This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I've been reading The Count of Monte Cristo and have been enjoying it a lot - until I reached the point in the story where the focus of the narrative shifts to Franz. Now I'm very bored with this story and struggling to stick with it.

I agree with the others who say hang in there. I just love that book.

In the past week, have finished The Reader, Harlan Coben's Stay Close (which I forgot to finish a few years ago), Coben's recent book The Stranger.
Today, have started Iain Bank's The Quarry- which I'm enjoying so far.

Has been ages since I've given myself the time to read so many books, back to back.

Clear And Present Danger by Tom Clancy.

A short history of sociological thought - Alan Swingewood.

Oh dear. Catcher in the Rye is my well-thumbed favourite book of all time... I'm well aware it's out of fashion atm tho!

In other news, just finished The Sea, John Banville. Brilliantly written, poetry, no, even better than a lot of poetry because it had such an incredible flow; merely the storyline itself was a little inconsistent, consisted of very richly detailed and evocative mundane minutiae of adolescent summer rocked (incongruously) by sudden overblown events. Can't get over the writing though, just aces.

Am reading Beaches now; the only similarity it has so far with Banville's novel is the setting :P

Jijsaw wrote: »

^ I'm going to do that this summer with the Harry Potter books too once I finish my few library books. I also need to reread To Kill A Mockingbird before Lee's new book comes out.

I'm current halfway through The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, it's alright, not amazing yet.

I think the light house are doing to kill a mockingbird in Sept for cinema book club.
I'd love to 're read Harry Potter I just have no time at the mo. And about 50 books in the pile behind my bedroom door to be read.

I didn't like Harry August. Let us know what you think at the end.

I'm about 80 pages into the Silkworm. Its good, but at the moment I just have no time so it will probably take me a month to read it!!!

Jijsaw wrote: »

That's the exact same with me,I have about 40 books in a pile in the sitting room and then I get 6 more out of the library

And will do with Harry August!

Harry August divides opinion certainly. I loved it so much that I went out and spent 18e on her new book ' Touch' which was rubbish.
I'm moving through the girl on the train quickly enough but can't decide whether or not I like it. It's an easy read though so that's no bad thing.
Bought Harvest today and will move onto that next.

Finished a re read of Morgan Llywelyn's 1999 the final book in her excellent Irish century series.

Jijsaw wrote: »

I finished it this morning- very anti-climatic ending I thought, I just read the last couple of pages and thought "that's it?". However it did improve in the last 100 pages which bumped it up from 2 stars to 3 stars but I wouldn't read it again.

I agree, the last 100 kind of redeemed it a small bit, but not enough to make up for the slog in the middle. I can see someone taking the idea of it and perhaps making a tv mini series out of it.

Callan57 wrote: »

Just starting on I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

I just bought that a couple weeks ago at charity shop! Going to wait till I've the few books I'm in finished till I start it, it's quite a tome.

Just started Amongst Women. Tried years ago and it didn't appeal, but now I really like the bare-bones style.

I finished that Girl on the Train recently, can't for the life of me see what all the fuss was about. I don't read much mass market fiction but when I do read these huge best sellers I can usually see why they appeal to so many people. In this case I just don't get it. It was a very mediocre thriller, nothing in the book pointed to the way it ended. Disappointing overall but readable, I won't say terrible.
Started Harvest by Jim Crace now.

Just finished Mary Wesley's The Camomile Lawn. It's a strange book, I can't say I disliked it but I didn't love it either.
It's got no real plot and is basically reminiscences of an extended family, set during WW2 and flashing forward to the 1980s when they are all headed to the funeral of one of the protaganists.

I suppose the surprising thing is the liberal mind of Mary Wesley who wrote the book in her 70s having been born in 1912. It would appear that morals were thrown to the wind during the war and blood relationships made no difference. None of the characters were particularly likeable and some were downright nasty.

Now on to Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread.