General Chat

Maz, how about calling it poetry with Greaders, and yes, keeping it ongoing. Ann Glos

Hi Everyone Sorry am a bit late with this - have been away! Here goes: Gentlemen and Players - Joanne Harris Has a great twist and a few corpses too!! Angels and Demons - Dan Brown (Because I have only ever read the DaVinci code) Classic: Sons and Lovers - D.H. Lawrence Happy reading all! Kaz :o)

Poetry sounds good not read much for years so should be a nice change Norah

Hi all bookworms - I have seen the book thread in the past, and thought of joining in, but have been unable to give much time lately. Also, I tend to read more fact than fiction, but would like to redress the balance a bit and try some of the fiction suggestions here. I would like to put some ideas for March books, but will need to have a think first! Maz - I love poetry!!

Maz I like the idea of Greaders Poetry, and yes please, ongoing You have made an old lady very happy ;-))

oh dear, I suppose I will have to then!! Let me find something suitable to start with - gimme a couple of days lol!! Shall I head it GReaders Poetry?? Shall it be ongoing or like the books just every month?? Input please folks! Maz. XX

Maz Please, please, please start a poetry thread Dee ;-))

Dare I nudge this to see if there are any more suggestions for March? Maz: OK for the poetry, but as we are already reading 3 books can we keep it on a separate thread? Would you like to oranise that one? Ann Glos

Hi! All Well I was going to suggest Labyrinth and Conjuror's Bird but got beaten to it so at the moment I can only suggest: Faithless by Karen Slaughter: A walk in the woods takes a sinister turn for police chief Jeffrey Tolliver and medical examiner Sara Lintonwhen they come across the body of a young girl. At first it looks as if she has been scared to death but as usual during the autopsy something more horrifying comes to light:: AND Two Women by Martina Cole Unloved by her mother, abused by her father and a brutal marriage she eventually smashes her husband's skull in an act of desperation. When she is celled up with murderess Matilda Enderby their fates become inextricably linked and no one could have predicted the consequences: The Classic: Emma by Jane Austen

Hi Alfie, that looks good Maz, I like that idea about poetry, what do you think Ann? Dee x

Hi all, I would like to suggest: Enduring Love, by Ian McEwan. One day in the Chilterns Joe Rose witnesses a hot air ballon accident and by chance meets Jed Parry who becomes completely obsessed by him. He makes 'phone calls, writes letters, and stalks Joe. No one one believes him, not the Police or even his wife Clarissa. Joe is driven almost to murder and madness.

ok Dee, this is what I was going to suggest, as poetry was mentioned before. I thought it might be tricky to find a collection that we could all get hold of, so I thought we could all have a look at some poetry (either from the library or even online!), choose something that we really like and then post it for everyone to read, with our comments on it - why we like it etc. It would be interesting to see the different things that appeal to different people. Maybe we could do this as a separate thing each month - there are quite a few poetry lovers on this site, so we might get more people participating?? Anyway, let me know what you think! Maz. XX ps - we seem to be a bit thin on the ground??!!

What happened to the poetry Maz?

I think there are more people who need to see this. Ann Glos

for goodness sake don't let my OH see that!!! Ann glos

Maz, have never been there, but after reading that I am wondering if we should have our floors here reinforced!! Dee ;-))

Has anyone been to the London Library on St James's Square?? Just read an article about it - apparently there is going to be a huge refurb and an additional 3 floors added to the top of the building. It says that there are over a million books in there, which will all have to be taken out before work starts. Then it says that the engineers ..... 'EXPECT THE BUILDING TO RISE OUT OF THE GROUND SLIGHTLY as the huge weight of the books is removed, and to settle down again once they are replaced' !!!!!! I know books are heavy but that's crazy lol lol !! Maz. XX

sorry we need to kep this near the top for others to see. Ann Glos

Spoilt for choice already!! Got to keep this near the top as people wont be expecting it so early. ann Glos

Ok, here are my suggestions – no surprises here lol Empress Orchid by Anchee Min To rescue her family from poverty and avoid marrying her slope-shouldered cousin, seventeen-year-old Orchid competes to be one of the Emperor's wives. When she is chosen as a lower-ranking concubine she enters the erotically charged and ritualised Forbidden City. But beneath its immaculate facade lie whispers of murders and ghosts, and the thousands of concubines will go to any lengths to bear the Emperor's son. Orchid trains herself in the art of pleasuring a man, bribes her way into the royal bed, and seduces the monarch, drawing the attention of dangerous foes. Little does she know that China will collapse around her, and that she will be its last Empress. The Conjuror’s Bird by Martin Davies It seems a long time ago that Fitz and Gabby were together, when his work on extinct species was about to make him world-famous. Now, it's his career that is almost extinct. Suddenly, though, the beautiful Gabby reappears in his life. She wants his help in tracing the history of The Mysterious Bird of Uileta, a creature once owned by the great 18th Century naturalist Joseph Banks. It soon becomes clear that Fitz is getting involved in something more complicated - and dangerous - than the search for a stuffed bird. To solve the puzzle, he must uncover the identity of the amazing woman Banks loved - a woman who has disappeared from history as effectively as the specimen he is hunting. A mixture of detection, romance and history, The Conjuror's Bird is a dazzling debut novel, spanning three centuries of secrets and surprises. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy 'I shall do one thing in this life - one thing for certain - that is, love you, and long for you, and keep wanting you till I die.' Gabriel Oak is only one of three suitors for the hand of the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene. He must compete with the dashing young soldier Sergeant Troy and respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. And while their fates depend upon the choice Bathsheba makes, she discovers the terrible consequences of an inconstant heart. Far from the Madding Crowd was the first of Hardy's novels to give the name of Wessex to the landscape of south-west England, and the first to gain him widespread popularity as a novelist. Set against the backdrop of the unchanging natural cycle of the year, the story both upholds and questions rural values with a startlingly modern sensibility. Maz. XX