This is a story about a secret. About a magician. About friends. This is one of the best examples of a "hook" in the cover and name. Fantastic Read!!

A lovely story about an American who was convinced by his girlfriend to spend the summer in Brittany. He fell out of love with the woman, but fell head over heels in love with France. Told with warmth, and a wonderful self-depricating humour. I read most of it waiting to apply for my passport (because I'm off to France in a few months), and laughed so hard at the Insurance chapter that I just about fell out of my chair. His francophilia is infectious (and his description of the food had me seeking out the nearest creperie as soon as my application was handed in). (read January 26-27, 2010)

This is the 4th book in the Stephanie Plum series. Stephanie is a bounty hunter out of Trenton, NJ. In this novel she is hunting down Maxine a scorned ex-girlfriend who skipped bail after she was caught for "stealing" her boyfriend's car. This was another great book following Stephanie's adventures with this case. The usual cast of characters is there as well. Morelli, Ranger, Lula, Connie, Grandma Mazur. There was one new character of note, Sally Sweet. I think Sally will be showing up in future novels. I was also glad to see some progress in Stephanie's love life with a certain cop. :)

Read in 2005 or early 2006

What I enjoyed best about this Discworld adventure was finding out more about the backgrounds of other established characters - ie. Lord Vetineri and Mrs Cake, amongst others - who have featured prominently in a here-and-now sort of way in previous books without any real light being shone on how they came to be where and who they are.

Oh, and an appearance by the History monks is always a welcome surprise.

Pratchett FTW!

Favourite Quote:
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Aaahh on second thought I'm going to give this a miss, it's tempting to just quote the whole book ^^

I give this book a two because I could relate to it a little; I remembered some of the things in it that were from my childhood as well, and I got a few laughs out of it. I think this would be a better book for a boy though.

otherwise I didn't like it much. I hate the way it is written and I didn't really feel a connection with any of the characters. it didn't really tie together good enough for my tastes, it just felt like it kind of dragged and jumped from one thing to another.

not my style.

One of my all time favorites...written from point of view of a young boys eyes as he watches his family fall apart

Good book! A different kind of family drama. I love the British setting, since I love the UK! great story. Very funny in parts!

Read Feb 10th, 2007.
Fun and easily readable, but not as good as The Curious Incident.

A spot of bother is quite understatement for what these characters endure. George Hall, retired and content with building his painting studio, discovers a lesion on his skin. Despite a diagnosis of eczema, he thinks he is dying of cancer, but no one in George's family notices his mental decline because of their own bit of trouble. Haddon captures his characters' frailties and strengths while injecting a lot of humor. This is a funny family.

A simply delightful story about a sweet family dealing with family -- yet without being trite. Haddon writes with charm and tenderness so that you love each and every one of the characters, even as they are petty and foolish. Absolutely recommended.

I liked Haddon's first novel better but this was just as readable...loved the characters and their dysfunctional relationships...the father's journey into maddness/senility is heartbreaking and hillarious.

This was the first book I read that afterwards, I thought to myself, "Why do I want to be a writer? I could never write anything as marvelous as this." One of the books that has had the most influence over me. Genius.

My first thought, when preparing to sit down and review this book, was that this just was not one of my favorite Vonnegut books. I wanted to say that I was actually quite disappointed, having read three or four other Vonnegut books, and having thoroughly enjoyed each of them. I found Breakfast of Champions, at first, pompously bizarre and pointless. Then, I remembered that Vonnegut's books are largely autobiographical and that many of his characters were developed across years and decades, and included in many of his novels. Breakfast of Champions, while typically cynical and apocalyptic, like all Vonnegut's work, has another searing bit of honesty that, upon reflection, I find quite endearing. Vonnegut exposes himself in a back-handed sort of way. He's telling his readers, and himself, that he's realized that he is changing, has been changing, over time, and that some of his old thoughts no longer fit - some of his favorite characters need to be put away, or "made free" as Kilgore Trout finally is here. I think it took a lot for Vonnegut to decide to move on and step away from what was comfortable for him, what was so long developed, crafted, and nurtured. To put away what had been successful because it was no longer true for him as a writer - and move on. While not my favorite "read" or subject, after Slaughter-House Five, this is probably one of Vonnegut's most personal and touching novels. Bravo.

While Slaughterhouse 5 is Vonngeut's most well-known, I've heard this one was his best from a variety of sources, and while it wouldn't top my list, it sure comes close. Hardly any sci-fi at all in here, this is Vonnegut at his comedic best. The characters are memorable, the plot is brilliant, and the ending does not disappoint.

Another Stephanie Plum murder mystery. Funny, sexy, and a convoluted plot- pretty much everything I need out of one of these novels. Great fun and not much content.

A hilariously disgusting couple who get their come uppance thanks to the Roly-Poly bird and Muggle-Wump and his family.

BLURB

Mr and Mrs Twit are extremely nasty, so the Muggle-Wump monkeys and the Roly-Poly bird hatch an ingenious plan to give them just the ghastly surprise they deserve!

REVIEW

read this book to find out some hillarious things!

What can I say! This man is so wildly funny and he never fails to make me laugh out loud when I read his books. I just wish he would write more books.

Back Cover Blurb:
The longest continuous footpath in the world, the Appalachian Trail stretches along the East Coast of the United States, from Georgia to Maine, through some of the most arresting and celebrated landscapes in America.
At the age of forty-four, in the company of his friend Stephen Katz (last seen in the bestselling Neither Here Nor There), Bill Bryson set off to hike through the vast tangled woods which have been frightening sensible people for three hundred years. Ahead lay almost 2,200 miles of remote mountain wilderness filled with bears, moose, bobcats, rattlesnakes, poisonous plants, disease-bearing ticks, the occasional chuckling murderer and - perhaps most alarming of all - people whose favourite pastime is discussing the relative merits of the external-frame backpack.
Facing savage weather, merciless insects, unreliable maps and a fickle companion whose profoundest wish was to go to a motel and watch The X-Files, Bryson gamely struggled through the wilderness to achieve a lifetime's ambition - not to die outdoors.

This was my first Bryson book, and one of my favorites. While I have no desire to hike the Appalachian Trail, the book kindled an interest in the great outdoors that had long been dormant in me. It also contains some pretty funny annecdotes and reads smoothly and quickly.