Last Three Books Read

"Driving Over Lemons" by Chris Stewart - 8 out of 10. Someone recommended this as I spend a fair bit of time in Spain, its the true story of an English guy who go's to Spain and buys a run down farm. It's very funny. "Gone Tomorrow" by Lee Child - 9 out of 10. I'm a bit of a sucker for the Jack Reacher stories, how the fuck Tom Cruise can play him in the film god knows! Jack Reacher is supposed to be 6ft 5inches! "Mr Happy" by Bob James - 9 out of 10. Bobs a mate of mine and gave me his book when he finished it a few years ago. I read it again just a few weeks back, its autobiographical about his life ( Like the book Mr Nice) and wow what a life he had...and still does!

'Death and the Penguin' by Andrey Kurkov- this was such a brilliant book I was tempted to start a forum topic about it so fellow 'penguin' lovers might come out the woodwork and join me in enthusing about how great it is, and to spread the word about this darkly comical masterpiece- 10/10 '1984' George Orwell- still feeling slightly disturbed nearly a week after finishing it. Great book though! 10/10 'Short Stories' by DH Lawrence- disappointingly, most of them were unfinished, which I only discovered once thoroughly immersed in the story, coming suddenly to a screeching halt and the word (unfinished). Most annoying! 7/10 Oh, forgot to say I read them all on paper. I did get a kindle for christmas, but I haven't really used it yet. Just not comfortable with posh gadgets, you can't stand your mug on it or take it in the bath, and it doesn't respond well to cigarette burns!

All on paper - and I'm so glad, Sid, that you are a Kurkov fan. Read the next one - Penguin Found. It's just as good! Which brings me on to my last three books: Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres: A far better book than Captain Corelli, cleverly told - and with lost of bits of Greek and Turkish History that are crucial to the understanding of today. 8/10 Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - Just stunning. The ending left me a little disappointed but it's a brilliant concept, brilliantly told. Not a spare word in the whole book. 9/10 The Good Angel of Death by Andrey Kurkov - another gem from this wonderful Ukrainian writer. Weird, imaginative and magnificent. 9/10. Now I'm heavily into War and Peace! I may be some time...

well, at the moment im reading a book by terry pratchett called snuff. Its a discworld novel and personally i think its really clever, about 8 out of 10. Two points hav been lost caz ther r a number of large really boring bits and im not that clever when it cums to working out terry's little morals throughout all his books. before that i was reading nothing those books by George RR Martin which id give a 7 out of 10 caz there amazing but so bloody complicated. Honestly about a quarter of each book is made up of the appendix (and fank god ther is one!) which just lists the characters in it. And u kno wat else! The appendix keeps changing order, so just as u get used to finding the different characters at the end of the book ther in a completly different place wen u read the next one!!

I'm a big Kurkov fan as well, as is Terrence Oblong. Terrence won't. mind me pointing you to a story he wrote the day we met Andrey Kurkov, which, typically of Terrence, is very, very derivative - a story set in Ukraine involving obituaries, I ask you. http://www.abctales.com/story/terrence-oblong/caf-boris

Three books Terry Pratchett - Nation. I always enjoyed Terry's children's books, so that an 8. Graham Swift - Wish you were here. Hated it. Really, really tried to persevere as I'm a big fan of Swift's work, but this went nowhere, eventually gave up half way through, during which time absolutely nothing had happened. Can't give it more than 1. Henry Mayhew - London Labour and the London Poor - Simply amazing historical record of real people's lives combined with statistics and analysis. Put's Engels to shame, a surefire 10. Recommended to anyone with an interest in British history. Sobering too, in light of the economic direction we're taking at the moment

Kind of you to plug Terrence Oblong like that; I'm glad you did, I loved his story. It's very authentic sounding- has he ever been there? I'm new to Kurkov, definitely be looking up those other titles you mentioned, Tony. I'm so excited to learn there's a sequel! And you can't go wrong with War and Peace, that'd be my choice for Desert Island Discs no contest :D

My last 3 books: Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens. This was my May Reading Group book, and I read it on my Kindle. I mainly use my Kindle for free classics and very cheap books. I like it, but I like 'tree books' better! The Woman In Black by Susan Hill. Susan Hill was one of the first 'adult' authors I ever read, as a teenager. Don't know why I haven't read this before. The perfect ghost story. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - I won an uncorrected proof copy of this in a Waterstones Cardholders' prize draw. I'm always envious of people who can create complex plots, because I can't. This book has a very complex plot indeed, and some very unsettling characters. Very good.

Terry Pratchett !!! But don't forget some others like Lindsey Davies and her Falco series of novels about an informer (Detective) back in the days of Roman Empire About 70AD. I read and reread these books!

The last three books I read happen to be the last three books I re-read. Being a lover of good word play, I find it difficult to read typical prose. And for me, without good wordplay, a story feels just like its technical term:a narrative. Good wordplay is the fuel that allows the readers imagination to take off and into the world that the writer has created. So if any of you know of any good novels with good word play(think The Prince Of Tides)please drop me a line. As far as my last three reads go-1.White Teeth, Zadie Smith, 2.The Prince Of Tides, Pat Conroy, 3.James Baldwin, Just Above My Head.