Interesting book, Tassie

I had a list of companies (can't find it now) that test on animals, Proctor & Gamble being one of them. I won't buy anything from them. I am always reading labels, because I will not buy a product that tests on animals.

Crosby and Nash have a beautiful song called To The Last Whale, bringing attention to their exploitation for makeup

I'm also the type for easy reading.. I read to relax and wind down..
I'm currently ready Marian Keyes' "This Charming Man", i'm still on the first chapter but it seems good.. I highly recommend her novels (if you like that sort of read).. I've read them all!

I adore Terry Pratchett!! Every book by him would be my recommendation. I guess he's somebody you either love or hate

it seems i`m the only one, who hasn`t read Terry Pratchett. Many people like him, so I guess i`ll put him on my "To read" list for the summer, I`m sure gonna need a whole notepad for this list soon!!

Any suggestion, with which of his books should I start first?

Ooooh, never noticed this thread! I'm a bookie!

Never read Terry Pratchett either.

Love Fidel and biographies, too... will look that one up. (I'm getting there... Done Mao, done Hitler, done a few local politicians, so gotta put down actor bios in favour of political ones, lol.)

I'm a total whorebag when it comes to reading... I read trash (though gotta admit, Mkatta, I loathe Marion Keyes... bores me, I like my chick lit a bit grittier!) I read literature, I read non fiction.

Finally read "Catcher in the Rye"... that book americans put up there with East of Eden and Moby Dick (have read the former, not the latter.) Christ it was a snore fest. It's completely dated... hasn't been able to transcend the period it was written in... fuddy duddy, tedious... the protagonist was a bore... was amazed and shocked that this was what all the fuss was about. Couldn't work out it's theme... fakeness... isolation... to what end, I have no idea. Hypocrisy? It gets five Z's rating. ZZZZZ.

Currently reading "Death's Men - Soldiers of the first world war" at the moment by Denis Winter. Great book in that it sticks purely to the soldiers life in the war, as opposed to battle plans/strategies - though that would be a total misnomer to apply those terms to WW1... total mess and waste of life. The writer himself... makes a bit of a hash of a few things... he knows stuff about armaments and army expressions... assumes his reader's do, too. He hasn't got the greatest of writing styles... bit choppy, but the content makes up for it.

I love Martin Amis.

I adore Bill Bryson. If no one has read his stuff... do so! He does travel books (my fave is The Lost Continent - Travels through small town America) and he does language books... "Mother Tongue" the history of the english language is a great read. He's very witty and very easy reading, great writer.

Love Jane Austen... just adore her satirical qualitites, her ability to draw characters so perfectly... her insight was phenomenal into human behaviour, quicks and eccentricities.

Used to love Jackie Collins... she's gone down the drain. Lost the old spark.

Loathe Patricia Cornwall... boring.

Never read a Harry Potter book, never will. Haven't read any of the Lord of the Rings stuff... never will. Not into fantasy stuff. Kind of bores me. Well, it DOES bore me, lol.

Read tonnes of mills and boons when I was at school... can't read them anymore... too boring and stupid. Funny that!

Really liked "A million little pieces" by can't remembre his name...oh, James Frain. There was a great hoopla over it not being strictly non-fiction... I didn't care, it was a good read. Hate it that this need for marketable truth is eclipsing the skill of just being a good writer who can write a great story.

I tend to enjoy biography's the most..

One of my favourites is a book on US President Eisenhower..

What about "Prometheus:The life of Balzak" by Andre Maurois, has somebody read it?

Haven't read that one, but have read Barry Sheene, 1950-2003 The Biography by Stuart Barker. Its very good.

Right now I'm reading "the Road" by Cormac McCarthy, i'm only about halfway thru it but it is very disturbing, really good, but disturbing nonetheless

I just finished "on Writing" by Stephen King, nonfiction, believe it or not, but its a book on how he writes books, but its a lot like "what if i'd never tried it" by Vale, more like a conversation with him than an actual textbook or how to book. Very interesting read...but maybe only to me since i'm interested in writing.

Catty, i felt the same way about the Harry Potter books, but last year when my dad was dying i read all of them, in about 2 weeks. I dont know if they are really "great books" or not but they definately got me thru a really tough time, which according to stephen king, is the reason he writes in the first place. Writing has helped him get thru some tough times and he feels that if his books do the same for a reader somewhere then his mission is accomplished.

Well, it's cool that Harry helped... but having yawned my way through one of the films... I've reached Potter saturation point!

Haven't read aforementioned books, either... only racing bio I've read is Mick Doohans... but was kind of short... but had lots of pictures!

Haven't read "What if I'd never tried it", and you know what? I don't think I ever will. I have a bit of a problem with people writing autobios when they're like, 23. It'sa bit of a wank, I've always thought. Gotta confess that I think Valentino had an attack of the "wankers" when he wrote that.