Lady Lazarus

I am about halfway through Wolf Hall and am not sure whether I'm enjoying it or not!

I think I will try to join in on this one! (*runs to get on the library's website...)

As some of you may (or may not) know, in 2010 I set up a website for writers called Winning Words, there is a blog there too, featuring interviews with writers and people who run writing competitions etc... do have a look if you're that way inclined. The address is http://www.winningwords.org.uk

3. A Beginner's Guide to Acting English - Shappi Khorsandi (carried over from 2010, currently reading) 2. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantell (carried over from 2010, currently reading) 1. Counselling in Obstetrics and Gynaecology ****

As for mine, I did finish the novel (and started a new one!), and did send it to some agents, sadly unsucessfully so far... didn't get around to the Arabic again...still thinking about 2011...

Hi everyone, sorry I've been missing in action lately, life has just got in the way. Hope everyone is all set for Xmas. Must make one of my new year's resolutions to come back to BGO!

Well done, you.

And that's relevant because....???

'The Pregnant Widow' follows the story of protagonist Keith Nearing (such a Martin Amis-style name for a main character, I thought) and some friends when they holiday in a castle in Italy. They are all around 20 yrs of age and the time is 1970, in the midst of the sexual revolution. There are some great characters in the book, Keith is not as abhorrent as previous Amis protagonists, although there is still something a little unpleasant about him (I think he refers to one character's breats on almost every page). He is there with his girlfriend, Lily, but is lusting after the busty Scheherezade. Nearing is devouring classic literature whilst on holiday, and manages to reduce every single one of them to being about sex. A good display of characterisation, I rather liked it.

Hmm.. it's tricky isn't it? I agree that maybe a weekend away somewhere or tickets to a concert might be a bit of a treat. Or failing that, an i-pad?

I'm about 100 pages into The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell.

My local library has recently been done up, it looks very modern and swish. As it's the central library, it has a good selection of books, and what you can't find in the branch you can easily order from any of the other libraries in the London Consortium (for about 30p). They also have a reasonable DVD and music selection too. My main gripe is that the new 'cafe' they have installed is less than mouthwatering! It could have been a nice coffee-shop style place to sit with a book, but is full of the smelly men reading the papers drinking lukewarm watery tea.

Sorry for my unauthorised absence from BGO for a little while. I feel rather stressed out with work at the moment - we have moved into a new (huge) ward and it's all rather horrid.

I agree, the presence of books in a room is very calming and relaxing. Sadly there is a total dearth of literature where I work, hence why I am so frantic there!

I'm halfway through The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis, and rather good it is too.