MLM, Gill.....do you really enjoy Shelia O'Flanagan ??? She is as friend of ours. Her sister had BC and was a member of my site and through her we met Shelia, she has a house here. One of my fond memories is a champagne breakfast by her pool one Sunday morning. She is a very nice and talented person and several of her books have a Spanish influence.
A Boy Called It was really hard going at times, but I read the entire series. I understand WHY he ended up with a sort of self-help manual out of it, and I applaud him entirely for being able to recover from the level of abuse that he suffered and rebuilding his life so successfully, but I cant help but feel a bit uncomfortable that he kind of...exploits, for want of a better word, his experiences as a career.
My current favourite authors are Lesley Pearse, Sheila O'Flanagan, Jodi Picoult (although the more I read of hers, the more formulaic they seem to become, even with the more extreme subject matter) and Dorothy Koomson. They are quite different authors in their style and subject matter but all very gifted at their craft.
I agree The lovely Bones book is a good read, the film....well only one word for it..CRAP!
Anyone fancy a good old yarn set in Blightly with evocative Cornish tales of woe, passion and smuggling etc. can do a lot worse than reading Daphne Du Maurier!
Everyone will have seen the classic Rebecca movie (Hitchcock).
Most of my other favourite books were read at school.
Of mice and Men - John Steinbeck
A Kestrel for a knave (The film Kes) Barry Hines