rats are good for my literary education....

[ThatVikRinA22]

since getting the rescue ratties i now retire to the spare room each night so they can have a run and i can read!

i have got through 4 books in the last couple of weeks....currently on Joyland by Stephen King - not a horror book but getting into it.

not read this many books since i used to commute by train to work.
am awaiting the 3rd autobiography by paul o grady too, dont usually read biographies but his were worth a read. Just got the 3rd one to go....

also read The haunted book by Jeremy Dyson of league of gentlemen fame....that was an interesting and unusual read! (its fiction but set out as a journalistic novel....very inventive!)

i prefer to read these days than watch the crap on telly.....so any recommendations for when ive finished Joyland?

eclectic tastes.... read cloud atlas, (david mitchell) one fine day and girlfriend in a coma prior to these....

nothing pricey. i get used books from amazon....what next?

Watch ratties don't chew on books. :)
And rest of your house while you've got nose stuck in book.

Great that they get lots of exercise....I had rats too and they were so brilliant as pets. So clever and responsive ....I used to make obstacle courses for mine ....

well, really getting into "joyland".....

I have just finished The Haunted Book.
It was all supposed to kind of pull together and make sense at the end - according to the reviews. Whilst I enjoyed it on one level, I didnt really understand it, or "get" it.
I am going to read "The boy who could see demons" by Carolyn Jess-Cooke next.
It is a crossover YA/AF but looks like my kind of thing.
Joyland is on my Amazon wishlist.
Rats are brilliant pets - i had Pinkie for nearly 4 years and she loved Cauliflower florets and caramac.

i find them funny and relaxing - they force me to take time out each day so they can run free (or i feel guilty!) which means reading time!

im really enjoying joyland - dh recommendation.

the haunted book - i know what you mean - neither i nor dh "got it" either but it was a jolly good yarn all the same. DH says at the end the book is meant to be "speaking" to you.....he says the idea was that other books were "breaking through" into the book.....
but i just read the last bit and felt a bit confused! i enjoyed it though all the same.

Just ordered Joyland, and another load of stuff on my wishlist that I have been really wanting, but couldnt exactly say I needed. Like Cell Block H volume 16 and books for the GC to share when they visit.I heard today that we are getting a 1% payrise, the first increase for 5 years so
I am going to get pet rat for the GC for Christmas, but it will have to be kept at Nannies house (natch)
They will get other things as well and they have been ordered today.
I have just seen Gone Girl by Gliilian Flynn on Amazon recommendations. Has anyone else read it ?
I had 4 cats when I had Pinkie and they used to lay on the rug in front of the fire and snuggle up.
No-one would believe me until I took photos !

Awww - I used to have rats. Lovely pets.

Have you read all of King's other stuff? If not, that would be a good place to start.

If you liked, 'Girlfriend in a Coma' you might like 'Life After God' or 'Miss Wyoming,' also by Coupland.

'The Virgin Suicides' is a decent but not taxing read and should be cheap on Amazon.

dh is just reading "gone girl" and has recommended it to me. sounds a bit confusing though....its written from differing perspectives. but DH says its not complex at all so i might give it a go!

I managed five pages - I thought it was awful.

Gone Girl was pretty OK. I read it after I saw that it was voted "Best Thriller Of 2012" on Goodreads. I wouldn't say it's the best book have read in any category, but it is edgier and more interesting than most "women's books".

Remus - That is because those initial chapters were part of a diary that is deliberately written to look sweet and innocent. From the beginning I thought it was unbearable, too.

You really need to finish books more often

It wasn't the diary - it was the husband bit. It was awful...didn't read like a male 'voice' at all. And it was trying so hard to be poetic but was just turgid. And it was badly punctuated.

Hi vicar :) You need a kindle, the ratties can't chew that :) I am reading The white queen by phillipa gregory, im enjoying it, its like historical chic lit. I don't have much any historical knowledge so treating it like a complete work of fiction as folks have said its not very accurate. I read "the 100yo man that climbed out of the window" very very funny, i think there might be some rats and an elephant in that one. I used to read stephen king but i would find it too brutal now and i find his endings tend to be apocalyptic cop outs - it always seem to be some alien being and a show down.

You can download classics free on the kindle, so i have read a few - just finished The woman in white - really good, felt bereft when i stopped reading that one and it was surprisingly easy to read.

The Woman In White is a masterpiece. :)

The title of this thread reminded me of an amazing book I read a few years ago in which the protagonist is a rat. (This was when i was going through a phase of reading books written from the viewpoint of animals...) It's called 'Firmin' and is by Sam Savage. The rat lives in a bookshop and is a literary soul who eschews the company of other rats. It is really funny and moving- please give it a go! I'd be interested to know what others think!

some more titles there to add to my list....

emmaline - i would suggest going to a breeder for a pet ratty....and the Fancy Rats Forum is a mine of info.....

mine get fresh food daily, (chicken, fish, eggs, fruit and veg) kale is very good for them.... and also a mix from Rat Rations....no boring nuggets for my bunch!

im presently sat mumsnetting in the bathroom while the 6 girls reek havoc.....( i think every single one of them has tried to sneak a sip of my wine....and they keep leaping on the the keyboard....)
taking the boys into the bedroom in a min so i can lay down and read! they are so much more placid....Joyland isnt like normal King stuff - ive read a few of his horror books before now but this is different.
next ive got lined up the last paul o grady autobiography to read....then i shall consult my list!
firmin sounds intersting.......

oh and emmaline - get a couple of ratties....they are such social animals! they need someone else to groom and curl up with!

I think you should read 'Rats and Gargoyles' by Mary Gentle. But only if you are interested in fantasy.