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[Ezzer]

Recently on radio 4 we've had dramatisations of Alexander McCall Smiths  "The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency" which I've found to be so good and an enthrallng entertainment.

The style of writting to be a bit unusual but i couldn'nt place my fingure on how.

I went into a bookstore looking for a book by Dennis Healy; - spotted the above book instead. Oh what a find, I can hardly belive how much better the book is to such a good radio dramatisation.

the only reason I stopped reading beyond 2/3 the way into the book was because a friend asked my advice about a life changing desision (and has now soon after offered a 15 year old daughter of a friend a sponsorship and apprenticeship in his engineering firm based on his impressed view of her attitude whilst I went to the loo. It  turned out to be a good honest long conversation which hopefully may give someone a good chance in life purely by he coincidence of the situation and i feel she so deserves it what a good day.

Anyway the book, found it written in an odd style as in each scene isnt pesented in  arduos long description. but the plot gets straight to the point without one wasted word. the readers imagination is left to do all the work it longs to be left to do.

A lot of the stories are so innocent yet carry an importance that belies the simplicity of the situation.

I would go so far as to say It's about one of the most enjoyable reads scince either "To kill a mocking bird", or "Q" 

I'll let you know what I  think when I finish the book, although I feel I'm going to polish off all the others pretty quick.

any other good recomendations out there ?

[fudgem]

wow, that's a good recommendation, I take it it's a book of short stories from your description?  I'm like you, can't stand books which are padded out with a load of unnecessary waffle, I'm sure it's so the publishers get a thicker book which they can charge more for.

Since my daughter is an avid book buyer, I generally save my money and borrow from her   I'll give her a nudge in the direction of that one.  I'm currently reading Mark Billingham, a thriller writer she recently discovered, good stories if a little on the gory side at times

[roseway]

>> I'm like you, can't stand books which are padded out with a load of unnecessary waffle

Me too. The worst book I ever tried to read was "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" which was so wordy it gave me indigestion in the first couple of pages. I don't think I even finished the first chapter.

[fudgem]

I gave up on that one in about the same place roseway, shame because the film had good reviews

[scottiesmum]

I can recommend the Kite Runner  by Khaled Hosseini  ....  although a 'novel'  I'm certain it's based on fact ..... a marvellous read,  very thought provoking  .

Your book Ezzer has been serialised recently on TV  although I didn't see it ...   I prefer the books to subsequent films, and will now have a look for it.     Well done on your recommendation btw, what a good deed you've done for someone there, I hope it all work out well for the young lady. 

[Ezzer]

The offer for the young lady had nothing to do with me. I just found it ironic that he wanted to bounce an idea with me about what he wants to do, and ends up putting his money where his mouth is and makes an offer which may impact well on someone elses life.

he's got a good buisiness with an excellent reputation. I'm happy to see some one who on spotting someone with potential is willing to offer the time and effort altouisticaly to take them under his mentorship. It's something we don't often hear about. He's already training another apprentice under some sort of local education engineering scheme. I belives she's lined up to go on the same scheme but in a different field. i suppose it depends if she's willing to change tack completely. Personally I hope she does, with a bit of talent you could learn a really good trade in a firm such as his.


Oh and by the way, finished the book about to go and buy the second one in the series.  It is a series of short stories/cases for each chapter with some other story arcs on top, I really enjoyed it, very easy to read his style of prose and almost all the characters are very aimiable. I started reading the Sharpe series in september by Bernard Cornwell after enjoyng the tv series so much (apart from "Gold" but Theres an interesting story as to why that episode was so different to the book) by christmas I got through the 24 books. phew.

[scottiesmum]

Oh, I'll take my praise back then        ....  I still recommend the Kite Runner though ! 

[Ezzer]

No problem....

I did see the kite runner when I bought the book in the best seller section so I'll have to go for that one soon.

There's a surplus book shop in the Castle Mall in Norwich where most books are £2. if it wasn't for the number of books I've lent out to friends and family I'ld need a couple of new book shelves. I think I9e read more over the past 9 months thatn the rest of my life.

I once spotted a huge hard back with luther Blissett as the author, couldn't be i thought. A Middle age mystery based from Martin Luther and cleverly linking to different aspects of the anabaptist movement during the 16th century. Inside the back cover it stated "Luther Blissett is assistant manager to Hull City fc an ex proffesional football player with AC Milan etc etc...."  Oh I've got to read this one, really enjoyed it, never guessed who "Q" turn out to be when I found out. very cleverly written. But I was dissapointed when I read the inside back cover of the book to futher read "......is not the author of this book" Turns out it was written by 4 itallians who liked him as a player so they used his name. If you do read it you have to keep tabbs on the date at the beginning of each chapter because it does jump around in time. In fact I wonder if Tarrentino has read it ?