This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

A writer I discovered last year was Lucia Berlin and her short stories.
Loved first A Manual for Cleaning Ladies and then Evening in Paradise.
Just started Welcome Home.

HalloweenJack

I'm about 300 pages into the Magic Mountain. It's an enjoyable read so far, quite interesting and a good amount of characters to provide different views.

Finished Where the Crawdads Sing - Slow-going at first, I found the long nature descriptions a little dull after a while, but found improved greatly in the 2nd half

Started Ask Again, Yes

Eggshells by Caitriona Lally

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

Started Ask Again, Yes

I read that a few months back. I really liked it for the most part but I can't remember how it ended.

Xofpod

Finished Before the Fall, Noah Hawley. A great page turner, really well written.

Have a huge stack to read but the new, shiny one always gets the attention..... Just started on Nobber by Oisin Fagan which popped in through the letter box yesterday.

Reading The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell

Listening to A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Finished The Second Sleep by Robert Harris. Found it quite a tedious read and nearly put it aside several times. Not his best work by a long shot.

Next up is Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet.

Just finished The Electric Hotel by Dominic Smith.
A novel about the silent era of film.
Found the characters really striking.

Xofpod wrote: »

Was a bit disappointed with A Thousand Moons (Sebastian Barry), but maybe only by comparison with Days Without End, which is one of my favourite books of recent years

I am reading A Thousand Moons right now, first book by Sebastian Barry for me so far.
I am enjoying it so far, it reminds a bit of As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.

Starting Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Finished Hamnet last night, enjoyed it.

Daisies

Started both Lost connections and Purple Hibiscus this week after finishing Homo Deus and On Beauty

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I read that a few months back. I really liked it for the most part but I can't remember how it ended.

I'm liking it, but I'm about 70% through and I can't help but feel it's about 50 pages too long. It drags a bit in some parts.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

I'm liking it, but I'm about 70% through and I can't help but feel it's about 50 pages too long. It drags a bit in some parts.

Yeah, I felt like that a few times but also there were a few points where I felt the skipped too fast to the next section of their lives.

Finished Hamnet last night ... superb writing, the death of Hamnet is one of the most harrowing pieces of writing I have read in a long time. Every bit as good as the reviews said.

Next is The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead & on audio The Women at Hitler's Table by Rosella Postorino

Have to agree with that review Callan57. Didn't want to say too much until you'd finished reading but it is a splendid novel. The way each individual reacts in their own particular way to Hamnet's death is beautifully portrayed and the prose throughout is exceptional.

Also read and enjoyed The Underground Railroad some time ago.

Finished The Lost Man by Jane Harper last night ... really, really good. The depiction of the vastness & loneliness of the Australian outback is spellbinding ... I could almost feel the unrelenting heat & the sand in my mouth!

Next lined up is The Street by Ann Petry ... an American classic I been meaning to read for ages and now seems opportune.

A while back I have enjoyed The Durrells of Corfu by Michael Haag and Islander: A Journey Around Our Archipelago by Patrick Barkham

Now started: My family and other animals by Gerald Durrell and another book by Barkham: Coastlines

eire4

Finished Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart. My first time reading the author and I was impressed. I like fantasy books and this was very good I thought. If you like Game of Thrones then you will probably like this one too.

I'm about halfway through Slade House by David Mitchell. I remember loving Bone Clocks and am enjoying this so far too. There's something about his style of writing I really enjoy.

miamee

I'm reading The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry and enjoying it so far. 19th century Edinburgh is an interesting place

miamee wrote: »

I'm reading The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry and enjoying it so far. 19th century Edinburgh is an interesting place

Did read it not that long ago and really enjoyed it !

New Home

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

I'm about halfway through Slade House by David Mitchell. I remember loving Bone Clocks and am enjoying this so far too. There's something about his style of writing I really enjoy.

I loooove David Mitchell, you can really get lost in his books.

The only one I didn't really like was Number9Dream, way too violent.

Xofpod

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

I'm about halfway through Slade House by David Mitchell. I remember loving Bone Clocks and am enjoying this so far too. There's something about his style of writing I really enjoy.

New one coming out shortly too.

Just finished Dear Child by Romy Hausemann (translated by Jamie Bulloch) ... superbly chilling & I just could not put it down

Next is Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell

Finished Leonard and Hungry Paul. Not sure what all the hype is about. It's an easy read but there's no substance to the story. The characters are quite charismatic though.
Next up is the Audible version of Dervla McTiernan's new book, The Good Turn. She usually delivers a good story.

The last resort: a memoir of Zimbabwe by Douglas Rogers
True story of a family and their backpacker lodge during the crisis.

On another note,
This Sat went (first time since lockdown) to drop books to a charity shop.
I do regular clear-outs at home because of lack of space, and this time had built up quite a stash.
Was surprised to see the staff surrounded by boxes and boxes of donated books, they were nearly overwhelmed.