The Book Vipers discussion

This thread is for any general chit-chat, about anything you like, but please try to keep it clean!!

Any one got anything planned for the weekend? I'm working all weekend.

My daughter's got a ballet exam tomorrow morning. I'm getting nervous for her, but she seems to be really relaxed about it!

We may be seeing some friends on Sunday, and going to see Father Christmas too!

What's everyone else up to? Anyone got any snow? We haven't had any yet.

Ive got my works christmas night out tomorrow night, so that should be a good one! Lazy day on Sunday - recovering and catching up on some reading!

We took the children to see Father Christmas today, at Wookey Hole. It poured with rain all day, and there were floods everywhere, but we made it there and everyone had a wonderful time. The Christmas grotto was magical :)

Aww sounds fab! I was going to take my charges to Beamish Museum but time just got away with me (and haven't worked as many days in December!)

Hopefully seeing The Snowman at The Sage tomorrow though :)

Packing today, flying to the U.K tomorrow! Is it really, really cold??

It's not really cold where we are (S.West) but it is wet. Whereabouts in the UK are you heading for? Bring lots of wet weather gear if you're heading for West Country or Scotland.

Ah yes, since I asked I've seen the news! Flying into Gatwick and staying with inlaws in Essex, so hopefully it's not too bad.

Wishing all the Vipers a very Happy Christmas!!!

Happy Christmas all! Hope you got some good books!

I'm very pleased with the books I got for Christmas -

Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart, My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding and
How to Bake by Paul Hollywood

Hope everyone had a nice Xmas! I had a nice day & the girls enjoyed themselves, feeling a bit sick of food and drink today though!

Got a few books from Santa that will keep me going for a while: , and
DH also got me and before Xmas, and currently reading Dracula.
Now I want to start the new ones but have a few books to finish off first aaargh...too much to read! :)

I got:

Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense & Sensibility, Jitterbug Perfume and Little Miss Naughty Worries Mr.Worry teehee!

Argh I'm feeling so overwhelmed, I've got an assignment due on the 23rd that I haven't even looked at and I've already got two books on the go, I know my coursework has to come first but I'm feeling irritated at myself that I'm not reading as much.

Jen wrote: "Argh I'm feeling so overwhelmed, I've got an assignment due on the 23rd that I haven't even looked at and I've already got two books on the go, I know my coursework has to come first but I'm feelin..."

That's brought back bad memories for me! When I was studying I remember being totally overwhelmed by assignments and having no time to myself at all. And I don't think I read much fiction during that time, if any at all!!

It's awful trying to balance studying and reading, I stopped reading altogether when I was doing my degree.

Haven't been on properly for a while due to Christmas/New Year travels so a belated Happy New Year :-)

Am also ovewhelmed Jen, due to too much to read and OU studying to catch up with (!)

Paperbacks I got for Christmas:

The Rainbow Flaubert's Parrot
The Birth of Venus and A Clockwork Orange

Also received a Kindle Fire 32gb and have gone a bit mad with books on that: The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters, 1227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman, The Slaves of Solitude, Mistress of Rome, The Brontë Sisters: The Complete Novels and Before I Die.

I think it's worse because I'm doing the course for fun rather than aiming to get a degree out of it and I'm not having fun... but I'd feel I let myself down if I didn't continue with it.

What course are you doing with the OU Chantal?

What do you think of the Kindle Fire, I've heard mixed reviews.

Ah, forgot to mention a lovely early present of To Defy a King and Crown in Candlelight.

Am doing a Modern Languages degree Jen, currently doing two parallel course of French and Spanish. I do enjoy it but have got fairly behind recently so need to get my act together.

You're a nanny aren't you? Are you doing child-related courses?

I LOVE the Kindle Fire, although I haven't had a Kindle before so not much to compare it with. I found the black/white setting had a bit too much glare so I changed it to the Sepia toned version which is much more book-like; you can also adjust brightness. It won't ever replace my paperbacks and hardbacks but it's really good for reading on a plane/in an airport and at night when others want the light off. The apps/internet are v good too :)

Although shockingly there doesn't seem to be a Mumsnet app for it, searched in the app store and nada :@

Is kindle fire not android? There's definitely a mumsnet app for android but it's crap!

I am a nanny but I had already done the level 4 accredited course with the OU in 2009 so this year I chose Human Biology as I can use it in an application for midwifery if I decide to go that way. It's also my first level 2 course of OU so I'm finding it a bit harder!

Kindle Fire is android, but I find that some apps I can get on my android cell phone aren't available on the Fire for some reason.

I hope everyone had a great holiday! :) My parents gave me $50 gift card for Amazon. I plan on buying a ton of books.

Ooo you lucky thing! That ought to buy a lot of books :D

Pity about the app thing, I was looking at the paperwhite though!

Has anyone got snow? We've got absolutely nothing here at all. My son's very disappointed as he wanted to build a snowman today!

Yes it's been snowing all morning here, there's about and inch and a half I reckon! I need to go out there and get some foodthings, but my wellies are in the car... hmm

Yes, too much here and I seem to have spent half the morning snow shoveling! The children are happy, needless to say, and have built an igloo.

Next month's Mumsnet Book Club read is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

I read it last year. It's very very good. Well worth a read if you like literary thrillers. It's a tale of a bitter twisted marriage that went very wrong.

The book giveaways page also goes live this morning.

I've put a reminder on my phone about the book giveaways, although I haven't won anything for months and months now after getting 3 or 4 in a row. I've read The Poison Tree, which was very good, and would really like to read Gone Girl.

Hey, wasn't sure where to post this question, so I hope this is fine. I'm wondering if anyone uses the goodreads mobile app? If so, how do you access private messages on it? I see no option to access my inbox at all. I have to go to goodreads on my PC to access it. Maybe it's not possible? Does anyone know? Thanks.

I use the android version of it, on the top of my app there's the goodreads logo then a circle with a G in it which takes me to notifications, then an envelope next to it for private messages

Hmmm, I have the little circle for notifications but no envelope. I use the app on both my phone and iPad, they appear the same on both. I also don't have access to search other groups, only this one that I've joined. It seems that the app only gives me partial use of the site.

ive the android app. can ac cess pm alright. but there is lots i cant do also. searching groups is one of them also.

Does anyone else look through the Goodreads book recommendations sections - based on your own reading list?

I was browsing through them this morning and found something very odd. Goodreads has recommended I read The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola, which sounds ok to me. But their reason for recommending it to me was because .... wait for it ..... I'm reading The Faraway Tree Stories by Enid Blyton.

Totally random :D. I love computers!!!!

I sometimes do but haven't picked up on any thing odd. I wonder how they came to that conclusion, how bizarre!

How do you all decide how many stars to give a book?

I feel like I've given out 5stars all too easily on books which are probably not worth 5 stars in terms of literary genius but books I've read quite quickly and enjoyed.

I gave the book I just read 3 stars because there were a few bits I felt could be better but now I'm wondering if 3 stars is harsh and people will think I didn't enjoy the book. I did enjoy it but feel like 4 is the new 5.

Does that make sense? /waffle

I often wonder whether I'm being too mean by not handing out the 5 stars very often when the book really ought to have got them!

I'd like half stars, especially when you think a book was better than 4 stars but just not quite deserving the 5 stars.

I've been thinking about the books I'm reading at the moment. One is the latest in a series I've read from the start. I like it but it just isn't anywhere near as good as the earlier books in the series, it's getting rather formulaic and more than a bit predictable. Probably 4 stars, because I can't give it 3.5!

The other, an autobiography, started off a bit dull and was heading for 2 stars, but has redeemed itself and is heading for 4. Or maybe I should give it the average, 3 stars!!! I'm overthinking it!!! It'll be 4 unless he really annoys me in the last 100 pages.

What do people think about this: http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/41...

Elizabeth wrote: "I often wonder whether I'm being too mean by not handing out the 5 stars very often when the book really ought to have got them!

I'd like half stars, especially when you think a book was better ..."

Half stars would be good, but I am sure I saw a post on the feedback forum about it, and not happening.

Alexandra wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I often wonder whether I'm being too mean by not handing out the 5 stars very often when the book really ought to have got them!

I'd like half stars, especially when you think ..."

I know (sigh). It's never going to happen!

Would be useful though.

Paul wrote: "What do people think about this: http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/41..."

Not sure yet what the implications will be for us Goodreads users.

What would be good is not having to duplicate reviews on both sites or, if you buy a book from Amazon it is automatically added to your Goodreads tbr list (provided, of course, you have the choice to opt out if it's not for yourself).

Any one got any holidays booked this year?

Jen wrote: "Any one got any holidays booked this year?"

We've got a week at half term and another week towards the end of the summer hols. Both in Cornwall.

Oo lovely, will you be taking books?

I've got a hen party in Turkey for a week in July, but it's going to be more of a relaxed affair than a drunken affair (I hope!) so I will be taking my kindle for beside the pool!

I'll be taking a pile of books and my kindle with me, but never seem to read quite as much on holiday - more evenings out with the children etc.

I'm looking forward to having the sort of holiday, one day, where I can just sit on a sun lounger with a pile of books next to me rather than having to play football on a windswept beach!!! So envious of your trip to Turkey :D

I can read 8 books a week on holiday!

I'm so bored of my course now, I'm in the period where I'm supposed to be revising for the final exam in June, which I really cannot be bothered with but it's also putting me off reading books for leisure because I'm all too aware it's my course books I should be reading.

I'm looking forward 13th June when I can recommence reading for pleasure!

oh good luck with your exam Jen! I handed my dissertation in last week, finally free :D

Yay well done! Hope you do well on it :D