The book group

Tagged by Katya - here goes!!

Total number of books owned - I have no idea, hundreds, ... spread throughout England, Wales and France. I hate to give books away - not even to 2nd hand / charity shops - unless I really hate them. I read constantly (my mother has been known to take the ketchup bottle away from me in a greasy spoon), re-read favourites (see 5 books that mean a lot to you), buy books every week - come to think of it I spend too much money on books! At Ottakar's the guys know me by my first name!! And don't get me started on Waterstones/Borders - a coffee shop and comfy armchairs in a book shop, fabulous marketing darling!!

The last book I bought - well I went for a contact lens fitting today (Simon says I look so different, younger! Yes ladies & gentleman ... Specsavers for your fountain of youth!) and Specsavers is just across from Ottakar's. So ...... today I bought a couple (7!!) of books - there was a 3 for 2 deal going on in there!! I bought (in no particular order)

• The Genesis Code - John Case [SPOILER WARNING - don't follow the link ..... unless you want to know what happens! I stopped reading after 3 lines :o) ]
• Scaredy Cat - Mark Billingham (after reading Katya's answers)
• Eragon - Christopher Paolini
• The Other Woman - Jane Green
• 3 children's books to read in class - Sam Plants a Sunflower - Kate Petty (with fab illustrations by Axel Scheffler of "The Gruffalo" fame!), Ploo and the Terrible Gnobbler - Mick Inkpen & Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? - Lauren Child.

I'll let you know what I thought of them when I'm done!!

The last book I read - Seeing as I am currently mid read(s), the last book I read and finished would have to be Love Rules by Freya North. Her books aren't "brain surgery" or "crap chick fodder" - there's usually lots of humour as well as a believable plot. I didn't enjoy Love Rules as much as the previous ones .... but I think I'll take it on holiday in July and give it another chance - maybe sun, sea and relaxation will make a difference :o)

Five books that mean a lot to me - wow! Only 5? [Beginning to sound like a broken record!!] Ok ...*thinking*

• The Eight - Katherine Neville, the complexity of this storyline is mind blowing. I don't know how the author managed to keep it all straight in her head and how she weaved wove it all together. If you have a space in your reading schedule - I would highly recommend it! *brief synopsis* - chess, Algeria, clues, nuns, Napoleon, Charlemagne and his chess set, sex, falcons, oil/OPEC, French Revolution - wow!!
• The Belgariad - David Eddings; you're going to see a "fantasy" thread appearing, since I was a child. The Belgariad is yet another "edge of seat" set of 5 books - dragons, wizards, kings, secrets and "the will and the word"! [SPOILER WARNING - don't follow link if you don't want to know what happens!!]
• Tales of the City - Armistead Maupin, Mary Ann's life in Barbary Lane.
• Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt, cried, laughed, cried some more. Even enjoyed the film - I don't normally watch films if I've enjoyed books (e.g. anything by Colleen McCullough, The Flame Trees of Thika, The Bone Collector)
• The Sun Bird - Wilbur Smith, actually anything by Wilbur Smith is on my list it's just that the Sun Bird is so gripping. Reincarnation, in the African desert!!

Two major books when I was a kid that I kept on me all the time - when I was 7 or 8 my parents changed the light bulb in my bedroom to a red one!! From the outside our house looked like a seedy brothel but it stopped me reading until 1am. I still love children's literature and am lucky enough to still be allowed to read it everyday - and get paid for it!! So ... 2 books would have to be -

• The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper - A sequence of 5 books that held me (& my dad) captivated / had me hooked from page one of Over Sea, Under Stone. Arthurian legend mixed with folk tales, good vs evil, mythical beings of great power, set throughout the celtic areas of Britain. *looks at book shelf* Might have to re-read them now!!
• The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively - 1973 Carnegie Medal Winner, story of the Harrison family and in particular young James Harrison, who after moving into a new house breaks a glass bottle and releases the 300 year old ghost of apothecary Thomas Kempe!! Had me on the edge of my seat, chilling as an 8 year old - fab!
• If I could, I'd also add Tom's Midnight Garden, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (my cupboard in school is called Narnia), Watership Down and What Katy did/next/at school.

Five people I want to tag - so many people will have already done this, so I will instead say ... if you want it, it's yours!! I am only sorry this man (see below) doesn't have a blog - because he can read for Wales & France!!