Sign up for Mumsnet's weekly talk round up in which our very own Morningpaper rakes over the highs, lows and just plain weird bits from Mumsnet Talk. So if you worry that you always miss the juicy bits or if you'd like to see MP's own unique take on them, sign up now and we'll add you to the mailing list. Best, Mumsnet Towers.
Just updating my profile page and as well as what I'm reading now I thought I'd add what I've just finished and what I've got lined up next:
Past - A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. Really enjoyed this, interesting and warmhearted but not overly sentimental.
Present - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Very excited about starting this; after reading the thread on here I went out and bought it the next day!
Future - I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith. Started this when I was pg but then Mummy-brain took over and I couldn't concentrate on anything but mother-and-baby magazines. Looking forward to giving it another try!
I listening to a spot of bother on ipod, its quite interesting I'm only half way through, cant quite tell where its going.I find all the characters interesting but can say I like any of them.
Twilight is brilliant, I'm on the second book now.
I've tried I capture the castle awhile ago and although I enjoyed it I wouldn't say it griped me.
I thought the same as you, I didn't like any of the characters for quite a while, but they do grow on you - I guess it's because they're portrayed so well you can see their faults, they're very much 'real' people.
Past - "Twilight" - I didn't think much of it tbh. Also "World Without End" which I really enjoyed; it's huge but quite a light, easy read (a bit predictable and cliched in places but still pretty good).
Present - "The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher" - I'm enjoying this but have had a horrid migraine for two days, so have been reading through a bit of a haze.
Future - I've got a few waiting for me but this: Boy A is at the top of my to-read pile.
Past - the Twilight series, I've got to read the last one still but amazon is being slow delivering it.
Present - McSweeney's mammoth treasury of thrilling tales (pretty good bedtime reading), the Book Thief (really not sure about this one, I think I'm enjoying it), the Christian Pluralist (not very well written but interesting)
Future - Homebody/Kabul, a play. I hate reading plays, it's for a uni course I'm starting next year so I have to do it at some point, and I'm banned from buying any more books this year.
Past - Blood River by Tim Butcher. Incredibly good.
Present - The Collected Stories by T.C Boyle. Amazing as all his work is, and handy but satisfying short stories. Also The Islamist by Ed Husain, really interesting and intriguing first hand account of extremism.
AmIWhatAndWhy, what is this soho bookstore of which you speak? Sounds good... although I have already bought more books (secondhand or remainder, natch) than I can read next year so maybe I don't need any more encouragement.
Past: Just finished The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud. Beautifully written at the level of the sentence, but *boy oh boy* did I want to slap her characters. Impossibly annoying.
Present: The Wasted Vigil - Nadeem Aslam. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Sounds heavy going, beautifully written, intensely visual. It would be a 'can't put it down' book if I weren't (a) too busy (b) too exhausted
Future: I have a shortlist...
- Here Lies Arthur, crossover Philip Reeve, looks good, out from the library so needs to be read pretty soon;
- Angela Carter - The Magic Toyshop, recommended heartily by several people whose taste I trust;
- The Sewing Circles of Herat - Christina Lamb, an Afghanistan memoir that sounds like it would be a good follow-up to present reading;
- or The Earth Hums in B Flat - Mari Strachan, an ARC from Canongate which I was thrilled to bits to get this morning as it sounds fab.
I so need to win the lottery so I can stop working.
Past - The L-shaped Room by Lynn Reid Banks - Loved it! Present - Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys - almost finished and finding it really interesting. Future - either Can Any Mother Help Me? by Jenna someone, or Shakespeare by Bill Bryson.