Of Mice and Maltesers - chat thread for round three.

[AgentProvocateur]

First posting date - 1 August.

Please email the initials of your book and author by 20 July to ali41w at googlemail dot com.

[aristocat]

great start AP, i just need to decide on a book

[artifarti]

Ah, you've already done it!

Hello all.

[Dysgu]

Hello All

I am off to browse my bookshelves and will then send an email to AP

Agree with what Arti said on the other thread choosing books that are unlikely to have been read by everyone already.

[LolaLadybird]

Hi. Have e-mailed by book choice to AP this evening.

[stickylittlefingers]

hello again... Am having customary about the book. I'm all worried now that it's actually really well known, just I was out the loop for years!!

[artifarti]

AP - am just sorting out the table to email to you. Am assuming the following people, as have not had a reply from anyone else by email:

AgentProvocateur
aristocat
artifarti
johnworf
stickylittlefingers
ItsJustaFleshWound
Dysgu
LolaLadybird.

I think we can pretty much assume that all of the books have dropped into a black hole too! Has anyone received theirs back?!

Will also email initials of my book and author.

[Itsjustafleshwound]

I trust you have received my e-mail and we will have the posting (and choc!!) details to post.

Looking forward to it - thanks!

[AgentProvocateur]

Well, I'm back to rain and a mountain of washing (thanks to a bottle of shampoo that spilt over the few clothes that were clean!)

So far, I've had book choices from SLF, LolaLadybird, ItsJustaFleshWound and Artifarti, so a couple more still to come in.

I can't decide what book to choose, so I'm going to have a rummage in the bookcases tomorrow and hope that inspiration strikes me.

Good point on the last thread, Arti, about not choosing bestsellers - it's so disappointing to open that envelope only to find that it's one you've read.

[aristocat]

AP just going to email you now - have been torn between two books this time ........

[aristocat]

AP you have mail

BTW JohnWorf is on hols - i am sure she will contact as soon as she returns home

[AgentProvocateur]

Aristocat I've not got your email. Could you resend it please?

I'm struggling to choose a book this time round. I always seem to choose miserable books for my RL book group, and for the last two rounds of this. I have ordered one from Amazon that I read years ago and enjoyed. I'll need to quickly re-read it before I decide, in case it's not as good as I remember.

[aristocat]

AP have emailed again to ali41 - hope you get this one

[AgentProvocateur]

I've got everyone's choices now, apart from Dysgu and JohnWorf (who is on holiday), so I'll give them both a couple of days to reply, then I'll email you all with addresses at the start of next week.

I can't guess any of your choices by the initials, and there are no duplicates so far. Can't wait to get started!

[Dysgu]

Sorry for delay - but have sent my choice to AP now.

Things have been very busy and rather emotional here - the school where I work closed its doors forever on Thursday as the county is reorganing and middle schools have all closed. Most people have been redeployed but some have chosen to leave the island and everyone is going to starting afresh in september - so there were many tears from staff and our 500+ students this week.

All sorted now though, and ready to read some books and enjoy the beach before sorting my new classroom later during the holidays.

A bit worried about my book choice - concerned that others may have read it! No one had at my RL book group so going with my choice and keeping my fingers crossed.

Hope all is good with everyone else.

[AgentProvocateur]

OK, you should all have an email now with the details of the person you are posting to and - more importantly! - their chocolate preferences. I think JohnWorf is still on holiday, because I've not heard from her yet but I'll send her a PM.

The posting order is:

LolaLadybird
AgentProvocateur
StickyLittleFingers
Artifarti
Itsjustafleshwound
JohnWorf
Dysgu
Aristocat (to LolaLadybird)

Remember to put your MN name inside the book before you post it.

Can't wait to get my first book!

[Itsjustafleshwound]

Oops!! I have just posted the book to JohnWorf so I hope it will be there when she gets back ...

Thanks for taking on the organisation ...

[aristocat]

hello all ...... LolaLadyBird your book and chocolate has been posted today enjoy!

[stickylittlefingers]

hello! Book and choc are on their way, arti... I can't wait to get going on this again!!

Have a lovely weekend, everybody :)

[AgentProvocateur]

I had a last-minute change of book, but it's now in the post to you, SLF.

[stickylittlefingers]

:) Thank you!

We could make a "didn't make the final cut" list as well perhaps, for when we need inspiration and it's still a week until the next book arrives? I'd be interested to know what you didn't send, IYSWIM. I've read more William Trevor since AP sent Lucy Gault, for instance, he's really good isn't he?

[LolaLadybird]

Thanks for the book and choc Aristo - looks like a real page turner and looking forward to getting started. We are off on hols next weekend so have added it to the top of my holiday book stash. Don't think the choc will have to wait so long ....

AgentP - yours is all packaged up ready for a trip to the post office tomorrow.

Sticky - I'd also be interested to know what was on the 'didn't quite make it' list. Like AgentP, I very nearly changed my book choice this weekend but I don't own a copy of the other book and figured it wouldn't be a good start to be late in the first month whilst I waited for an Amazon delivery!

[AgentProvocateur]

I can't wait to get mine.

My didn't-quite-make-it list went like this: Decided on Portofino by Frank Schaeffer but when I bought it and re-read it, it wasn't quite as good as I remembered. Then I was going to go for A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry because I read it on holiday and was blown away by its brilliance, but I thought its sheer size (and unrelenting tragedy) would be offputting. So then I decided on The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway but I thought some of you might have read it.

The one I decided on was one I read a couple of years ago, and really loved. It's quite thick, but easy to read. Don't let the back blurb put you off. In fact, don't read the back before you start it. Hope you all enjoy it.

[stickylittlefingers]

I have been warned ...

Thanks for the Also-rans. I will make a note for the next time I'm in the library (I've come home from the library with four extra books today - thinking that 5 plus the chocolate will keep me going while I go down with the DDs to stay with my parents next week. They tend to go to bed quite early...)

[artifarti]

Thanks for the book and choc slf! Looks good and I haven't read it so will make a start tomorrow.

itsjusta - yours is in the post. It's quite a chunky one but I was so absorbed by it that I couldn't put it down so hope you find the same.

By the way, are we going to start threads for each of the books? I used to quite like that (before it all went wrong last time round...)

AP - I read A Fine Balance a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

[stickylittlefingers]

The ones that didn't make it...

Rosy Thornton's Hearts and Minds I wasn't sure if this might be classed as chicklit... I wouldn't, I must admit - Rosy calls it "gradlit". (BTW I do know Rosy, I'm not being weird!!). This one has more barbs than the others, but I would recommend her novels as being not hard, but still intelligent and very warm-hearted.

Arnold Bennett's Riceyman Steps A scary story!! I love Bennett.

Irene Nemirovsky's Jezebel This was the one I was worried everyone would have read already. I read Suite Francaise a few years ago and found it very moving. I've only more recently read others by her, for some reason (time, probably!). This one is a great critique of the pressure on/by women to be "forever young". "David Golder" is really really good, too - amazing she wrote it when she was only 26. This may of course be old news to you all!!