One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. Always an interesting writer with a wonderful 'ear' for idiom/everyday speech patterns. Set against the background of the Edinburgh Festival with a huge cast of interconnected characters. The sort of books that needs to be read in one long sitting so as to keep abreast of the plot.

That's one of the books I plan on reading this summer.

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL was absolutely yummy (to use a foodie adjective)! The first couple chapters put me off -- seemed like fraternity-boy humour; but once past that, it turned into such an adventure, I gobbled it right down! (I just can't seem to stop using food language.)

I don't see any reason to be ashamed of reading his books; afterall, he IS a professional writer (has published novels, too). I once wondered who wrote the funny, sensitive, bitter-sweet voice-over speeches for his show, NO RESERVATIONS -- turns out he does! I never miss any of those shows -- such one-of-a-kind takes on both well-travelled and off-beat locations!

I'll be looking for your review. Yumm-oh!

Vee, what you posted re Lammas was interesting. At the turn of the last century, when my mother was growing up on the NC farm, they used to have Corn Dollies....

Really enjoyed this, although felt rather under-read by the time I had finished - she had read Pilgrim's Progress to her children (what a punishment), and other "hard" non-childreny things, but she knew an extraordinary amount of the background of the books. It was fun going back in time to Swallows and Amazons, Beatrix Potter (saw her house in RL a few years back), and all the other books...

Then edited a friend's novel - sickenly good, I'm afraid, and I fully expect her to get it published at some point (once she gets the hang of paragraphs!)....

And now I'm reading "The Rise and Fall of the Victorian Servant" by Pamela Horn. This goes along with my current obsession of Victorian times, and is interesting. My, those servants worked hard all day every day for pennies. She talks about the hierachy of the servant food chain, and what each one does. Fascinating (to me), as it's written in a conversational way, not dry at all like one book I tried to read the other day about Victorian Freaks (its actual title), which was dry as sawdust and was obviously some Eng Prof's attempt at tenure... it had so much potential, but boy - it was boring to read... How could you make "Victorian Freaks" boring????

Spent most of last week with George Gissing's Demos, which I enjoyed very much.

I'm not sure what I'll be starting next, either Mary Lee Settle's Know Nothing or Lionel Shriver's A Perfectly Good Family.

Rosefolly

Will probably read Jane Smiley's biography of Charles Dickens next.

Forgot to mention I am reading a fiction called "Midaq Alley" by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz. Excellent so far and reminiscent (to me) of Rohinton Mistry's "A Fine Balance"... Still, it's early days yet so not sure how accurate that statement will be in the future...

Right now I'm reading "The 19th Wife" for book group. It's a novel about a murder in a Mormon polygamist cult in Utah, combined with a story about one of Brigham Young's wife. I've just started it, but it looks to be intriguing.

Certain Girls Weiner, Jennifer
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, #8) Smith, Alexander McCall
Those Who Save Us Blum, Jenna
Shoe Addicts Anonymous Harbison, Beth
And now I'm reading The Gathering, which to me, is just so dull with poor writing. Not sure if anyone else has read it but would like to hear your opinion.

Rosefolly

Rosefolly

The weather has improved from the cold conditions we have had and I can smell Spring although somewhat muted by a dust-storm today! I feel like some brain-candy books so will drop in to the library to feed my hunger :-)

I don't like heat and humidity day in day out.
It's been like this since April.
"Uncle !"

I would love a 70 degree day about now.....and don't even mention the frizzy hair !

Just finished the Victorian servant book, and now am just about to start "One Pair of Hands" by Monica Dickens. Apparently, she was kicked out of acting school and bored with being a debutante, so decided to go "downstairs" and be a cook for various families based on her knowledge from one cooking course.

I have heard good reviews of this book (it's not new - pub 1939), so am hoping it will give me some idea of how the "other half" lived "downstairs", although obviously, this won't be quite the same as the young girls who HAD to do it or be put in the workhouse...

Also finished a short collection of book reviews by Nick Hornby called "Shakespeare Wrote for Monday" - wickedly funny and he does love book almost as much as I do... He used to write a monthly book column for a lit magazine put out by McSweeny's group called "Believer". Not sure of its circulation, but it has/had some big-power young writers on its mast head...

And almost done with the Midaq Alley (Egyptian book). Not as good as Mistry's Indian masterpieces, but enjoyable all the same. However, probably won't pick up another one of his for some time. (Not THAT good..)

Lots of time for reading this morning as I had a doctor visit and you know how good docs can be at keeping on schedule...not. But it was fine with me bc then I had more reading time. Was actually a bit annoyed when my name was called, as I hadn't come to a good stopping place.. :-)

The book was The Judas Field by Howard Bahr. It's a civil war novel, that narrates the events of the Battle of Franklin in 1864 and events in 1884 when the main character and several friends return to the site of the battle. The battle imagery is stark, and can be upsetting at times. Bahr's use of language to create scenes and emotions is stellar. The effect of war and battles on the characters, both at the time and 20 years later is painted vividly and thoughtfully. Interwoven are some unique looks at God and his place in the whole thing. I had borrowed this book from my son, who told me I "had" to read it. I ordered a copy of half.com so I can mark it and comment in the margins on what will be an almost immediate re-read.

This was a battle I knew nothing about - as with many of the "minor" battles of the Civil War - or the War of Secession. The book definitely impressed on me that to those who fought them, there are no minor battles.

I went to google - which includes pictures of the battlefield, and how it appears today. They are in the middle of trying to establish it as a national monument/park. I will definitely be using this book as a starting point to some research.

Sadness at being sick on my vacation was assuaged somewhat by making "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" my vacation book (finally!). I am loving it and have that feeling you get when you read a great book and want to savor that feeling; I am aware I can never read it for the first time again, if you know what I mean. I had read some reviews that it got off to a slow start with the talk about financial mis-dealings, etc. but I did not find that and almost immediately starting caring about the two main characters, Mikael and Lisbeth. I will probably have this finished in the next day or two - thank goodness there are two more (or, if you believe the rumors, three more)to look forward to.

Stoneangel, rest, drink lots of water and think positive. Much sympathy! I know what you mean about TGWTDT, I found the books to be much the same as you describe. They are not for everyone, but if they happen to be for you, it is quite fun.

(Not that I am obsessive about these things or anything.)

Guess I should really finish the book before I continue gushing. Hope it has a satisfying ending. If nothing else, at least it's pretty funny. I've been reading passages out loud to my husband and snickering.

There's also a little imp called Billy who has a good story. I am really enjoying it, so I say "spend the penny" and live on the wild side and get it. My mum bought it over from England for me to read so you know it would have to be good. :-)

Did your parents (or you perhaps) ever have the saying "I need to spend a penny" for going to the lavatory? And how it used to cost a penny or you were out of luck unless you happened to catch someone coming out before their door closed. The number of times I had to beg a penny!....

The first time I went to Harrod's, it cost a pound to use the ladies' room. I paid, but it wasn't as plush as the (free) one in the Drake Hotel in Chicago, the prettiest one I've been in. My nine-year-old great-niece was so impressed with it that she wrote it up in her portfolio account required at her school for missing a day to go with us. The one at the Laduree shop in Paris was nice, too. It had an unlit fireplace in it with candles and flowers on the mantel. I'm pretty easily impressed.

Another thing I am very happy about is the YA novel I am devouring, I am the messenger by Markus Zusak. I started it without any real expectations and found that all the troubles crowding my brain (money worries, tax problems) had vanished completely as I wondered what adventure Ed, the hapless taxidriver protagonist, would find himself in next. Really terrific and should not be limited to young adults.

This week, finished a British psychological suspense novel -- "The Dead Lie Down", by Sophie Hannah. It was one of those "can't-put-down" kind of experiences; ... that is, until near the end. It started to become too psychoanalytical -- went on sometimes for pages -- digging into all the possible reasons for this-one's and that-one's actions, feeling, thoughts. ENOUGH! Before that it'd been pretty mesmerizing, and had really good writing (the author is a published poet). Too bad the editors at Penguin didn't tell her when to cut the Dr. Freud act.

Today I bought "The Age of Wonder" by Richard Holmes, another British writer. All about the main players in the Romantic Age of Science. The reviews from NY Times, Washington Post, The Sunday Times (of London), and, yes! even Yo-Yo Ma -- are ecstatic. With all the blazing, scorching weather, it looked so appealing to read about oceanic adventures!

Just trying to do my homework for my trip. :-)

Siobhan, I enjoyed that book very much, although here is another of my hated title changes - it's just The Messenger in Australia. It is not nearly as well known as The Book Thief but just as good. In Australia, the latter is not shelved as a YA book, so the two are not always together as The Messenger usually is.

I have read two books by Sophie Hannah and was annoyed by both of them, so haven't gone back for another.

I was in the middle of reading The Long Glasgow Kiss by Craig Russell, a follow up to Lennox, when I had to go away for the weekend and wanted something smaller. I took Robert Crais's The Monkey's Raincoat, my first from him, and very enjoyable. I will certainly read more. I went back to the Russell, but although I enjoyed Lennox a lot, this one became a bit tedious in the way it was written - a sort of cynical, I-came-through-the-war-but-am-now-not-a-nice-person style. Parts of it were quite funny and the plot was great, but the style was off putting for me.
Now on to the new Daniel Silva, The Rembrandt Affair.

He does a great job of portraying the terrifying ordeal of aerial fighting during WWII, but it's not boring, even if you're not really a WWII dog-fight buff. Plus, there are some really interesting human stories in it, that keep you going.

I really enjoyed it - well developed characters, great ending, and just a good read.

Hmm. What next?

Carolyn - thanks for the titles for books in NO. I will check them out in the library tomorrow..

I am reading a book by Daniel Silva called "The English Assassin" ( where is italics or underlined here ??? ) and it's a good story, most of all to get vocabulary for my students, as I teach 'Writing in English' as a foreign language. I have already read "Moscow Rules" and "The Secret Servant" by him, and I was surprised to see that he actually wrote much better than I had at first expected, so it was a nice surprise ! His stories are well-developed and interesting, that's basically why I liked the books I've read so far.

I have lately read many books by Donna Leon, and I'm waiting for her latest, which I have already ordered, to arrive ; I live in São Paulo, Brazil, so I sometimes have to import books.

I read in the languages I'm fluent : Portuguese, English and French, and am beginnig to read in German, a language that I study.

I am very glad to have found you guys !

To use italics or underlining on this site, we use HTML.
Around the outside of the title put < i > The English Assassin< /i > but without the spaces. If you use u instead of i you will get underlining and b will give you bold.

What are other books that you have read recently AND liked ? Anything I should know ?

(If I don't answer to you today, I'll make sure to come here tomorrow, cuz it's already past bed time here in Brazil!!!)

Speaking of weather, I just moved from hot and humid Tidewater, VA, where temps were lingering around 100 most of July, to points South. Still on the ocean, but it's not really any hotter, and we get sea breezes....

Rosefolly, I remember seeing the film of the book you mentioned, which I liked very much.

Today I began another Carola Dunn book from the library. She writes a between-the-wars series with a really delightful character called Daisy Dalrymple who marries a widower Scotland Yard detective, whom she helps by continually stumbling over dead bodies. Very light, but fun.

I listened to When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead and just found out that it won the 2010 Newbery Award. I liked it but I didn't love it. There were hints and clues in it that I want to go back over to see how they led up to the conclusion
I've done some re-reading as well. I re-read a couple of books by Mercedes Lackey - Fortune's Fool and Phoenix and Ashes, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and a couple of Robin McKinley's books - Water and A Knot in the Grain.

Thanks to all your postings I have some more books on my hold list at the library; I can't wait for them to start showing up. :)

At any rate, I have done a little reading. At the beginning of the summer I read Anthem by Ayn Rand which reminded me a lot of We. Not just similar plot and themes, but similar style of writing too. I re-read The Shadow of the Wind and followed that with Carlos Ruiz Zafon's latest novel The Angel's Game. I liked it, but it didn't feel as well set up at The Shadow of the Wind.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get another couple books in before the summer ends.

I am reading Moorish Spain by historian Richard Fletcher. I have long been looking for a short but accurate history of Moorish Spain written for the general public, and so far it answers my expectations. However, I will still look for a book a little more like Jerome Carcopino's Daily Life in Ancient Rome with more details about everyday life in Granada and Cordoba.

I've just finished Rosanne Cash's memoir Composed. I'm not sure what I'm reading next, either Lionel Shriver's A Perfectly Good Family or Rick Bass's novel about the singing group the Browns, Nashville Chrome.

I enjoyed it, but I'm glad I got it from the library since it's rather short. It comes across as honest, but reserved--not what you'd expect from a typical celebrity, but exactly what you'd expect from her (I read her twitter feed and occasionally check in on her blog. She's a big reader and recommends good stuff!) She published a collection of short stories several years back.

I spent most of day afterwards listening to my Rosanne Cash CDs. :)

Pumpernickel - sorry not to answer you earlier about my favourite books. I read a lot of crime and historical fiction, plus some contemporary stuff. My favourite crime/thriller authors are Silva, Billingham, J A Konrath, Frederick Forsyth and Louise Penny, and for historical crime, C S Sansom, Ariana Franklin and C S Harris. However, there are lots of others I enjoy too.
Historical favourites are Sharon Penman, Diana Gabaldon, Edward Rutherfurd, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and Sarah Dunant, and contemporary authors I like include David Mitchell and Sara Gruen,
It's hard to make a list as I work in a bookshop and have access to so many books!

Then read the first two books in the Winnie-the-Pooh series (the original by AA Milne, not the Disneyfied version.) Really really enjoyed it and the illustrations are precious. I think I would have liked being read these as a little girl, but I think it was considered old-fashioned or something. (I think the books still are considered old-fashioned.) Still, I am going to recommend them in my monthly book review column that I do.. perhaps a parent somwhere will dump the Disney Pooh and get the real thing.

Then carried on reading about New Orleans in a book called "Nine Lives" by Dan Baum. Interviews with nine very different people who have lived in NO for a long time and now they have been affected by the various hurricanes...

Next - Stuart Little by EB White. Another kid's lit book that somehow slipped through my radar when I was a child. I think I was more enamoured with the "new literature" than the old books and perhaps that's the same with kids today... Oh, and I found another Ramona book to read and laugh over at the charity shop...

I actually suspect that they are written for adults looking nostalgically and indulgently back an their own idealized childhoods, and not really for children at all.

Rosefolly

Sadly, I seem to have misplaced my old Winnie-the-Pooh book. I may have to buy another one.

""Well," said Pooh, "what I like best -- " and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called"

As mentioned previously on this thread, I have been reading "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress" by Rhoda Janzen. Finished it today. It is, by turns, hysterical and pathetic and brutal. I am interested in the stories of people who experience great philosophical and spiritual changes in their lives - Ms Janzen is one of these. She recalls for us, in a non-linear way, various experiences which eventually cause her to leave her Mennonite community. Yet, her blunt outspokenness about people in her family horrifies me, and makes me shudder for her family and friends.

Ms Janzen is a very accomplished academician - and she has the 'chops' as a writer, no doubt about it. She teaches English and creative writing at Hope College in Michigan. She was named poet laureate of the University of California in 1994 and 1997. But oh, how coarse and crude she can be. Perhaps this is meant to be humorous and I have missed the humor in it, or maybe she's trying to show us how truly post-modern she is. Still, to me, this book comes across as Ms Janzen's attempt to foul the readers' perception of the Mennonites. Perhaps she only wants to desanctify the Menonnite image, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but ultimately I believe her offensive comments only make the reader look askance at the writer, not at the Mennonites.

I think this would be a great choice for a book club. There are sure to be lots of different reactions to the book, and it would be most interesting to hear what others think about it.

I think you are both correct about the WTP books being boring to read as a child. From reading them this time, I got the strong feeling that they were meant to be read by an adult to a listening child, but perhaps there is not enough action for today's screen-oriented kids?

And Rose, you may have a good point there when you write that the books may have been written for nostalgic adults... I rather got the feeling that the books would be wasted on children...!

And a warm welcome to Pumpernickel...!

I have Consilience by Edward O. Wilson. What a mind that man has - a scientist who writes so beautifully and makes complex ideas accessible.

For three weeks I have had in front of me the original Winnie-the-Pooh with the original illustrations by Ernest Shepard. I got this most beautiful commemorative edition from the library and have been reading aloud from it. Inside the front cover is a handwritten inscription: "Welcome to the planet, Duncan!" The cover page is printed as a bookplate, and a name was written on it and scratched out. I wonder what is the story behind this? I hope it is not tragic, but I also hate to think it was unceremoniously discarded. Maybe little Duncan received two such beautiful volumes? That is the best explanation I can think of.

thyrkas -- I read Mennonite... and also enjoyed it. But I agree with you about the coarseness. I found it jarring at times and felt that it didn't really fit in with the rest of the book. I took it that she was trying much too hard to disassociate herself from her Mennonite upbringing. I wondered, too, about the comments regarding her relatives. They must have had some fun Thanksgiving dinners after that book came out!

I'm almost finished with The 19th Wife, which I read for my book group. I still think it was somewhat jumbled and wordy, but I hung in there. Parts of it interested me, other parts I found myself skimming past quickly. I wonder what our discussion will be like.

Finished the Carola Dunn book mentioned earlier and started another today. I am trying to ration myself when I go to the library and not gobble them all up at once.

Welcome, Pumpernickel.

As for my reading, I finished The Passage by Justin Cronin a few days ago. What a book! Very intense, especially the last half of it. A virus is let loose in the U.S. that kills some people, and turns others into "virals" (vampire-like creatures that attack and kill people). It's the first book in a trilogy, and I'll be anxiously awaiting the next one. I rated it a 5/5.

After The Passage, I started The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian. Still slowly working my way through O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin series. I should finish it tonight or tomorrow, and then I'm not sure what I'll read next...

I re-read The Call of the Wild AND To Build a Fire last winter, some coincidence! London was a genius.

I think that must have been another Susan. I published a couple short stories back in the 90s, but I haven't written anything in a long time.

kren250 - I hope you will post your thoughts on Mennonite in a Little Black Dress once you have read the book. It would be great if you would mention whether you think it would make a good book discussion book, too.

sarah canary - do you think 'Mennonite' would be a good book discussion choice? I'm wondering if I should put it forward for my book selection in the club. I usually don't hesitate about a selection, but I can see where folks might be so turned off by her offensive style of writing that they either won't finish it, or will simply complain about it all night, and send daggers my way. I wonder if I am being too sensitive. Her life story is pretty interesting.

BTW, kren250 - I love the Master and Commander Series by Patrick O'Brian. My son has the complete set of 20 books on audio books, and he lends them to me whenever I have the need to 'go to sea' with Captain Aubry and Dr Maturin.

A few years ago, a novel by Miriam Toews, A Complicated Kindness, attracted much literary acclaim in Canada. It is the fictionalized account of depression and suicide in a Mennonite community. Though I don't read much contemporary fiction, I was looking forward to borrowing my mother's copy. Unfortunately she loaned it to a friend who has an aggravating habit of never returning books.

thyrkas - I've been pondering whether or not "Mennonite..." would be a good book club choice or not. I certainly think there is plenty to discuss in the book. I think it might even be fun to try to psychoanalyze why she felt the need to be so "earthy" in her writing. Was it a striking out at her Mennonite upbringing? Can you put the book suggestion out there with the caveat that there's some very graphic language in it? I don't know your book group members, but I think my group (all women in their mid to late 50s) could get past the language to discuss the subject matter. A friend of mine who is also in the book group also read "Mennonite..." I'll have to get her take on whether or not she thinks it's discussable and if she thinks it will be off-putting. I'll let you know what she says.

One question: Would someone (American) really have said "I wasn't emotionally ready for what I saw.." in the 1940's. Sounds a bit modern, but perhaps they did. Americans were always far ahead of the Brits in the "touchy-feely" stuff...

:-)

Now, could someone tell me who Anne Rice is, please.

She had left the Catholic church, but after her husband, Stan Rice, died, she returned.

And there is an Anne Rice tour available in NO, but since neither of us have ever read one of her books, it would be wasted on us...:-)

Rosefolly

Last night I finished Flashback, which I believe Rosefolly mentioned. It was a fun thriller that I read quickly.

My next book group read will be The Kabul Beauty School, which I can't seem to get excited about. I'm also finishing another Georgette Heyer - Cotillion.

My sis and I have a December birthday, the celebration of which seemed to involve a lot of pantomimes...

Thanks for the fun memory.. :-)

Reading - just started a journal by May Sarton, but am thinking I need to find out who this person before I get much further... Hard to appreciate a journal if you have no idea who the author is, I think...

It was an exciting, entertaining story. It did kind of pall on me in the last third, because I got tired of the going back and forth -- one guy chasing another, then the one being chased turns around and chases after the guy who was chasing him.

"The Nasty Bits" - Anthony Bourdain (non-fict.)
VERY Entertaining! Funny, warm, passionate -- All about Good Food - from the humble to the sublime, and those who make it. I really recommend this book!

I am re-reading Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards!, and will probably go on to re-read the whole Watch sub-series.

And yesterday I opened and read the first few pages of Shirley Jackson's We have always lived in the Castle, and liked what I saw.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed the latest Ariana Franklin The Assassin's Prayer. Set in the time of Henry II, probably one of the most enlightened and clever/wily kings of medieval England. Franklin doesn't swamp us with heavy history or come over all "Prithy Fair Maid" but tells an excellent, gripping tale. Well worth looking out for the series.
nb. For some reason this is known as A Murderous Procession in the US

Now have both Rose Tremain's Trespass and the latest Bill Bryson from the library. So plenty to keep me going. ;-)

I thought I was one of few who could enjoy his humor, given that you have to suspend any sensibility regarding his language ( which I find amusing and wonderful for some reason!!)
I just love his travel /food programs.
My DIL teases me that I have a schoolgirl crush on him.
lol.

Now, am about to begin Alison Weir's "Lady in the Tower: the Fall of Ann Bolyn". Has anyone else here read it?

Yes, I just love his TV shows. Didn't know until this book ("Nasty Bits") that some years ago he'd done a show for the Food Network. The cable service here didn't have that network, yet; so, I missed those. Did you see them...were they any good?

This is only the second book by him that I've read. I was leery of trying another one by him because "Kitchen Con." was SO good, and being he's sort of new as a writer and works so much for his TV series, I thought that his following books couldn't possibly be as good as that first one. Well, I sure was wrong. I'm so glad that I saw your post!

As far as language in his books goes, I don't find very many crude words or off-colour expressions. Besides, a lot of literary novels have that going on: Joyce's "Ulysses"; "Catcher in the Rye"; etc. He really wouldn't be Anthony B. if he "spoke" like a prim 18th c. country minister. Besides, the raw language (and i've heard worse -- much worse!) goes with his black-leather-and-tatoo lower-east-side persona, don't you think? Fits the "Bad boy" image! And we're all adults -- I think we can take it --- and no doubt use some of those words ourselves once in awhile!

Yes, I suspect quite a few of the gals who watch that show are attracted to him. Personally, he doesn't have that affect on me --- Now if George Clooney was to take over that show for awhile . . . .

Another question she mulls over is whether journals are better if you are on in years than when you are younger. Sarton mentions that when people are younger, they are less "formed" in a way and have less to put in a journal. The older you are, the more interesting your journal would be since you have numerous experiences to draw upon. This prompted me to dig out my diaries from when I was about 12 - yes, they are very "on-the-surface" information, but I think I was writing it for me as the audience... I do think that some people get more introspective over time... Perhaps that is what Sarton is referring to...

Anyway, now on to "Whitethorn Woods" by Maeve Binchy. It's be ages since I have read one of hers so hoping that this is a good one...

I just finished Berg's "Open House." I enjoyed the interesting range of believable characters and situations and will look for her other novels.

I'm now on to Daughters of Britannia: The Lives and Times of Diplomatic Wives by Katie Hickman. It relates the experiences of a number of wives of British diplomats over a couple of centuries as they relocated to exotic and sometimes difficult places. Quite interesting.

I've been attempting to read Christopher Moore's latest book -- Bite Me: A Love Story - but I'm so annoyed by the main character that I'm giving up. :( I loved his earlier books, but he has become so crude and misogynistic that I don't think I'll be reading any more by him.

I'm moving on to another Ivan Doig book called Dancing at the Rascal Fair.

I have just finished Trespass by Rose Tremain.
Set in the French Cévennes, an area of strange lonely mountains and an aging, cut-off population. For all Tremain's considerable ability as a writer I found the subject matter to be sordid and the characters lacking in any warmth or genuine human compassion. On one hand there are the two English 'incomers' gay and lesbian and, on the other a family of incestuous French peasants. Take your pick as all lack charm, humour or any decency. In its favour I kept going as I was eager to reach the denouement.

June, I think you just read this; what did you think?

Moore's earlier books were pretty funny. He has some great characters, including a talking, sunglass-wearing fruit bat named Roberto and a lovable, old cannibal. Sounding any more interesting? :-)

I have put Maeve Binchy to the side for right now (temporarily) and in its place picked up "The Understudy" by David Nicholls (he who wrote "Starter for Ten" and "One Day" which I know other RPers have read)...

"The Understudy" is another winner. A good plot involving an English superstar actor, his understudy (the hero of the book), and his friendship with both the star and his wife. Great fun to read -- one of those rare books which suck you in and he has his characters doing things that you (i.e. me) would do. For example, the protagonist is in his agent's run-down office and is sitting on a chair with the yellow foam sticking out and he has to remind himself not to pick at the foam... Maybe not the best example, but I honestly felt that I had known his characters by the end of the book. Anyway, if you like his other work, you'll like this one. (Also found out that David Nicholls was one of the creators of the tv series Rescue Me which has a great sly sense of humour in it...)

Then picked up a NF book about extreme weather events, but the author has such a drive to talk about his agenda and take on global warming, that "everything" is put into "quotation marks" and it gets a bit "irritating" after a while. Additionally, he sucks the "interesting" out of any of the weather situations he talks about. How can you make a tornado boring? I don't know, but he does.

Not too sure what to read next... but isn't that half the fun of reading?