This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Fathom · 25-08-2016 12:19AM

The Witches, by Stacy Schiff

naughto · 26-08-2016 10:22AM

Trudi caravan thiefs Magic

ncmc · 26-08-2016 10:26AM

Birneybau wrote: »

'Before The Fall' by Noah Hawley, pretty bloody good so far!

Read this a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. My husband is reading it at the moment and finding it hard to get into. Funny how folks differ!

Reading Olive Kitteridge at the moment. I'm not the biggest fan of short stories which is essentially what this is. It's beautifully written though, I'm hoping the stories are brought together in some way st the end rather than introduce a character and then that's them gone for good. Haven't seen the mini series so not sure what to expect.

biZrb · 26-08-2016 10:36AM

I'm almost finished my first Bill Bryson book; The Road to Little Dribbling, I'm really enjoying it, I've laughed out loud so many times reading it and all I want to do is explore Britain.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next, I'll have a look back through this thread, its always great for suggestions (and things to avoid!)

Birneybau · 26-08-2016 11:20AM

ncmc wrote: »

Read this a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. My husband is reading it at the moment and finding it hard to get into. Funny how folks differ!

Reading Olive Kitteridge at the moment. I'm not the biggest fan of short stories which is essentially what this is. It's beautifully written though, I'm hoping the stories are brought together in some way st the end rather than introduce a character and then that's them gone for good. Haven't seen the mini series so not sure what to expect.

Whoa! Olive Kitteridge is one of my favourite books. Mini series amazing too.

ncmc · 26-08-2016 01:38PM

biZrb wrote: »

I'm almost finished my first Bill Bryson book; The Road to Little Dribbling, I'm really enjoying it, I've laughed out loud so many times reading it and all I want to do is explore Britain.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next, I'll have a look back through this thread, its always great for suggestions (and things to avoid!)

I would think Dribbling is actually one of his poorer books. I felt he'd turned a bit 'grumpy old man' in it. If you enjoyed it, you should try Down Under or I'm a Stranger Here Myself. They are genuinely laugh out loud. All his early travel books are brilliant including the first tour round Britain, Notes From a Small Island.

ncmc · 26-08-2016 01:41PM

Birneybau wrote: »

Whoa! Olive Kitteridge is one of my favourite books. Mini series amazing too.

I do like it, each individual's story is good. I'm just not the biggest fan of short stories as by the time I'm invested in the characters, the story is over. I am enjoying it though.

Callan57 · 26-08-2016 07:36PM

Finished My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante .... liked it a lot, must get rest of the series

Next is The Paris Secret by Karen Swan (bit of an obsession with this Paris apartment lately)

minnow · 29-08-2016 09:39AM

Paul Murray "An Evening of Long Goodbyes".
So far it's a light read, but the subject and characters are not very original. Reminiscent of The Ginger Man.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 29-08-2016 10:07AM

On my last trip to the library I forgot my list so I just picked three books at random.

1 - The Puppet Boy Of Warsaw by Eva Weaver.
About a young boy in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw who inherits a love of puppets from his grandfather and how the puppets save his life and many others.
It was an okay read but it felt pretty light for a book about the holocaust. Maybe I've become desensitised but I doubt it, I remember having to put HHhH down at one point, it upset me so much. I think this book was just a bit too soft on the details, not that I want gory descriptions of everything that went on in those times and places but I felt it a struggle to really care about most of the characters or feel any sense of dread for what was about to happen to them. Possibly the characters were poorly written too.

2 - Iron Towns by Anthony Cartwright
It's basically about a group of friends who grew up in the 80's, I think, maybe 90's, and drifted apart after a tragedy. Despite one being a semi successful footballer and one serving a long stretch in jail they find themselves all back in the same dying "iron town" having to confront their pasts. At least I think that's what it's about. It's one of these books that's written from about 10 different points of view, 5 different time periods and throw in some random waffling about various football stars of the past and it becomes extremely difficult to pull out the actual story here. I feel like when I get to the end there will have been a decent story there but at the half way point it feels like entirely too much work trying to find it.

3 - Welcome to Braggsville by T Geronimo Johnson
Haven't started this one yet but the cover is nice

Fathom · 29-08-2016 07:52PM

The Woman in Cabin 10, by Ruth Ware

Gonzovision · 30-08-2016 11:23AM

Just finished 'The New Tsar: The Rise of Vladimir Putin" by Stephen Lee Myers. Pretty fascinating read, more of a straight forward biography than the previous few books I've read on the modern political situation in Russia. Would definitely recommend.

Up next is 'Jerusalem: The Biography' By Simon Sebag Montefiore. If it is as good as his other books, it should be a brilliant book.

Xofpod · 30-08-2016 11:32AM

The Stress Test, Ian Robertson.

SarahBM · 30-08-2016 09:29PM

I started reading Rebel Sisters, by Marita Conlan-McKenna but it just didn't grab me.
I started the Miniaturist by Jessie Burton instead. I also picked up Dune which is for cinema book club. It's a very long book though so I am not sure if I will get to read it before we watch the film. I also have about 60 other books to read! LOL

Callan57 · 31-08-2016 08:26AM

Finished The Paris Secret ... enjoyable read if somewhat predictable.

Next from the pile is The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

ahlookit · 31-08-2016 10:36AM

Finally finished The Passage by Justin Cronin.

I enjoyed it, but felt it dragged on a bit too much in parts. It clocks in at about 800 pages, I think it could have lost 100-200 without affecting the story.

He's a good writer though, and book two of the trilogy is a bit shorter, so I'm starting that next.

Xofpod · 31-08-2016 02:16PM

ahlookit wrote: »

Finally finished The Passage by Justin Cronin.

I enjoyed it, but felt it dragged on a bit too much in parts. It clocks in at about 800 pages, I think it could have lost 100-200 without affecting the story.

He's a good writer though, and book two of the trilogy is a bit shorter, so I'm starting that next.

A couple of people have recommended this to me and it's in the pile. Strikes me as maybe too similar to The Stand though.

ahlookit · 31-08-2016 02:52PM

Xofpod wrote: »

A couple of people have recommended this to me and it's in the pile. Strikes me as maybe too similar to The Stand though.

Haven't read The Stand, but reading the blurb on it on amazon it does seem to have similarities alright. It also reminded me of The Walking Dead (TV version, haven't read the series)

Hrududu · 31-08-2016 04:52PM

holy guacamole wrote: »

Finished 'All the light we cannot see' and found it to be a pretty frustrating experience.

Although it has a great premise, vivid characters and wonderful prose, the pacing and layout almost drove me insane. Ordinarily I don't mind books which tell more than one story at a time and will readily shift from one to the other at the author's discretion, but this was too much.

Bouncing between two, three or sometimes four different narratives in short, succinct chapters is one surefire way to kill suspense and the book seemed to be forever teasing me with cliffhangers before heading off in an entirely different direction.

I thought the author juggled these narrative strands quite deftly and the way everything tied in together is testament to his storytelling ability, but I just couldn't abide being dripfed tiny morsels of plot over increasingly lengthy intervals.

I've been bogged down with this book for ages. I'll put it down for months at a time. It just never grabbed me. Way too many cliches, like when Werner makes friends with the more sensitive boy in school you see whats coming from a mile away.

I find it hard to quit on books but this one has me backlogged for a long time. So either I need to finish it to clear the block or finally give up.

Very surprising to see that it won the Pulitzer Prize

Wyldwood · 31-08-2016 08:09PM

Isn't it strange the way people's taste differs, I absolutely loved All the Light.

Just finished Haruf's Plainsong and thoroughly enjoyed it. Have got the sequels, Eventide and Benediction, out of the library so looking forward to getting stuck into them.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 31-08-2016 09:40PM

Wyldwood wrote: »

Isn't it strange the way people's taste differs, I absolutely loved All the Light.

Just finished Haruf's Plainsong and thoroughly enjoyed it. Have got the sequels, Eventide and Benediction, out of the library so looking forward to getting stuck into them.

Benediction isn't really related to Eventide and Plainsong. It's set in the same town but I don't think there was any real overlap between them.

Wyldwood · 01-09-2016 10:20AM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Benediction isn't really related to Eventide and Plainsong. It's set in the same town but I don't think there was any real overlap between them.

Really? it's advertised on Amazon as book 3 in the series.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 01-09-2016 11:09AM

Wyldwood wrote: »

Really? it's advertised on Amazon as book 3 in the series.

It's a while since I read it but I know I didn't enjoy it as much as the first 2 and I'm fairly sure that other than it being set in the same town there's no links between Benediction and the first 2 books, maybe an odd mention of a character, but I wouldn't even swear to that. It's still worth a read and I kind of got the feeling that the town itself is the main character that connects the books, but in terms of actual human characters Benediction is a separate book.

holy guacamole · 01-09-2016 11:45AM

Hrududu wrote: »

I've been bogged down with this book for ages. I'll put it down for months at a time. It just never grabbed me. Way too many cliches, like when Werner makes friends with the more sensitive boy in school you see whats coming from a mile away.

I find it hard to quit on books but this one has me backlogged for a long time. So either I need to finish it to clear the block or finally give up.

Very surprising to see that it won the Pulitzer Prize

Being honest, if it hasn't grabbed you by now it's unlikely to.

The things I found frustrating about it didn't really resolve themselves, I just got used to them.

It was a story that I kept expecting to catch fire but ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled.

Belle E. Flops · 01-09-2016 05:01PM

I'm currently reading Romeo & Juliet. I'm didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I am.

I've also started 'How to be Woman' by Caitlin Moran. I'm only a chapter in and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 01-09-2016 05:05PM

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

I've also started 'How to be Woman' by Caitlin Moran. I'm only a chapter in and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I haven't read her books but from the odd article here and there and a TV interview or two I can't say I'm a fan of Moran. Leaving aside how she pronounces her names, she seems like the sort that preaches the "it's okay for a woman to be told how to live/think/be as long as it's by another women" kind of feminism.

lizzylad84 · 01-09-2016 05:17PM

Michael collins by Tim pat Coogan

Have recently finished the day michael collins was shot. Highly recommend it

Callan57 · 01-09-2016 06:35PM

Finished The Buddha in the Attic - loved it

Now it's on to The Lubetkin Legacy by Marina Lewycka

ahlookit · 01-09-2016 08:39PM

lizzylad84 wrote: »

Michael collins by Tim pat Coogan

Have recently finished the day michael collins was shot. Highly recommend it

You highly recommend shooting Michael Collins? :eek:

lizzylad84 · 01-09-2016 09:43PM

Oops...I highly rate READING the day michael collins was shot. ..I in no way advocate the shooting of michael collins

This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

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