BB FANS

I've just finished a book I was given for my birthday. It's called "The Book Thief", by Markus Zusak. It's narrated by Death, and is set in Nazi Germany (sorry if someone's written about it before!!). Anyway - I couldn't put it down, and it's a book that will stay with me for a very long time.

I've got it sitting by my bed, just waiting to be read. It looks really good but there's a couple of others I have to read for work first....will get there! x

I'm sure you'll love it, TD. It's really good. I'm now reading The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies. I'm not that far into it, but was rivetted by the first chapter about a guy who started off life as a German half Jew, and who is now working for the British Army and we start with him interviewing Rudolf Hess in Wales. That part was gripping, and quite chilling in places. Now it's moved on to a young Welsh girl who's working behind a bar and involved with an English soldier. Can't wait to see how it all turns out and links together, etc.

Author who made £10m from the book about fleeing the Nazis and living with wolves admits: 'I made it all up - and I'm not even Jewish' Mail

Just finished The Other Boleyn Girl (escapist tosh, lol, and read in case I make it to see the film). I'm now on Friday Nights by Joanna Trollope.

I've just read "So Many Ways to Begin" by Jon McGregor. It's about a bloke who is a museum curator and goes through family history, pictures, etc to try and find his real mother after finding out he was adopted. Each chapter is marked by the description of an artefact eg a picture, a drawing, a button relevant to what happens in the chapter. It's also about his life; how he and his girlfriend start out with ideas and dreams and how life doesn't quite work out the way they planned it; i suppose it was a bit depressing really but Jon McGregor is a great writer, he takes the minutiae of life and makes it important.

Oh and....for something completely different....Richard Hammond's autobiography, especially the account of his crash and his recovery, and how his family coped. Nearly had me in tears several times. Very personal and inspiring.

TD - I loved John McGregor's "If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things". It was recommended to a bunch of us by Ainslie Henderson of Fame Academy 1. I also loved Richard Hammond's book.

I've just finished "Blackberry Wine" by the Chocolat author, Joanne Harris. I really enjoyed it. I'm currently on the Alexander McCall Smith latest in the Scotland Street series, "The World According to Bertie", which is a hoot.

Just finished two really good books. The first was "Dancing with Eva" by Alan Judd. It's about two people in their 80s who are the last two survivors of Hitler's bunker (where he committed suicide). They meet for the first time since the end of the war and discuss their memories of that time. It's quite chilling in places, and well worth a read.

The second one is "Tell it to the Skies" by Erica James. I've always liked her books, though they are a light read. This one has a lot more substance to it, and I couldn't put it down. It's great for me, because the main character is my age, and part of the novel goes back to her youth. It took me back to the things I remember well from that era.

sorry Jo have just seen your post from May 28! Glad you like Jon McGregor. I think he's a fantastic writer and If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things is also brilliant.

Currently reading A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi. Her first book was called A Thousand Days in Venice and it's about how she moves to Venice after an unexpected romance and discovers the city; she's a food writer so the book has gorgeous recipes in it as well. In the Tuscany book she and her husband move out to a village in Tuscany; its a bit otherworldly (eg she never seems to do any proper work, just wafts around chatting, cooking and eating) but her writing's good and the recipes are mouthwatering as well. Plus am a sucker for Venice...

I'm yet to tuck into the hard back of Terry Pratchett's Money. But the book I put down just recently was Little Women.

Sure, I know it's not quite a man's book, but one of my new years resolutions was to read some of the classics.

on my reading list for this year includes :-

Pickwick Papers
Catcher In The Rye
Of Mice And Men
The Old Man And The Sea
Cider With Rosie
To Kill A Mockingbird
A Tale Of Two Cities
The Moon Is A Balloon


And just to capture my childhood I demand to read "Where The Wild Things Are" again. Every child needs to read this book....plus the Hungry Worm

Hi!

Must check out those books. My Erica James book that I mentioned was partly set in Venice.

I'm now reading a bit of fluff - Bad Behaviour by Sheila O'Flanagan. I couldn't read this kind of stuff all the time, but now and again it's fun, and I'm so busy atm that I need a light read.

Bluto - I adore Little Women and To Kill a Mockingbird. There's a reason that classics are "classics", lol.

The Book Thief sounds good Vagabond I'm going to give it a try.

Ian McEwan The Comfort Of Strangers (Pretty good)
Sally Beauman Rebecca's Tale (excellent and didn't spoil the original Rebecca)
Anne Enright The Gathering (No idea why it won a book award)
Nicci Gerrard Things We Knew Were True.(Good)
Khaled Hosseini The Kite Runner (excellent and moving)
Nicci Gerrard Soham: A Story Of Our Time
Niall Williams Four Letters Of Love
Daphne Du Maurier My Cousin Rachel (excellent)
Jonathan Tropper Everything Changes (Favourite author, love all his books they have everything in them..)
Jonathan Tropper Plan B( excellent)
Kent Haruf The Tie That Binds(moving)
Jonathan Tropper The Book Of Joe
Stuart Prebble Grumpy Old Men (funny, funny, funny)
Chris Bohjalian Midwives (good)
Wendy Jean Unstolen (good)
Lorna Martin Woman On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (okish, not brilliant. Just this side of chicklit)
John Boyne The Boy In Striped Pyjamas (a classic, superb)


I'm now reading A swift pure cry by Sioban Dowd. Think it might be a YA but still pretty good.

Thanks for all those Boopy as need some recommendations as running out of books fast. The tv is so crap atm that reading seems a much more attractive ption.

Love Daphne Du Maurier ...Frenchman's Creek was my favf but haven't read any in years.

Reading 'The Host' by Stephenie Meyer atm (enjoying...got very good reviews)

I recently read "The Lollipop Shoes" by Joanne Harris. It's about Vianne from her "Chocolat" novel. I'm now reading "Five Quarters of the Orange" which is also by Joanne Harris. I've had it on the shelf for years, and never fancied it, but it's really good.

I also enjoyed "Second Honeymoon" by Joanna Trollope, and "Wedding Season" by Katie Fforde.