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What book are you reading at the moment?

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I am reading Notes From an Exhibition by Patrick Gale. It's about a woman with bipolar disorder. She is an artist who dies. Her family prepare an exhibition of some of her work, and a lot of her life history comes to light.

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I'm reading "Can Any Mother Help Me?"

 

Its a compilation of magazine articles written by women in the middle of the last century. It began when a woman wrote in to Nursery World Magazine feeling lonely & asking for like minded women to correspond with, & it grew into a magazine to which 12-20 women contributed from the 30s right through to 1990. Some of the women are centenarians now & still feisty! :thumbs:

 

It was like an early forum, lots of diverse personalities & strong opinions etc, all the women wrote items about their lives & sent them to one woman who was the editor & bound up all the articles, then it got sent to each in turn & they added their comments. A fascinating bit of social history & at times very moving, they describe the births of their children, war time experiences, bereavement, divorce etc. I dont want it to end.

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I'm reading A Friend Like Henry by Nuala Gardner. The dramatisation After Thomas was based on this book.

 

Lovin' it so far.

 

Tilly

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Presently reading a book called the 'Stone of Farewell' part two in the 'Memory, Sorrow and Thorn' trilogy. (First book is the 'Dragon Bone Chair'). I enjoyed the first one of the series and the second seems to be continuing in the same way. It does seem to be slowly increasing in complexity a bit with the number of parallel events gradually increasing. It is a level I can keep track of at the moment.

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I'm reading a book (unknown for me - I've just never been into novels - I love books, but not novels - my tutor recommended it though as something other than my PhD to do, so I guess I have to read it, but I'm struggling to make sense of what's going on). It's called "On Our Own" by Anne Atkins. If anyone has read it and can explain what's going on, I'd be most grateful - I'm about halfway through, but it's taking ages, because I have to keep going back to remember who the characters are - names alone just don't do it for me. It seems to be about an author writing a novel and a non-fiction book, so there's the plot-line of the writing, of her life as a writer and of the two book contents too. Maybe I've got it completely wrong, though :lol: and I should just stick to what I know. It's quite strange, because the boy who is one of the central characters (I think :unsure:) appears to me to be exhibiting many autistic traits, but I'm not sure if that's part of the story or not or me just over-analysing :wacko::rolleyes:

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Ooh, I LOVE stephen king's books!!! Especially 'The Stand', its awesome!

Just finished Daniel isn't talking by Marti Leimbach and am rereading The war of the flowers by tad williams. Also, just finished a book called 'Jinh-Shei' but can't remember the author. FABULOUS read- very much worth a try!

Esther x

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I'm reading a really good book called 'The Ledge' at the moment, can't remember the author and can't be bothered to go downstairs and check at the mo. :whistle:

 

~ Mel ~

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Great to be able to read through a whole thread without 'muuuuuuuuuuuuuum' (monkeys at daddys :) )

 

Kathryn - LOVE Torey Hayden - i also have all of her books - most a bit battered! I was introduced to them when i was training yeaaars ago. Great books.

 

Also love Lionel Shriver 'We need to talk about Kevin' facinating read - i was totally gripped and couldn't put it down. I was lucky enough to meet her and have a signed copy of The post birthday world :)

 

Also quite like Jodi Picoult - but her books are getting a bit 'samey' now........

 

At the moment i've got a couple on the go....

 

Spiderwick - i read one chapter, monkey reads one chapter........... Fantastic book :notworthy:

Depressive Illness - The curse of the strong. :blink: NOT as bad as it sounds! I hate with a passion all those 'this book will solve all your problem' american blurbs - this ones a goodie - and something i return to from time to time.

The TEACCH Approach to Autism Spectrum Disorders - but only 'coz i have to 'coz i is doin' the training!

And A thousand splendid suns - but i can't get into it - bit boring! :P

 

Quite a mixture then! :lol:

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How are you finding it? :unsure:

Well, it's hard to put down... mainly 'cos if you do you can't find it again :)

I've had the same trouble with my DVD of 'Lost In Space' and my copy of Lou Reed's 'Magic & Loss' album......

And I can't find my marbles anywhere ;)

 

:D

(and don't call me "Shirley"...

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This week i are mostly reading...

The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly... pretty good so far :)

 

:D

 

I like his stuff too.

I'm re-reading George Mackay Brown's Orkney books.

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i just this minute finisheda really good book about a woman who had an affair hen her husband found out ohe l her,she realised she loved her husband and they got back together :crying: i knew what the ending was gonna be but i couldnt put it down

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i just this minute finisheda really good book about a woman who had an affair hen her husband found out ohe l her,she realised she loved her husband and they got back together :crying: i knew what the ending was gonna be but i couldnt put it down

 

:rolleyes: I used to work in a bookshop as a Saturday job, and so it was my task to find the book for people who came in and said "It's a really good book about a woman who had an affair then her husband found out ohe l her,she realised she loved her husband and they got back together. Have you got it?'

And I would ask "Do you know the author, or the title?'

And the answer would be "It's got a pink cover with silver writing...' :lol:

 

The surprising thing is, I'd often find the book!

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The surprising thing is, I'd often find the book!

 

Ahhh... well you're obviously the person to ask! It's originally in German (I think) and the lead character is a man who buys himself dark glasses and a cane and 'opts out' by pretending to be blind... I only got through about thd first two chapters when I was 16 or so (It was recommended by my German penfriend and i did track it down in an english translation but i had so many books on the go I sort of overlooked this one)... i think he (the non-blind blind man) might have lived in an hotel (?)

 

:D

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I'm reading On Green Dolphin Street be Sebastian Faulks. I am only a few pages in, so I can't really comment on it yet. But he introduces WAAAAAY too many characters too early, and I'm a bit confused so far.

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Well I haven't finished the other book yet, but I found a really cheap copy of Oliver Sacks' "An Anthropologist on Mars" in a charity shop, and I thought I'd read it when I finished the other one, but I was just tidying my bookshelf, and you know how you pick things up and start to read them ....

 

Not being one for doing things as expected, I'm reading the last 'case' in the book first which is about Temple Grandin. It's stuff I've read before - I've read, enjoyed and admired Grandin's work - but it's still interesting and well written.

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I've just started One Unknown, by Gill Hicks.

 

She had to have both her legs amputated, after being involved in the London Bombings.

 

 

I finished this book today. Kinda put my window probs into perspective. amazing lady, with an amazing attitude to life :notworthy:

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I have been nagged and nagged and nagged and nagged and nagged by J to read Artemis Bleedin' Fowl so that's what's on my bedside table at the moment. I guess I'll be the good little mummy and just get on with it.

 

Karen

x

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Just finished The Life of Pi.

However s****y life is at the mo, at least I'm not trapped in a lifeboat with a 450lb Bengal Tiger :D

Oh I LOVE The Life Of Pi! You may have inspired me to read it (yet) again. Once I get rid of bleedin' Artemis...

 

Karen

x

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I'm most of the way through, 'Not the End of the World' by Kate Atkinson. It's short stories, which I don't usually like, but I'm making an exception because I really like this author and it's the only one of hers I haven't read yet.

 

~ Mel ~

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I now have 60 books on my "To Be Read" shelf, and it's getting plain silly.

 

Now I am reading a book about communication in autism (I forget the actual title) by Olga Bogdashina, and next up is another of hers about sensory issues.

 

I also just bought Engelby by Sebastian Faulks. I should read it soon because it will be popular if I try to swap it quite soon, but I have only just read another of his.

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Perhaps you had traces of super-glue on your hands when you picked it up? :unsure::P

I'll be honest, it makes eating sandwiches a real pain

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I'm currently reading, 'Leave None To Tell The Story'. by Alison des Forges. It is a very thorough account of the Rwandan genocide and it describes in detail the historical and contemporary circumstances that saw ordinary civilians (teachers, priests, farmers, etc) slaughter their Tutsi neighbours, friends and even family members.

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