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Just bear them in mind then when you see it in a charity shop or when someone asks what book you'd like then you can get it knowing it isn't a turkey!! That said I did say on another forum that I was concerned whether this book about 80's Britain could make the journey across the pond - the...

An outstanding novel indeed, truly a magnificent piece of work, a novel deserving of praise and the recognition that the Booker 2004 prize gives it. Brilliantly written, Alan Hollinghurst could describe the back of a cornflake packet and it would be interesting, the descriptive passages coupled...

An enigmatic compelling yet mysterious and confusing read this, the 1974 Booker co-winner by Nadine Gordimer. It was so compelling, I couldn't get enough of the massive descriptive passages - early 70's South Africa brought to life through the eyes of rich whites, landless Blacks and Indian...

Imagine Robert Carlyle's "Begbie" character from the film "Trainspotting" getting all philosophical after waking up with a hangover in a police cell and you would have a good idea what this strange Booker 1994 winning novel is like. Imagine the Glaswegian vernacular of Begbie and Rab C Nesbitt...

Fantastic, sharply funny even now given that it was first published in 1892, its satire on suburban mundane life is as good now as it ever was. I didn't know what to expect but I had tears of laughter from the bumbling yet endearing Charles Pooter with his run ins with awkward tradesmen and...

The War in the Air should be a must read if you love Wells - 1908 and he mentions Islamic Jihad !! - Brilliant and a good story too!!.

Yes it is my copy was published by Everyman with reviews , a critique and a chronology of Wells's times. ISBN 0460874993 .

Another very strange book by the almost visionary HG Wells - in a nutshell a man falls asleep Rip van Winkle-like for 200 yrs in 1898 and wakes up in a very changed future with slightly more than a fuzzy head from too much sleep and overdue library books!!. Like "War in the air" published later...

Strange, complex, funny at times but quite weird as well would just about sum up the 1999 Whitbread winner by Rose Tremain. Set in Denmark one instinctively thinks of Hamlet but this is set in the 16th century during the reign of Christian IV. Weirdly compelling, the drama surrounds a Lute...

I haven't yet got hold of a copy of Oryx & Crake - I get all my books from Charity Shops as I'm mean!!. I want eventually to read all Atwoods books but I'll have to find them first.

I've read The Blind Assassin which though convoluted was extremely well written and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed Alias Grace and I thought Handmaids Tale was very striking. As I said its Atwoods style that carries her books along though Cats Eye does tend to let style get over content...

As a confirmed Atwood fan I looked forward to this my fourth outing with her writing. I love Atwood's style and wasn't disappointed on that score, short paragraphs sharp dialogue and those Canadian settings. She takes the reader on a journey back to childhood - everyone knows how unintentionally...

Slightly disappointing this first Orange prizewinner in 1996, well written and beautifully descriptive but the plot leaves so much to be desired. Many books get away with a dodgy plot or gaping plot holes by having superb writing styles or outstanding descriptive passages. This book fails in my...

A deeply engaging, complex yet highly enjoyable mystery set over three different points in time around Venice. This book written in 1985 by the Booker prizewinner gives us Venice in the 13th century, the 17th century and late 20th century bringing each time to life in the exquisite detail I have...

This was quite brilliant, hilarious at times the 2001 Orange Prize winner by Australian author Kate Grenville. Set in the modern Australian outback it’s a charming witty yet quite simple story of two people coming together from a city into a small town – Karakarook (pop 1374). This book is...

I have read Oscar & Lucinda but I wasn't that impressed it did lose focus, just as it got going it seemed to stall over and over. It was well written but just lacked something - I was dissappointed. Off the subject Murphyz I have tried several times to join you cow&chiken site yet when I try...

What an unusual and unique novel this is, based on a true story written as if by Ned Kelly himself in the form of an autobiography. Peter Carey won the 2001 Booker prize for this entertaining work to go with his 1988 Booker prize for Oscar & Lucinda. This is a far more engaging and accessible...

Strangely enough though not surprisingly I felt no further forward in my understanding of this novel, the 1986 Booker Winner, than when I had first started. This isn't to say it isn't well written with some really quite funny moments, the descriptive passages in it are very good indeed. But I...

I must try to find some of Ackroyds other works - I only read Hawksmoor because of the Whitbread prize , if I hadn't been reading the prize lists I'd have missed this.

I've asked for this to be put in the library - its fantastic!! I thought this quite excellent, intriguing and exciting with a plot to keep me guessing till the end. Fantastically well written with rich detail - just like Hawksmoor - Acroyd's 1984 Whitbread winner. Much more accessible than...