pearl Report post Posted March 6, 2009 Stranger in the House by Julie Summers: Women's stories of men returning from the Second World War. I loved this, I like social history & particularly within living memory. V moving accounts of the adjustments that had to be made in families when traumatised men came home & were just expected to get on with it. A whole generation of people my age too whose fathers were "walking wounded". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted March 6, 2009 I'm reading The Loneliness of the Long DIstance Runner by Alan Sillitoe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oxgirl Report post Posted March 7, 2009 Nearly finished 'Snow Blind' by P.J. Tracy. Very good. ~ Mel ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheNeil Report post Posted March 7, 2009 Finished the Kenneth Williams thing. Don't bother, it's dull and reveals nothing really interesting (although not as psychologically disturbing as reading the published diaries ) About to start Mark Thomas's Belching Out The Devil - Global Adventures With Coca-Cola. The cover says that it reveals truth behind the gleaming white smiles that the soft drinks firm like to promote Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mumble Report post Posted March 8, 2009 I'm trying to find a book that I saw some time ago and thought I might like to read, but I can't remember the title - I wonder if anyone here knows it. It's about a single woman who decides to adopt two children with Downs Syndrome and about how she could relate to them, and then she gets a very late Asperger's diagnosis and she comes to re-understand various relationships through this. Does anyone know the title/author? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CEJesson Report post Posted March 11, 2009 I've decided to re-read some asperger books, like the guide for parents and professionals from Tony Attwood, along with other books like the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. These will never grow old. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted March 14, 2009 I know the book you mean Mumble, but I cant remember either - sorry. Just finished The Distance Between Us by Bart Yates. Its a novel narrated by a retired concert pianist in her 70s, who is coming to terms with her recent marriage break up and her children not speaking to her. Sounds miserable but the character had a really warped sense of humour which I loved. I'm going to order the rest of this authors books as I enjoyed it so much. It also got me listening to Chopin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted March 15, 2009 After years of never getting round to it i finally picked up 'Life of Pi' as it was sitting on a shelf at the library... Better than i thought, but not as good as the hype would have it. Without the hype i'd have loved it. with the hype i could only bring myself to like it Even though i haven't read it in years, it made me think of Hemingway's 'the old man and the sea' and i'll probably dig that out again soon... from memory, Big h handled the sprituality side of things better, but YM came up with better packaging L&P BD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bid Report post Posted March 15, 2009 Bridge Across Forever Richard Bach. I first read this, together with Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, when I was 17 and I absolutely loved it, so I thought I would see what I think now! Boho Awww...time and age hadn't spoilt the book for me On the down side, considering it's about him finding his soul mate and 'forever woman' I was a wee bit depressed to find out they got divorced a few years ago and he'd remarried! Boho Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted March 15, 2009 I've just finished The Bad Mother's Handbook by Kate Long. Now I am reading Catwatching by Desmond Morris. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheNeil Report post Posted March 17, 2009 Finished Belching Out The Devil. To save anyone else the effort of wasting several days of their life, Mark Thomas goes around the world whinging at a certain soft drink's manufacturer, achieves nothing at all and is about as funny as road kill in the process. Bah. Given my recent bad run in the book stakes I'm now reading a sure fire winner: American Gothic - Sixty Years of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby. Basically, horror cinema from year zero to the early 1960's. Scarily I seem to have seen most of them Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mad cat lady Report post Posted March 22, 2009 Just read "Don't ever tell" by Kathie O'Beirne. (was previously published as "Kathy's story") Bought it for something light to read the other day while out. Cried throughout the whole book. True story of a woman who was sent away as a child to a school run by nuns then sent to mental instititions, and suffered terrible abuse throughout her life. Very sad. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teresa Report post Posted March 22, 2009 Just finshed reading A Place Of Safety by Helen Black, it's her first novel didn't think i would enjoy it, has it was a present, and not one i would of picked. But I was surprised found it quite a good read. It's about a teenager who's an asylum seeker trying to build a life for herself after fleeing from her homeland, and the mess she end's up in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted April 7, 2009 Well I finally read my first Terry Pratchett - The Colour of Magic, the first in the Discworld series. I'm afraid its my last. Not for me. Well written & funny, but just didnt absorb me. Quite relieved really, it would have been a helluva commitment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frogslegs Report post Posted April 7, 2009 Just finished 'The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher and I really liked that all its 700 pages. Strong female character. Now just a bit of light reading with The Peacock Emporium by Jojo Moyles which I have been reading really late at night. I quite like the odd classic so next I treated myself to the Collected Stories of Tennesse Williams. I can't wait... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted April 7, 2009 After years of never getting round to it i finally picked up 'Life of Pi' as it was sitting on a shelf at the library... Better than i thought, but not as good as the hype would have it. Without the hype i'd have loved it. with the hype i could only bring myself to like it Even though i haven't read it in years, it made me think of Hemingway's 'the old man and the sea' and i'll probably dig that out again soon... from memory, Big h handled the sprituality side of things better, but YM came up with better packaging L&P BD Bought it a while ago bcause I felt I ought to, haven't got round to reading it yet. I was idly listening to a programme about John Updike the other day, and realised I've never read anything by him. Should I? Which one? K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted April 10, 2009 I Think The Nurses are Stealing My Clothes compilation of Linda Smith's work, which I ordered from the library after reading her biography. Enjoyed it but not as much as the biography. I think she's a performer you need to hear, not read. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oxgirl Report post Posted April 10, 2009 I've been waiting with baited breath to get my hands on the new Ruth Rendell, 'Portobello'. Just happened to see it on the 'returns' shelf at the library yesterday and snatched it up with an audible gasp. Halfway through already. ~ Mel ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mumble Report post Posted April 10, 2009 I'm reading a million little pieces by James Frey. It's a really harrowing memoir of his life when, at just 23, he has been destroyed by alcoholism and drug-dependency and is an immediate danger to himself and is put into in-patient treatment. It doesn't sound like a very uplifting read and at times it isn't, yet I've found myself laughing at parts because what it shows is that, whatever the big problems, we're all humans with similar aspirations, wants, needs and desires. I finished this book and despite the harrowing content really enjoyed it and it even made me laugh at points. I've also now read his second book which follows on from the first My Friend Leonard. There was a really sad unexpected part which made me cry - a reaction I hardly ever have to books. I would really recommend this pair of books. I've just got his novel Bright Shiny Morning - not sure if I like it as much, I'm not much of a novel reader, but I'll stick with it for a while. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aaryk Noctivagus Report post Posted April 11, 2009 Just finished reading the Arthur C. Clarke classic... 'Rendezvous with Rama'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emma_74 Report post Posted April 12, 2009 at the moment i am reading the crime trade by Simon Kernick Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScienceGeek Report post Posted April 12, 2009 Got a few books on the go at the moment. - Venus as a boy by Luke Sutherland and several chemistry books Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emma_74 Report post Posted April 21, 2009 finished crime trade then read Danielle Steele's new one - one day at a time. now am going to start Handstands in the dark by Janey Godley Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oxgirl Report post Posted April 21, 2009 Read Sue Grafton's 'T is for Trespass' in 24 hours. Fab! ~ Mel ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emma_74 Report post Posted April 29, 2009 Now reading Close to home by Lindwood Barclay Emma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted April 29, 2009 This week i are mostly reading..... The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch I'm just about coming up to the halfway mark and it is brilliant The dialogue between the lead character (boy, 13) and his slightly older best mate is absolutely on the money: 'Just because you read someone's made up sex lies doesn't make you an expert on love.' I instantly regretted my choice of words. 'Love?' Phelp's cried. 'Who's talking love? What do you think love is anyway, squid boy?' 'Love means you'd do almost anything for someone even if you knew you'd get nothing in return.' I couldn't help myself. I'd been thinking about Angie again, and for some reason I was furious. 'you'd even do it anonymously!' Phelps looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. 'That is so ****** up.' 'Yeah?' 'Yeah. Love isn't charity. Love is doing fun stuff for each other. You bring her flowers and she takes off her shirt, Stuff like that.' 'What's the difference,' I demanded, 'between that and going to Seattle and paying a prostitute to let you feel her up?' That stopped him. 'You'd be paying someone you don't even know,' he said finally. 'Plus, it would be more exepnsive and not as fun.' 'So, love is affordable, fun sex with someone you know?' 'Exactly' 'You're sick'...... 10/10 L&P BD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paula Report post Posted April 30, 2009 Marian Keyes This Charming Man Funny witty a real page turner ive read all her books i think shes ace. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted May 5, 2009 Contented Dementia by Oliver James It describes the SPECAL approach to dementia - Specialised Early Care in Alzheimer's. Briefly, it means: not contradicting the person with dementia: not questioning them: and encouraging an area of expertise in them based on their knowledge from their past, so they feel empowered. I was quite pleased to realise I was already doing much of this instinctively with Mum, but I'd love to get trained up properly - ho hum, I'd have to go to Oxfordshire, long long way .... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScienceGeek Report post Posted May 5, 2009 I'm currently reading Unjust Rewards: Ending the Greed That is Bankrupting Britain by Polly Toynbee and David Walker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emma_74 Report post Posted May 6, 2009 Harlan Coban -Fade away I've read a few of his books and he's not to bad if you like thrillers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gaijin Report post Posted May 20, 2009 Tend to read more than one at a time. On the go at the moment are......The way by swans - Marcel Proust. Complete guide to aspergers - Tony Attwood. Divine comedy - Dante Alighieri. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted May 23, 2009 Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama He writes as he speaks, with grace, precision & beauty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted May 23, 2009 I've just read Nobody Nowhere by Donna Williams, and now I'm reading Gridlock by Ben Elton, which is very good and quite funny. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted May 25, 2009 I'm trying to find a book that I saw some time ago and thought I might like to read, but I can't remember the title - I wonder if anyone here knows it. It's about a single woman who decides to adopt two children with Downs Syndrome and about how she could relate to them, and then she gets a very late Asperger's diagnosis and she comes to re-understand various relationships through this. Does anyone know the title/author? I came home from my AS conference with a list of NAS publications, it was listed there & I remembered you were looking for it. Here you go: Not your normal family - a single Asperger woman's adoption of two Down's boys Fiona Barrington Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted May 30, 2009 The Lost Child by Julie Myerson Two biographies in one here. The author was researching Mary Yelloly, a young woman in the 19th century who produced a series of lovely watercolours before dying at just 20. Whilst she was writing her book, her own teenage son's life began to unravel when he became addicted to Skunk. She ended up weaving the two stories together & exploring the whole subject of loss. Beautifully written but an uncomfortable read. Having a boy the same age there were passages I could hardly bear to read. And I've heard in the media that he is very unhappy with the way he is portrayed in the book. I think its an important issue that she discusses, but part of me does feel that yes, its a betrayal to expose your son like that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted May 31, 2009 Not a book. but a fillum! I'm not normally one for westerns, but was rather taken with the reviews i read of 'Appaloosa'... watched it last night - and 90 minutes very well spent! Some very interesting dynamics between the main 3 characters: some interesting 'traits' floating about Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted May 31, 2009 I'm reading a biography of Spike Milligan by his manager, Norma Farnes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScienceGeek Report post Posted May 31, 2009 I'm currently reading Pies and Prejudice: In search of the north by Stuart Maconie Something a bit light after a days long revision Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frizz Report post Posted June 1, 2009 I'm reading Harry Potter-The prisoner of Azkaban. The reason? My 7yr old (NT) has become totaly hooked & I thought I should check them out myself!!! Trouble is, he gets more time to read & is one book ahead(I know I could be reading now, instead I'm having my daily PC fix!) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheNeil Report post Posted June 2, 2009 I'm currently reading Pies and Prejudice: In search of the north by Stuart Maconie Something a bit light after a days long revision I read that but was disappointed - hope you find it better than I did Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
