valuable.

I prefer to wait for paperbacks, or borrow books from the library. With this one, I'm chomping at the bit.

GG, what a coincidence! I bought this today and started it sitting in the hairdressers waiting for my appt. It's out on paperback over here and looks to be just as good as The Woman Who walked into doors.

I am reading ''Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide'' Not the most cheerful of books but very interesting with lots of information. If your life has been touched by suicide in some way especially in young people, this is a very informative book.

Still reading Love in the time of Chlorea.

Read about 4 b ooks inbetween but still determined to finish.

...that and DaVinci Code, Perfume and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

I'm reading A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. I have a feeling it's going to make me cry