Then I am in your debt Sue. Im on holiday at the moment and literally tore through it in about four hours. There was a documentary on Golding recently on BBC4, a very interesting, if not very likeable man.

I shall be keeping an eye out for your further recommendations.

Just finished Pines - Blake Crouch. Really enjoyed this story of Secret Service agent Ethan who awakens in a forest, badly injured, with no memory. Slowly things start to come back to him but things are not as they seem. Very Twin Peaks, a surprising ending, and well written. Recommended.

Just onto The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin, second of the Matthew Swift novels. Good start so am hoping it is as great as the first.

Currently reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Not really feeling it at the moment, currently a third of the way through. Thankfully, it's quite a short book, so I'll have no problem in finishing it.

Just started The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes.

Thumbs up, here, for the whole shebang

Just finished The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert as I had the tv mini series recorded but have to read the book first. Really enjoyable, spooky tale if slightly long.


I have both of these on my Kindle, going to read Redaction next as I've not had my post (or during!) apocalyptic fix for a while.

I'm reading the books of Pellinor just now, a fantasy series by Alison Croggon. They're brilliant, I'd definitely recommend if you're into that genre!

Night by Elie Wiesel and The Witches by Roald Dahl.

I think you'll like it - it certainly had enough about it to make me want to read on to see what happens next

I've got a couple of other post apocalyptic type ones on my kindle that are in line, if they are half as good as this one I will be very happy as for the price they are huge bargains!

Currently reading through two books. ( I tend to have one going on the Kindle and a print book as well so when the kindle needs to charge I return to the print book )

The House On Fever Street - Celina Grace. This is quite good, it was another kindle bargain. Girl meets boy during the London train bombings and quickly moves in with him but things are a bit strange. Not sure when this was written but it feels like its trying to be "The Poison Tree" and its not quite got it...

Also reading The Midnight Mayor Kate Griffin. 2nd Matthew Swift book, as good as first so far.

Finished A Bend In The River. Another stonkingly good read.evocative, credible and really rather sad. I'd definitely read more of Niapauls work. Reminiscent, for me, of Half A Yellow Sun but that may just be the setting.there must be some good news African fiction out there? Everything I've read is rather dark and depressing sub-Sahara.

Now on to proper holiday fodder with Michael Toliver Returns. I loved Maupin's original series but that was 20 years ago. I have my doubts about revisiting Mouse all this time later but I'm out of books now and this was in the hotel lobby. I left A pair Of Blue Eyes. I think that's a good swap.

Happy reading my friends!

Finished Yann Martell's Life of Pi. Really god tale and very profound. Don't fancy the movie though!

I think I might watch it. A suitable time has elapsed since I read the book which I thought was a gem of a book.
Similarly I am going to watch the film Under the skin as I thought it was good. It was a strange quirky book that I really enjoyed.
Under The Skin by Micheal Faber.

Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
Only the second thing I've read by Stephenson - I read 'Zodiac' some years ago, and wasn't that keen - 'Snow Crash' is much better... so far....
(for anyone who knows the book, I'm at the point where they just destroyed the pirate's boat)

Restless - William Boyd.

Been meaning to read it for a while and finally gotten round to it

I thought that Restless was pretty good, much better than Waiting for Sunrise. The tv adaptation of Restless is on over Christmas.

I saw it was on over Christmas so thought I'd better hurry up and read the novel first, I don't get on with reading the book after seeing the TV/film adaptation

I've just finished Nobody True by James Herbert and it was a very good read...for me the best JH I've read so far. Both The Magic Cottage and Crickley Hall were good but not quite as good as Nobody True.

Just finished She's not There - maria madison. This had good reviews on Kindle but I thought it was a bit awful to be honest. A counsellor notices a spike in the statistics of the number of abused women who have gone missing in one particular area and she teams up with an ex policewoman turned security agent to see if there is a killer out there.I found it went on a bit and I'll be honest - I skipped about 100 pages in the middle and still didnt miss anything. The outcome was predictable, the killer obvious, even the "twist" about the counsellors background was no surprise to me. Wouldnt really recommend it.

Just started Dead Mens Dust by Matt Hilton. The first Joe Hunter novel. So far so good certainly better than the last rubbish I read.

That is one of my favourite books - the story is SO good. I also love The Magic Cottage.

Its a shame that (in my opinion anyway) James Herbert has gone downhill lately. Crickley Hall was ok, but I tried to read "Ash" and gave up. I found I just didnt care what happened to any of them!

I've just finished The Silver Linings Playbook, a debut novel from Matthew Quick. It's already been made into a movie that, from the trailer, appears to have little in common with the dark undertones of the book I've just read - a rom-com? really?

The story centres around Pat Peoples (surname changed for the film ) who has spent an unspecified amount of time in a mental institution after suffering a breakdown, but is now back home in the bosom of his mother and anti-social (possibly sociopathic) father.

The book was very easy to read (except for the one time 'should have' was written as 'should of' ), but there was a lot left unexplained throughout the book - how a one time history teacher came to have the limited intelligence of a Lennie Small for one. However, this was the strength of the story as, like Pat - who is partially amnesic - the reader is in the dark about the circumstances surrounding his breakdown, which allows us to empathise with a character it may otherwise have been hard to find sympathy for.

Not a bad read, especially if you pick it up as part of the 2 for £7 deals offered in supermarkets

It's taken a couple of months, but I've just finished the complete series of Grant County & Will Trent books by Karin Slaughter - got them all on my Kindle and absolutely LOVED them.

I've now moved on to Above Suspicion by Lynda La Plante.

I've read all the Karin slaughter books, bar the last one which is still sat on my bookshelf looking at me. One scene in one of the very early books still sticks with me.

I am currently reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

Yeah, they can be quite gruesome at times.

Criminal is the latest book - READ IT! It's fab. One of Slaughter's best, IMO.

Les Miserables

Quite enjoying it.

'Keri' by Kat Ward. Not my usual read childhood abuse but I was very curious about this Woman who set the whole Jimmy Savile scandal off.
To be honest after I downloaded the book on to the computer i didn't think I would probably stick with it but though I am not finished it but not far off, I have read a good many chapters and find her open honest and a very intellegent person.
Her description not just only of the abuse but about everything around her like the countryside the animals places she has been to she really takes you there and not many author's in my experience can do that.
It's well written its sad its tragic its not sensational in the least. I find her open and very honest and I do admire her for all she has been through.
I have 'Keri Karin' her next book downloaded and ready to read when I am finished with this one.