Biggles: "Oh no, Ginger's bought it..." Hilarious, with memories of bread and milk, something naughty on daytime TV, and raging tonsilitis. Those were the days.
Ian

Question: is everyone comforted by Harry potter because it makes there own writing seem superb?

Goodbye Mister Chips, by James Hilton. Great book about WW1 (which may surprise some people - it's the Home Front angle). What's comforting is the lack of hatred.

Also The Friendship Book by Francis Gay (any year of the annual series), for a wry Scottish look at life, very much at odds with the Trainspitting generation. My mother had a collection of these, so it takes me back to simpler times, when our problems could often (not always) be solved with a cup of tea and a macaroon.

Joe

Is that the same Moomins that were in that weird TV programme? If so, that Jansenn bloke was on drugs. I mean, I believe the creators behind many children's TV programmes or books are secret ravers/hippies, but the Moomins weren't amusing-weird, they were freak-weird.

Cath

No, don't say that about the Moomins! Thinking about them now makes me want to cuddle up to teddy and suck my thumb. Arhhhh.

Noooooooo, Phil, they're freaks!!

Anthologies are great if your concentration is shot esp collections by diff authors. You can pick them up and read at random.
I book I've re read a couple of times when stressed during house moves is The ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd, which carries you along on the magnificent journey of one womans life.
Caroline.

Anyone mentioned Noel Streatfeild yet?

Also, for all Heyer fans, there's a new biog. of her coming out in the next year or so - I've met the author, and she's full of things that Jane Aiken Hodge either didn't know or couldn't say.

Emma

How could I have forgotten to mention Noel Streatfield? Absolutely one of my favourites if ill or otherwise in need of comfort.

Really agree with you about the Hobbit, JB - I only found it again a couple of years back but have read twice in quick succession - think it's a classic of the journey-type story - and definitely makes on think of being inside in the warm, in a rather hobbit-like sort of way, while weather rages outside.

Cath, if you haven't come across Moomin books, then take a look - they are great - didn't see the TV prog you mention so no idea if the same thing. Tove Jannsen, who wrote them, was not a bloke but a woman, and a Finnish one at that.

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Do you mean to say that elves don't exist, JB? I am gutted.

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On the re-reading issue, I re-read masses, but only some things - different kind of reading from reading new things - more like watching telly, but better - my way of relaxing and vegging out - re-read some detective novels, lots of children's stuff and nineteenth century novels - with the latter though I do find that I come across new things every time, or things I had forgotten, because there is so much to them, so never seems to me a waste of time - no more than it would be a waste to listen to a piece of music or look at a picture more than once.

But does seem to be a great divide - my partner almost never re-reads and thinks it a weird thing to do.

If I'm unwell, I like to dip into things rather than read novels. Poetry is good: Wendy Cope springs to mind, notably Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis; I've got a volume of John Cooper Clarke's work that makes me smile, too. Or if I'm feeling rebellious, maybe a bit of Philip Larkin. Other than that, selections from Ronnie Barker's All I Ever Wrote, PG Wodehouse, Francis Wheen, Simon Hoggart or any one of a dozen other writers. Does this help?

Andy

Re. new Georgette Heyer biog - how exciting - can you reveal the author's name, Emma?

Frances

She's called Jennifer Kloester, and has just published a book called Georgette Heyer's Regency World, which is a sort of companion to the real historical background. Not sure when the biog. is out - she's fairly far into working on it at the moment.

Emma

Jem, they are the Cazalet Chronicles, including Marking Time and Casting Off, but these for me are actually quite uncomfortable reads- such nasty stuff happens to the characters, particularly the younger ones, and a lot of it war-related, and with a breahtaking sort of cruelty in the writing sometimes- great stuff, but not mashed potato!

these for me are actually quite uncomfortable reads- such nasty stuff happens to the characters, particularly the younger ones, and a lot of it war-related, and with a breahtaking sort of cruelty in the writing sometimes

I've only read After Julius, but Elizabeth Jane Howard's autobiography Slipstream is absolutely fascinating, and, perhaps without meaning to, suggests why her novels are like that.

Emma

Great suggestions, everybody! My reading list grew by a mile There are also many that I can't believe I forgot -- Mapp and Lucia, Tristram Shandy, Wodehouse, Dahl, to name a few...

I confess I feel a bit puzzled when people say that the Harry Potter books are badly written. Perhaps I'm just too stupid to see the problem, but I've never encountered writing bad enough in these books to make me enjoy them less -- and I'm usually terribly sensitive to what I perceive as 'bad' writing! True, I wouldn't go to Rowling for exquisitely crafted sentences, but I think her language is mostly simple & serviceable enough to serve her story well. It doesn't shine, but (in my opinion) it doesn't get much in the way, either. My point is that there's more than one way to write a 'good' book; and I feel that Rowling does enough things right for me to forgive the things that she does less satisfactorily.

In any case, reading Harry Potter has actually done me some good. I was never much interested in fantasy when I was younger (with the exception of Tolkien, but I didn't really consider his books 'fantasy', for some reason). Now, thanks to HP, I suddenly can't get enough of it -- especially children's fantasy books! If anyone has any recommendations, I'd be most grateful... I'm still a newcomer to this genre.

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Ooh, I just remembered another comforting book -- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

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"I've never encountered writing bad enough in these books to make me enjoy them less".... Now, say what you will about Rowling, but I'm sure she doesn't write anything as marvellously clumsy as this!