Couldn't agree more...and Alan Rickman as Snape is another brilliant piece of casting

Just started re-reading Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince...getting ready for the last episode

Just startin on Trainspotting ... Can anyone outside of Scotland (or even outside of Edinburgh) tell me how they got on reading it? If you stop concentrating you just lose the plot completely

Regeneration- Pat Barker
reading it as part of our WW1 literature for school- it is really good, amazingly well written and simple! (Which is a relief I can tell you cause some of the other things I have read for school have been needlessly complicated!)

Count of Montecristo - Dumas

Jaxs, My husband read Regneration and he really enjoyed it. I think there was a film a few years ago based on the book. He hates reading so it was quite an achievement for him!!! I realised the book must have been quite special!!

The film (1997) is excellent and very moving too. It's also called Regeneration, and has Jonathan Pryce cast as the progressive doctor, who recognises shell-shock as an illness, not cowardice. Quiet, atmospheric, powerful.

UNLIMITED POWER- Anthony Robbins

I read this book so many times .... when I was younger

Good choice, Colin ! a classic one .

Now I'm reading Year of the Hyenas by Brad Geagley .

Hitler - Diagnosis of a destructive prophet by Fritz Redlich, M.D. A psychiatric analysis of an evil man's childhood, family and personal medical/head history. Another vegetarian with a wind problem and a temper. All in laymans terms.

Bury my heart at Wounded Knee-Dee Browne. An Indian history of the American west. A somewhat harrowing look at American history from the "other side". It tells of some of the atrocious behaviour of the so-called "civilised" white men. I recommend it to any one interested in history.

About Harry Potter and the casting of the characters, I remember seeing a quote from JK Rowling once saying that she pictured Alan Rickman as Snape when she wrote the first book. Not certain whether that particular one is true or not but JK Rowling certainly did play a massive part in the casting for the film.

As the books were set in the UK, then she insisted that Brittish actors played the parts of Brittish characters and that was part of the contract for the rights to make the films. She also played a huge part in persuading some of the actors to take their parts in the films.

The conclusion is that I am not surprised that the likes of Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman, along with Richard Harris were so perfect for their parts. Brendan Gleeson was also perfect as Mad Eye Moody!!!
The cameos for Dawn French and John Cleese were also brilliant!!!

A friend reccomended that I should read Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein and I have to say it's one of the best books I've read in a very long time.
So much so that I finished it in two days!!!

It is about a young human who was brought up on Mars by Martians after his family were stranded there while on a mission to the planet. During the next mission to Mars, the Martian "Old Ones" send him back to Earth and the first part of the book documents his escape from the "care" of the government.

The Second part is much more cultural in subject and tells how he slowly learns and adapts to human culture. The humans round about him also learn about his super-human abilities that are a normal part of Martian culture.

The third part of the story is titled "His Eccentric Education" which includes religion, politics, buisness and a slight touch of what humans would consider headonism but would be "perfectly normal" social interaction and growing closer on Mars.

In the fourth part he leves his now familiar "nest" and adopted family and travels around the country trying various differant careers while teaching his companion how to speak and think in Martian and also the super-human abilities that come with a differant way of thinking. After learning the wrongs in certain religions, he eventually sets up a "church" and religion which is a cover for an organisation which would spread Martian culture to humans. This new religion suffers the persecution that comes with fear of the unknown which prevails in human culture.

In the books finale, he comes to his fate which is that of most religious prohets (and heretics) and joins the "Old Ones" with a little twist at the end.


When first published, the book was heavily sensored because of it's political, social and religious commentary and some even wanted it to be banned.
Like any other book that people want to ban for whatever reason, it has become a great classic.

I'd definatly reccomend it.

Handstands In The Dark by Janey Godley.....

A true story about a girl brought up in the east end of Glasgow in the 60's, her father is hard working but also a heavy drinker and her mother suffers from depression and struggles to cope, she has been abused by her uncle and when her parents seperate she witness's her mother's abuse by her new boyfriend, her mother was found dead in the river clyde, Janey went onto marry in her teens to a notorious gangster and is submerged in the Glasgow underworld, they live and run a pub in the east end with flats above and have a daughter.... Its a great book and almost finished.....

Nikki...
x

Field of blood - Gerald Seymour.


I have read this book five times but this is the first since visiting Northern Ireland with Colin. It was a classic before but having been there ( all be it in "peace" time )its even better now. The ending still gets me it eats at me.


Think I may revisit Under a Greenwood tree or Trumpet Major next.

Yeah, heard that myself, also that she wrote the part of Hagred solely for Robbie Coltrane too! (another fine Scottish Export)!