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Guess it's that optimism again, but I finish most things, if not all. Reading is my favourite occupation and gets me through exams, so I'd rather read a bad book than stare at the wall - at least then I have the pleasure of verbally ripping it to shreds to the next unfortunate who crosses my...

Possibly I was being over-judgemental, not having read the book. I do think it is possible for an author to impart a sense of their own high opinion of themselves through their writing, even if the narrator is a character entirely separate to the author. They might use unnecessary vocabulary, or...

Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy. As usual, from about the tenth page, I could see the clouds of disaster gathering. Hardy's use of Jude and Sue's situation to explore social concepts is, as ever, disturbing and faintly prophetic. The perceived "consequences" of their actions (I don't know how...

I'll leave out the complimentary stuff because it's faintly embarassing and not particularly relevant...[insert smiley of choice] Regarding optimism: something in my brain just fails to function when it comes to reading. I'll complain about politics, television and stupidity all da, but show me...

Sorry, I should've clarified. It's the two years between GSCEs and A levels, ages 16 to 18 - your last two years of school. Sixth form because it's your sixth (and seventh) year at high school. Don't ask me why it's not seventh form... So basically you're almost an adult, and generally set...

I've worn a uniform for the last 13 years. At high school it was shirt, tie, green blazer, grey v-neck jumper, grey skirt, black tights, SENSIBLE shoes... the works. Now in the sixth form I have to wear a suit. I'm absolutely fine with this - we're a private school and there are millionaires...

I've not read this book yet, but I'm intrigued after seeing the author interviewed. She seems to be dealing with some controversial and interesting topics; in fact, when I saw the interview, I'd just finished a story much along the same lines and got rather depressed that she'd beaten me to it...

Neither do I. I just meant I wasn't about to jump all over you for daring to dislike the Almighty Potter. In some moods I could get quite depressed about this situation. But I hope that many who will read Potter will, like me, simply read it as light relief between other books. Perhaps I'm...

At this juncture I'd like to point out something jay said in the "required reading" thread, which suggests he may not be as tyrannical over low-brow literature as we might have thought... It's evidently a touchy issue, as no-one likes their basic intelligence being called into question. But I...

Indeed. I don't know if you're taking the mickey or not, but that's how I felt on first encountering the phrase "baguette magique".

I disagree with jay on Harry Potter, but I'm not going to rabidly defend my right to read it. However, I do think the books you choose to read reflect something about your "intelligence" (for want of a better word) - or rather, how far you wanted to push your brain at the time. I read the Da...

Sorry about the double post, but I just wanted to comment on this. I really hope Rowling goes into this a bit more in the next book, or that Harry comes to some kind of understanding about Snape's motives. To build up this complex character, then have him turn out to be unequivocally A Bad Guy...

Ok, gotcha. My rambling and disjointed views then: To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed about Snape's actions - he was one of the most interesting characters because he was not obviously either good or evil. Although the Vow leaves it open. The writing's a bit tighter in this one - Rowling...

Well, I've finished it. I won't spoil it for anyone, in case a raving type hunts me down... But it's better than the fifth one. And I may be really stupid but I didn't guess any of what happened. Now I just have to wait about a decade for the next one.. :D

I have to agree here - some books I could read in an hour, others of the same length might take me a week. Anna Karenina probably took me the longest time to read of anything I've ever read, because I kept skipping back pages to understand certain parts, and because the characterisation depended...

659 wpm, it seems. 82% comprehension. I think both would be far better reading from a page - it made my eyes hurt scrolling down like that!

I've been trying to read The Sword of Shannara for months now, but I keep reading a chapter then getting annoyed or bored and chucking it across the room. It just seems a bit formulaic: people survive when they really shouldn't, the characters are archetypal, and to be honest I really don't care...

muggle: I enjoyed it quite a lot - enough to want to read the others. I found the combination of recognisable and fantastic fascinating. But I can't afford them and my library doesn't have them, so it'll have to wait!

I've been debating whether or not to read the Lemony Snicket books - are they worth it?

1. Stone of Tears, Terry Goodkind 2. The Mirror of Her Dreams, Stephen Donaldson 3. A Man Rides Through, Stephen Donaldson 4. Candide, Voltaire 5. Sharpe's Eagle, Bernard Cornwell 6. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett 7. Sharpe's Gold, Bernard Cornwell 8. Sharpe's Battle, Bernard Cornwell 9...