General Chat

Maggie, 'This is going to hurt' is a good read. Granddaughter gave it to me a while ago as she thought I'd enjoy it.

There is another out as daughter mentioned it.

I was almost finished re-reading East of Eden before Christmas and had a few books on standby. Started to read a story on war-time Liverpool then at Christmas my son bought me a Liverpool then-and-now complete with some lovely pics.

Have you read "Tuppence to Cross the Mersey"? I can't remember who wrote it, Helen something.

No, Sharron, but I have taken a look and I see that she has written several books.

Thank you, I shall try one to see whether I like her writing style.

My reading pile at the moment, so if any of these are useless it would be good to know beforehand.

Small great things (PIccoult)
Telling tales (Cleeves)
The hard way (Child)
When I find you (Curtis)
He sais, she said (Kelly)
Tall tales (and wee stories) (Connolly)


A few of the better ones this year:

If she did it (Treadway)
15 seconds (Gross)
The snow girls (Mooney)
The insider (Hannah)
and of course, This is going to hurt.

I read a mix - some I buy, others from daughter and granddaughter.

I enjoyed The Hard Way.

You all read such interesting books. Such diverse interests.

I have never wanted to read fiction, didn't even do the proper childrens books and I think I have missed so much. Have only ever watched about a dozen or so films.

Such a narrow life.

Not narrow Sharron, just different. We live in fantasy land you live in the real world. :-)

It would be sketchbooks for me and a few art mediums as a bonus :-D

Like Sharron, I wasn't really interested in childrens fiction, rather I would spend hours in the library reading handicraft books and learning all sorts of skills.

JoyLouise, I look forward to reading it! Daughter works for the NHS, so it's pertinent to her.

As a child, I couldn't stand Enid Blyton books (still can't).
I really disliked the 'Janet and John' books I had to read at some schools - 'See Janet - see John fly his kite'. You haven't got a kite, Janet, because you are a girl. :-P
Time to go home and help mummy with dinner.

Then, when I was 9, I found John Wyndham and Steinbeck. followed by Asimov and a few others - I was hooked - but would still say I wasn't a SF. fan :-S

I haven't read many books in the past 10 years or so.
My usual excuse is that University ruined my love of reading - to a degree :-D

Our teachers used to emphasise the reading of 'good' books.

Surely Dermot, a book is only 'good' if the reader enjoys it and takes something from it?

So true, Island!
I taught myself to read, before I went to school, using the 'Dandy' and the 'Beano' (my elder brothers' comics.
After reading 'Minnie the Minx', it's hardly surprising I found 'Janet and John' sexist! :-D

That's a thought,I have read several Steinbecks.

I do quite like autobiographies and autobiographical fiction. The Helen Forrester (I remembered!) are autobiographies.

Don't like anything too taxing so I have read all the Miss Read books I think, and Margaret Powells books (there's a blast from he past).

If you can't sleep I would recommend the autobiography of Ghandi.

I'd forgotten about the Miss Read books!

I've read all the Tom Sharpe books.
My children were about 10 and 12, when I was reading them, and as the covers were a little risque, I tended to read them when the girls weren't around, and kept them on a high shelf..

....I found out, years later, that this had been a waste of time.
Both of them had read the books immediately after me :-0

Maggie, I secretly identified with Beryl the Peril :-D

My first ever book from the library was 'Tabitha Kitten' (there goes my street cred lol) I read it in about half an hour and asked my mum if we could go back and get another one. 'Oh no, you can't take it back yet' :-0 :-( I'm not sure if that killed my interest in childrens fiction or saved me from girlie books :-0

It's amazing how most of the female characters in those type of comics were ahead of their time, isn't it? Not that there were many of them :-(

My sister got the Bunty, which, when she grew out of it (went onto the Jackie), my mum thought I'd like.
No, I wanted the Beano!

I am not at all ashamed to admit that I loved Enid Blyton books, wouldn't equate them with Janet and John though. Also loved Arthur Ransome. I was a fast reader, My Mum used to get annoyed when she had bought me my usual Enid Blyton, probably the famous five or Secret seven series and I would have read it in a day. When I was 9/10/11 I would read anything I could get my hands on. My favourite comic was School Friend but also read 'Girl' and Eagle passed on by the boy whose bungalow was at the back of ours together with Dandy and Beano.I also had The Children's Newspaper.

When I left school and became a petrol pump attendant I would buy my Beano on the way to work and then one of the apprentices would come and pick it up when he dropped off his homework for me to do.

Just thought I'd add an update.

Small great things by Jodi Picoult is a good read. I know not everyone likes the 'disjointed' perspectives but it was still good.

Re-read The Pearl in the meantime and I am now about to pick up the Cleeves book.

i never could get into 'The Pearl' Did remember re-reading 'The Grapes of Wrath' when I was supposed to be revising for an exam, which could explain my lack of achievement in life