General Chat

I'll take this back up near the top so you can read the reviews before voting ann

I think as there are so few of us we will take all the suggestions here and vote on them tomorrow. Just don't forget you can't vote for your own! I wil put up a new thread in the morning so if there are any more suggestions get them on here tonight. ann Glos

Maz I twisted Anne's arm I think, to allowing me a third choice, if not I am happy to remove one of my others. My son read the first one when I had finished it, and got me the second one at the airport the other day Dee x

oooh Dee - didn't know the 2nd book was out yet - the first one was hilarious, although my French friend did NOT think so!! Is that a nomination by the way??? Maz. XX

Jen The book you suggested looks good, I may be tempted to read that Dee x

Something a bit different Merde Actually by Stephen Clarke A year after arriving in France, Englishman Paul West is still struggling with some fundamental questions What is the best way to scare a gendarme? Why are there no health warnings on French nudist beaches? Is it really polite to sleep with you boss's mistress? And how do you cope with a plague of courgettes? For anyone who has read and enjoyed A Year in the Merde by the same author, I think this looks like a good follow up. Mike if you are reading this thread, I'm sure you would enjoy it Dee xx

Just finished Ben Elton's 'Past Mortem' and would recommend it!

Hi peeps I haven't joined in before but I read an amzing book last year you lot might like. The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman. India, 1839: Linny Gow, a respectable young wife and mother, settles down to write her life story. To outside appearances Linny is the perfect British wife: beautiful, gracious, subservient. But appearances can be very deceptive… Born into direst poverty in Liverpool, Linny escapes the life of prostitution her stepfather has forced her into, transforms herself into a young lady, and flees to India, where the British Raj is in its infancy. There she will find heartache and suffering, but also an understanding of what love can mean and — perhaps most precious of all — freedom. But how did Linny achieve all this? And what has she sacrificed along the way? Most importantly, is this the end of Linny's journey, or is her story not yet over? I was very impressed by this book and the horrendous lives led by some of the characters. Not a nicey nicey wasn't the Raj wonderful book at all. xx Jen

Thank you Shela. I have read a couple of A Mcolls books and enjoyed them. Voting tomorrow. Ann Glos

Ann Sorry to have 'gone missing', but I did manage ti read one book, Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, and enjoyed it very much. I'm afraid that when it came to reviewing I was snowed under with other things and missed it completly. Sorry! I have started The Moonstone but it has gone on the back burner at the moment as my niece has produced a little boy (7 weeks early, both fine and just heard coming home tomorrow), so now its back to the sewing with a vengeance! I will try to read over the next few weeks and have viewed the suggestions so far with interest. I shall suggest the one \I mentioned last time. 44 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith Scotland Street occupies a busy, bohemian corner of Edinburgh's New Town, where the old haute bourgeoisie finds itself having to rub shoulders with students, poets and portraitists. And number 44 has more than its fair share of the street's eccentrics and failures. Originally serialised in the Scotsman, this is a dry, funny and very entertaing read. Sheila

Dee I reckon we'll all have to if nobody else joins in. But then it looks like there will only be four of us voting. Or have I miscounted? Go on add another one. Ann Glos

Ann Would anyone notice if I added another book do you think Dee ;-))

Where are all the people who joined in last month? Or is this all the suggestions we are going to get? Ann Glos

Ann The older I get, the worse my memory gets Dee :-))

Small Island by Andrea Levy Returning to England after the war Gilbert Joseph is treated very differently now that he is no longer in an RAF uniform. Joined by his wife Hortense, he rekindles a friendship with Queenie who takes in Jamaican lodgers. Can their dreams of a better life in England overcome the prejudice they face? Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible tells the story of an evangelical Baptist minister who takes his wife, four daughters and his mission from a small town in Georgia to the Belgian Congo in 1959. It is a move that will have unspeakable tragic consequences for the Price family as they confront the unstoppable forces of nature, hubris, and history. (this is a long one!) Maz. XX

dee, Noooo 'cause you told me we couldn't last month. Ann Glos

Ann Yes, I have noticed the voting date , how on earth I missed it earlier I don't know, Guess we are not allowed to vote for our own choices Dee ;-((

Better take this back up to the top. Ann Glos

will have to have a bit of a think!!!

1.Master Georgie by Beryl Bainbridge. A novella length work. The story of Master Georgie Harding a young gentleman surgeon and photographer who goes off with his entourage to offer his services in the Crimean War. This is preceeded by an account of the boat jouney from Liverpool. The story commences when Master Georgie comes across his father who has died in the bedroom of a prostitute, and the hilarious (I've got a strange sense of humour) description of how they smuggled him home in the back of a Punch & Judy van with the little servant girl to cover-up his misdemeanours! 2. The Lion , The Witch, and The Wardrobe. by C.S. Lewis. Don't think this needs a description. I've just enjoyed reding it again after ** years in preparation for watching the film. Paula.