I've just finished Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Paul Torday), The Lost Daughter of Happiness (Geling Yan) and Not Quite The Diplomat (Chris Patten), all of which I'd really recommend (Salmon Fishing is such a fun read ). Now I feel a summer challenge- Tolstoy's epic War and Peace.

Not the easiest to carry around with me but it's here now and frankly, at £3.99 for 994 pages, I almost feel I should plant a tree to compensate for the paper usage.

It's size holds one benefit others may like to use and which I'm looking forward to using frequently: as a step up for my darling for kisses

I hope someone's read this and can kick me into shape should I faulter after the first 500 pages or so

man, I feel for you.

The Russian names are always confusing to me. Everyone seems to have 7 - I had to write them in the back of the book to keep track of 'em all - And that was when my mind was much younger.