Currently I am reading....

[sfo]

The Forum

[Muppet]

Yeah..The Forum!

But just finished reading the book...

'Her Benny' - by Silas J Hocking

It's a bit like Oliver Twist, but set in Victorian Liverpool and VERY sad in places!!

One of the most inspirational stories I have ever read and I would recommend it to everybody!

[Finale]

Atonement

[electric]

Womens' literature from the seventeenth century...or at least that's probably what I should be reading right now, considering I'm going to have to write a paper on this topic in the near future. Sigh, 5 weeks of school to go...

[hammy]

Cherub books. 4 books down 8 to go.

[sfo]

BBC News Website

[JohnH]

Cherub books. 4 books down 8 to go.

Fantastic books Hammy, I can't wait for the next one to come out.

[Alex]

Cherub books. 4 books down 8 to go.

Oooo, I've sort of fallen behind on those . . . need to catch up! Read the one where James goes to Russia (or was it Serbia? Somewhere cold . . .) Think it was called The Fall.

On the other side of the Reality Scale (for those who don't know, Cherub books are quite realistic . . . for books about child spies) I re-read a couple of chapters of that Alex Rider book Snakehead last night (you know, should've been reading Jacob's Room for my English class, but ended up looking for Anything Else by Anyone Else ). Contary to popular belief, I'm not a big fan. I find them rather clichéd and impossible to believe. And what is infuriating is that Horowitz can (and does) come up with some brilliant writing and situations! The chapter Spare Parts and the one after it, they're brilliant. They made me feel physically sick the first time I read them.

(Then Alex gets into a canoe and survives a massive waterfall and rapids, which would never happen in real life, and it's all ruined. Shame . . .)

[hammy]

I just finished "The Killing," the forth book. I believe the fall is the 7th. I know what you mean about reality. I know the first part about child spys being used in WW2 is true. Then all the other stuff doesn't go over the top spy/gadgets etc. It's totally believable.
I cannot read the Alex Rider books or the Twilight series. I love Young Adult fiction (and like to write for it) but these books i just don't enjoy.

[Alex]

I know what you mean about reality. I know the first part about child spys being used in WW2 is true. Then all the other stuff doesn't go over the top spy/gadgets etc. It's totally believable.
I cannot read the Alex Rider books or the Twilight series. I love Young Adult fiction (and like to write for it) but these books i just don't enjoy.

I like the fact that the writer of those CHERUB books (Muchamore, is it? Memory like a leaky sieve . . .) isn't afraid to treat children and young adults as mature and sensible people. Particularly in the later books, there is some material that would make you think 'Oooo er, should this be in here?' Also, he's very good at writing convincing adolescent dialogue, and relationships. There hasn't been a convincing relationship, or any convincing dialogue in an Alex Rider book.

I simply refuse to read those Twilight books, despite the fact most of my friends are hardcore fans. But even they admit that they're not very well-written . . . and I prefer witches to vampires.

How did you find The Killing? It was the first one I read, but one of the ones I enjoyed the most, I think.