# Book club/what are you reading?



## Sophiebee

I LOVE reading, and as i usually get through a book in a few days (and always have one on the go!) I'm always looking for new books/authors. I usually go to second hand book shops or, since getting my kindle i get the free/cheap books on there too  Anyway im sure there are some other bookworms here and i wondered about having a thread where we can all share books/authors we enjoy or just whatever we are currently reading?

Ive just finished Sing you home by Jodi Picoult and i thought it was amazing (I love all of her books though!)


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## lostbear

I love her books, too - I've just finished "The Storyteller".

Also good is Margaret Attwood - though a totally different type of writer. The Oryx and Crake trilogy is brilliant.


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## Nat88

I need to try some of Jodi Picoult's books yet; I've seen them on the shelves in the library and in the The Works but I always tend to go for animal/nature real life books.

I'm currently reading A Handful of Earth by Barney Bardsley, a kind of memoir about the way she uses her allotment to help her heal after the loss of her husband. I've also read Old Dog by the same author and found it a good read; her dog was very similar to my own in many aspects, although Sybil is only three


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## Sophiebee

Lostbear the storyteller is one of hers i havent read yet, so its definitly on my list! i will have a look at margaret attwood too, as ill be looking for a new one to start now 

Nat88 I can't reccomend her books enough, i forgot the works, i get books from there alot too (i love there 3 for a fiver offer!) My favourote animal book is a streetcat named bob, such a special cat and a really touching story.


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## princeno5

im rereading "the fiery cross"by Diana gabaldon,my comfort book.also reading "the Egyptian series" by Wilbur smith,love his books aswell.


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## Blackcats

I started a book months ago and usually can finish a book in a day but has been manic with college lately so haven't got round to finishing reading it.

Stephen King - Skeleton Crew (I think I have about a hundred pages to go)

Others I need to get through and haven't read yet.

Stephen King - Cujo
Stephen King - Full dark, no stars
Peter Haining - Cults
Jodi Picoult (I love her raw biting emotion that pulls at the heartstrings) Have read Harvesting the heart, Nineteen minutes (Brilliant) My sister's keeper, and there was one other of her's I had but can't find. I only know it was about a woman who was being abused by her rich, famous husband and she forgot about it from a memory problem because he caused it. Any ideas? As it's no longer on my bookshelf but I definitely had it and read it. Starts with her waking up in a graveyard.

I bought another one of her's recently called 'Change of heart' and need to read it.

Have quite a few Phil Rickman books to get through. He can waffle a bit but I adore his writing style, particularly because he sets his novels where I live.

These are

The lamp of the wicked (Read this but going to read again)
The smile of the ghost
The cure of souls
The secrets of pain
The remaining of an altar
The wine of angels (Read half of this I think and gave up at the time)

Peter James - Sweetheart

Carmen Reid
New York valentine
How not to shop
Three in a bed
Celebrity shopper

Haven't got all the collection of these (Got them from a charity shop) but she sounds a bit like Sophie Kinsella and her confession of a shopaholic series.

The Bronte's and their world

Sense and sensibility and sea monsters (I adore JA and have all her novels so am iffy in reading a piss take book)

There's a few more.


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## katie200

I always have books on the go too, can't beat a good read... Ones I've finished/ reading are.

Food of Ghosts by Marianne wheelaghan

Rest& be thankful Louisa J Dang

The Brides of Beckham (Mail order bride books)

The secret Keeper Kate Morton.

Rebel Heiress Fiona Mountain.


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## Nicky10

Guns, germs and steel it's a fascinating look on why some civilisations evolved faster than others. And after trying to read the da vinci code I needed something that made sense

Eye of the world because I've been trying to reread the wheel of time books since the twelfth one came out and still haven't managed it  

Insurgent because I liked the divergent movie and am trying to read through the series

I like the Jodie Picoult books not read storyteller yet though


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## Mrsred

Stephen Fry's 'Liar' at present. I just go to the library and get six books every three weeks. 

I'm battling on with it but not really into it. Books have to be extremely dire for me not to finish them and I want to see how this one ends. It jumps between the grown up character and his teenage self whilst at public school. Pretty meh tbh.


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## Nat88

Sophiebee said:


> Nat88 I can't reccomend her books enough, i forgot the works, i get books from there alot too (i love there 3 for a fiver offer!) My favourote animal book is a streetcat named bob, such a special cat and a really touching story.


A streetcat named Bob is a book I've been meaning to read for a while; saw a thread on here where loads of people were saying how good it was. I saw the book in Asda a while ago but resisted temptation to buy it (I spend so much on books, lol) but the only one on sale there now is the sequel. Just off to check the library website now, see if they have it


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## Guest

Just finished the first Bob book, started on the second last night!


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## MollySmith

I am reading Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' and have the Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry on my iPad. 

I studied English Literature with the Open Uni (graduation ceremony this time next week) and whilst it's given me lots of new authors, I've become a very fussy reader.


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## Britt

I finished the two books about Bob the cat, a book called "Think like a cat" and I'm gonna start "Cat for dummies" soon :thumbsup:


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## Luz

Am currently reading 'The Lake House'by James Patterson. It's a sequel to 'When the Wind Blows' which I enjoyed but I am finding it hard to get through the sequel. Just finished all 13 of 'Lemony Snicket'. :thumbsup:
The last books which REALLY excited me were 'A Song of Ice and Fire' (aka Game of Thrones). I read those last year or the year before and might read them all again.


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## Guest

Luz said:


> The last books which REALLY excited me were 'A Song of Ice and Fire' (aka Game of Thrones). I read those last year or the year before and might read them all again.


Just started the second series of the tv show and quite fancy reading the books...£20-odd in The Works iirc which seems a pretty good price...


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## Nicky10

jon bda said:


> Just started the second series of the tv show and quite fancy reading the books...£20-odd in The Works iirc which seems a pretty good price...


Do read them you get much more insight into what's going on than in the tv show


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## rottiepointerhouse

Book worm? me?



Well may be just a bit  This is my little book room but I have more 

I love historical fiction particularly the tudor times. My favourites are

The Mathew Shardlake series by CJ Sansom (also his Winter in Madrid)

The John Shakespeare series by Rory Clements

Philippa Gregory - have read most of hers

Alison Weir - A Dangerous Inheritance and a few others

I like it when they pick a character you might have seen previous reference to but would like to know more about so at the moment I'm reading The May Bride by Susannah Dunn about Jane Seymour and her sister in law and have just finished The Tudor Princess by Darcey Bonnette about Henry VIII's sister Margaret and I've just ordered a book about Ann Boleyn's brother.

I also like Russian history my favourites are anything about the Tsar and his children. Also Helen Dunmore's The Seige and The Betrayal and Simon Montefiore's Sashenka which made me cry.

Also recently read Hanns & Rudolf by Thomas Harding about a Nazi hunter and a Nazi concentration camp commandant.

I do read some modern stuff too like Lynda La Plante but prefer history.


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## LinznMilly

Excellent thread idea. :thumbup:

Another bookworm here, too (as if you couldn't tell ). I'm reading Tolstoy's _War & Peace_ on my Kobo.

On hardback, I'm reading Bernard Cornwell's _1356_, and on paperback (occasionally - when I forget/haven't got time to fetch either of the above) I'm reading _Night Watch_ by Terry Pratchett.


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## Sophiebee

Blackcats said:


> Jodi Picoult (I love her raw biting emotion that pulls at the heartstrings) Have read Harvesting the heart, Nineteen minutes (Brilliant) My sister's keeper, and there was one other of her's I had but can't find. I only know it was about a woman who was being abused by her rich, famous husband and she forgot about it from a memory problem because he caused it. Any ideas? As it's no longer on my bookshelf but I definitely had it and read it. Starts with her waking up in a graveyard.


It was 'Picture Perfect,' i really enjoyed that one,  'House rules' is a really good one of hers too.

Theres lots here to check out so far too, ill be having a look at them later when i can sit down properly 

Rottiepointerhouse i LOVE the book room :thumbsup: we are moving to a bigger place next month and the first thing i bought for there was another bookcase, as i have so many they are stored everywhere atm!


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## CavalierOwner

I love reading and can easily finish 3 books per week. I now only read books with over 280 pages (unless something looks extremely good) otherwise I can finish them in one sitting. :laugh:

I've just finished Archers Voice by Mia Sheridan!


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## Sarah1983

Just finished Archers Voice by Mia Sheridan. Not usually much of a one for romance but I absolutely loved this one. Couldn't put it down. 

Next up is The Presence by John Saul.

Most of my books are on Kindle these days. I have around 700 stored in plastic boxes in the spare bedroom coz there's no room for them anywhere else and literally thousands on my Kindle.


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## CavalierOwner

Sarah1983 said:


> Just finished Archers Voice by Mia Sheridan. Not usually much of a one for romance but I absolutely loved this one. Couldn't put it down.
> 
> Next up is The Presence by John Saul.
> 
> Most of my books are on Kindle these days. I have around 700 stored in plastic boxes in the spare bedroom coz there's no room for them anywhere else and literally thousands on my Kindle.


Haha I finished Archers Voice this morning, loved it. :laugh:


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## Spellweaver

Another bookworm here - I've got four on the go at the moment depending on my mood:

a comedy:_Pook in Boots_ (Peter Pook)

something a little more serious: _The Charioteer_ (Mary Renault)

a scary ghost story: _Abbot's Keep_ (Benedict Ashforth)

and something lighter: _A PLace to call Home_ (Carole Matthews)

I've also got _The Luminaries_ (Eleanor Catton) dowloaded on my kindle (can't wait to start that one) and have pre-ordered _Purposes of Love_ (Mary Renault) which is due to be released on kindle at the beginning of JUne.


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## Sarah1983

CavalierOwner said:


> Haha I finished Archers Voice this morning, loved it. :laugh:


I think everyone I know who's read it has said the same thing. I spent a good chunk of time cursing the author at one point though! Won't say where as I don't want to give anything away in case others want to read it but chances are you can guess where lol.


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## Iheartcats

I've just read My Name is Bob the children's version of A Street Cat Named Bob. It was so cute I had tears in my eyes. The illustrations were amazing!!


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## rottiepointerhouse

Spellweaver said:


> Another bookworm here - I've got four on the go at the moment depending on my mood:
> 
> a comedy:_Pook in Boots_ (Peter Pook)
> 
> something a little more serious: _The Charioteer_ (Mary Renault)
> 
> a scary ghost story: _Abbot's Keep_ (Benedict Ashforth)
> 
> and something lighter: _A PLace to call Home_ (Carole Matthews)
> 
> I've also got _The Luminaries_ (Eleanor Catton) dowloaded on my kindle (can't wait to start that one) and have pre-ordered _Purposes of Love_ (Mary Renault) which is due to be released on kindle at the beginning of JUne.


I enjoyed The Luminaries although found the ending a bit frustrating - I love a big heavy book with over 500 pages. Will be interested to hear what you think of it.

As you can see from my book room I don't do Kindle. You can't beat the joy of opening a new book and turning the pages although my OH does not agree and complains like mad everytime a new box arrives from amazon


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## Nat88

Luz said:


> Am currently reading 'The Lake House'by James Patterson. It's a sequel to 'When the Wind Blows' which I enjoyed but I am finding it hard to get through the sequel. Just finished all 13 of 'Lemony Snicket'. :thumbsup:
> The last books which REALLY excited me were 'A Song of Ice and Fire' (aka Game of Thrones). I read those last year or the year before and might read them all again.


I absolutely loved those two books by James Patterson. I think, like yourself I also preferred the first one more. I've also read most of the Maximum Ride spin-off books that were written for teenagers .


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## Sophiebee

Spellweaver said:


> Another bookworm here - I've got four on the go at the moment depending on my mood:
> 
> a comedy:_Pook in Boots_ (Peter Pook)
> 
> something a little more serious: _The Charioteer_ (Mary Renault)
> 
> a scary ghost story: _Abbot's Keep_ (Benedict Ashforth)
> 
> *and something lighter: A PLace to call Home (Carole Matthews)*
> 
> I've also got _The Luminaries_ (Eleanor Catton) dowloaded on my kindle (can't wait to start that one) and have pre-ordered _Purposes of Love_ (Mary Renault) which is due to be released on kindle at the beginning of JUne.


I really like Carole Matthews for 'lighter' reads, my favourite is 'the difference a day makes' which made me laugh (even though it was sad in places.) I havent read a place to call home, are you enjoying it?

Oh if anyone is after a book to make them laugh, 'the (im)perfect girlfriend' by lucy ann holmes actually had me laughing out loud on the bus! Its a chick-lit type book but very, very funny.


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## Spellweaver

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I enjoyed The Luminaries although found the ending a bit frustrating - I love a big heavy book with over 500 pages. Will be interested to hear what you think of it.
> 
> As you can see from my book room I don't do Kindle. You can't beat the joy of opening a new book and turning the pages although my OH does not agree and complains like mad everytime a new box arrives from amazon


See, I thought I would never like a kindle - like you, I absolutely love that feeling of opening a new book. But this is my "library" -



- what you can't tell from this pic is that the shelves are all two books deep and, in addiiton, there is another bookcase on the other side of the fireplace, two bookcases and a blanket chest full of books in our bedroom, two tea-chests full of books in the loft, and piles of books all over the place (did you notice the pile in the bottom right hand corner of the pic?) :yikes:

My OH decided a kindle was cheaper than moving to a house big enough to store all the books I would be likely to buy before we pop our clogs so, knowing I would never have bought myself one, he bought me one a couple of Christmasses ago. I have to say that, very surprisingly, I took to it straight away. What I do now is read books first on kindle - and then buy only the "preciouses" that I want to keep for ever and ever


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## Nicky10

I was the same for a long time about kindles I was convinced I'd never get one. But I got one as a christmas present a couple of years ago and honestly the best thing is one click ordering on amazon and you can read it instantly. Plus it's much more convenient than carrying around heavy books especially if you like fantasy


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## Spellweaver

Sophiebee said:


> I really like Carole Matthews for 'lighter' reads, my favourite is 'the difference a day makes' which made me laugh (even though it was sad in places.) *I havent read a place to call home, are you enjoying it*?
> 
> Oh if anyone is after a book to make them laugh, 'the (im)perfect girlfriend' by lucy ann holmes actually had me laughing out loud on the bus! Its a chick-lit type book but very, very funny.


I'm really enjoying it - I only dowloaded it this morning and I'm already 58% of the way thorugh it!  It's the third one of hers I've read - the other two are _A Cottage by the Sea_ and _It's a Kind of Magic_ - both of which I would heartily recommend.


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## jenniferx

Last week I read 'Ben' by Kerry Needham - it's about the disappearance of/search for Ben Needham by his mother. I knew a bit about it beforehand but not much as I was very young when it happened. If I am being totally honest I had a difficult time not feeling a bit judgemental at times. It's obviously a pretty harrowing story with no conclusion but I'm glad I read it anyway. 

I also started 'Humble by Nature' by Kate Humble. It's about her moving to the countryside and starting up a small holding or something like that. I didn't get very far, couple of chapters, I didn't enjoy it. I thought it was going to be more autobiographical but it's more or less entirely about this property. 

Also started 'Things Get Better' by Katie Piper. Again thought it was going to be an autobiography but it's actually a self-help book if you're in a bad place. Need to read more to get a proper sense of it!


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## Sarah1983

Nicky10 said:


> I was the same for a long time about kindles I was convinced I'd never get one. But I got one as a christmas present a couple of years ago and honestly the best thing is one click ordering on amazon and you can read it instantly. Plus it's much more convenient than carrying around heavy books especially if you like fantasy


And all the free books and books for like 77p. I have to be careful with the cheap books, I can spend a fortune just because they don't cost much each. There's nothing quite like a tree book but the Kindle is definitely more convenient in so many ways.


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## Nicky10

Sarah1983 said:


> And all the free books and books for like 77p. I have to be careful with the cheap books, I can spend a fortune just because they don't cost much each. There's nothing quite like a tree book but the Kindle is definitely more convenient in so many ways.


I've never done that I swear . Real books are much better but kindles are just easier to manage


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## rottiepointerhouse

I can see the benefit of a Kindle if you travel about but I'm still holding out and saying no to one. Actually I'm surprised my OH hasn't got me one to stop me buying so many books but it obviously hasn't clicked with him yet.


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## Ceiling Kitty

I do love books, and wish I had the space for the lovely bookshelves like other posters have, but I live in a house the size of a cardboard box.

My book buying is therefore cautious and, as much as I love real books, the Kindle is dead useful. That said, I usually use my Kindle for proofing my own writing. I only have the boggo one, not one of these snazzy Kindle Fire tablet things.

At the moment I'm reading Dawkins' 'The God Delusion' - real book version (and no, I'm merely answering the question, not trying to restart a whole religion thread!). 

75% of what I read is non-fiction.

If you like a good scary story, read 'Dark Matter' by Michelle Paver. Really good, pretty educational, easy to read and rather frightening!


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## leashedForLife

Sophiebee said:


> ...just finished Sing you home by Jodi Picoult ...





lostbear said:


> ...I've just finished "The Storyteller".
> 
> Also good is Margaret Attwood - though a totally different type of writer.
> The Oryx and Crake trilogy is brilliant.





Nat88 said:


> ...currently ... A Handful of Earth by Barney Bardsley,
> a... memoir... she uses her allotment to help her heal after the loss of her husband.
> 
> ...also read Old Dog, same author and found it a good read...





princeno5 said:


> i'm rereading "the fiery cross"by Diana gabaldon...
> also reading "the Egyptian" [series] by Wilbur smith, love his books...





Blackcats said:


> ...
> Stephen King - Skeleton Crew
> ...
> " " - Cujo
> " " - Full dark, no stars
> 
> Peter Haining - Cults
> 
> Jodi Picoult... Have read Harvesting the heart,
> Nineteen minutes, ...
> My sister's keeper, ...
> 
> 'Change of heart' [on hand, not read yet].
> 
> ...quite a few Phil Rickman books...
> The lamp of the wicked
> The smile of the ghost
> The cure of souls
> The secrets of pain
> The remaining of an altar
> The wine of angels ...
> 
> Peter James - Sweetheart
> 
> Carmen Reid
> New York valentine
> How not to shop
> Three in a bed
> Celebrity shopper
> 
> ...
> 
> The Brontes and their world
> 
> Sense & sensibility and sea monsters (I adore JA... am iffy in reading a piss-take book)...





Nicky10 said:


> Guns, germs & steel ... fascinating
> - after trying to read the da vinci code, I needed something that made sense
> 
> Eye of the world ...trying to reread the wheel of time [series]...
> 
> Insurgent ... I liked divergent [movie] & am trying to read through the series...





MollySmith said:


> ...Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' &... 'the Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'...
> 
> ...Eng-Lit with Open Uni [gave] me lots of new authors, [but] I've become a very fussy reader.





Luz said:


> ...currently reading 'Lake House' by James Patterson.
> ... sequel to 'When the Wind Blows'...
> 
> Just finished all 13 'Lemony Snicket'. :thumbsup:
> 
> ...'A Song of Ice and Fire' (aka Game of Thrones)...





rottiepointerhouse said:


> Bookworm? me? ... maybe just a bit
> This is my little book room, but I have more
> 
> I love historical fiction particularly... Tudor.... My favourites are
> 
> The Mathew Shardlake series by CJ Sansom (also his Winter in Madrid)
> 
> The John Shakespeare series by Rory Clements
> 
> Philippa Gregory - [The Other Boleyn Girl, etc]... read most of hers
> 
> Alison Weir - A Dangerous Inheritance & a few others
> 
> ...ATM, I'm reading The May Bride by Susannah Dunn [Jane Seymour & her S-I-L], & just finished
> The Tudor Princess by Darcey Bonnette [Henry VIII's sister, Margaret]; I've just ordered a book
> about Ann Boleyn's brother.
> 
> I also like Russian history... anything about the Tsar & his children. Also Helen Dunmore's The Seige
> & The Betrayal, & Simon Montefiore's Sashenka... made me cry.
> 
> Also recently Hanns & Rudolf by Thomas Harding [a Nazi-hunter & a ...concentration-camp commandant].
> 
> I do read some modern stuff... Lynda La Plante, [etc], but prefer history.


OOH, i *love* to read, & am always looking for good tips!  Thanks for all the new titles & authors,
i shall have indigestion, but that's OK, there can never be too many books. :lol:

Currently reading 'The Alternatives', marvelous little paperback anthology of alternate histories -
EX, King Arthur survives Camlynn, & dies old & honored, with his Saxon liege-man & the sworn man's
sons burying him to guard Britain, & putting a homeless beggar in the king's robes & coffin; Another has
the Pittsburgh craftsmen rise up in anger when Hamilton & Gge Washington send their 15k troops to levy
a tax on their economy, convert the troops to an army of retribution, & they take Philadelphia [the national
capital], & some 200-years later, we have The Confederation of North America, which includes Canada
& Mexico; & more.
LOVE it - each story is a little gem, so far. :yesnod:

Have read many historical romances & much historical fiction; Philippa Gregory is great,
i LUXURIATED in the Name of the Rose, & Da Vinci Code, also Ken Follett: Pillars of the Earth
was phenomenal.

I also love science-fiction & fantasy -
classic 1940s & '50s Sci-Fi up to the present, & swords & sorcery.

I can't read Stephen King; :nonod: he makes me crazy, by making violence substitute for sex
as titillation. Gack! - nasty conflation, there; violence isn't sexy, & they go together like oil & water.


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## Ceiling Kitty

leashedForLife said:


> Have read many historical romances & much historical fiction; Philippa Gregory is great,
> i LUXURIATED in the Name of the Rose, & Da Vinci Code, also Ken Follett: Pillars of the Earth
> was phenomenal.


Nrrrgh, you see, I didn't much like Pillars of the Earth. I thought it was a bit... I dunno. Just didn't seem well written to me.


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## Nicky10

leashedForLife said:


> OOH, i *love* to read, & am always looking for good tips!  Thanks for all the new titles & authors,
> i shall have indigestion, but that's OK, there can never be too many books. :lol:
> 
> Currently reading 'The Alternatives', marvelous little paperback anthology of alternate histories -
> EX, King Arthur survives Camlynn, & dies old & honored, with his Saxon liege-man & the sworn man's
> sons burying him to guard Britain, & putting a homeless beggar in the king's robes & coffin; Another has
> the Pittsburgh craftsmen rise up in anger when Hamilton & Gge Washington send their 15k troops to levy
> a tax on their economy, convert the troops to an army of retribution, & they take Philadelphia [the national
> capital], & some 200-years later, we have The Confederation of North America, which includes Canada
> & Mexico; & more.
> LOVE it - each story is a little gem, so far. :yesnod:
> 
> Have read many historical romances & much historical fiction; Philippa Gregory is great,
> i LUXURIATED in the Name of the Rose, & Da Vinci Code, also Ken Follett: Pillars of the Earth
> was phenomenal.
> 
> I also love science-fiction & fantasy -
> classic 1940s & '50s Sci-Fi up to the present, & swords & sorcery.
> 
> I can't read Stephen King; :nonod: he makes me crazy, by making violence substitute for sex
> as titillation. Gack! - nasty conflation, there; violence isn't sexy, & they go together like oil & water.


I tried reading the Da Vinci code, well I read it and angels and demons. Went to read the next one, met the assassin type in the prologue and knew exactly what would happen. I gave up after that. He had good ideas but the writing's awful. I'll have to read alternatives I love stories like that. Have you read the Robert Harris books?


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## leashedForLife

Nicky10 said:


> I tried reading the Da Vinci code... & angels & demons.
> 
> Went to read the next... met the assassin type in the prologue, & knew exactly what would happen.
> I gave up after that...


i only read Da Vinci Code, so wasn't disappointed by later books. :lol: Can i be smug? - 
is that OK? 

John Irving did that to me --- the author of _'The World According to Garp'_.

*EVERYthing* he writes has wrestling, kinky sex, dwarves or otherwise congenitally-damaged folks,
& a cast of oddball characters. The names change - the stories are interchangeable. :thumbdown:

i was very disappointed in him. :nonod: Felt ripped off, after buying subsequent books.



Nicky10 said:


> I'll have to read alternatives, I love stories like that.


the paperback copy i have is from 1989; pubd by Baen Books, editor Robert Adams.
There are 6 stories by 6 different authors - The Goodwife of Orleans is excellent,
it's a retelling of Joan of Arc & she warns an English troop about an ambush by Burgundians in the pay
of the French governor of Vaucouleurs, the Sieur de Baudricourt. So instead of raising the French to aid
the weak, corrupt Dauphin, she helps the English king take France --- & isn't martyred, but marries.


Nicky10 said:


> Have you read the Robert Harris books?


the name doesn't ring a bell; history? Sci-Fi? Fantasy? or something else?


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## leashedForLife

Shoshannah said:


> ...I didn't much like Pillars of the Earth. ...Just didn't seem well-written to me.


ah - well, for me, the quality of the writing was part of my enjoyment.

I also liked the period details, culture & politics, etc.


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## Sophiebee

Spellweaver said:


> I'm really enjoying it - I only dowloaded it this morning and I'm already 58% of the way thorugh it!  It's the third one of hers I've read - the other two are _A Cottage by the Sea_ and _It's a Kind of Magic_ - both of which I would heartily recommend.


I'll put it on my list,  i liked a kind of magic- havent read a cottage by the sea. Nicky10 I was like that about kindles as well until i got one as a present, i love mine now! (I do still love a paperback though ) Glad its not just me who cant resist a kindle bargain either! Ive started 'a room swept white' by Sophie Hannah tonight (and stayed up far too late getting into it) Ive read others by her and been hooked and this one is very interesting so far too.


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## Nicky10

leashedForLife said:


> i only read Da Vinci Code, so wasn't disappointed by later books. :lol: Can i be smug? -
> is that OK?
> 
> John Irving did that to me --- the author of _'The World According to Garp'_.
> 
> *EVERYthing* he writes has wrestling, kinky sex, dwarves or otherwise congenitally-damaged folks,
> & a cast of oddball characters. The names change - the stories are interchangeable. :thumbdown:
> 
> i was very disappointed in him. :nonod: Felt ripped off, after buying subsequent books.
> 
> the paperback copy i have is from 1989; pubd by Baen Books, editor Robert Adams.
> There are 6 stories by 6 different authors - The Goodwife of Orleans is excellent,
> it's a retelling of Joan of Arc & she warns an English troop about an ambush by Burgundians in the pay
> of the French governor of Vaucouleurs, the Sieur de Baudricourt. So instead of raising the French to aid
> the weak, corrupt Dauphin, she helps the English king take France --- & isn't martyred, but marries.
> 
> the name doesn't ring a bell; history? Sci-Fi? Fantasy? or something else?


Alternative history I'd start with fatherland it's really interesting


----------



## ItsonlyChris

I tried reading the first book of The Hunger Games and I got bored because nobody had died 

I'll probably start it again soon.


----------



## Nicky10

ItsonlyChris said:


> I tried reading the first book of The Hunger Games and I got bored because nobody had died
> 
> I'll probably start it again soon.


You didn't read far enough. There's plenty of death


----------



## leashedForLife

leashedForLife said:


> ...
> Currently reading 'The Alternatives', marvelous little paperback anthology of alternate histories -
> EX, King Arthur survives Camlynn, & dies old & honored, with his Saxon liege-man & the sworn man's
> sons burying him to guard Britain, & putting a homeless beggar in the king's robes & coffin; Another has
> the Pittsburgh craftsmen rise up in anger when Hamilton & Gge Washington send their 15k troops to levy
> a tax on their economy, convert the troops to an army of retribution, & they take Philadelphia [the national
> capital], & some 200-years later, we have The Confederation of North America, which includes Canada
> & Mexico; & more.
> LOVE it - each story is a little gem, so far. :yesnod:





leashedForLife said:


> ...
> the paperback copy i have is from 1989; pubd by Baen Books, editor Robert Adams.
> 
> There are 6 stories by 6 different authors - The Goodwife of Orleans is excellent,
> it's a retelling of Joan of Arc & she warns an English troop about an ambush by Burgundians in the pay
> of the French governor of Vaucouleurs, the Sieur de Baudricourt. So instead of raising the French to aid
> the weak, corrupt Dauphin, she helps the English king take France --- & isn't martyred, but marries.


here's a link to _'Alternatives'_ -

Alternatives: (Franklin) Robert Adams, Pamela Crippen-Adams, Roland J. Green, L. Neil Smith, Susan M. Shwartz, Sharon Green, Harry Turtledove, John F. Carr: 9780671698188: Amazon.com: Books

i'm not yet halfway thru it, & it's in my top-10 for the past 5-years already - & i read A LOT.
Each story is so different, yet very good in & of itself. I'm glad i still have 1 to finish, & 2 to go -
i'll be sad to see this book end. :yesnod:


----------



## Sandysmum

I've just finished The Maleficent seven by Derek Landy. It's a spin off from from his Skulduggery Pleasant books. They're very easy to read stories which I read for pure enjoyment.


----------



## ItsonlyChris

Nicky10 said:


> You didn't read far enough. There's plenty of death


 That's what I was thinking  I pretty much stopped reading just before they went into the arena  Will definitely try and catch up to where I was in the morning though!

Ooo, if anyone has children (or is a big kid) Darren Shan published a Zom-B series of books and they were pretty good.


----------



## leashedForLife

Nicky10 said:


> ...I'd start with Fatherland, it's really interesting.


This one, probly?... - Robt Harris, i recognized the name U mentioned:
Fatherland: A Novel: Robert Harris: 9780812977219: Amazon.com: Books

i dunno - the idea of a world under Nazi domination doesn't thrill me. :nonod:
even as a premise - we had hardcover copies of books from 1945, a series on the war & the Holocaust,
with photos of the dead piled like split-wood for burning, pictures of human hair piled 5-ft high,
shoes in massive heaps, survivors looking like walking skeletons - it was horrific.

Even as a fiction, it creeps me out. I'll have to think about that one! 

Related titles - 
about which i know ABSOLUTELY nothing, i have *not* read these 2:

Poetry:
Amazon.com: Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals (Poets, Penguin) eBook: Patricia Lockwood: Kindle Store

True story:
_'Forgotten Fatherland: 
The True Story of Nietzsche's Sister & Her Lost Aryan Colony'_ [Kindle Edition]
Amazon.com: Forgotten Fatherland: The True Story of Nietzsche's Sister and Her Lost Aryan Colony eBook: Ben Macintyre: Kindle Store


----------



## Nicky10

It does deal with the holocaust well someone decades later finding out the truth. Maybe enigma then? About the team at Bletchley hall or Pompeii

As far as I remember it's only Europe that's under Nazi control. Britain fell so the Americans focused on Japan and kind of let Hitler go. They're still fighting in Russia


----------



## slartibartfast

Some of my favourites:
"Good soldier Svejk", Jaroslav Hasek
"Blindsight", Peter Watts
H.P. Lovecraft (all)
Robert Rankin books
Douglas Adams books
Robert Anton Wilson books
Chuck Palahniuk books
"John dies at the end", David Wong
"Vellum" and "Ink", Hal Duncan
"Imajica", Clive Barker
"Books of blood", Clive Barker
"Necroscope" series, Brian Lumley
"American gods", Neil Gaiman
Also William S. Burroughs, Charles Stross, more Clive Barker, Terry Pratchett, Brett Easton Ellis, "Harry Potter", more Neil Gaiman, "Gravity's rainbow" and "Crying of lot 49" (Thomas Pynchon), Roland Topor, Boris Vian, Philip K. Dick, Sergey Lukjanenko "Night watch" series, "Roadside picnic" and "Monday begins on saturday" - Strugatsky Brothers, Robert Sheckley...
I think I have more books than cat toys!


----------



## Ceiling Kitty

slartibartfast said:


> "John dies at the end", David Wong


What happens in this one, then?


----------



## Guest

Just finished The Last Werewulf by Glen Duncan. The review described it " as rewritten by Bret Easton Ellis" (American Psyco) and I do agree. Maybe not quite so profound as Ellis, but still enjoyable. 

My favourite writers vary a lot - I had a Geoff Dyer, Augusten Burrougs-, Martin Amis, Atwood phase etc. Like some scifi too, austen etc. Just whatever seems to be good. 

I could read much much more! And own much more books. Not that I am envious to a certain somebody on this thread, oh no.


----------



## Zaros

I'm not reading anything at the moment and have to confess the total number of books I've read in my entire life amounts to;

The Wind In The Willows. _Kenneth Grahame_

1984. _George Orwell._

Moby Dick. _Herman Melville._

The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. _Victor Hugo. _

African Queen. _C.S. Forester_

A Drink With Shane MacGowan. _Victoria Mary Clarke & Shane MacGowan._

Dissecting Marilyn Manson. _Gavin Baddeley _

The Book Of Genesis & The Book Of Revelations. _ Author unknown._

I'm not a reader in any sense of the word because I can rarely find anything to either interest or entertain me.


----------



## slartibartfast

Shoshannah said:


> What happens in this one, then?


Something like that:




I love the book and I love the movie.


----------



## Satori

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I enjoyed The Luminaries although found the ending a bit frustrating - I love a big heavy book with over 500 pages. Will be interested to hear what you think of it.


Oh no. I am about 80% through The Luminaries and really enjoying the book. I love the way she peels back a wafer thin layer of the puzzle in each chapter. But I was thinking yesterday that there's not enough of the book left for her to resolve the ending in a satisfactory way; I fear the overall plot will turn out to be very weak.


----------



## Gemmaa

I'm currently working my way through:
The Twelve
1984
Lord of the Flies
American Psycho
A Clockwork Orange
Three Steps Behind You
Plus some lovey-dovey lighthearted ones, to stop me having messed up dreams .


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Satori said:


> Oh no. I am about 80% through The Luminaries and really enjoying the book. I love the way she peels back a wafer thin layer of the puzzle in each chapter. But I was thinking yesterday that there's not enough of the book left for her to resolve the ending in a satisfactory way; I fear the overall plot will turn out to be very weak.


Don't get me wrong I did love the book but just not the last part - felt a bit like she got bored with it and didn't finish it properly but would love to know what you think when you've finished it.


----------



## Spellweaver

Satori said:


> Oh no. I am about 80% through The Luminaries and really enjoying the book. I love the way she peels back a wafer thin layer of the puzzle in each chapter. But I was thinking yesterday that there's not enough of the book left for her to resolve the ending in a satisfactory way; I fear the overall plot will turn out to be very weak.





rottiepointerhouse said:


> Don't get me wrong I did love the book but just not the last part - felt a bit like she got bored with it and didn't finish it properly but would love to know what you think when you've finished it.


Don't think I'm as excited at the prospect of reading it now - I do like a good ending, whether it is the kind that ties all the threads together or the kind that leaves it up to the reader to decide what happens.


----------



## Nicky10

slartibartfast said:


> I think I have more books than cat toys!


Sorry I just love that that's a viable measurement for having too much of something . Only on this forum


----------



## Sophiebee

Nicky10 said:


> Sorry I just love that that's a viable measurement for having too much of something . Only on this forum


You can never have too many cat toys though  (presuming you have cats of course ) or too many books for that matter 

I finished 'A room swept white' this morning, so im going to have a kindle store browsing session later (and a good nosey through the suggestions here.)


----------



## Satori

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Don't get me wrong I did love the book but just not the last part - felt a bit like she got bored with it and didn't finish it properly but would love to know what you think when you've finished it.


Read the rest today and, as the author might have put it, I felt d____d euchered.

A lovely read for the style alone but the book tells a rather pedestrian story once the full extent of it is known. After it was written it appears that all the author has done is changed the chronology of the chapters so as to make the story seem more complex that it is. It's a cheap trick; the book starts brilliantly and peters out at the end. The final chapters that occur in 1865 are unnecessary because the reader has it all figure out before getting to them.

A week story though beautifully told and simply nowhere near worthy of the sycophantic critical reviews (from critics who didn't read all of it anyway). The last of her books I will read.


----------



## lymorelynn

slartibartfast said:


> Some of my favourites:
> "Good soldier Svejk", Jaroslav Hasek
> "Blindsight", Peter Watts
> H.P. Lovecraft (all)
> Robert Rankin books
> Douglas Adams books
> Robert Anton Wilson books
> Chuck Palahniuk books
> "John dies at the end", David Wong
> "Vellum" and "Ink", Hal Duncan
> "*Imajica", Clive Barker*
> "Books of blood", Clive Barker
> "Necroscope" series, Brian Lumley
> "American gods", Neil Gaiman
> Also William S. Burroughs, Charles Stross, more Clive Barker, Terry Pratchett, Brett Easton Ellis, "Harry Potter", more Neil Gaiman, "Gravity's rainbow" and "Crying of lot 49" (Thomas Pynchon), Roland Topor, Boris Vian, Philip K. Dick, Sergey Lukjanenko "Night watch" series, "Roadside picnic" and "Monday begins on saturday" - Strugatsky Brothers, Robert Sheckley...
> I think I have more books than cat toys!


This is one of my all time favourite books. I love Clive Barker - such a fantastic imagination :thumbup:
Currently I'm reading Patrica Cornwell's 'Dust'. Just finished John Connolly's The Wolf in Winter.
I used to have tons of books but only buy a select few these days - or get them on Kindle. I am a very regular visitor to my local library though.


----------



## Jonescat

Hmm. Part way through the Luminaries and a bit worried now 

Lots of interesting suggestions on this thread though - I like recommendations, it stops me making the same sort of choices over and over again.


----------



## slartibartfast

lymorelynn said:


> This is one of my all time favourite books. I love Clive Barker - such a fantastic imagination :thumbup:
> Currently I'm reading Patrica Cornwell's 'Dust'. Just finished John Connolly's The Wolf in Winter.
> I used to have tons of books but only buy a select few these days - or get them on Kindle. I am a very regular visitor to my local library though.


I love Clive Barker too, right now I'm reading "Weaveworld" once again. And his "Books of Blood" - awesome, just awesome!!!


----------



## Nicky10

Jonescat said:


> Hmm. Part way through the Luminaries and a bit worried now
> 
> Lots of interesting suggestions on this thread though - I like recommendations, it stops me making the same sort of choices over and over again.


That's why I like the free downloads amazon does, you can pick up books from genres you've never tried before. There used to be a website that listed them it's not any good anymore


----------



## Sarah1983

Yesterday I read Raw by Belle Aurora. Not the sort of thing I normally read but there's been so much hype about it that I gave it a shot. I'm not actually sure what I thought about it to be honest. It was...different lol. 

Now I'm reading The Seer King by Chris Bunch.


----------



## slartibartfast

For all who can read in Polish:
Maja Lidia Kossakowska, "Zakon Ko&#324;ca &#346;wiata"("Order of the End of the World"), these books are amazing!!!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Satori said:


> Read the rest today and, as the author might have put it, I felt d____d euchered.
> 
> A lovely read for the style alone but the book tells a rather pedestrian story once the full extent of it is known. After it was written it appears that all the author has done is changed the chronology of the chapters so as to make the story seem more complex that it is. It's a cheap trick; the book starts brilliantly and peters out at the end. The final chapters that occur in 1865 are unnecessary because the reader has it all figure out before getting to them.
> 
> A week story though beautifully told and simply nowhere near worthy of the sycophantic critical reviews (from critics who didn't read all of it anyway). The last of her books I will read.


Well you have put my mind at rest because I really felt let down by the ending/last few chapters and frustrated having waded through 800 pages. I kept thinking I'd missed the point and that all the excellent reviews let alone the Man Booker prize for 2013 couldn't be wrong. I did buy her other book The Rehearsal at the same time but haven't read it yet - might leave that for another year


----------



## slartibartfast

"Raw Shark Texts", Steven Hall - it's a great book.


----------



## Nonnie

Im reading this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Limit-Frank...1698869&sr=1-1&keywords=limit+frank+schatzing whilst waiting for the next Joe Abercrombie novel.

Im glad to see another John Dies At The End fan! One of my favourite novels although the sequel and movie were a let down.


----------



## grumpy goby

Currently my commute read is "One Summer: America 1927" by Bill Bryson.. Enjoying it so far! I love his writing style and the way he managed to vividly bring history to life! (Im a big bill bryson fan anyway)


----------



## Sophiebee

Nicky10 said:


> That's why I like the free downloads amazon does, you can pick up books from genres you've never tried before. There used to be a website that listed them it's not any good anymore


I spend many happy hours having free book downloading sessions! Im just sticking to some fun lighthearted reads at the moment though, as a nice bit of escapism from packing/cleaning ready to move!


----------



## LinznMilly

Resurrecting an older thread, but I'm shamelessly boasting. 

I've just finished War and Peace. :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:


----------



## Jellypi3

Oo a book thread! I am on book 12 out of 14 of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan / Brendan Sanderson. It's a long old series of books, and I am almost at the end, which for once I am feeling happy about (I normally hate finishing books).

I am a big time fantasy fan, the longer the series the better (normally)!


----------



## Nicky10

I'm reading the first southern vampire book again, the series true blood is based off. The writing's not great but on the plus side no Jessica :thumbsup:

Then I might finally finish rereading eye of the world. I think the length of the whole thing is putting me off I like the books


----------



## Nonnie

Nonnie said:


> Im reading this: Limit eBook: Frank Schätzing, Shaun Whiteside, Jamie Searle: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store whilst waiting for the next Joe Abercrombie novel.
> 
> Im glad to see another John Dies At The End fan! One of my favourite novels although the sequel and movie were a let down.


Finally reading Joe Abercrombie, Half a King.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

LinznMilly said:


> Resurrecting an older thread, but I'm shamelessly boasting.
> 
> I've just finished War and Peace. :w00t: :w00t: :w00t:


Well done. I read it when I was in the 6th form so many years ago, can't say I remember much of it but know I enjoyed reading it once I got my head round all the characters.

I am reading Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle - its about the sisters of Lady Jane Grey.


----------



## LinznMilly

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Well done. I read it when I was in the 6th form so many years ago, can't say I remember much of it but know I enjoyed reading it* once I got my head round all the characters.*
> 
> I am reading Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle - its about the sisters of Lady Jane Grey.


That's the main problem with it IMHO. We're flooded with characters in the first few chapters/books and it's hard to gain an affinity with any of them because there's too many to "get to know". I spent so much time working out who belonged to which family that in the early chapters, if someone was wounded, emotionally hurt or felt socially awkward, I simply didn't care because I didn't know how significant to the book as a whole that that person was.


----------



## MollySmith

Officially I am mean to be reading Critical Writing on Graphic Design....:Yawn: well not really a yawn but more difficult to equate the utopia they write about with being a designer in real life.

I'm actually reading The London Train by Tessa Radley who I saw at the Cambridge Wordfest last year. Love it, great characters and a good twist.


----------



## Margelli

Potatoes not Prozac. It is about how diet can affect Serotonin etc, interesting so far.


----------



## Valanita

I have just finished reading* Pride & Prejudice,* for the umpteenth time...

Ohhhh! Awwwww! Mr. Darcy.:001_wub: :001_wub: :thumbsup:


----------



## Sandysmum

In about ten mins I'm off to bed to start reading Alice, Number 12 in joseph Delaneys Wardstone chronicles. These books are listed as being YA, but I wouldn't call them that. They are scary, atmospheric, full of monsters and those who fight against them. So they get a bit gory sometimes. 

Somebody (sorry can't remember who) mentioned Darren Shans zom B books, I've not read those yet, but I have read the Darren Shan saga, and the Demonata. 

I enjoy Delaney and Shan, coz they write a long series of books, so there's plenty of room for character development, so you get to know your faves and care what happens to them. :thumbup1:


----------



## Guest

I've just finished reading The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman, and I'm currently reading Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller.

Quite enjoyed the Stedman book, but not such a fan of the Picoult, which is a bit disappointing as I loved all her other stuff. But I'm only halfway through so maybe it'll grow on me.


----------



## slartibartfast

Nonnie said:


> Im glad to see another John Dies At The End fan! One of my favourite novels although the sequel and movie were a let down.


I love that book! Sequel wasn't that great but I love the movie, I'm a big Don Coscarelli's fan(atic), "Phantasm" and "Bubba Ho-tep" are on the top of my favourite movies list (number 1 is "Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead"...)
Do you like Robert Rankin?


----------



## Sarah1983

Just finished Broken and Connected by A E Murphy. Broken is free on Kindle at the moment if anyone wants to give it a go. 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Broken-1-E-...05542924&sr=8-2&keywords=connected+a+e+murphy

Now reading The Messiah Matrix by Kenneth John Atchity.


> I am on book 12 out of 14 of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan / Brendan Sanderson. It's a long old series of books, and I am almost at the end, which for once I am feeling happy about (I normally hate finishing books).


Love this series so much. I've refused to read the last 2 so far just because I don't want it to end  Currently working my way through them on audiobook too lol. It's long winded and I know a lot of people don't like that but I've read most of them books several times now and love them.

For anyone looking for free books on Kindle I get a lot from here. Lists 10 a day I think. Just be sure to check prices because sometimes it lists ones as free that aren't. eReaderLove | Free and Bargain Books For Your Kindle


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

McKenzie said:


> I've just finished reading The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman, and I'm currently reading Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller.
> 
> Quite enjoyed the Stedman book, but not such a fan of the Picoult, which is a bit disappointing as I loved all her other stuff. But I'm only halfway through so maybe it'll grow on me.


I really enjoyed The light between oceans too.


----------



## abbieandchi

I'm a huge reader, I travel to Bournemouth a lot so I can get through half a book on the train, it makes the journey go a lot quicker. 

I won't lie, at the moment I'm reading 'The World According to Clarkson'


----------



## LostGirl

McKenzie said:


> I've just finished reading The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman, and I'm currently reading Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller.
> 
> Quite enjoyed the Stedman book, but not such a fan of the Picoult, which is a bit disappointing as I loved all her other stuff. But I'm only halfway through so maybe it'll grow on me.


 It grows on you, I wasn't sure but couldn't put it down either. It well written Imo and interesting I love jodi the way she writes anyway.

I'm being a big kid and re reading the sookie stackhouse books again, till something else catches my eye


----------



## LinznMilly

Valanita said:


> I have just finished reading* Pride & Prejudice,* for the umpteenth time...
> 
> Ohhhh! Awwwww! Mr. Darcy.:001_wub: :001_wub: :thumbsup:


I'm not usually one for rereading books, but I'd willingly reread P&P again.

Just started reading _Death by Honeymoon_ on the Kobo.


----------



## Bellaboo1

The Kingmakers Daughter by Philippa Gregory, I love anything historical


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Bellaboo1 said:


> The Kingmakers Daughter by Philippa Gregory, I love anything historical


Me too. I've read most of her books also love Suzannah Dunn (The May Bride), Darcy Bonnette (The Tudor Princess) and Alison Weir (got her new one The Marriage Game on order) and Elizabeth Fremantle (Queen's Gambit) - currently reading her Sisters of Treason.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Valanita said:


> I have just finished reading* Pride & Prejudice,* for the umpteenth time...
> 
> Ohhhh! Awwwww! Mr. Darcy.:001_wub: :001_wub: :thumbsup:


Have you read Longbourn by Jo Baker? its based on the below stairs in the Bennet household and is going to be made into a TV series I think.


----------



## Nicky10

Bellaboo1 said:


> The Kingmakers Daughter by Philippa Gregory, I love anything historical


That whole series has been on my to read list for a while. I got halfway through white queen I think. I love her books, not completely historically accurate but brilliant reads.


----------



## davidc

Just The Broons and Oor Wullie at the moment. If they count. I do read proper books though.


----------



## Goblin

It's meant for kids but currently reading The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan who also wrote the Percy Jackson series. Kane Chronicles deals with Egyptian rather than Greek gods.


----------



## Jonescat

I have finished the Luminaries now - I see what everyone meant about the plot petering out. It was very disappointing in the end after a good start.


----------



## lostbear

Nicky10 said:


> Guns, germs and steel it's a fascinating look on why some civilisations evolved faster than others. And *after trying to read the da vinci code I needed something that made sense
> *
> 
> Hahahahahaha :laugh:. Absolutely agree - I've no objection to a book being rubbish, but BADLY WRITTEN rubbish pees me off every time.
> 
> Eye of the world because I've been trying to reread the wheel of time books since the twelfth one came out and still haven't managed it
> 
> Insurgent because I liked the divergent movie and am trying to read through the series
> 
> I like the Jodie Picoult books not read storyteller yet though


I've just finished umpteen Game of Thrones books (read the lot back to back), and all three Hunger Games. I couldn't believe how engrossing they were (except the bits about the Mother of Dragons in GoT - what a boring cow she is!). I didn't expect to get into them at all, and they were brilliant - same with Hunger Games, couldn't put them down.

I've just started "Paying Guests" by EF Benson who wrote Mapp and Lucia. Fancied something light - am enjoying it so far.


----------



## lostbear

davidc said:


> Just The Broons and Oor Wullie at the moment. If they count. I do read proper books though.


Nothing wrong with The Broons and Oor Wullie! They're classics, they are. I had all the annuals bu my mam threw them out along with years and years worth of Dandys and Beanos when I got married - didn't give me time to shift my stuff. (Couldn't wait to destroy all trace and memory of me, obviously.)

Those sodding comics would have kept me and the dogs in truffles for the rest of our lives - have you seen the prices they go for now?!


----------



## lostbear

Valanita said:


> I have just finished reading* Pride & Prejudice,* for the umpteenth time...
> 
> Ohhhh! Awwwww! Mr. Darcy.:001_wub: :001_wub: :thumbsup:


*****breathes heavily and swoons . . . ****


----------



## lostbear

Sarah1983 said:


> J*ust finished Broken and Connected by A E Murphy. Broken is free on Kindle at the moment if anyone wants to give it a go. *
> 
> Bugger - I automatically downloaded it because it is free, then realised too late that it is a "lure story". Now have to find out how to delete it cos I don't like that sort of stuff. Serves me right for being to greedy!
> 
> 
> Broken: Broken #1 eBook: A. E. Murphy: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
> 
> Now reading The Messiah Matrix by Kenneth John Atchity.
> 
> Love this series so much. I've refused to read the last 2 so far just because I don't want it to end  Currently working my way through them on audiobook too lol. It's long winded and I know a lot of people don't like that but I've read most of them books several times now and love them.
> 
> For anyone looking for free books on Kindle I get a lot from here. Lists 10 a day I think. Just be sure to check prices because sometimes it lists ones as free that aren't. eReaderLove | *Free and Bargain Books For Your Kindle*




Bookbub gives this sort of info out too.


----------



## Sarah1983

A lure story?


----------



## Mese

Im really into James Pattersons 'Alex Cross' series of books

So im reading them again in order ... finished 'Double Cross' last night and will start 'Cross Country' today at some point :thumbup:


----------



## Nicky10

lostbear said:


> I've just finished umpteen Game of Thrones books (read the lot back to back), and all three Hunger Games. I couldn't believe how engrossing they were (except the bits about the Mother of Dragons in GoT - what a boring cow she is!). I didn't expect to get into them at all, and they were brilliant - same with Hunger Games, couldn't put them down.
> 
> I've just started "Paying Guests" by EF Benson who wrote Mapp and Lucia. Fancied something light - am enjoying it so far.


The only reason to read Dan Brown's books is the constant conspiracy theorists are all idiots when so many jumped on the OMG ILLUMINATI ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD bandwagon from it :laugh:. He can't write to save his life though.

Dany is an idiot  but the hunger games are amazing. The movies not so much they tried to make them all about the love triangle and not the fact that teenagers are being forced to fight to the death


----------



## Sarah1983

Nicky10 said:


> The only reason to read Dan Brown's books is the constant conspiracy theorists are all idiots when so many jumped on the OMG ILLUMINATI ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD bandwagon from it :laugh:. He can't write to save his life though.
> 
> Dany is an idiot  but the hunger games are amazing. The movies not so much they tried to make them all about the love triangle and not the fact that teenagers are being forced to fight to the death


Lol, I actually enjoy Dan Browns books. They're far from literary genius but I've liked the ones I've read so far. Just an easy, mindless read really. I shall go and hide now.

I'm so glad I've found others who find Dany boring. Everyone else seems to love her and think she's amazing


----------



## Nicky10

Sarah1983 said:


> Lol, I actually enjoy Dan Browns books. They're far from literary genius but I've liked the ones I've read so far. Just an easy, mindless read really. I shall go and hide now.
> 
> I'm so glad I've found others who find Dany boring. Everyone else seems to love her and think she's amazing


The actress is hot  and she's such a strong feminist icon of course :rolleyes5:. Maybe she would be if she listened to her advisers occasionally but you know the stereotype me strong woman, me no listen to stupid men


----------



## Mrsred

I just finished Rachel Joyce's 'Perfect' whilst on holiday - she also wrote The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. 

I finished it in two evenings and it was one of those books that, when it ended, you then look at all your other stuff you've bought to read but they don't tempt you and you feel like you've nothing to read.

It was quite a sad book and you could see how it would end up, it touches on mental illness, the dark side of keeping up with the joneses and starts with a young boy discovering that two seconds of time were to be added in 1972 (true apparently!)


----------



## MollySmith

Mrsred said:


> I just finished Rachel Joyce's 'Perfect' whilst on holiday - she also wrote The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
> 
> I finished it in two evenings and it was one of those books that, when it ended, you then look at all your other stuff you've bought to read but they don't tempt you and you feel like you've nothing to read.
> 
> It was quite a sad book and you could see how it would end up, it touches on mental illness, the dark side of keeping up with the joneses and starts with a young boy discovering that two seconds of time were to be added in 1972 (true apparently!)


I finished reading 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' on holiday and loved it - very bitter sweet. I'll add 'Perfect' to the list of stuff I want to read.

I've got to pick up new glasses tomorrow.... and may end up in a second hand bookshop or three


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Mrsred said:


> I just finished Rachel Joyce's 'Perfect' whilst on holiday - she also wrote The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
> 
> I finished it in two evenings and it was one of those books that, when it ended, you then look at all your other stuff you've bought to read but they don't tempt you and you feel like you've nothing to read.
> 
> It was quite a sad book and you could see how it would end up, it touches on mental illness, the dark side of keeping up with the joneses and starts with a young boy discovering that two seconds of time were to be added in 1972 (true apparently!)


I've got The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry but haven't read it yet. Will get Perfect as it sounds interesting.


----------



## lostbear

Sarah1983 said:


> Lol, I actually enjoy Dan Browns books. They're far from literary genius but I've liked the ones I've read so far. Just an easy, mindless read really. I shall go and hide now.
> *
> I'm so glad I've found others who find Dany boring. Everyone else seems to love her and think she's amazing*


She's as tedious as hell in the books, too - I just skim through those pages looking for the word "dragon" and it doesn't come up often enough (not to mention the moral aspects of keeping dragons chained up underground just because they've started eating people. Puh-leeeeeeze! That's what dragons DO! Duuuh!) Where are the People for Ethical Treatment of Dragons when you need them?


----------



## lostbear

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I've got The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry but haven't read it yet. Will get Perfect as it sounds interesting.


It's a wonderful book. I'm sure you'll love it - very touching.


----------



## Nat88

Mese said:


> Im really into James Pattersons 'Alex Cross' series of books
> 
> So im reading them again in order ... finished 'Double Cross' last night and will start 'Cross Country' today at some point :thumbup:


I've just started this series. I thought the first book was really good and kept me guessing up until the end, and now have Kiss The Girls waiting to be picked up at the library.

I started watching Along Came A Spider on Netflix the other night, but the beginning didn't seem to follow the book much at all, so I turned it off . Think I'll just stick to the books.


----------



## Nicky10

lostbear said:


> She's as tedious as hell in the books, too - I just skim through those pages looking for the word "dragon" and it doesn't come up often enough (not to mention the moral aspects of keeping dragons chained up underground just because they've started eating people. Puh-leeeeeeze! That's what dragons DO! Duuuh!) Where are the People for Ethical Treatment of Dragons when you need them?


Yeah Dany's very boring but at least she's starting to realise that taking the workers, destroying the ruling class and the whole social hierarchy then casually strolling off to the next city without putting a new system in place isn't a good idea. Her story doesn't get any more interesting either, thankfully there are more interesting characters like the other Greyjoys and the Martells/Sand snakes


----------



## leashedForLife

Picked up a freebie paperback on the giveaway shelf -
*'Stranger in Savannah'* by *Eugenia Price*, circa 1989.

I expected it to be a typical historical romance, somewhere between the extremes of a bodice-ripper
full of swash & buckle, to a muted pastel version of a period novel, a'la the Brontes.

INSTEAD, i am happy to report that it's a slice of Americana, with decent portions of European tidbits -
approx the decade leading up to the Civil War, including the politics of many countries, economic upheaval,
social changes, States' Rights, "manifest destiny", slavery & class systems, wage slaves [the 60-hr week],
industrial objectification & abuse of workers, & more... ALONG WITH love matches, arranged marriages,
personal loss, Victorian mores, pre-aseptic medicine, & a host of other fascinating side-threads.

Yes, there's romance - but it's minimal; the longest-lasting love story is that of a lovestruck pair who end
by marrying other people, because the woman's parents don't approve of him as a suitor, marry her off to
a wealthy politically-powerful older man, & he weds her close friend as "second best".

I'm only 2/3 thru; it's over 700 pages, so don't look for it if U like the Cliff's Notes versions of novels.
:lol: "Readers' Digest Condensed" this is *not -* but it's full of historical context & current events.


----------



## Colette

I'm back into reading in a big way at the mo... In the last 4 days I've read Desperation by Stephen King which was great. Followed by The genius of dogs by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods. All I can say is wow! One of the most interesting and engaging dog books I've read, a real eye opener. I couldn't put it down. 

About to start on Salem's Lot next.


----------



## Mrsred

I read salems lot years ago! 

I'm now on to Alison Weir, Elizabeth of York, The First Tudor Queen. Factual history by Ms Weir this time, she has written other non fiction in the past. 

A book you can't just idly read, you need your wits about you and it's extremely heavy!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Mrsred said:


> I read salems lot years ago!
> 
> I'm now on to Alison Weir, Elizabeth of York, The First Tudor Queen. Factual history by Ms Weir this time, she has written other non fiction in the past.
> 
> A book you can't just idly read, you need your wits about you and it's extremely heavy!


I love Alison Weir although haven't read that one. My favourite of hers is Dangerous Inheritance although I'm looking foward to reading Marriage Game too which has just arrived.


----------



## boxermadsam

I am totally obsessed with young adult fiction at the moment. Since April I have read The Hunger Games trilogy, The Power Of Five books by Anthony Horowitz, The Gone series by Michael Grant and The Lorien Legacies books, starting with I Am Number Four which was made into a [poor] film.

The next in the series doesn't come out until 23rd August and I am so excited even I think I am a sad case. 47 years old and loving young adult books. I have it on pre-order for my Kindle.

At the moment I am reading the Lorien Legacies novellas just to get my fix. I am also wishing I could read the Harry Potter books and the Twilight series but for some reason I just can't get into them. Enjoyed all the films though


----------



## lostbear

boxermadsam said:


> I am totally obsessed with young adult fiction at the moment. Since April I have read The Hunger Games trilogy, The Power Of Five books by Anthony Horowitz, The Gone series by Michael Grant and The Lorien Legacies books, starting with I Am Number Four which was made into a [poor] film.
> 
> The next in the series doesn't come out until 23rd August and I am so excited even *I think I am a sad case. 47 years old and loving young adult books.* I have it on pre-order for my Kindle.
> 
> At the moment I am reading the Lorien Legacies novellas just to get my fix. I am also wishing I could read the Harry Potter books and the Twilight series but for some reason I just can't get into them. Enjoyed all the films though


We should start a club - the "Menopausies" perhaps . . . I'm the same and I'm 61 . . .


----------



## Nat88

boxermadsam said:


> At the moment I am reading the Lorien Legacies novellas just to get my fix. I am also wishing I could read the Harry Potter books and the Twilight series but for some reason I just can't get into them. Enjoyed all the films though


Have you read The Host, also written by Stephenie Meyer who wrote the Twilight books? I thought this book was much better than the Twilight series, and I couldn't put it down.

Another young adult series I like is The Wintering by Stephen Bowkett. There are three books: Ice, Storm and Thaw.


----------



## Nicky10

boxermadsam said:


> I am totally obsessed with young adult fiction at the moment. Since April I have read The Hunger Games trilogy, The Power Of Five books by Anthony Horowitz, The Gone series by Michael Grant and The Lorien Legacies books, starting with I Am Number Four which was made into a [poor] film.
> 
> The next in the series doesn't come out until 23rd August and I am so excited even I think I am a sad case. 47 years old and loving young adult books. I have it on pre-order for my Kindle.
> 
> At the moment I am reading the Lorien Legacies novellas just to get my fix. I am also wishing I could read the Harry Potter books and the Twilight series but for some reason I just can't get into them. Enjoyed all the films though


Don't read the twilight series :frown2: although I'm convinced it would be a much better book if Edward and Bella weren't in it. Maybe try the divergent trilogy?


----------



## boxermadsam

Nicky10 said:


> Don't read the twilight series :frown2: although I'm convinced it would be a much better book if Edward and Bella weren't in it. Maybe try the divergent trilogy?


Ahhhh - I have Divergent on my Kindle. I am probably going to be reading it next. I have also got my eye on The Maze Runner, seems a similar type of thing.

My family says I am going through a mid-life crisis 

Twilight I just couldn't get my head around at all. I quite enjoyed the films though but you are quite right about Edward and Bella, the 2 most annoying characters in the series!!


----------



## boxermadsam

lostbear said:


> We should start a club - the "Menopausies" perhaps . . . I'm the same and I'm 61 . . .


The Menopausies is a great idea, count me in!!


----------



## boxermadsam

Nat88 said:


> Have you read The Host, also written by Stephenie Meyer who wrote the Twilight books? I thought this book was much better than the Twilight series, and I couldn't put it down.
> 
> Another young adult series I like is The Wintering by Stephen Bowkett. There are three books: Ice, Storm and Thaw.


Brilliant thank you - I love suggestions and I am off to Amazon now to have a look.

It might just be me but I get in a bit of a tizzy if I haven't got a 'next book' arranged when I am coming to the end of my current book. I spend loads of time trying to get suggestions from reading forums or browsing Amazon, I was thrilled to find this thread


----------



## MollySmith

Finished reading Alice McDermott's At Weddings and Wakes (I did well at the local Oxfam bookshop at the weekend!). Not sure what I make of it. A story that starts and ends at the same place with lovely lyrical writing but there was something missing from it, I'm not sure what.


----------



## Nat88

boxermadsam said:


> Brilliant thank you - I love suggestions and I am off to Amazon now to have a look.
> 
> It might just be me but I get in a bit of a tizzy if I haven't got a 'next book' arranged when I am coming to the end of my current book. I spend loads of time trying to get suggestions from reading forums or browsing Amazon, I was thrilled to find this thread


Nope, not just you - I'm exactly the same . I've got plenty of bought books that I've yet to read, but if I've nearly finished my current book and I don't fancy reading any of those, it's off to the library I go, lol.


----------



## Nonnie

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doglands-Ti...=UTF8&qid=1406019434&sr=8-1&keywords=doglands

I love Tim Willocks. I started off reading his Tannhauser trilogy, which is worlds away in terms of subject from Doglands, but DL is just brilliant, and i usually detest books about animals (except the Animals Of Farthing Wood series).


----------



## LostGirl

Nonnie said:


> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Doglands-Ti...=UTF8&qid=1406019434&sr=8-1&keywords=doglands
> 
> I love Tim Willocks. I started off reading his Tannhauser trilogy, which is worlds away in terms of subject from Doglands, but DL is just brilliant, and i usually detest books about animals (except the Animals Of Farthing Wood series).


Animals of farthing wood is pure amazing, my child hood was filled with either readin the books or watching the tTV series oh and collecting things from It!


----------



## Nonnie

LostGirl said:


> Animals of farthing wood is pure amazing, my child hood was filled with either readin the books or watching the tTV series oh and collecting things from It!


I still have all my childhood books. I have the entire Colin Dann collection and my Jinny and Shantih set that will have to be pried from my mortis riddled hands.


----------



## CavalierOwner

boxermadsam said:


> I am totally obsessed with young adult fiction at the moment. Since April I have read The Hunger Games trilogy, The Power Of Five books by Anthony Horowitz, The Gone series by Michael Grant and The Lorien Legacies books, starting with I Am Number Four which was made into a [poor] film.
> 
> The next in the series doesn't come out until 23rd August and I am so excited even I think I am a sad case. 47 years old and loving young adult books. I have it on pre-order for my Kindle.
> 
> At the moment I am reading the Lorien Legacies novellas just to get my fix. I am also wishing I could read the Harry Potter books and the Twilight series but for some reason I just can't get into them. Enjoyed all the films though


Series' you might like

Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent
A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forest
The Imdalind Series by Rebecca Ethington

These series' probably lean more towards adult but they are really good.

Mageri Series by Dannika Dark 
Elemental Mysteries by Elizabeth Hunter
Mystic Series by B C Burgess


----------



## LinznMilly

Just started this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coral-Affai...d=1406147384&sr=8-1&keywords=coral+sea+affair


----------



## Nat88

Oh, forgot about the Inheritance series, by Christopher Paolini: Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance. I'm sure many people have read these due to the train-wreck of a film that came out, but I really enjoyed the books. I bought Eldest from a charity shop two days ago and now have the full series, so I'm going to read them all again soon. Can't wait


----------



## leashedForLife

only someone who travels via public transit will truly commiserate with this tale of woe ---

i was en route from my work-town to home & changed buses on a new route, & in the scramble to exit
at a traffic-rotary bus shelter, *i left my book, which i'd just started & had read 40-pages,
on the dam*ed bus... & i'd really been enjoying it, too.* :cryin:

_'The Harem Midwife'_, wonderful - as far as i got!, drabbit. :crying:

my only consolation was that i'd bought it used, & thus was only out $8, vs $16 new. :sniff: Wha!


----------



## leashedForLife

i went to the same used-book store, & chose 3 later chronicles from the _Brother Cadfael_ series -

the author is Ellis Peters, & the primary character is a Benedictine monk who is an herbalist,
during the 12th century in England - he tends the sick & injured, & solves murders in his spare time. 

Wonderful slice-of-life period descriptions, the political & social issues of that turbulent era, & evocative,
descriptive prose. Love 'em. :yesnod:


----------



## Mrsred

I'm in a rut, haven't picked up anything worth reading since Perfect but I got three books for a pound in the charity shop and one of then was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Don't know anything about it but might give it a crack tonight when I go to bed.


----------



## Nonnie

I Am Pilgrim eBook: Terry Hayes: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Picked it up for 99p ages ago on the daily deal.


----------



## stargren

this is one thing i don't do is read books ,all my family are big on book ready but iv'e never been one to pick up a book saying that i never have time to


----------



## Jonescat

Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens! Bought secondhand because the title caught my eye, and it is really interesting. The ancient greeks were very keen on seafood, and drinking, and I have just got to the bit about courtesans. It is very educational (!) and quite well written.


----------



## leashedForLife

stargren said:


> ...all my family are big [readers],
> but i've never been one to pick up a book --- i never have time to [read].


i read on the bus, the subway, while eating a meal at home or out, ...
H***, i read myself to sleep every night, & have done for *decades*. :lol:

when i'm desperate, i read can-labels & advertising.  Please don't repeat that? - Thanks.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

leashedForLife said:


> i went to the same used-book store, & chose 3 later chronicles from the _Brother Cadfael_ series -
> 
> the author is Ellis Peters, & the primary character is a Benedictine monk who is an herbalist,
> during the 12th century in England - he tends the sick & injured, & solves murders in his spare time.
> 
> Wonderful slice-of-life period descriptions, the political & social issues of that turbulent era, & evocative,
> descriptive prose. Love 'em. :yesnod:


That was televised over here although I don't recall ever watching it.

Cadfael (TV series - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

I haven't read them myself but might have a look. You might also like the Shardlake series by CJ Sansom

C. J. Sansom: The Official Website - Shardlake


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Mrsred said:


> I'm in a rut, haven't picked up anything worth reading since Perfect but I got three books for a pound in the charity shop and one of then was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Don't know anything about it but might give it a crack tonight when I go to bed.


I enjoyed reading Gone Girl but found the ending a bit of a let down.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Philippa Gregory's new book "The King's Curse" arrived this morning. Unfortunately I've just started reading something else but I will enjoy looking at it sat waiting on my bedside table. Can't beat the feel of a new book


----------



## Sarah1983

I just finished Clan of the Cave Bear on audiobook and started The Valley of Horses. Read the series so many times and love it so much. 

Since I last posted here I've finished Carnage 2, The Sweet Gum Tree and the first in the Outlander series. Currently reading one I found free on Smashwords called Chasing Pavements. Not my usual sort, I don't normally read anything with werewolves in but it sounded interesting so thought I'd give it a go since it's free. Feels a bit rushed so far, could have done with a little build up but I'm not far in so will hold off on judging it for now lol.

L4L, if I'm stuck I read labels and adverts too  I can't not read.


----------



## Mrsred

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I enjoyed reading Gone Girl but found the ending a bit of a let down.


Dear god, but I got really into it in the middle and them I wanted to fling it out the window after I finished it!

Now onto Mark Gatiss (Mycroft from Sherlock) can't remember the title but it is one of his Lucifer Box series, s'alright, a sort of spy novel.


----------



## Meezey

I have Chelsea Cain's new book to read and I can't WAITTTTTTTTTTTTTT but I'm in the middle of a Kathy Reichs book


----------



## Nicky10

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Philippa Gregory's new book "The King's Curse" arrived this morning. Unfortunately I've just started reading something else but I will enjoy looking at it sat waiting on my bedside table. Can't beat the feel of a new book


Oh didn't know there was a new one in the series, runs off to amazon

I'm reading the sixth wheel of time book and the complete dinosaur which is a series of essays giving a basic overview of physiology, behaviour etc.


----------



## Maiaetta

Just started reading the husbands secret. Need to get back into reading, I managed to read 40 books by May this year &#128522; but since May I've hit a massive reading slump, I get tired as soon as I settle down with a book and nothing can hold my interest. So hopefully this will be a good one.


----------



## Mrsred

Another library find, on to The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. 

Not my usual type of book, it's about a very elderly woman that has been in a mental institution in Ireland for most of her adult life and the story of how she got there and now, in the modern age, the psychiatrist is tasked with getting ready to close down the dilapidated hospital. 

It's shaping up to be a sad one.


----------



## CRL

am on book 6 in harry potter.


----------



## Jonescat

Just about to finish When the Devil Drives by Chris Brookmyre. A Scottish thrilller with humour thrown in. Now experiencing that slightly angsty "what shall I read next" feeling.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Mrsred said:


> Another library find, on to The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry.
> 
> Not my usual type of book, it's about a very elderly woman that has been in a mental institution in Ireland for most of her adult life and the story of how she got there and now, in the modern age, the psychiatrist is tasked with getting ready to close down the dilapidated hospital.
> 
> It's shaping up to be a sad one.


You might like The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell - sounds a bit similar.

I recently finished Abattoir Blues by Peter Robinson (Inspector Banks). I've read all of those although I've not been overly impressed by the TV series.

About to finish The Storms of War by Kate Williams which is a bit of a Downton Abbey type family saga but with more WW1 action, can't say its been a favourite. Looking forward to starting the Phillipa Gregory new one next.


----------



## Mrsred

Phillipa Gregory was HERE, as in literally ten minutes up the road from me mid august doing a question and answer session plus book signing. 

I only remembered when I found the damn flyer last week. Gutted, gutted, gutted. 

Any road up, just back from an impromptu shopping trip and The Works are doing M.C Beaton on three for a fiver. 

I love her stuff for a light read so I bought two and my mother bought something else to take on her hols. 

Must whizz through library stuff, love the darker evenings and a good book, I'm absurdly thrilled now.


----------



## Muze

I am on my 5th attempt at the Seven Pillars of Wisdom.... someone told me it was tricky read so I am determined to conquer it... but wow, it is heavy going llol


----------



## Happy Paws2

Nearly finished Empress Orchid by Anchee Min again, a book I can read any time.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Mrsred said:


> Phillipa Gregory was HERE, as in literally ten minutes up the road from me mid august doing a question and answer session plus book signing.
> 
> I only remembered when I found the damn flyer last week. Gutted, gutted, gutted.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> How annoying to have missed that - I'd love to go to one of her sessions.


----------



## MyCharlie

I've just finished reading The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith-so much better than the film and the first in a series of six books about Mr Ripley himself
so I guess I'll try next book


----------



## CheekyRio

Life Before Man by Margaret Atwood. Starting to think she's probably my favourite author. She's doing a book signing and talk in the UK this year sometime, not something I'd usually consider doing but I reckon she'd be interesting to listen to.


----------



## Mrsred

CheekyRio said:


> Life Before Man by Margaret Atwood. Starting to think she's probably my favourite author. She's doing a book signing and talk in the UK this year sometime, not something I'd usually consider doing but I reckon she'd be interesting to listen to.


I had to read The Handmaids Tale in my early twenties as part of a foundation course in Womens studies.

Like Jane Ayre, any book I've had to pick apart has been ruined for me and I have never read another Margaret Atwood book since!


----------



## Bellaboo1

I am reading Sovereign by C J Sansom, only a few pages in but good so far


----------



## missRV

I am still reading "the fault is in our stars" Amazing book! 

Just read "the boy in the striped pyjamas" I have always vowed to read it at some point and decided a few weeks ago that it was time! 

A favourite is Jodi Picoult "house rules" I loved that book!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Bellaboo1 said:


> I am reading Sovereign by C J Sansom, only a few pages in but good so far


I've read all of his and love them :thumbup1:


----------



## Legoloon

I've got two books on the go atm

Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
Sort of an adult Harry Potter.

Doctor Sleep - Stephen King
The sequel to The Shining

Both are excellent books. 

I love to read and do so whenever I can, but I'll be my next level of my degree very soon so will be reading about psychology and biology for the next 9 months.


----------



## Legoloon

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I enjoyed The Luminaries although found the ending a bit frustrating - I love a big heavy book with over 500 pages. Will be interested to hear what you think of it.
> 
> As you can see from my book room I don't do Kindle. You can't beat the joy of opening a new book and turning the pages although my OH does not agree and complains like mad everytime a new box arrives from amazon


I'm the same, I love the feel of a book in my hands. My dream is to have a library in my house...think Beauty and the beast style


----------



## grumpy goby

Recently I have read:

(Re-read) - Do androids dream of electric sheep (Phillip K. Dick) - I love it but its an acquired taste I think

The Ocean at the end of the Lane (Neil Gaiman) - Loved it, a beautifully told story!

The Divine Commadore (Robert Rankin - Graphic Novel) - Im a Rankin geek, its one of 3000 signed copies to go to my collection of personalised graphic books by the man 

I'm now about to start the new David Mitchell book "The Bone Clocks" - Looking forward to it!!


----------



## Jellypi3

I'm finally on book 14 of the Wheel of Time series...it's taken me ages but it's finally coming to an end! So I can read something new!!


----------



## ForestWomble

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Book worm? me?
> 
> 
> 
> Well may be just a bit  This is my little book room but I have more
> 
> I love historical fiction particularly the tudor times. My favourites are
> 
> The Mathew Shardlake series by CJ Sansom (also his Winter in Madrid)
> 
> The John Shakespeare series by Rory Clements
> 
> Philippa Gregory - have read most of hers
> 
> Alison Weir - A Dangerous Inheritance and a few others
> 
> I like it when they pick a character you might have seen previous reference to but would like to know more about so at the moment I'm reading The May Bride by Susannah Dunn about Jane Seymour and her sister in law and have just finished The Tudor Princess by Darcey Bonnette about Henry VIII's sister Margaret and I've just ordered a book about Ann Boleyn's brother.
> 
> I also like Russian history my favourites are anything about the Tsar and his children. Also Helen Dunmore's The Seige and The Betrayal and Simon Montefiore's Sashenka which made me cry.
> 
> Also recently read Hanns & Rudolf by Thomas Harding about a Nazi hunter and a Nazi concentration camp commandant.
> 
> I do read some modern stuff too like Lynda La Plante but prefer history.


I am _so_ jealous of your book room! Can I come and visit? You won't realise I'm there, honest! 

I love reading, I finished The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy yesterday and am going to start re-reading The Lord of the Rings today.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Animallover26 said:


> I am _so_ jealous of your book room! Can I come and visit? You won't realise I'm there, honest!
> 
> I love reading, I finished The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy yesterday and am going to start re-reading The Lord of the Rings today.


Thank you. You would be most welcome. There is a reclining leather arm chair by the window just out of view although I never really sit in there.


----------



## leashedForLife

i stopped into Starbucks t'other day, & bought a slice of their pumpkin-bread -
my favorite [not to say "only"] item on the menu, since they partnered with _La Boulange_, HQ'd in California...
they *still* lack ingredient-lists for the new items, they've only got silly little index-cards on a jailer's ring,
each with a vague PR-sounding description of one item: "artisanal", "natural", & other marshmallow terms.

*They've changed the recipe.* :mad5: It still looks pumpkin-ish, but lighter in color;
the texture is completely different, i think they went from all-purpose flour to CAKE flour, it's a very fine, tender
crumb, & it's incredibly sweet. :nonod: Think of "pumpkin-flavored wedding cake, without icing". Blarggh.

the ONLY good thing from that visit?...
_'*Iron Guard*'_ by Mark Chapman.

It's science-fiction, but far from my usual [broad] taste - it's highly militaristic.
But it's a complex plot with decent characters - i'm going to look for more books from this series,
it's set in the far future & a God-Emperor rules the galaxy from Earth; he's considered divine, & his rule
is an article of faith, as much as a political fact.

In this particular book, a mining-world has "fallen off the grid" & a regiment is sent to find out why -
a truly-terrifying mystery begins to unfold after they make planetfall.


----------



## porps

reading game of thrones atm


----------



## lostbear

Animallover26 said:


> I am _so_ jealous of your book room! Can I come and visit? You won't realise I'm there, honest!
> 
> I love reading, I finished The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy yesterday and am going to start re-reading The Lord of the Rings today.


Me too, me too! I would just curl up quietly and all you would hear would be contented sighs . . .


----------



## Sarah1983

Yesterday I finished the most "wtf??" book I have ever read. My face reading it was :skep:  :nonod: :yikes: :skep: the whole way. Boy Next Door by Emma Clark. I'm not even sure whether I enjoyed it or not, it was just wtf.

Before that I read Empathy by Ker Dukey. Enjoyed that one.

Moving on to The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough now.


----------



## Sophiebee

missRV said:


> I am still reading "the fault is in our stars" Amazing book!
> 
> Just read "the boy in the striped pyjamas" I have always vowed to read it at some point and decided a few weeks ago that it was time!
> 
> A favourite is Jodi Picoult "house rules" I loved that book!


I loved house rules (im a huge jodi picoult fan anyway though!)

I still cant make up my mind about the fault in our stars, i liked it but im not sure it lived to the huge hype surrounding it for me, I made the mistake of reading it at the same time the movie (which i havent seen) came out though so it was EVERYWHERE.

Im reading eat, pray, love at the moment, its quite nice but not the kind of book where much happens, so its going a little slowly for me (I usually finish a book in 2-3 days and ive been on this for a week as im just not inclined to keep reading.) I might start something a little more page-turning to have on the go as well.


----------



## Mrsred

Cor, but I do love the library. 

I went on Tuesday to return my last set of books and picked up any old nonsense and got to the counter and they had the latest Poirot (the author has been commissioned by the grandsons of Agatha Christie) it's called The Monogram murders and is shaping up very nicely. 

AND they had the new Robert Gilbraith, The Silkworm, which I had been eyeing covetously in the supermarket. 

That's my weekend sorted out then!


----------



## Dogloverlou

I'm currently reading 'One Day' by David Nicholls. Different from my usual genre as I tend to enjoy crime thrillers/horror novels mostly.


----------



## Sarah1983

Still reading The Thorn Birds. God it's dragging on. Really enjoyed it at the start but I'm bored now. I'm about 90% through though so will finish it. 11 days on one book is unheard of!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Mrsred said:


> Cor, but I do love the library.
> 
> I went on Tuesday to return my last set of books and picked up any old nonsense and got to the counter and they had the latest Poirot (the author has been commissioned by the grandsons of Agatha Christie) it's called The Monochrome murders and is shaping up very nicely.
> 
> AND they had the new Robert Gilbraith, The Silkworm, which I had been eyeing covetously in the supermarket.
> 
> That's my weekend sorted out then!


I quite enjoyed The Silkworm but perhaps not quite as much as The Cuckoo's Calling.


----------



## Mrsred

I haven't started it yet as I'm on the MONOGRAM murders (see previous post where autocorrect turned it into monochrome!)

I thought on her last Harry Potter book, the pressure was so great on her, it wasn't as good in parts as the previous two books so maybe she had the same problem with this one?


----------



## Jonescat

Now reading "the Boy with the Topknot" by Sathnam Sanghera, about growing up in Wolverhampton and discovering as an adult that your father and sister suffered from schizophrenia during that time. It is very illuminating.


----------



## Mrsred

Sarah1983 said:


> Still reading The Thorn Birds. God it's dragging on. Really enjoyed it at the start but I'm bored now. I'm about 90% through though so will finish it. 11 days on one book is unheard of!


Try War & Peace. It went on FOREVER. I think I had to check it out three times, it was relatively new when I first borrowed it and it was rather dog eared on its return.

I remember watching The Thorn Birds as a child and my mother muttering it wasn't suitable and me being sent to bed, it's about a priest isn't it?

Wouldn't raise an eyebrow now!


----------



## lymorelynn

An unpublished book by an unknown author.


----------



## Sarah1983

Mrsred said:


> Try War & Peace. It went on FOREVER. I think I had to check it out three times, it was relatively new when I first borrowed it and it was rather dog eared on its return.
> 
> I remember watching The Thorn Birds as a child and my mother muttering it wasn't suitable and me being sent to bed, it's about a priest isn't it?
> 
> Wouldn't raise an eyebrow now!


Sort of. And the woman who loves him and her family. It spans a few generations and there doesn't really seem a whole lot of point to it. Perhaps I'll see the point when I've finished it? 

Going to read Peony in Love next I think.


----------



## catpud

Received a signed copy of Call of the Jersey Devil a few days ago and have only got around to opening it - have two days off work by some miracle now so sitting here reading it with Vodka and Iron Brew which is a nice combination. Almost finished, just have the last couple of chapters to read and can't wait to find out how the tale ends. 

Part of the blurb: The Jersey Devil, hellspawn of folklore and legend is real, and New Jersey (as many already suspected) is the gateway to hell. 

So far it's pretty engaging, its sort of a horror turned comedy and some parts really resonate with me. It came with a download sticker for the authors latest album so that you could read the book and listen to the music alongside it and there are connections to the music throughout. I have a few favourites among the characters, mainly Stuey despite him being killed of half way through, and Villy who is a musician. 

I rarely read modern novels, but being a fan of this persons music and art I really wanted to give give it a go and it is really good. A little different from my usual horrors and classics but I am enjoying it and the writing is very good, quite enjoying the imaginative illustrations on a few of the separating pages also.


----------



## Mrsred

Finished The Monogram Murders earlier and can thoughly recommend it to anyone who loves an old time murder mystery, Sophie Hannah did a really good job.


----------



## merlin12

I am reading "Don´t tell the groom" it´s about a girl who gambles online as she wants to get a Vera Wang wedding dress and then is left with only 5 thousand pounds to organize her wedding (her boyfriend things they have 15 thousand). It´s quite funny. Before then, I read the Bridesmaid´s pact which was also quite entertaining.

For those who like cats and suspense, I´d like to recommend my new novel "I stand corrected". I think it´s a good read but then, I am biased


----------



## Nat88

merlin12 said:


> I am reading "Don´t tell the groom" it´s about a girl who gambles online as she wants to get a Vera Wang wedding dress and then is left with only 5 thousand pounds to organize her wedding (her boyfriend things they have 15 thousand). It´s quite funny. Before then, I read the Bridesmaid´s pact which was also quite entertaining.


I have a sample of Don't Tell the Groom downloaded on my Kindle, and looking forward to reading it.

I'm currently reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It cuts very close to home at times as I have just lost my own mother through the same illness, yet the book is very powerful and moving so I am glad I picked it up.


----------



## MyMillie

merlin12 said:


> I am reading "Don´t tell the groom" it´s about a girl who gambles online as she wants to get a Vera Wang wedding dress and then is left with only 5 thousand pounds to organize her wedding (her boyfriend things they have 15 thousand). It´s quite funny. Before then, I read the Bridesmaid´s pact which was also quite entertaining.
> 
> For those who like cats and suspense, I´d like to recommend my new novel "I stand corrected". I think it´s a good read but then, I am biased


I really enjoyed your book .... Please tell me the follow on is going to be out soon, I cant wait to read what happens to Javier'


----------



## Valanita

I am listening to the Michael Morpurgo audio book Running Wild, now that is giving me food for thought.


----------



## merlin12

MyMillie said:


> I really enjoyed your book .... Please tell me the follow on is going to be out soon, I cant wait to read what happens to Javier'


Oh you read it????? Wow!!! So glad you liked it, means the world to me. IThere are going to be a lot of surprises for Rosario and Balou, also Balou will have something to say this Christmas Stay alert.


----------



## MyMillie

merlin12 said:


> Oh you read it????? Wow!!! So glad you liked it, means the world to me. IThere are going to be a lot of surprises for Rosario and Balou, also Balou will have something to say this Christmas Stay alert.


Sounds EXCITING... I never knew I would love a cat so much  (being a dog person) waiting till Christmas will be a testing time for me though, I'm such an impatient person .... but well done on the style of your book, I really liked they way you wrote it 

Hope the surprises for Rosario and Balou are good ones!.... dont go spoiling my Christmas with sad ending  

ETA: could you please inform me as soon as its available on Amazon.... can you tell how I so much want to know what happens?


----------



## Nicky10

Just finished call the midwife, the memoir the series is based off. It's such an interesting story


----------



## merlin12

MyMillie said:


> Sounds EXCITING... I never knew I would love a cat so much  (being a dog person) waiting till Christmas will be a testing time for me though, I'm such an impatient person .... but well done on the style of your book, I really liked they way you wrote it
> 
> Hope the surprises for Rosario and Balou are good ones!.... dont go spoiling my Christmas with sad ending


Lol, seeing your message today was an extremely pleasant surprise, means so much to hear what others think of my work and I´m glad you like Balou. Was he your favourite character? (without giving anything away). Don´t worry, what you will see this Christmas will be happy and next year, the next mystery of Rosario and Balou


----------



## MyMillie

merlin12 said:


> Lol, seeing your message today was an extremely pleasant surprise, means so much to hear what others think of my work and I´m glad you like Balou. Was he your favourite character? (without giving anything away). Don´t worry, what you will see this Christmas will be happy and next year, the next mystery of Rosario and Balou


I have to say he came second to me, the character of Rosairo, what a beautiful energy she is.....even though I wanted to knock some sense into her myself , but the whole story line of her is so true of many women in the context of what she went through in that situation....sadly ... but Balou reminds me of how my grown up Son describes cats to be, 'very knowing' he is such a cat lover, bless him


----------



## merlin12

MyMillie said:


> I have to say he came second to me, the character of Rosairo, what a beautiful energy she is.....even though I wanted to knock some sense into her myself , but the whole story line of her is so true of many women in the context of what she went through in that situation....sadly ... but Balou reminds me of how my grown up Son describes cats to be, 'very knowing' he is such a cat lover, bless him


That is how they bare, they are also very protective when they have to be. They are just in a league of their own


----------



## Mrsred

I am mid a cracker of a book called 'Death by Chocolate. The serial poisoning of Victorian Brighton' by Sophie Jackson. 

Absolutely absorbing book about a serial killer using confectionary to hide poison in an era where science was only just starting to understand how poisons worked, how they detected them (feeding a deceased persons stomach to a dog and then watching if they died was one manner of detection previously) and in a society that didn't really understand what a serial killer was. 

It explains the rise of Brighton as a resort, the social mores of the time and the way in which women and in particular women who committed crimes were viewed.


----------



## Jellypi3

Finally finished book 14 of The Wheel of Time series...phwoar that was a good (big) book! Loved it!

Recommended for any fantasy lovers who like a challenge!


----------



## Sarah1983

Jellypi3 said:


> Finally finished book 14 of The Wheel of Time series...phwoar that was a good (big) book! Loved it!
> 
> Recommended for any fantasy lovers who like a challenge!


I love this series so, so much! I've not read the last 2 yet, I keep putting it off because once I've read them it's over and I really, really don't want it to be over. Silly really  I'm listening to them on audio book at the moment, up to book 10 so far. Have you read Brandon Sandersons own books? Apparently they're very good and I keep meaning to give them a try, he did a good job of finishing the Wheel of Time imo.

I finally made it through The Thorn Birds and overall enjoyed it, it just seemed to hit a sticky patch for me, perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for that sort of book.

Currently reading Peony In Love by Lisa See. Read another of hers a while back and really enjoyed it but this one...well so far I've done nothing but roll my eyes at the main character and am not enjoying it at all.


----------



## Jellypi3

Sarah1983 said:


> I love this series so, so much! I've not read the last 2 yet, I keep putting it off because once I've read them it's over and I really, really don't want it to be over. Silly really  I'm listening to them on audio book at the moment, up to book 10 so far. Have you read Brandon Sandersons own books? Apparently they're very good and I keep meaning to give them a try, he did a good job of finishing the Wheel of Time imo..


I've read Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, that was very good. A new take on "magic", not just your typical mystical forces in play. Really enjoyed it.

And I loved the way he ended WoT. I know he followed RJ's story but I do think he did it justice. You should get to the end though. It left me so tense but at the same time relieved, sad, just so many emotions. I was on the train crying!


----------



## Nicky10

I still haven't finished WOT, I've been trying since towers of midnight came out . It's just so long but it's a good series.

I have the Mistborn trilogy in my to read pile, they look really interesting


----------



## Sarah1983

Jellypi3 said:


> I've read Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, that was very good. A new take on "magic", not just your typical mystical forces in play. Really enjoyed it.
> 
> And I loved the way he ended WoT. I know he followed RJ's story but I do think he did it justice. You should get to the end though. It left me so tense but at the same time relieved, sad, just so many emotions. I was on the train crying!


I want to finish it but at the same time I don't lol. It's been a part of my life for so long and I've done so many re-reads (every time a new book came out and in between too lol) that I just don't want it to be over! I will finish it though. I can always read it again. And again.

I have Mistborn on my TBR list, just haven't gotten around to it. I really must do though, it seems so hard to find good fantasy and everyone I've asked has said his are good.


----------



## Sarah1983

Gave up on Peony in Love for the time being. Just cannot get into it and want to slap the main character. Hard. Multiple times.

I read Six of Hearts by L.H. Cosway yesterday. Absolutely loved it 

Now reading Becoming Calder by Mia Sheridan. And listening to Wheel of Time still when I cross stitch lol.


----------



## Colette

I'm taking a break from my usual Stephen King at the moment to read "We need to talk about Kevin" by Lionel Shriver. I'm only about a third of the way into it but its already pretty disturbing. 

I have to say I've never wanted children anyway - but this book has pretty much cemented that idea already!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Just finished the Kings Curse by Philippa Gregory - my favourite of all her books I think. Its about the life of Margaret Pole the oldest lady to be executed by Henry VIII and mother of the last catholic Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Have just started Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. I've really enjoyed some of her other books so hope this will be a good one.


----------



## Mrsred

Sarah pinbourough, Mayhem.

A poundland special, fictional but based on facts about a murder that ran alongside Jack the Ripper. 

I'm all about the gruesome murders this weather.


----------



## jenniferx

Sane New World- Ruby Wax. I'm enjoying it! Still only about a third of the way through. It hasn't really told me anything that I didn't already know but it's witty and articulates mental illness in a relatable kind of way. I've just reached the practical chapter about mindfulness training so I'm interested to see what that says... 

I'm thinking of reading Gone Girl- I don't really ever do fictional books but I watched the film and found it pretty intriguing and my sister assures me the book is ten times more satisfying (though how this can be when you get full frontal Ben Affleck if only for a second I am not sure...)


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

jenniferx said:


> Sane New World- Ruby Wax. I'm enjoying it! Still only about a third of the way through. It hasn't really told me anything that I didn't already know but it's witty and articulates mental illness in a relatable kind of way. I've just reached the practical chapter about mindfulness training so I'm interested to see what that says...
> 
> I'm thinking of reading Gone Girl- I don't really ever do fictional books but I watched the film and found it pretty intriguing and my sister assures me the book is ten times more satisfying (though how this can be when you get full frontal Ben Affleck if only for a second I am not sure...)


I enjoyed the book but the ending was a big let down so I'll be interested to see how they deal with that in the film when it eventually comes on TV.


----------



## merlin12

After reading "Don´t tell the groom" I finished "Don´t tell the boss" light reading which is good from time to time.


----------



## Sarah1983

Finished Becoming Calder and its conclusion, Finding Eden by Mia Sheridan. Really, really good. Then I read Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott, really enjoyed that one too. 

Now reading The Thief Taker by C.S. Quinn. So far it's looking really good. Bit of a fantasy spin on it by the look of it rather than a straight up historical crime novel.


----------



## Maiaetta

I'm reading sharp objects by Gillian Flynn (author of gone girl) about 40 percent through and think I might have already guessed the murderer...hope I'm wrong.


----------



## Luz

jenniferx said:


> I'm thinking of reading Gone Girl- I don't really ever do fictional books but I watched the film and found it pretty intriguing and my sister assures me the book is ten times more satisfying (though how this can be when you get full frontal Ben Affleck if only for a second I am not sure...)


I thought Gone Girl was awesome. Even the ending. My son went to see the film and enjoyed it so am looking forward to watching it. 
I read my first Jodi Picoult book 'Vanishing Acts' this summer and really hated it apart from the idea which I found interesting so kept reading to the end. It took about 5 weeks to read and was a real grind. I just felt it was 90% padding and kept shouting GET ON WITH IT! Are all her books similar or did I just get a bad one?
I have just given up on 'Random Acts of Heroic Love' about a quarter of the way in because I found it so bleak and depressing. I then picked up OH DEAR SILVIA which promises a laugh on every page and after about 20 pages I haven't found any!
The other book I have in reserve is Lessons in Laughing Out Loud, which I haven't started yet.
Books I *have* enjoyed recently are: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, The Shadow Of The Wind, and Winter in Madrid.


----------



## kitkatze

Recently finished Traitor's Blade by Sebastian de Castell. Pretty good, especially for a debut novel. I love reading but i am so hard to find good books most of the time particularly in the genre of fantasy. Might read some Agatha Christie later on...i miss poirot.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Luz said:


> I thought Gone Girl was awesome. Even the ending. My son went to see the film and enjoyed it so am looking forward to watching it.
> I read my first Jodi Picoult book 'Vanishing Acts' this summer and really hated it apart from the idea which I found interesting so kept reading to the end. It took about 5 weeks to read and was a real grind. I just felt it was 90% padding and kept shouting GET ON WITH IT! Are all her books similar or did I just get a bad one?
> I have just given up on 'Random Acts of Heroic Love' about a quarter of the way in because I found it so bleak and depressing. I then picked up OH DEAR SILVIA which promises a laugh on every page and after about 20 pages I haven't found any!
> The other book I have in reserve is Lessons in Laughing Out Loud, which I haven't started yet.
> Books I *have* enjoyed recently are: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, The Shadow Of The Wind, and Winter in Madrid.


The Shadow Of The Wind and Winter In Madrid are two of my favourties. Have you tried The Shardlake series by CJ Sansom?


----------



## Luz

rottiepointerhouse said:


> The Shadow Of The Wind and Winter In Madrid are two of my favourties. Have you tried The Shardlake series by CJ Sansom?


Cheers I will look out for them.


----------



## Sarah1983

Finished The Thief Taker, really enjoyed it. Then I read No Blacks No Dogs No Irish. Story wasn't bad but felt absolutely nothing for the characters so didn't really enjoy the book. Then I read War Brides, that one was good.

Now I'm reading The Beats in Rift by Ker Dukey.


----------



## PlatinumAlibi

Currently reading the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day.

It's a 50 shades of grey type book but it has a lovely story in between the mindless sex sections, however I really enjoyed the three 50 shades of grey books too!


----------



## Nicky10

If people want to read bdsm fiction there are much better books than fifty shades and its millions of imitators. And that don't portray everyone involved as abuse victims or screwed up in other ways.

The sleeping beauty trilogy comes especially highly recommended. It's written by Anne Rice


----------



## PlatinumAlibi

Nicky10 said:


> If people want to read bdsm fiction there are much better books than fifty shades and its millions of imitators. And that don't portray everyone involved as abuse victims or screwed up in other ways.
> 
> The sleeping beauty trilogy comes especially highly recommended. It's written by Anne Rice


I don't read them for the sexual parts, they do actually have a story which I enjoy! :lol:

Also, does anybody have anything to say about Kindles? I'm interested but don't know if they're worth buying or not. Any experience?


----------



## Sarah1983

Finished The Beats in Rift by Ker Dukey. Didn't live up to the hype for me, I think perhaps I expected a little too much. It was good, just not as good as it was made out to be.

Then I read One Two He Is Coming For You by Willow Rose which was good but a little odd. I don't think the translation was very good to be honest which made it sound a bit stilted. Good story though.

Then I read a book I found on NetGalley (if you review books it's worth a look), Tears of a Heart by Chase Blackwood, book one in a new fantasy series. Really enjoyed that and looking forward to the next one.

Now reading Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge.


----------



## Sarah1983

PlatinumAlibi said:


> I don't read them for the sexual parts, they do actually have a story which I enjoy! :lol:
> 
> Also, does anybody have anything to say about Kindles? I'm interested but don't know if they're worth buying or not. Any experience?


Love my kindle and wouldn't be without it now. Carrying all those books around in my pocket is great  And there are tons and tons of free or really cheap books available which saves me a hell of a lot of money.


----------



## PlatinumAlibi

Sarah1983 said:


> Love my kindle and wouldn't be without it now. Carrying all those books around in my pocket is great  And there are tons and tons of free or really cheap books available which saves me a hell of a lot of money.


Are they battery or rechargeable? Also, what's their lifespan? I can be on the go for hours and would like to know if they last for hours!


----------



## Nicky10

Rechargeable and they last forever. You'll be fine being out for a few hours


----------



## PlatinumAlibi

Nicky10 said:


> Rechargeable and they last forever. You'll be fine being out for a few hours


Wonderful, Thank you.


----------



## Sarah1983

PlatinumAlibi said:


> Are they battery or rechargeable? Also, what's their lifespan? I can be on the go for hours and would like to know if they last for hours!


Battery life depends on the Kindle. My old one lasted 2 or 3 days of almost constant reading while I was in hospital before hubby had to bring it home to recharge it (only had the USB charger then) while my Fire lasts nowhere near that. It lasts the better part of a day though  Especially if I turn wireless off on it.


----------



## kitkatze

I have finished reading The copper promise but now i dont know what to read next...:confused1: so many books.


----------



## Sarah1983

Why is this thread on page 6?? That should so not be allowed!

Eeny Meeny wasn't bad. Really interesting plot but seemed rushed at the end. Then I read The Dry Grass of August which was something to do with racial segregation in the 50s in the US somewhere. Dawdled along with nothing happening for about 3/4 of the book then drama after drama after drama. I couldn't actually tell you what the point of the book was because I honestly don't know lol.

Then I read one I normally wouldn't have even looked at but the author posted a comment on my blog so I thought it would be rude not to. The Waiting Room by Alysha Kaye. Talk about surprisingly good! Different to anything I've read before and I really enjoyed it.

Now I'm reading The Bloodletters Daughter which seems good so far.


----------



## CRL

im re reading the harry potter series.


----------



## Valanita

I am listening to the audio book by Anne McCaffrey, Dragonflight, for the umpteenth time.


----------



## Dogloverlou

Just finished reading 'The House of Silk' and I thoroughly enjoyed it


----------



## Dogloverlou

PlatinumAlibi said:


> I don't read them for the sexual parts, they do actually have a story which I enjoy! :lol:
> 
> Also, does anybody have anything to say about Kindles? I'm interested but don't know if they're worth buying or not. Any experience?


I have a Kindle Fire that allows me to surf the Internet too. Love it! Have also read a few good free books on there too. 'The Box' was particularly interesting and enjoyable


----------



## Fluffster

Dogloverlou said:


> Just finished reading 'The House of Silk' and I thoroughly enjoyed it


I've just read the second Horowitz novel set in the Holmes world, Moriarty, and really enjoyed it too! Loved the first one too.


----------



## Mrsred

Dogloverlou said:


> Just finished reading 'The House of Silk' and I thoroughly enjoyed it


One of my absolute faves, I've re read it twice. His new one, 'Moriarty' is now out and I am busting to read it. My library are usually very good at ordering things in for you for 50p so that is what I shall be doing on my next visit there.

I bought the first ten in the Hamish McBeth series by M.C Beaton for £7:99 from The Book People and I cannot put them down.

Perfect light reading whilst sitting beside an open fire with some part of a dog lying on you.

When I win the euro millions, I'm moving to the highlands.


----------



## CRL

PlatinumAlibi said:


> I don't read them for the sexual parts, they do actually have a story which I enjoy! :lol:
> 
> Also, does anybody have anything to say about Kindles? I'm interested but don't know if they're worth buying or not. Any experience?


if you like the stories of these type of books try kelley armstrong, kresley cole, gena showalter, alexis morgan and g a aiken


----------



## Dogloverlou

Fluffster said:


> I've just read the second Horowitz novel set in the Holmes world, Moriarty, and really enjoyed it too! Loved the first one too.





Mrsred said:


> One of my absolute faves, I've re read it twice. His new one, 'Moriarty' is now out and I am busting to read it. My library are usually very good at ordering things in for you for 50p so that is what I shall be doing on my next visit there.
> 
> I bought the first ten in the Hamish McBeth series by M.C Beaton for £7:99 from The Book People and I cannot put them down.
> 
> Perfect light reading whilst sitting beside an open fire with some part of a dog lying on you.
> 
> When I win the euro millions, I'm moving to the highlands.


I really want to read Moriarty next too! Read the first chapter at the end of The House Of Silk and am now disappointed I can't continue until I buy it! lol


----------



## Mrsred

Dogloverlou said:


> I really want to read Moriarty next too! Read the first chapter at the end of The House Of Silk and am now disappointed I can't continue until I buy it! lol


It's £9:99 in Sainsburys but I just can't justify it at the moment!


----------



## Dogloverlou

Mrsred said:


> It's £9:99 in Sainsburys but I just can't justify it at the moment!


Ah yeah, that's a bit much. I bought The House of Silk for about £3, and would much rather hold out until the current book drops it's price too!


----------



## Sarah1983

If you've got charity shops nearby check their book section, I've had some fantastic bargains from them. Including hardback books that have only been out a couple of weeks being sold for as little as 50p 

Moriarty is £9 on Kindle :shocked: I begrudge paying that much for an ebook.


----------



## CRL

Sarah1983 said:


> If you've got charity shops nearby check their book section, I've had some fantastic bargains from them. Including hardback books that have only been out a couple of weeks being sold for as little as 50p
> 
> Moriarty is £9 on Kindle :shocked: I begrudge paying that much for an ebook.


poundland do some books. you might find good books in there. i found 3 for myself on tuesday, and i only like fantasy books


----------



## Nicky10

The complete dinosaur which is a book of essays about well. It's so interesting but it's a subject that fascinates me anyway. I'm going to reread Harry Potter again next but I'm too busy writing my own for a writing challenge at the minute.

I can't walk into a bookshop or wander around amazon without buying books . The kindle has been so useful for me because if I had all the books on there in actual books I don't think I'd be able to move in my house.


----------



## emzybabe

I've read 3 of the mortal instruments books in the last week. Very light hearted easy reading. 

I would love some suggestions for what to read next. something with a good story line, adult base rather than YA, no kiddy fiddler type books tho.

Nicky what are you writing about? Id love to write a book I've a few crazy ideas but no idea where to start and I wasn't great with English at school.


----------



## Colette

I love checking out the charity shops for books, and Oxfam bookshops are particularly good. We occassionally go to a great one in Reading that has a good range, including my usual faves likes fantasy and horror.

I've finished "We need to talk about Kevin" which was awesome; loved it - but glad I'd already decided I don't want children!! 

Now reading The Dark Half by Stephen King, can't rate it as yet - its slow going because I can't get into it yet. Hoping its going to pick up soon, I usually love SK.


----------



## Nicky10

emzybabe said:


> I've read 3 of the mortal instruments books in the last week. Very light hearted easy reading.
> 
> I would love some suggestions for what to read next. something with a good story line, adult base rather than YA, no kiddy fiddler type books tho.
> 
> Nicky what are you writing about? Id love to write a book I've a few crazy ideas but no idea where to start and I wasn't great with English at school.


It's just a fantasy adventure type thing, that I haven't had much time to work on even though the challenge only lasts a month . Do you have characters or a setting? Just start writing short stories and see what comes out. I'm probably not much help though I'm a terrible writer I just enjoy it.

I haven't had much time for reading except textbooks which I suppose count


----------



## Guest

Recently I read the curious incident of the dog in the night time in alcudia but the sun melted the glue so need to put it back together, thanks a lot sun.


----------



## Mrsred

Just finished Stephen Fry's 'More Fool Me'. It was the libraries book of the week and I didn't know what I was in the mood for after 11 Hamish McBeths (I've ordered more of them from eBay and the book people!)

Very Jolly hockey sticks and an insight into his life and career in the 90's. He had a ball and seems a very nice man. 

Now onto Anne Dunlop 'A Soft Touch'. A rural Northern Irish chick lit writer, nice wee funny read.


----------



## Sarah1983

Nicky10 said:


> It's just a fantasy adventure type thing, that I haven't had much time to work on *even though the challenge only lasts a month* . Do you have characters or a setting? Just start writing short stories and see what comes out. I'm probably not much help though I'm a terrible writer I just enjoy it.
> 
> I haven't had much time for reading except textbooks which I suppose count


NaNoWriMo by any chance?

I'm reading, or trying to read anyway, The Maze Runner at the moment. The plot seems good but god, the language! This is a bunch of teenagers, they're saying shuck it and klunk and calling each other shanks and it's just not working for me. At all. Just have them bloody swear and be done with it!


----------



## Dogloverlou

Sarah1983 said:


> NaNoWriMo by any chance?
> 
> I'm reading, or trying to read anyway, The Maze Runner at the moment. The plot seems good but god, the language! This is a bunch of teenagers, they're saying shuck it and klunk and calling each other shanks and it's just not working for me. At all. Just have them bloody swear and be done with it!


I just finished The Maze Runner and really enjoyed it. Took me the best part of 2 days, and now I'm trying to find the second book in the series but for some strange reason my Kindle says there is an error everytime I try to load it....

Anyway, yes, the odd choice of language takes a little getting used to. The way I saw it was that the boys had no memory of 'normal' phrases so made up their own language. Bearing in mind it's a YA/teenage book I guess they couldn't be effing and blinding nearly every sentence anyway lol.


----------



## Sarah1983

Dogloverlou said:


> I just finished The Maze Runner and really enjoyed it. Took me the best part of 2 days, and now I'm trying to find the second book in the series but for some strange reason my Kindle says there is an error everytime I try to load it....
> 
> Anyway, yes, the odd choice of language takes a little getting used to. The way I saw it was that the boys had no memory of 'normal' phrases so made up their own language. Bearing in mind it's a YA/teenage book I guess they couldn't be effing and blinding nearly every sentence anyway lol.


Oh I know. I don't even know why it's bothering me so much but it is really, really grating on me. I think I'd almost prefer the old Enid Blyton "golly!" and "fat head" over the shuck it and klunk :lol: And it's a shame because I think if it wasn't for the language I'd be really enjoying the book.


----------



## MCWillow

I'm reading Revival - the latest Stephen King book  :thumbup:


----------



## Nicky10

Sarah1983 said:


> NaNoWriMo by any chance?
> 
> I'm reading, or trying to read anyway, The Maze Runner at the moment. The plot seems good but god, the language! This is a bunch of teenagers, they're saying shuck it and klunk and calling each other shanks and it's just not working for me. At all. Just have them bloody swear and be done with it!


Yes.

I've been considering reading maze runner, isn't it supposed to be the sort of prototype for books like hunger games?


----------



## Sarah1983

Nicky10 said:


> Yes.
> 
> I've been considering reading maze runner, isn't it supposed to be the sort of prototype for books like hunger games?


First time in years I've not done NaNo lol.

I dunno what it's supposed to be but yeah, it did make me think of Hunger Games. As I say, think it would be really, really good if I could just get over my problem with the shuck its lol.


----------



## ItsonlyChris

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD - Jonathan Black

I wouldn't have used full capitals but the book is immensely interesting. I'm currently reading on how our nervous system is a gift from the plants and that's why it looks like roots.


----------



## emzybabe

ItsonlyChris said:


> THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD - Jonathan Black
> 
> I wouldn't have used full capitals but the book is immensely interesting. I'm currently reading on how our nervous system is a gift from the plants and that's why it looks like roots.


Thanks I think that's the MILs Xmas present sorted! even though she I a Christian biologist...


----------



## emzybabe

Just a few crazy ideas but not sure how to get them into paper. I think it would be easiest to set in current time, a city but could be any and I haven't thought about characters. I love people watching so I should go put for a coffee alone and think about them.


----------



## Dogloverlou

Now reading World War Z.


----------



## Mrsred

Yippee, the library emailed me so tonight I am all set with Moriarty and P D James' Death Comes To Pemberley. I am conveniently going to to forget about the weeks worth of ironing that needs doing in honour of them.


----------



## Jonescat

A Humble Companion by Laurie Graham - historical novel set in the family of George III. I don't know very much about the period so it will be interesting I hope.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Mrsred said:


> Yippee, the library emailed me so tonight I am all set with Moriarty and P D James' Death Comes To Pemberley. I am conveniently going to to forget about the weeks worth of ironing that needs doing in honour of them.


I love PD James and was very sad to hear of her death this week . Quite enjoyed Death comes to Pemberley but its nothing like her usual work.

I'm reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan which won the Man Booker prize this year. I'm not very far in yet and have found it a bit heavy going in places - its about the Japanese construction of the death railway during WW2 although its also a love story.


----------



## Mrsred

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I love PD James and was very sad to hear of her death this week . Quite enjoyed Death comes to Pemberley but its nothing like her usual work.
> 
> I'm reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan which won the Man Booker prize this year. I'm not very far in yet and have found it a bit heavy going in places - its about the Japanese construction of the death railway during WW2 although its also a love story.


It was book of the week in the library and they had a photograph of her up behind it with her year of birth and death on it which I thought was very nice.

Our library is very small and it's very sad, they already only open three days a week as it is and now they have cut hours on two of the days.


----------



## stopdogbarking

I am reading an awesum book Mentored by Millionaire - Steave Scott.

A must read book


----------



## Guest

Colette said:


> I've finished "We need to talk about Kevin" which was awesome; loved it - but glad I'd already decided I don't want children!!


I know I'm a bit late to the party (searched this thread to find some new reading material for Christmas) but We need to talk about Kevin left me incredibly disturbed. I actually feel like I've been scarred for life, I can never forget that book. It was many years ago when I read it and I can still see certain parts vividly in my head. Just awful. (On the flip side, obviously incredible writing for it to have affected me so much!!!)


----------



## MollySmith

At the moment I am reading through submissions to the creative writing website that I run, Welcome to Your Ink Pantry - Ink PantryInk Pantry for next year's blog uploads. Armed with porridge and some tea and a snoring doggy!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

McKenzie said:


> I know I'm a bit late to the party (searched this thread to find some new reading material for Christmas) but We need to talk about Kevin left me incredibly disturbed. I actually feel like I've been scarred for life, I can never forget that book. It was many years ago when I read it and I can still see certain parts vividly in my head. Just awful. (On the flip side, obviously incredible writing for it to have affected me so much!!!)


I ordered this one recently and have it in my pile for the next books to choose from. Not sure I'll be in such a hurry to read it now.

I've finished The Narrow Road to the Deep North and found it very heavy going in places. I would have given up on it but its one of those books you feel you should finish out of respect for the POWs and what they suffered. I guess it achieved its goal also as there are many degrees of bad and suffering and right and wrong.

Currently reading Lynda Bellingham's book "There is something I'm dying to tell you".


----------



## leashedForLife

i've read at least a dozen books since my last visit, including science-fiction, international thriller [spy],
a historical romance, & techno-thriller [epidemic].

Just finished _'When We Were Gods'_, a novel of Cleopatra's life & death - very good,
but somewhat depressing - lots of political murders, betrayals, bribes, wars, & so on.

For a break, am now reading _'A Wonder Book of Old Romance'_ -
leather bound, gilt cover illustration, printed in Britain. Probly before 1910 -
no copyright date.
Author "F J Harvey Darton".

It's a collection of tales from Chaucer's period, knights & princesses & what-not.
Love the illustrations - engravings in pen-&-ink style, very fine work.


----------



## Nicky10

I'm finally making headway with wheel of time and now I've picked it up properly I can't put them down . I'm sure that will all change with the tenth book though, it's set over about three days and it's so tedious because the main action is happening elsewhere it's just a this is what the rest of the characters were doing type thing. More happens in the prologue in the next book.

Also reading a collection of short stories around alternate histories which is interesting.


----------



## Guest

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I ordered this one recently and have it in my pile for the next books to choose from. Not sure I'll be in such a hurry to read it now.


Well it's possible that I had a more extreme reaction to that book than other people do. But it's not a happy story. One part in particular just really, really disturbed me, I can still see it now. But you might not get as disturbed by it as me - I tend to be a bit of a wimp anyway


----------



## Dogloverlou

Still reading World War Z, but I read another book in between called 'Into the Darkest Corner' about an obsessive, abusive, relationship. Some parts were quite chilling to read, but I enjoy a good thriller and that's what it was.


----------



## Dogloverlou

McKenzie said:


> Well it's possible that I had a more extreme reaction to that book than other people do. But it's not a happy story. One part in particular just really, really disturbed me, I can still see it now. But you might not get as disturbed by it as me - I tend to be a bit of a wimp anyway


The film is quite disturbing in some respects too. Would like to read the book though so may look into it.


----------



## Sarah1983

Just finished one I got free on Facebook in return for a review, The Spark by Lisa Messier. First in a fantasy series and after a really slow start it turned out to be really good.

Now reading one from netgalley called 15/33 about a 17 year old pregnant girl who's been kidnapped.


----------



## leashedForLife

danielled said:


> Recently, I read _'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time'_ in *Alcudia*...


Huh - haven't heard of that one, before. :huh:

Is Alcudia in the romance-languages family, or Middle Eastern?
.
.
.
.
.
.
:001_tt2:


----------



## Mrsred

Finished Antony Horowitz' Moriarty. Not as good as The House of Silk but a good read anyway. 

Now onto The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Rachel Joyce's follow up to The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry. 

It is FABULOUS and I would really recommend.


----------



## leashedForLife

_'The Harem Midwife_ is wonderful, but it was the 2nd of these 2 books - i just happened upon it 1st.

the predecessor, which i THINK is _'The Midwife of Venice'_ is just as fantastic -
same author, same main characters.

medieval life, Jewish history, early medicine, appealing characters, Venice & Italy, art, culture,...
Wonderful. :thumbup:

The author has some 8 or 10 bestsellers to her credit - i like her writing very much. Evocative, concrete,
not florid but vivid.
.
.


----------



## Sarah1983

Just been sent the follow on to The Spark to review and been asked whether I'd like to try the first in another series and review that  so that's my next few days sorted.

Wasn't in the right frame of mind for stories about kidnapped pregnant girls yesterday so read Killer Queen by L.H. Conway instead. Loved all the books I've read by her so far and this one didn't disappoint.


----------



## leashedForLife

Just finished 2 good SciFi novels -

the first was literally *the best science-fiction writing, in any form, i've read in at least 5-years* -
& i read a *lot*. Marvelous concepts, a fascinating perspective in time & place that changes, good
character development, & very real human interactions - plus, alien machinery.

_'Pushing Ice'_ by Alastair Reynolds[/I] -
i suggest U not cheat & look at reviews, they LET OUT all the good secrets that unfold as wonderful,
self-contained flowers, if U just plunge in & read it blind. 

the 2nd is a classic good vs evil, lone wolf lawman - but set in a human-settled galaxy.
The marshal is a taciturn man who adores his wife & son, but can't speak it; the small-scale human dramas
in this & other lives are part of the novel's quality. There's a larger story about drug-smuggling - & to say
more would let out too much, but it's riveting - politics & profit, power & manipulation.
It was made into a movie starring Sean Connery - & this is the movie edition! - Photos in the center.
I loved that, nice surprise. 
_'Outland' by Alan Dean Foster_

Outland by Alan Dean Foster â Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists
.
.


----------



## katie200

I read...... The Forset King's Daughter Author Kandra Olson, great read...


----------



## Sarah1983

Haven't read a book since the end of January, I don't know what's wrong with me, I just can't get into anything at all


----------



## Dogloverlou

I just finished reading 'The book of you' by Claire Kendal. Was a good read.


----------



## CavalierOwner

Sarah1983 said:


> Haven't read a book since the end of January, I don't know what's wrong with me, I just can't get into anything at all


Have you read In The Company Of Killers series by J A Redmerski? One of my favourite series. If that doesn't get you out of your funk I don't know what will.:laugh:

I just finished reading Seeing Julia by Katherine Owen.


----------



## Nicky10

Wheel of time series in what little time I have free these days. I'm on the ninth book and dreading the next one. Its set over a few days when something major like world changing level is happening which is covered in the ninth book. This book just shows the other characters and its so boring


----------



## PawsOnMe

I just read Colleen Hoover's new book Confess. couldn't put it down so devoured it in one sitting, another great book by Hoover.


----------



## lostbear

Have just (re-read) all of the Barchester novels (I love them - have read them all a few times) and have now started a more "serious" book - "One Jesus, Many Christs" by Gregory Riley.


----------



## grumpy goby

Not read anything recently but Neil Gaimans "Trigger Warning" and the upcoming (12th I think) Jon Ronson book "So you've been publicly shamed" are on my to do list!


----------



## merlin12

I´m reading "What would Mary Berry do?"


----------



## Jonescat

Wife of the Bastard by Hilda Lewis - the story of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror about whom I know nothing yet. Our local railway station has a book exchange and this was the one I picked up this morning.


----------



## leashedForLife

trade paperback,

_'Possession - a romance' by A S Byatt_

big change from LARGE ideas, social change, etc - this is small-scale human drama.

Modern-day literary researchers separately stumble onto new & fascinating evidence - letters! -
of unsuspected romances in the lives of 2 Victorian poets. Academic rivalry & unethical doings, theft,
class inequity, female equality or male privileges, a fading peerage tries to keep their country home
livable -- it's all in there.
.
.


----------



## Bluetone

I'm reading Thomas Cromwell by Tracey Borman, I'm fascinated by Cromwell. Love History especially The Tutor era, Kings, skullduggery, battles, costumes and the old world language., I use goodreads and go to two local book clubs and manage 3-4 books a month to read min!


----------



## Sarah1983

Just finished Hearts of Fire by L.H. Cosway. Hoping it's managed to pull me out of this god awful book slump. Just started Only The Innocent by Rachel Abbott.


----------



## katie200

Worth a read  http://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/book-giveaway-join-the-fun.399212/


----------



## westie~ma

Clare Balding, Walking Home. 

Her doing a walk with her brother, along the way she drifts off to remember Ramblings stories that she recorded for the radio. 

I'm loving it.


----------



## leashedForLife

Long gap since my last post, & many, many books since -

currently re-reading a classic military / political Sci-Fi, _Forlorn Hope - _

characters well-fleshed-out, interesting plot; 2 powerful political forces are fighting for
control of multiple planets, 1 is a religious oligarchy, the other a secular government.

The "forlorn hope" in the title is a 3rd force - a small band of mercenaries who were hired
by the secular Govt to fight on their side, then - when the opposition rake their planet with
a starship that bombs them -- the Federals who hired the mercs are ready to sacrifice them
as a bargaining chip.
Realistic events & good plot twists.

I also recently re-read Koontz' _Mr Murder_ - like the vast majority of his books, wonderful
oddity & scary suspense. Among my fave authors.
.
.
.


----------



## cinnamontoast

Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms. Again.


----------



## CRL

cinnamontoast said:


> Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms. Again.


thats one of my favourites of his. i do particually enjoy his DEATH and witches books. obviously death of rats being my favourite character.

i just finished reading dracula. last time i read it, it took me a year to finish. this time only took me a day and a half. yay!!!
currently reading george rr martin: a game of thrones.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

The Warden and The Two Heroines of Plumpington by Anthony Trollope.


----------



## lostbear

rottiepointerhouse said:


> The Warden and The Two Heroines of Plumpington by Anthony Trollope.


I LOVE Trollope - I've never heard of the Two Heroines of Plumpington. I'll have to see if I can get a copy. I've recently finished reading "The Vicar of Bullhampton". One of the things I love about his books is that many of the characters follow from book to book - e.g. someone who is a minor character in one book, or who just gets mentioned but isn't a "player" so to speak, will have a leading part in another book, and there will be references to them in further books. This gives the impression of en entire microcosm of people who know and interact with each other, and whose stories are told in turn. So many of the books have stories that run alongside one another, weaving all of the lives together. The people are also very real and believable - not the sentimental cardboard cut-outs you get with Dickens.

At the moment I'm about to start reading "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. I've been poised to read it for months, but something has always come along to stop me. Better luck this time.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

lostbear said:


> I LOVE Trollope - I've never heard of the Two Heroines of Plumpington. I'll have to see if I can get a copy. I've recently finished reading "The Vicar of Bullhampton". One of the things I love about his books is that many of the characters follow from book to book - e.g. someone who is a minor character in one book, or who just gets mentioned but isn't a "player" so to speak, will have a leading part in another book, and there will be references to them in further books. This gives the impression of en entire microcosm of people who know and interact with each other, and whose stories are told in turn. So many of the books have stories that run alongside one another, weaving all of the lives together. The people are also very real and believable - not the sentimental cardboard cut-outs you get with Dickens.
> 
> At the moment I'm about to start reading "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. I've been poised to read it for months, but something has always come along to stop me. Better luck this time.


Have to admit I've never read any of his before and was prompted to have a look after hearing that Julian Fellowes who wrote Downton Abbey is planning a TV adaptation of Doctor Thorne. I'm loving how simple the story lines are yet how they are still relevant to the present day.


----------



## lostbear

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Have to admit I've never read any of his before and was prompted to have a look after hearing that Julian Fellowes who wrote Downton Abbey is planning a TV adaptation of Doctor Thorne. I'm loving how simple the story lines are yet how they are still relevant to the present day.


I think Dr Thorne is book three (or maybe four) of the six Barsetshire Chronicles. Each book stands alone, but reading them in order helps with the overall chronology. I think my favourite of the six is "The Small House at Allington", but they are all wonderful. And as you say, the issues he tackles, and the motions involved are relevant today.

Out of his political novels, I really loved "The Eustace Diamonds", one of the Palliser series.

Mrs Gaskill is a brilliant author, too, if you like period stuff - and Arnold Bennett - for some reason you don't hear much about him these days.


----------



## lostbear

leashedForLife said:


> trade paperback,
> 
> _'Possession - a romance' by A S Byatt_
> 
> big change from LARGE ideas, social change, etc - this is small-scale human drama.
> 
> Modern-day literary researchers separately stumble onto new & fascinating evidence - letters! -
> of unsuspected romances in the lives of 2 Victorian poets. Academic rivalry & unethical doings, theft,
> class inequity, female equality or male privileges, a fading peerage tries to keep their country home
> livable -- it's all in there.
> .
> .


Thank you - I've got a copy of this . It's one of the many books I have bought and then not got round to reading, but it sounds engrossing! I'll dig it out. :Cat


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

lostbear said:


> I think Dr Thorne is book three (or maybe four) of the six Barsetshire Chronicles. Each book stands alone, but reading them in order helps with the overall chronology. I think my favourite of the six is "The Small House at Allington", but they are all wonderful. And as you say, the issues he tackles, and the motions involved are relevant today.
> 
> Out of his political novels, I really loved "The Eustace Diamonds", one of the Palliser series.
> 
> Mrs Gaskill is a brilliant author, too, if you like period stuff - and Arnold Bennett - for some reason you don't hear much about him these days.


Thank you. I treated myself to the whole set of Barsetshire Chronicles - some appear to have an extra short story in the back which is how I got the Two Heronies of Plumplington.


----------



## pixelchu

Going to be reading Melanie Clegg's books soon! They were on sale online. £1 each! They're historical fiction books, one is about Jack the Ripper and the other is about the French revolution. She has more about other periods of history too.

Excited to start them! They all have female protagonists too which is nice.


----------



## Cedar

I am another avid reader and enjoy all sorts of books. Some authors I like for easy reading are: Erica James, Libby Purves, Amanda Brookfield, Rosamund Pilcher and Peter Robinson. I loved "the Curious Incidence of the Dog in the Night Time". I like a lot of the classics too. I read the Snow Goose by Paul Gallico when I was a teenager and it is still one oft all time favourites. Also like Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks


----------



## Valanita

CRL said:


> thats one of my favourites of his. i do particually enjoy his DEATH and witches books. obviously death of rats being my favourite character.
> 
> i just finished reading dracula. last time i read it, it took me a year to finish. this time only took me a day and a half. yay!!!
> currently reading george rr martin: a game of thrones.


I have been buying Terry Pratchett's audio books, unabridged of course. My latest buy is *The Long Earth.*
Wanted *I shall Wear Midnight,* but it's not available.


----------



## CRL

Valanita said:


> I have been buying Terry Pratchett's audio books, unabridged of course. My latest buy is *The Long Earth.*
> Wanted *I shall Wear Midnight,* but it's not available.


I did actually give all my terry pratchetts to the charity shop when i moved back in with my parents. I couldnt fit them in my room. Wish i hadnt now.


----------



## Valanita

Finished J K Rowlings The Casual Vacancy. Didn't really like it actually.


----------



## Valanita

CRL said:


> I did actually give all my terry pratchetts to the charity shop when i moved back in with my parents. I couldnt fit them in my room. Wish i hadnt now.


Shame you don't live nearer I have a lot of doubles hard & paperback.
If you are interested I can pm you a list?


----------



## Nicky10

I've read er maybe half of the colour of magic. I like Terry Pratchett's style just need to read more of them


----------



## lostbear

Cedar said:


> I am another avid reader and enjoy all sorts of books. Some authors I like for easy reading are: Erica James, Libby Purves, Amanda Brookfield, Rosamund Pilcher and Peter Robinson. I loved "the Curious Incidence of the Dog in the Night Time". I like a lot of the classics too. I read the Snow Goose by Paul Gallico when I was a teenager and it is still one oft all time favourites. Also like Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks


Paul Gallico is one of the most under estimated writers ever. Try not only"The Snow Goose" but h "The Hand of Mary Cnstableo", "Trial by Terror", |Jennie" )a must for cat lovers), "Thomasina" (ditto), "Scruffy" and "The Poseidon Adventure" - bugger it - I've never read a bad Paul Gallico. Go for it!


----------



## lostbear

CRL said:


> I did actually give all my terry pratchetts to the charity shop when i moved back in with my parents. I couldnt fit them in my room. Wish i hadnt now.


I ddi the same and could cry when I think about it - I had almost all of them.


----------



## lostbear

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Thank you. I treated myself to the whole set of Barsetshire Chronicles - some appear to have an extra short story in the back which is how I got the Two Heronies of Plumplington.


Go for it - you will enjoy them. They are wonderful nooks - just wonderful.


----------



## Valanita

lostbear said:


> I ddi the same and could cry when I think about it - I had almost all of them.


As I said I do have several doubles if you like can send you the titles in an fb.


----------



## Mrsred

Elizabeth Gilbert, The Signature of All Things. 

Something I would never have picked up, my mother got it in the local charity shop.

It is absolutely beautiful, one of those books you don't want to end.


----------



## CRL

lostbear said:


> I ddi the same and could cry when I think about it - I had almost all of them.


same here. all but the newest 2 books.


----------



## Cedar

@lostbear

Thanks I haven't read any other Paul Gallico books. I will look out for them!


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Don't know if anyone is familiar with her, but Elizabeth Goudge is a *marvelous* writer.
.
.
My all-time favorite of her books is _the Scent of Water_ - a young women gets a legacy
from an aged aunt that she only met once; the aunt thought the girl was named for her,
& really wanted to meet her to see if they were at all alike; in fact, the girl was named for
a friend, & the niece's mother is too embarrassed to explain this.
She'd rather just let the misunderstanding lie. :O
So she avoids seeing her & just dutifully sends cards, or phones, & makes excuses as to
why the young girl, the "namesake" niece, can't visit. [She's afraid her daughter will inno-
cently spill the beans, & hurt the old woman's feelings.]
The girl grows up; the old aunt is in poor health, the young woman is starting her career,
Auntie dies distantly, annnnnnd... the young woman gets a letter.
The legacy left her by the old woman that she barely recalls changes her life.
.
.


----------



## lostbear

leashedForLife said:


> .
> .
> Don't know if anyone is familiar with her, but Elizabeth Goudge is a *marvelous* writer.
> .
> .
> My all-time favorite of her books is _the Scent of Water_ - a young women gets a legacy
> from an aged aunt that she only met once; the aunt thought the girl was named for her,
> & really wanted to meet her to see if they were at all alike; in fact, the girl was named for
> a friend, & the niece's mother is too embarrassed to explain this.
> She'd rather just let the misunderstanding lie. :O
> So she avoids seeing her & just dutifully sends cards, or phones, & makes excuses as to
> why the young girl, the "namesake" niece, can't visit. [She's afraid her daughter will inno-
> cently spill the beans, & hurt the old woman's feelings.]
> The girl grows up; the old aunt is in poor health, the young woman is starting her career,
> Auntie dies distantly, annnnnnd... the young woman gets a letter.
> The legacy left her by the old woman that she barely recalls changes her life.
> .
> .


Thank you for the tip-off - I am always keen to find a new author. I was reading the Amazon reviews on this and they warn that the kindle edition has been americanised, so I think I'll try to get hold of a hard copy version. I can't cope with american english in a story of this type.


----------



## katie200

I just finished a book called Le tomcat diaries. It was quite a good book from a cats PoV moving from England to France.

Next on my to read list is When I Grow up... As it was released yesterday for pre order. So will be looking forwards to reading that this summer.


----------



## xgemma86x

Im currently reading '50 shades of grey' on my kindle


----------



## lostbear

xgemma86x said:


> Im currently reading '50 shades of grey' on my kindle


I was disappointed in this - of course, I had misread the title and thought it was "Fifty Sheds of Hay" - a gripping expose of the corruption and violence in the animal feedstuffs industry - so it caught me by surprise anyway.


----------



## lostbear

I've just (10 minutes ago) finished "Stonemouth" by Iain Banks. It was great!

I picked it up because I could remember reading and enjoying "The Wasp Factory" umpteen years ago (though I couldn't tell you what it was about now.).

Stonemouth covers one person's point of view of a return to his hometown (the Stonemouth of the title) for a weekend to attend a funeral, and how a series of events that led to him being "banished" is exposed. It is described as a book about "a five-mile beach, gangsters, lost love and a suspension bridge" - well, you can't say fairer than that, can you? 

I really enjoyed it.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

lostbear said:


> I've just (10 minutes ago) finished "Stonemouth" by Iain Banks. It was great!
> 
> I picked it up because I could remember reading and enjoying "The Wasp Factory" umpteen years ago (though I couldn't tell you what it was about now.).
> 
> Stonemouth covers one person's point of view of a return to his hometown (the Stonemouth of the title) for a weekend to attend a funeral, and how a series of events that led to him being "banished" is exposed. It is described as a book about "a five-mile beach, gangsters, lost love and a suspension bridge" - well, you can't say fairer than that, can you?
> 
> I really enjoyed it.


That was televised and shown on BBC 2 a couple of weeks ago

http://www.televisioncatchup.co.uk/bbc2/stonemouth

I've just started my next Trollope - Barchester Towers. Really enjoying it so far.


----------



## lostbear

rottiepointerhouse said:


> *That was televised and shown on BBC 2 a couple of weeks ago
> *
> *http://www.televisioncatchup.co.uk/bbc2/stonemouth*
> 
> I've just started my next Trollope - Barchester Towers. Really enjoying it so far.


Oooh! Thank you.

Glad you're enjoying BT, too.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Just before bed last night i finished the tactical K9 training manual, _'K9 Behavior Basics', _
by Gerritsen, Haak, & Prins. I've looked forward to this for a long time, but couldn't justify
spending the $$, & finally decided to just do it.
I bought the Kindle version of the 2nd edition, & read it on my laptop.
.
I was disappointed in just one thing, the introduction & early section, which stress the WOLF as
the "ancestor of the dog" - which they aren't. Dogs & wolves had a common ancestor - wolves
weren't "domesticated", & tho dogs & wolves are still interfertile, they've been separate breeding
popns for at least 30-K years.
However, the focus of the book isn't genetics, but training dogs & dog behavior - it covers both
very well, & explains how to train effectively without aversive or punitive tools or methods.
.
Training of police, military, & paramilitary K9s continues to be often harsh, & some training - by
individuals, per armed-forces manuals & Std Operating Procedures, by cop-shops in the USA, by
paramilitary or "personal defense" K9 or security-K9 training companies, etc - crosses the line, &
becomes frankly abuse: helicoptering, hanging, kicks & punches, denying dogs water, etc.

Intense flooding can cause dogs to shut down, or become dangerously reactive & lose their 'warn-
ing signals' - after being punished severely for growling or threatening, they NO LONGER growl or
threaten before biting - with force.
Unprovoked bites to bystanders or innocent parties in the USA from tactical-K9s are not that rare,
& these uncued bites by dogs whose training was harsh are preventable. Humane training can
produce highly-trained, effective, reliable tactical-K9s.
.
This book isn't "only" for tactical-K9s - anyone who wants to train their dog humanely, get solid
reliable results, enjoy the process, & have *their dog* enjoy the process, can use this book.
Two thumbs & 4 paws up! :--D
.
.


----------



## lostbear

rottiepointerhouse said:


> That was televised and shown on BBC 2 a couple of weeks ago
> 
> http://www.televisioncatchup.co.uk/bbc2/stonemouth
> 
> I've just started my next Trollope - Barchester Towers. Really enjoying it so far.


Just watched it - it was quite enjoyable, but any resemblance to the book, living or dead, was purely coincidental :Smuggrin:Smuggrin

The moral of the story remains . . . watch the film before you read the book 

(Glad I watched it, though . . . )


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

If anyone has read "The Outcast" by Sadie Jones its being televised this Sunday on BBC 1 at 9 pm.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Last week, I read _'A spool of blue thread' _by Anne Tyler - I didn't like it as much as
i *wanted* to like it; i was disappointed, it never really came together for me.

This week, i read _'The clumsiest people in Europe'_ which was by turns fascinating &
appalling - the title byline is, _'or, 'Mrs Mortimer's bad-tempered guide to travel'_ - it's a 
series of excerpts from an 1850's travel guide written by a British woman who'd never
traveled further than Scotland [once] in her life.
.
She wrote a Godawful "bestselling!" book for young children called _'Peep of Day'_ as her
1st book, which is horrifying to any modern reader of any age; it was meant to instruct
children as young as 4-YO to 8 or so in Christian beliefs; even the opening paragraphs
are dreadful, but at the time it was printed, it sold like hotcakes.
Encouraged by that enthusiastic reception, she wrote 3 dreadful 'travel guides' that even-
handedly lambast the manners, morals, & lifestyles of every country & its inhabitants un-
der her review.
BTW, the 'clumsiest people in Europe' of the title refers to the Portuguese.
.
She is racist, incredibly biased, despises Catholicism & any popn that holds that faith [jilt-
ed by a man who later became not only Catholic, but a bishop - she herself is steadfastly
Protestant, & any other religion is either heathen or, if Christian, plain wrong], & she lacks
any comprehension of the effects of Colonial oppression.
For instance, while she pillories the Irish, she says that many have "forgotten their own
language" [teaching Gaelic was forbidden, so children grew up without it], & bemoans the
fact that so many are unschooled, while saying "some are taught under hedges or banks,
which in a country where it rains so much, must be uncomfortable".
She seems utterly ignorant of the fact that hedge-schools & hedge schoolteachers were an
attempt to counter English control of the curriculum, which forbade teaching or speaking in
Gaelic, teaching Irish history, Irish poetry, & more.
.
I found it eye-opening, but it's depressing to think her viewpoints were the norm of the time,
if - as her editor claims - that's true. There are fascinating tidbits about the economy & every-
day lives of that time, scattered among her sniffy criticism, that leaven the bitterness.
.
Worth the effort, overall. Much inadvertent humor. [Swedes _'do *nothing* well'..._? ]
.
.
.


----------



## MollySmith

rottiepointerhouse said:


> If anyone has read "The Outcast" by Sadie Jones its being televised this Sunday on BBC 1 at 9 pm.


I have had The Uninvited Guests on the go for months - I put it on my kindle to read during lunchtimes and it's more about not having lunch breaks than about the book. I think I am enjoying it, lots of things going on but it's taking a while to get anywhere but what I do love is that I come back to my desk having felt I was in another place for an hour.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Just finished _'The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' - _*riveting!...*
*.*
Henrietta Lacks was a young mother in 1951 Baltimore, Md, with several young children,
a husband who was well-intentioned but wandering - she was repeatedly infected by STDs,
often unknown to her or her Drs - & she began bleeding in her urine.
.
This was the era of entrenched de-facto segregation, & not only was medical care for black
ppl scarce & hard to find, it was terrifying: slave-owners had used stories of "night Drs" to
keep slaves from running off for a hundred years, & there was some TRUTH to the myths -
a long-standing pattern of body-theft when many black corpses were stolen from graves for
dissection, & yes, there WERE Drs who experimented on black ppl without their consent or
understanding.
.
Even if U'd offered a consent form, many ppl of color couldn't read, or had so little schooling 
they couldn't comprehend the ideas in the form, even with a verbal explanation. Ignorance
is curable, but education for black, brown, or other non-white ppl was brief & bare-bones.
.
The Nuremberg Code was very new, but it isn't even a 'law', just ethical recommendations -
U could choose to abide by them, or not. There was no compelling reason to do so.

Also, it was common to lie to a patient, black, white, or any other color, wealthy & powerful
or poor & indigent. Drs felt there was no need to "worry" patients with the truth, so even such
basic info as a Dx was withheld if the Dr felt it would upset or discourage the patient.
Words like 'cancer', 'heart failure', etc, were often not spoken; U might be dying, but Ur Dr
would be unlikely to tell U so.
.
Naturally, Ms Lacks put off going to the Dr for as long as possible... until she found a lump
inside. Then she went, unhappy & anxious. Yes, it was a lump - it bled at the slightest touch,
& was obviously some kind of cancer. *Without asking permission*, samples of that lump &
of normal tissue were taken, for a long-running experiment in trying to grow human cells.
Unlike all prior human-tissues, *her cancer cells lived.*
Meantime, Ms Lacks went thru a series of horrific treatments, suffered agonies, wasted &
died - for the last 2-weeks of her life, only pain-relieving measures were taken, but the drugs
were not working.
.
*20 years after her death*, her husband, 3 surviving children, family & friends were stunned
to discover that 'Henrietta' was still alive - & that a whole industry had grown up, based on
her cells. All the intersecting social issues, race, poverty, experimentation by the powerful on
the disadvantaged, bereavement & loss, ignorance & anger, erupt.
.
The effect of her death on her family was profound; a female relative who'd hated Henrietta
[she thought her hubby had the hots for Hennie] moved in, & made life a living hell for those
poor kids, especially the eldest, & he was frankly tortured.
The abuse wasn't known & the children weren't rescued until Joseph was 13-YO, & he'd be-
come untrusting, furious, rebellious, sullen, & violent.
Her youngest daughter was tormented by not knowing her mother, & no one would talk about
Henrietta - her Qs were unanswered.
.
The journey they all take, uncovering some of the truths of the events, is incredible.
Disturbing, true - but also healing, & a glimpse at how far we've come, & how far we have yet
to go. Highly recommended.
.
.
.


----------



## lostbear

leashedForLife said:


> .
> .
> Just finished _'The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' - _*riveting!...*
> *.*
> Henrietta Lacks was a young mother in 1951 Baltimore, Md, with several young children,
> a husband who was well-intentioned but wandering - she was repeatedly infected by STDs,
> often unknown to her or her Drs - & she began bleeding in her urine.
> .
> This was the era of entrenched de-facto segregation, & not only was medical care for black
> ppl scarce & hard to find, it was terrifying: slave-owners had used stories of "night Drs" to
> keep slaves from running off for a hundred years, & there was some TRUTH to the myths -
> a long-standing pattern of body-theft when many black corpses were stolen from graves for
> dissection, & yes, there WERE Drs who experimented on black ppl without their consent or
> understanding.
> .
> Even if U'd offered a consent form, many ppl of color couldn't read, or had so little schooling
> they couldn't comprehend the ideas in the form, even with a verbal explanation. Ignorance
> is curable, but education for black, brown, or other non-white ppl was brief & bare-bones.
> .
> The Nuremberg Code was very new, but it isn't even a 'law', just ethical recommendations -
> U could choose to abide by them, or not. There was no compelling reason to do so.
> 
> Also, it was common to lie to a patient, black, white, or any other color, wealthy & powerful
> or poor & indigent. Drs felt there was no need to "worry" patients with the truth, so even such
> basic info as a Dx was withheld if the Dr felt it would upset or discourage the patient.
> Words like 'cancer', 'heart failure', etc, were often not spoken; U might be dying, but Ur Dr
> would be unlikely to tell U so.
> .
> Naturally, Ms Lacks put off going to the Dr for as long as possible... until she found a lump
> inside. Then she went, unhappy & anxious. Yes, it was a lump - it bled at the slightest touch,
> & was obviously some kind of cancer. *Without asking permission*, samples of that lump &
> of normal tissue were taken, for a long-running experiment in trying to grow human cells.
> Unlike all prior human-tissues, *her cancer cells lived.*
> Meantime, Ms Lacks went thru a series of horrific treatments, suffered agonies, wasted &
> died - for the last 2-weeks of her life, only pain-relieving measures were taken, but the drugs
> were not working.
> .
> *20 years after her death*, her husband, 3 surviving children, family & friends were stunned
> to discover that 'Henrietta' was still alive - & that a whole industry had grown up, based on
> her cells. All the intersecting social issues, race, poverty, experimentation by the powerful on
> the disadvantaged, bereavement & loss, ignorance & anger, erupt.
> .
> The effect of her death on her family was profound; a female relative who'd hated Henrietta
> [she thought her hubby had the hots for Hennie] moved in, & made life a living hell for those
> poor kids, especially the eldest, & he was frankly tortured.
> The abuse wasn't known & the children weren't rescued until Joseph was 13-YO, & he'd be-
> come untrusting, furious, rebellious, sullen, & violent.
> Her youngest daughter was tormented by not knowing her mother, & no one would talk about
> Henrietta - her Qs were unanswered.
> .
> The journey they all take, uncovering some of the truths of the events, is incredible.
> Disturbing, true - but also healing, & a glimpse at how far we've come, & how far we have yet
> to go. Highly recommended.
> .
> .
> .


I think I can remember reading something about this a few years ago. Some pharmaceutical firm has made a mint out of anti-cancer drugs based around this poor woman's (stolen) tissue samples, but her poverty-stricken family didn't see a penny of the money (if it's the one I'm thinking of). I didn't relalise that her children suffered so cruelly as well. Awful!


----------



## lostbear

I've just come back from a week away when I read "Gaia's Gift: Earth, Ourselves and God after Copernicus" by Anne Primavesi - it was brilliant. Really fascinating and well-written book regarding our relationship with the earth and one another, and what a precious gift life - all life - is, and how interconnected every natural phenomenon is with all life. Really enjoyed it. Ironically it's one of those books I bought about ten years ago and never got round to reading, but when I did, I'm glad I did. I'm going to try to get hold of more of her books.

When I'd finished "Gaia's Gift", I started reading "A Widow for One Year" by John Irving - but I've put it down and can't find it!


----------



## leashedForLife

> ...I read "Gaia's Gift: Earth, Ourselves and God after Copernicus" by Anne Primavesi...
> fascinating & well-written... re our relationship with the earth & one another...
> .


.
Sounds excellent - i shall hunt for this one! :--) Thanks much.
.


> .
> .
> ... I started reading "A Widow for One Year" by John Irving - but I've put it down & can't find it!
> .


.
by the same Irving who wrote _'Ciderhouse Rules' _& _'...According to Garp' _?
.
If so, IMO it can stay lost, :lol: - he only writes one book, with a few new
vignettes & different names. :--{
.
.


----------



## lostbear

leashedForLife said:


> .
> Sounds excellent - i shall hunt for this one! :--) Thanks much.
> .
> 
> .
> by the same Irving who wrote _'Ciderhouse Rules' _& _'...According to Garp' _?
> .
> If so, IMO it can stay lost, :lol: - he only writes one book, with a few new
> vignettes & different names. :--{
> .
> .


That's the guy - but I have almost always "got into" his books. Best of all was "A Prayer for Owen Meany". I think it was filmed as "Simon Birch", but I didn't watch the film because it pees me off when they change too much stuff.

I hadn't thought about it but you're right - he does only write the one book - probably hadn't noticed because I only read one of his every 7 years or so. I read the first one (Owen Meany) when I was pregnant with The Boy and he's now 32. The others have been read over the years, one here, one there. I couldn't get into "Until I find You" or "Setting Free the Bears" and abandoned them, and some bits can be tedious in the extreme (e.g. the discussions of Episcopalianism, I think it was, in "Owen Meany"), but I usually find myself being touched by the story. I certainly think they could benefit by being chopped down to half their length!

There are a lot of "one-book ponies" among authors - I think it starts when they get a contract with a publisher and have to churn out ten a day or something. Patricia Cornwell for instance, has become as boring as I don't-know-what. Her recent books are dire.


----------



## PawsOnMe

I'm currently reading Karina Halle's Experiment of terror series. On the 7th book now and it just gets better and better with each book.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

New Philippa Gregory "The Taming of The Queen" arrived this morning :Woot will have to wait until I've finished reading my current book though.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
_"The Worldly Philosophers" - _somewhat dry but interesting_, _it explores the lives & ideas
of the great economists - one of my favorites was an absent-minded man who once mimicked
a Guardsman's every move for over 20-minutes, then returned to his companion's conversation,
unaware that he'd done anything unusual.
.
Since i've come to the conclusion that multinational corporate capitalism is the greatest evil
ever invented by the fertile minds of humans, i'm researching its roots.
.
.


----------



## Dogloverlou

After finishing the brill TV series ' Wayward Pines', I'm reading the trilogy of the same name by Blake Crouch. Read book 1 within two days and am already well into book 2 and really enjoying them.


----------



## lostbear

Sarah1983 said:


> Just finished Archers Voice by Mia Sheridan. Not usually much of a one for romance but I absolutely loved this one. Couldn't put it down.
> 
> Next up is The Presence by John Saul.
> 
> Most of my books are on Kindle these days. I have around 700 stored in plastic boxes in the spare bedroom coz there's no room for them anywhere else and literally thousands on my Kindle.


And I thought it was only me . . .


----------



## lostbear

leashedForLife said:


> OOH, i *love* to read, & am always looking for good tips!  Thanks for all the new titles & authors,
> i shall have indigestion, but that's OK, there can never be too many books. :lol:
> 
> Currently reading 'The Alternatives', marvelous little paperback anthology of alternate histories -
> EX, King Arthur survives Camlynn, & dies old & honored, with his Saxon liege-man & the sworn man's
> sons burying him to guard Britain, & putting a homeless beggar in the king's robes & coffin; Another has
> the Pittsburgh craftsmen rise up in anger when Hamilton & Gge Washington send their 15k troops to levy
> a tax on their economy, convert the troops to an army of retribution, & they take Philadelphia [the national
> capital], & some 200-years later, we have The Confederation of North America, which includes Canada
> & Mexico; & more.
> LOVE it - each story is a little gem, so far. :yesnod:
> This sounds excellent - another one onto my ever-increasing list.
> 
> Have read many historical romances & much historical fiction; Philippa Gregory is great,
> i LUXURIATED in the Name of the Rose, & Da Vinci Code, also Ken Follett: Pillars of the Earth
> was phenomenal.
> Liked Name of the Rose and pillars of the Earth was pretty good - thought da Vinci code was sh!te, I'm afraid.
> 
> I also love science-fiction & fantasy -
> classic 1940s & '50s Sci-Fi up to the present, & swords & sorcery.
> 
> I can't read Stephen King; :nonod: he makes me crazy, by making violence substitute for sex
> as titillation. Gack! - nasty conflation, there; violence isn't sexy, & they go together like oil & water.


Agree with everything you say about Stephen King - just nasty IMO - and very same-y - hen't written anything original for years. Ironically, the two films of his that are the best are from two of his short-stories rather than novels (Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile). The ones from his novels It and The Shining etc are rubbish (except for the original Carrie - but that was a novella rather than a novel - maybe he can't sustain good writing?)


----------



## lostbear

jenniferx said:


> Last week I read 'Ben' by Kerry Needham - it's about the disappearance of/search for Ben Needham by his mother. I knew a bit about it beforehand but not much as I was very young when it happened. If I am being totally honest I had a difficult time not feeling a bit judgemental at times. It's obviously a pretty harrowing story with no conclusion but I'm glad I read it anyway.
> 
> I also started 'Humble by Nature' by Kate Humble. It's about her moving to the countryside and starting up a small holding or something like that. I didn't get very far, couple of chapters, I didn't enjoy it. I thought it was going to be more autobiographical but it's more or less entirely about this property.
> 
> Also started 'Things Get Better' by Katie Piper. Again thought it was going to be an autobiography but it's actually a self-help book if you're in a bad place. Need to read more to get a proper sense of it!


I was just going to ask was Katie Piper the girl who had acid thrown in her face by a boyfriend, then I remembered it was a girl called Katie Price. I saw a documentary about her "My Beautiful Face, by Katie Price" and nearly didn't watch it because I thought it was Jordan - but I did, and what an amazing woman she is! If she wrote an autobiography I would read it.

Now I need to google Katie Piper.


----------



## lostbear

Spellweaver said:


> Another bookworm here - I've got four on the go at the moment depending on my mood:
> 
> a comedy:_Pook in Boots_ (Peter Pook)
> 
> something a little more serious: _The Charioteer_ (Mary Renault)
> 
> a scary ghost story: _Abbot's Keep_ (Benedict Ashforth)
> 
> and something lighter: _A PLace to call Home_ (Carole Matthews)
> 
> I've also got _The Luminaries_ (Eleanor Catton) dowloaded on my kindle (can't wait to start that one) and have pre-ordered _Purposes of Love_ (Mary Renault) which is due to be released on kindle at the beginning of JUne.


Mary renault is a brilliant author - I read all of her books years ago and loved them. I didn't know they were still in print. The Persian Boy is one I remember as being particularly good.

Have you read any John Masters books? Also historical fiction, but a much more recent era - the British Raj in the last half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. I particularly enjoyed "The Deceivers" and "Nightrunners of Bengal". Author is a superb storyteller and knows his subject inside out - accurate historical settings. You'd love the books.


----------



## lostbear

Spellweaver said:


> See, I thought I would never like a kindle - like you, I absolutely love that feeling of opening a new book. But this is my "library" -
> 
> 
> 
> - what you can't tell from this pic is that the shelves are all two books deep and, in addiiton, there is another bookcase on the other side of the fireplace, two bookcases and a blanket chest full of books in our bedroom, two tea-chests full of books in the loft, and piles of books all over the place (did you notice the pile in the bottom right hand corner of the pic?) :yikes:
> 
> My OH decided a kindle was cheaper than moving to a house big enough to store all the books I would be likely to buy before we pop our clogs so, knowing I would never have bought myself one, he bought me one a couple of Christmasses ago. I have to say that, very surprisingly, I took to it straight away. What I do now is read books first on kindle - and then buy only the "preciouses" that I want to keep for ever and ever


You lucky sod!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

lostbear said:


> I was just going to ask was Katie Piper the girl who had acid thrown in her face by a boyfriend, then I remembered it was a girl called Katie Price. I saw a documentary about her "My Beautiful Face, by Katie Price" and nearly didn't watch it because I thought it was Jordan - but I did, and what an amazing woman she is! If she wrote an autobiography I would read it.
> 
> Now I need to google Katie Piper.


You were right the first time, Katie Piper is the girl who had acid thrown in her face whereas Katie Price is the real name of the glamour model Jordan.


----------



## lostbear

rottiepointerhouse said:


> You were right the first time, Katie Piper is the girl who had acid thrown in her face whereas Katie Price is the real name of the glamour model Jordan.


Ah! My word - I had myself mixed up, didn't I?

She (Katie Piper) is a really remarkable person.


----------



## HarlequinCat

Spellweaver said:


> See, I thought I would never like a kindle - like you, I absolutely love that feeling of opening a new book. But this is my "library" -
> 
> 
> 
> - what you can't tell from this pic is that the shelves are all two books deep and, in addiiton, there is another bookcase on the other side of the fireplace, two bookcases and a blanket chest full of books in our bedroom, two tea-chests full of books in the loft, and piles of books all over the place (did you notice the pile in the bottom right hand corner of the pic?) :yikes:
> 
> My OH decided a kindle was cheaper than moving to a house big enough to store all the books I would be likely to buy before we pop our clogs so, knowing I would never have bought myself one, he bought me one a couple of Christmasses ago. I have to say that, very surprisingly, I took to it straight away. What I do now is read books first on kindle - and then buy only the "preciouses" that I want to keep for ever and ever


Haha that's brilliant! Our house is just like that. Two bookshevles in the living room, 3 in my room and books everywhere . Although I have also now moved to the kindle... Actually ran out of space....


----------



## skatealexia

Currently rereading Phillip Pullmonas dark materials. Amazing books.


----------



## HarlequinCat

I'm reading Six of Hearts by L. H. Cosway. Almost finished it actually. 
Not the type of book I usually read, but I can recommended it.


----------



## Sarah1983

HarlequinCat said:


> I'm reading Six of Hearts by L. H. Cosway. Almost finished it actually.
> Not the type of book I usually read, but I can recommended it.


I'm most of the way through King of Hearts, the 3rd one in that series  Absolutely love her books.

Not getting much chance to read at the moment. I couldn't concentrate enough to read much when pregnant and now I have Jack and want to read but don't get time lol.


----------



## PawsOnMe

Sarah1983 said:


> I'm most of the way through King of Hearts, the 3rd one in that series  Absolutely love her books.
> 
> Not getting much chance to read at the moment. I couldn't concentrate enough to read much when pregnant and now I have Jack and want to read but don't get time lol.


King of hearts is my favourite so far in that series. I forgot what King's link was to the 2nd book and when I remembered I actually started crying.

I'm currently rereading a favourite called Loving Mr Daniels. Been in a bit of a book funk so hoping this will bring me out of it.


----------



## HarlequinCat

Oh


Sarah1983 said:


> I'm most of the way through King of Hearts, the 3rd one in that series  Absolutely love her books.
> 
> Not getting much chance to read at the moment. I couldn't concentrate enough to read much when pregnant and now I have Jack and want to read but don't get time lol.


On yes, I love her sense of humour . Had me actually laugh out loud at some points.
Starting Hearts of Fire now, so no spoilers please  .


----------



## Sarah1983

PawsOnMe said:


> King of hearts is my favourite so far in that series. I forgot what King's link was to the 2nd book and when I remembered I actually started crying.
> I'm currently rereading a favourite called Loving Mr Daniels. Been in a bit of a book funk so hoping this will bring me out of it.


Heard lots of good things about that one, will have to get around to reading it at some point. I waited so long for Kings story and then had Jack just as it was released lol, I'm still reading it now while normally it'd have been read in a day.



HarlequinCat said:


> On yes, I love her sense of humour . Had me actually laugh out loud at some points.
> Starting Hearts of Fire now, so no spoilers please  .


No worries, I won't say anything lol. I think Painted Faces is still my favourite by her so far though.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
this thread has so many wonderful authors & titles, I really don't want to see it die...
.
.
Since my last post, i've burned thru the entire series of _'Fire & Ice' _[swash n buckle fantasy] -
then i zipped thru _'Ispettore Guido Brunetti' _series, set in Venice, by Donna Leon [murder mysteries].
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Just last nite, i finished the 4th & final book of _'Code breakers' - _OK, but disappointing.
[Science fiction]
Good plot, but often awkward writing & poor grammar distracts the reader.
I forgave the author as he was interesting, & blame the EDITORS. Shame on them!
.
.
.


----------



## negative creep

Just read Have a Nice Day, the bio of former wrestler Mick Foley. To give you an idea, it starts with the time he had his ear torn off during a match. He drove to the hospital with his ear in the bag (but not before finishing the match as planned) only for the nurse at reception to comment wrestling is all fake anyway.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
I found a paperback copy of _'Million-dollar Baby' _- which is a collection of short-stories about "the fight game", a memoir written by a former boxer who became a coach, manager, & ringside staff for younger boxers.
.
Naturally, the big-money story is about a WOMAN who wants to box, hires him, & becomes a winner - then *spoiler alert*, is badly hurt & permanently retired. It became a feature film, of course, since only women who ultimately don't succeed but dramatically fail & thus are punished for their hubris, are worthy of Hollywood moviedom fame.
.
_sigh..._
.
But altho i don't like boxing & find the idea of making a living by pounding the bejesus out of a random opponent, & being brutally beaten in return, to be downright bizarre & often grotesque, I enjoyed these stories.
They include a lot of history from the golden days of boxing, the '30s thru the '50s, & the characters are engaging.
.
My personal favorite was probly the time a wannabe contender ripped him off, understating the purse by tens of thousands [& thus cutting his fraction, which is part of his fee, to a pittance], & the later comeuppance of the rat-fink.
;--D
.
.
.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Keeping to the wrestling theme I watched the film "Foxcatcher" and really enjoyed it so I got the book by Mark Schultz which was about his life growing up with his brother Dave who was later murdered by John du Pont. It was a bit heavy going in places as he does go into a lot of detail about his early competitions. As a result I wanted to know more about Du Pont too so I got Wrestling with Madness by Tim Huddleston which is a thin booklet about his life which I found quite sad.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
more sci-fi -
finished the Atlantis Gene trilogy [A-Gene, A-Plague, A-World].
.
Good science, with many interesting recent discoveries woven into the plot
[e-g, CCR-Delta32, a mutation found in up to 16% of Europeans, which makes the carrier more resistant to plague, HIV, & a number of other nasty viruses & bacteria].
The only downside for me was the long timeline - there are many intercuts & flashbacks to past eras.
.
But then, when U're talking about aliens introducing new genes to Neanderthals, i guess that's inevitable. 
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
burned thru _'Breakthrough' _[Micheal Grumley] & enjoyed it so much,
i immediately bought books 2 & 3 of the series. Hopefully they're as good! 
.
.
He did drop one plot-line in midair, so i'm wondering how [or if] he'll finish it.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
gobbled up Grumley's _'Leap'_ & _'Catalyst'_ - there's more fun to come, the story's not over, i'm sure.
.
.
meanwhile, i found a new favorite author -
*Dennis O'Flaherty on KING OF THE CRACKSMEN*
.
'Cracksman' is slang for a safe-cracker, & the setting is 1870s America with a massive twist - Prez Jackson sold everything west of the Mississippi to Russia for a song to balance the Federal budget in 1835, Lincoln's Sec of War is now head of a national Secret Service that has declared a 'national emergency' & suspended due process [sound familiar?], & Prez Lincoln is oddly silent & rarely seen - 
since his failed assassination attempt, he is virtually never in public.
.
I expect Stanton's descendants IRL are unhappy that he's cast as a racist, classist, sexist villain, since the living man was a strong supporter of emancipation, equal rights & living wages - but this isn't that history, is it?
.
This book is steampunk & Jules Verne with lots of glossed-over impossibilities, but fun as any joyride down a flume - it has its own momentum & logic, & carries U along. Go with the flow, suspend disbelief, & have a blast. 
Highly recommended! :--D
.
.
.


----------



## picaresque

I'm currently reading In Defence of Dogs by John Bradshaw, which has been on my 'wish list' for ages.


----------



## Dobby65

I've just started Charlotte Bronte's Villette - really enjoying it so far.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
just finished book 3 of Greg Bear's _'Eon' _trilogy, but read them in nonstandard order -
1st the prequel, then'Eon', then 'Eternity'.
.
lots of interesting big science, plus human-scale characters & events - births via blended mentalities who incorporate as young adults from virtual personood, marriages that grow apart over decades, politics, loyalties & love, U name it.
Big sweeping stories - i enjoyed all 3.
.
.
.


----------



## Catharinem

Hedgehog thread reminded me of The Hedgehog Song, as sung Nanny Ogg, so now I want to go back to the beginning and read all my Terry Pratchetts again.
Just love Nanny Ogg, and her recipes. Especially the idea of carrot and oyster pie: " carrots so you can see in the dark, and oysters so there's something to look at!" Genius is writing on 2 levels: 1) it's fun fantasy, 2) the observations of character ( By "witch" I mean witch, wizard, adopted dwarf, assassins and even Death himself) are razor sharp and true to real life. You know it's fantasy, but the characters really exist, and really do behave like that, for those reasons. Just try one, I promise you won't put it down.


----------



## Catharinem

Britt said:


> I finished the two books about Bob the cat, a book called "Think like a cat" and I'm gonna start "Cat for dummies" soon :thumbsup:


Try " The Silent Miaow " by Paul Galico, it's "written" by a young kitten telling other strays how to worm their way into new homes and train the staff. It's full of typos as it's typed by a paw, so the letter could very the one next to it on the keyboard - it starts something like: " when I was a very young kotteb... " . How funny, autocorrect just corrected kotteb back to kitten automatically!


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
I'm reading 2 simultaneously, a downloaded e-copy of _'Half the Way Home',_
Hochschild's incredible memoir of his growing out from under his politically- &
socially-connected, wealthy father's shadow - which is incredibly good -
...
& an old, old paperback copy of Robert Asprin's _'The Cold Cash War',_
1st published in 1977. this is an amazing, brilliant book! - I found it on the
lending shelf at my local Starbucks, with 3 other old sci-fi paperbacks. I scooped
'em all, but this was the 1st i opened, & it's such a fascinating concept: *wars are*
*being fought, not by governments or nations, but by CORPORATIONS.*
.
.
part of what makes this so interesting are the odd parallels & conflations between 
the 2 books - Adam H talks about losing his political innocence & realizing while in
S Africa that wars are not fought on moral grounds but out of economic & political
interests, so that later when he hears the justifications mouthed by Washington-DC
defending our role in Vietnam, he knows they are lies.
In Asprin's future world, corporations have private armies, spies, & training camps,
and information on product research, CEO's medical profiles, & investors are all
traded by corp-info traders, just like stocks.
.
This was a marvelous serendipity - I bought Adam's memoir 2 weeks ago, & didn't
start it till yesterday morning. I picked up the old paperback at 11 this morning.
They illuminate each other beautifully. 
.
.
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
This is a book about the monthly investigative magazine Adam H worked for briefly -
.
http://www.amazon.com/Bomb-Every-Issue-Ramparts-Magazine/dp/159558546X
.
he was a reporter for _Ramparts_, which metamorphosed from a local Catholic news-
letter in San Francisco, Calif, into a national phenomenon.
I can't wait to read the history of this mag, which published from 1962 to '75 but influenced
& informed so many people.
.
.
.


----------



## westie~ma

I've a stack of touristy books on Rome to wade through. 

Maps included.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
OK, this is becoming a wee bit strange...
on ?Saturday?, i watched a 1970 movie, "*Cromwell*", about the Puritan who was such a potent catalyst in the English civil wars.
It was very interesting & mostly accurate, if not in details [his son's death], definitely in the sense of the times & the public mood.
.
.
Today i stopped in at the public library's cafe' for a bagel, & made the massive mistake of cruising the non-fiction shelves of used books for sale, donated to raise library funds by their resale for $1 each.
.
I found a trade-paperback, _*"$tud"*_ - about the Thoroughbred racing industry & breeding, particularly sires & their value, perceived or actual, & the drama, anxieties, surprises, & predictable hassles of keeping studs & making babies.
.
on page 82, the 2nd paragraph talks about the surprisingly-recent beginnings of Thoroughbred racing, breeding, & their connections to wealth, power, & ppl of privilege. I will quote the relevant portion -
_"The connection between Thoroughbreds & the upper class... in typical English fashion, almost ended in a bloodbath before it ever began. During *England's civil war*, *Cromwell *& the anti-royalist forces made a point of destroying the great stud farms, like Tutbury stud of Charles I & the Earl of Newcastle's Welbeck Abbey stud, not because their horses were tactically essential... but because even then, they were sport horses._
_Cromwell's Council of State banned horse-racing, & his forces killed, scattered, & sold the royalist horses indiscriminately._
_._
_...two years after the death of Cromwell, Charles II succeeded to the throne... one of the first things the Merry Monarch thought to restore was horse-racing. __Charles delighted in it; he is the king referred to in the phrase, 'sport of kings'."
.
._
Is there anything i can read this week that isn't hooked into something else i'm reading?!...  Incredible.
The last time i had so many serendipitous confluences was my sophomore year of college - sadly, altho i found it thrilling & intellectually stimulating, it didn't end well for me: a serious concussion from a fall - while riding horseback, during Thanksgiving break. And yes, that's another connection.
Stranger than fiction...
.
.
.


----------



## picaresque

I'm in the middle of Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend - the monarchy has been abolished by a republican government and the royals have been sent to live on a council estate in the East Midlands. The Prime Minister brings in increasingly draconian laws until he goes too far and proposes a ban on dogs. They can take our ̶q̶u̶e̶e̶n̶ lives etc etc... anyway it looks like the royals might be reinstated but then Liz decides to abdicate...
I've already read and enjoyed The Queen and I by the same author and this has a very similar plot and is a sort-of sequel. Love the dog interactions in this one and I find myself picturing my Gelert in the role of Leo, Prince Charles's mongrel :Bookworm


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
*Warning, warning, warning! - DANGER, Will Robinson, Danger!...*
.
.
I began but did NOT finish the _'Post-Human' _omnibus series, a set of 4 science-fiction novels.
.
HORRIBLE! - awful writing, juvenile, poor characters cut from cardboard & colored sloppily with crayons, lots & lots & LOTS of gratuitous violence that does nothing to further the plot & is inserted purely for gross-out purposes, bleccchh! -
IMO? -
*Don't waste Ur money or time. 2 thumbs & 18 other digits firmly Down!*
I demanded a refund from Amazon - one of the worst books i've begun in... decades. 
.
.
.


----------



## Guest

I'm reading voices of the holocaust. A book which includes things the people who were sadly bullied by Hitler and his mates into working in death camps and then gassed, hung, shot and goodness knows what other evils. My nana worked in the Second World War thankfully nowhere near the camps, she looked after the soldiers not the nazi ones though. Holocaust should be called horrorcaust because for the prisoners it would have been a nasty living horror. Even the horror of what the nazis did to them. Let's see beat them, shot them for no good reason, lied to them saying they were having a shower. Some of the camps are still standing and open to visitors like auschwitz for one.


----------



## NaomiM

Currently reading _A test of time_ by David Rohl (the basis of Channel 4's series _Pharaohs and Kings_), _The pyramid builders of ancient Egypt_, and various other books and articles about ancient Egypt, as research for my own attempt at novel-writing!

On a completely unrelated note, the last work of fiction I read was _The Three Musketeers_ - I do love a good classic!


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Finished a classic sci-fi / new worlds novel, _'The Dispossessed' _by Ursula Le Guin.
I probly last read it 20-yrs ago, well worth the re-visit, wonderful tale-weaving. 
.
Started Robt Silverberg's _'Lord Valentine's Castle' _ - I'm enjoying it very much.
.
.
.
.
.


----------



## Moobli

I am currently reading "What the Dog Knows - Scent, Science, and the Amazing Ways Dogs Perceive the World" by Cat Warren. It is fascinating. I would highly recommend.

Edited to add : Just found this video where the author talks about her reasons for writing the book.

http://catwarren.com/the-book/


----------



## MollySmith

I am reading The Ballroom by Anna Hope - based on a real infirmary and historical research, it's a challenging subject matter but makes me very glad to live in this era. 

I've also signed up to NetGalley for advance reviews. I think there's a lot of things to wade through - lots of appalling cover designs. If they can't be bothered to employ a professional or at least get a peer design review for the cover prior to publication I assume the words within are not worth the effort either.

But there are all the leading publisher names on there. It's all digital, no advance print so you have to want to read on a Kindle app or similar.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
i'm reading
_'Made in U.S.A.' - _
_the secret histories of the things that made America_
.
It's fascinating - i'm only on page 49, & already i've learned literally dozens of remarkable things i'd never known before, & I read, marveled at, & promptly forgot at least a hundred more.
The Ames family & shovels, Mason & his patented screw-top lid plus a mold for hand-blowing the canning jars, the distinctive shape & feel of a glass Coca-Cola bottle and why it was so important to make it unmistakable, the nasty temper & braggadocio of Jim Bowie & the reason he created his notorious knife [not for hunting, skinning, or any other legitimate work, but for killing ppl], Jefferson's 'Mouldboard of Least Resistance' - a brilliant plowshare design that won an award, but was rarely MADE because it was difficult for blacksmiths to manufacture...
.
.
.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

I'm reading articles about syphilis at the moment  it all to do with my family history research and discovering some of them died of congenital syphilis as babies or of the complications of it later in life. Its really very interesting :Shy


----------



## westie~ma




----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Wow! - interesting, but sad, RPH. 
.
Congenital syphilis is a heartbreaking disease - a past employee at a hardware store in my college-town had lost his nose to syphilis, he wore an oddly-colored hard plastic fake to cover the hole like a shield, it hung from his eyeglasses & swung freely when he bent over to retrieve something.
He must have had that prosthesis since the 1950s; I'm sure he was accustomed to his reflection, but 1st time encounters were startling & disturbing to both parties, viewer & viewee. I always wondered why he didn't get a more lifelike, recent prosthesis, but after all it was his face & his prosthesis, & of course, i never *asked* him. I was an acquaintance, not a close friend, & it was absolutely none of my business - merely a private puzzle of mine.
.
Crayola company's 1950s / '60s "flesh" colored crayon was nothing like the color of any human skin - but that was approx the color of his fake nose. 
.
.
.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

leashedForLife said:


> .
> .
> Wow! - interesting, but sad, RPH.
> .
> Congenital syphilis is a heartbreaking disease - a past employee at a hardware store in my college-town had lost his nose to syphilis, he wore an oddly-colored hard plastic fake to cover the hole like a shield, it hung from his eyeglasses & swung freely when he bent over to retrieve something.
> He must have had that prosthesis since the 1950s; I'm sure he was accustomed to his reflection, but 1st time encounters were startling & disturbing to both parties, viewer & viewee. I always wondered why he didn't get a more lifelike, recent prosthesis, but after all it was his face & his prosthesis, & of course, i never *asked* him. I was an acquaintance, not a close friend, & it was absolutely none of my business - merely a private puzzle of mine.
> .
> Crayola company's 1950s / '60s "flesh" colored crayon was nothing like the color of any human skin - but that was approx the color of his fake nose.
> .
> .
> .


Thats interesting LFL, I've been reading a bit about the secondary stages which includes quite a bit about noses collapsing along with tumours. In one family so far I've come across 2 babies aged 4 months who died from congenital syphilis, there is one more child that died who I haven't found yet then one who survived but died in her 40's, their mother died in her 50's from the tertiary stages affecting her heart. It doesn't seem possible that was less than 100 years ago


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
yes, incredible how much medicine has changed in a century - 
thank Goddess, a lot more science, & a lot less wishful thinking & sheer fantasy, which medicine was for so long.
.
No more cutting dog's tails off "to prevent rabies", as in Roman times, when they thought the tail-ligaments seen when amputating were *worms* in the tail that made the dog crazy. It was a long, long time later that Pasteur?, i believe, discovered rabies is a virus.
.
We still dock tails, which i think is stoopid unless it's medically necessary, but at least we don't believe that docked dogs are "safe" from rabies, while tailed dogs can / will get rabies! --- Vaccines for such lethal diseases are a Godsend.
.
.
.


----------



## picaresque

Got a couple of second hand books in the post today. Have started with Jeremy and Amy: The Extraordinary Story of One Man and His Orang-utan. I used to love watching Monkey Life on tv and noticed recently they're showing it now on Pick so I'm hooked again, and when I discovered Jeremy had written a book I couldn't wait to read it. His warmth and humour really comes through on screen and he has such a way with the animals at Monkey World, where they do amazing work. Turns out he had a pretty awful if unconventional upbringing. Reading on to hear how he and Jim Cronin met and founded MW. 
Next up is a Woman in Berlin, which is the anonymous diary of a woman who lived through the Russian invasion of Berlin at the end of the Second World War.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

picaresque said:


> Got a couple of second hand books in the post today. Have started with Jeremy and Amy: The Extraordinary Story of One Man and His Orang-utan. I used to love watching Monkey Life on tv and noticed recently they're showing it now on Pick so I'm hooked again, and when I discovered Jeremy had written a book I couldn't wait to read it. His warmth and humour really comes through on screen and he has such a way with the animals at Monkey World, where they do amazing work. Turns out he had a pretty awful if unconventional upbringing. Reading on to hear how he and Jim Cronin met and founded MW.
> Next up is a Woman in Berlin, which is the anonymous diary of a woman who lived through the Russian invasion of Berlin at the end of the Second World War.


I've read Jeremy's book too, really enjoyed it although the end was a bit odd. We live near Monkey World and used to go regularly, they do such brilliant work there.


----------



## Zaros

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I'm reading articles about syphilis at the moment  it all to do with my family history research and discovering some of them died of congenital syphilis as babies or of the complications of it later in life. Its really very interesting :Shy


_Providing you can see this post, you might find the following documentary of interest. Perhaps not. _

_



_


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Thank you so much @Zaros I just had a quick look and ended up watching half of it, need to do some work now so hopefully will finish it later. Very very interesting.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
I finished _'Portuguese Irregular Verbs', _which was the perfect antidote to my recent life - financial worries, my work-hrs cut, etc - as it's light-hearted, gentle, & pokes fun without being mean. 
I thoroughly enjoyed it - perfect bedtime reading. ::thumbs-up::
.
It's Book 1 of another series by Alexander McCall Smith, the author of _'#1 Ladies' Detective Agency'_ - a series which I simply loved.
.
.
.


----------



## picaresque

Started reading A Woman in Berlin today and the first thing I noticed was that courtesy of the previous owner the back cover had puppy teeth marks on it  I don't mind, it made me smile and reminded me of when my mutt was a little terror (instead of a big one).


----------



## picaresque

Love my local Mind charity shop - got seven paperbacks today for £1.40.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Found another cache of 30- to 40-YO Sci-Fi paperbacks, abandoned like a litter of unwanted puppies, in a coffee shop. 
I took them all home - yellowed edges, brittle spines, & all.
.
Am currently reading _'A life in the day of...' _ by Frank M Robinson; between the short stories, he talks about his apprenticeship as a writer, meeting SF greats in his youth, struggling to compete with _Playboy_ magazine when he worked at a rival mag called _"Rogue", _& so on.
Most of these stories were originally published in 1951 - 1970, in various SF magazines & mainstream mags; for many, it's the 1st time they've been published in book form.
.
.
.


----------



## CRL

i just finished reading all the book in the Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter. ive just started reading the Hunger Games (for the 4th time in as many months).


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
Finished _'A Life in the Day...', _last night, & began another, published in March 1969 - 
.
_'The Null-frequency Impulser' _by James Nelson Coleman. Great fun! - like space-heroes,
but with better science & more plot vs simplistic action.Loved it! 
Started & finished today - 191 pgs.
.
.
.


----------



## picaresque

Currently reading A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle, part of my charity shop haul from last week. Was watching Father Ted last night where Dougal called Ted 'you great big bollix' to which Ted replied 'Have you been reading those Roddy Doyle books again?!'


----------



## ForestWomble

Started Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner last night it's about Smugglers in Dorset. It's a great read.


----------



## MollySmith

Animallover26 said:


> Started Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner last night it's about Smugglers in Dorset. It's a great read.


That's on my list


----------



## ForestWomble

MollySmith said:


> That's on my list


I urge you to read it, the first time I read it, I didn't want to stop ....... some nights I'd read until I just could not keep my eyes open  
I also enjoyed looking at my map of Dorset and working out the route they take in the story.


----------



## MollySmith

Animallover26 said:


> I urge you to read it, the first time I read it, I didn't want to stop ....... some nights I'd read until I just could not keep my eyes open
> I also enjoyed looking at my map of Dorset and working out the route they take in the story.


Thank you, I will. I love Dorset so much (we've stayed a few times in the area).


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Animallover26 said:


> Started Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner last night it's about Smugglers in Dorset. It's a great read.


Sounds interesting I will have a look and see if Amazon have it


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

I'm reading "The other Mrs Walker" by Mary Paulson-Ellis.


----------



## lymorelynn

I've just picked up Go Set a Watchman from my local library. I know it's had mixed reviews so I'm looking forward to seeing for myself


----------



## Pappychi

I'm just starting 'A Kiss of Shadows', book 1 in the Merry Gentry series for the umpteenth time.

I love fairies, and the Sidhe especially, even if the sex gets a bit weird for my tastes later on :Wtf


----------



## lymorelynn

Pappychi said:


> I'm just starting 'A Kiss of Shadows', book 1 in the Merry Gentry series for the umpteenth time.
> 
> I love fairies, and the Sidhe especially, even if the sex gets a bit weird for my tastes later on :Wtf


Have you read anything by Mark Chadbourn? I think you might like him


----------



## Pappychi

lymorelynn said:


> Have you read anything by Mark Chadbourn? I think you might like him


No I haven't. I'll have a Google now. Thanks for the recommendation


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
my stack of recent oldies-but-goodies...
.









I enjoyed them all, but *especially* _'Space Scavengers'_ by Cleve Cartmill,
& _'Null-frequency Impulser' _by James Nelson Coleman - both classic early sci-fi, optimistic, vivid, exploratory.
.
.
.


----------



## lymorelynn

leashedForLife said:


> .
> .
> my stack of recent oldies-but-goodies...
> .
> View attachment 277177
> 
> 
> I enjoyed them all, but *especially* _'Space Scavengers'_ by Cleve Cartmill,
> & _'Null-frequency Impulser' _by James Nelson Coleman - both classic early sci-fi, optimistic, vivid, exploratory.
> .
> .
> .


Oooh - I love Robert Silverberg


----------



## picaresque

After finishing Firestarter by Stephen King (one of his earlier and possibly lesser know books and a pretty standard SK romp) I'm now reading Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and so far it hasn't disappointed. I read A God in Ruins (which technically came after) in January and _loved_ it, so far my favourite book of the year.

Next on my reading pile is The Female Eunuch which I'll admit daunts me a little.


----------



## Sarahlou444

I've been reading The Girl with No Name, I am really enjoying it. It's quite an easy read about a refugee in world war 2, has a bit of a Goodnight Mr Tom feel to it.


----------



## leashedForLife

..
.
Just finished _'Raj'_ , a wonderful novel of the deliberate destruction of royal India, & the final decades of British rule over an intact India - I didn't realize that Pakistan was an artificial construct, nor that its creation sparked a massive bloodbath of violence as religious refugees suddenly fled their homes & lands, when the partition lines were announced & all H*** broke loose, with Hindis fleeing their homelands & Muslims fleeing theirs, & both of them set upon along the way - while the Boundary Force of British soldiers [of all races & creeds] stood by & did nothing, & the Indian Army & other armed forces ignored the chaos & haggled bitterly over what military assets the new nation of Pakistan was entitled to have, & what was to stay with India.
.
UPDATE:
Funny how the long-ago mess of British occupation & the invention of Pakistan continues to create havoc in the present day - Pakistan has fought a hidden war for decades over the 'ownership' of a particular glacier that feeds one of its rivers, & now there's a looming quarrel over the ONLY river to which Pakistan has exclusive rights, via a 1960s-era treaty.
[FYI it rarely rains in Pakistan, which is still predominantly agricultural - rivers are the country's only water sources.]
IIRC it's Kashmir that wants to contest Pakistan's exclusive-use, but with water growing scarcer by the year & human popn only increasing, pressure on all of Asia's rivers will continue to increase - IMO to explosive levels.
.
My personal prediction?
The 1st of the water-wars is not far off - Madame Gaza sees all...
.
.
.


----------



## simplysardonic

I'm currently having a bit of a Stephen King revival, I always end up going back to him, he's like a comfort blanket 

Currently working my way through The Stand & unusually, I don't have a Kindle book or a non-fiction book running at the same time, unless you count teaching myself about colour mutations in various species, that's mostly online research but still counts as reading I suppose!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Interesting very short little video about books/reading - I was quite surprised about the books people lie about reading - why does anyone bother?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zwt4ycw


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
halfway-thru _'Light a Penny Candle' _, Maeve Binchy - i'm enjoying it. 
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
started & finished _Brida_ by Paul Coelho - it was "nice", a good story, but hardly earth-shaking.
He got some very-basic stuff wrong, which i always find irritating in any book that purports to be an accurate representation, & this wasn't magickal stuff, but simple facts from Earth Science.
.
I'm not sure why he has a global rep & multiple best-sellers, if this is similar in quality to his other books - it certainly didn't hook me, i had nothing else to read & it went along on the bus. Kinda Hallmark-movies feel-good version of the Craft.
If 5 is fantastic, this was a solid 3.
.
.
.


----------



## ForestWomble

Sarahlou444 said:


> I've been reading The Girl with No Name, I am really enjoying it. It's quite an easy read about a refugee in world war 2, has a bit of a Goodnight Mr Tom feel to it.


Sounds interesting, who is the author please?


----------



## Sarahlou444

Animallover26 said:


> Sounds interesting, who is the author please?


The author is Diney Costeloe.


----------



## ForestWomble

Sarahlou444 said:


> The author is Diney Costeloe.


Thank you, I'll look out for it.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
Two going at the mo', daytimes it's _Connectography - _
i'm not sure i agree with the author that this is a wonderful thing for the human race, economically; int'l trade agreements are designed to maintain & harden the status quo, keeping the dosh & the power in the pockets & hands of the wealthy, & keeping the ordinary Joe, Jane, or Pabani increasingly poor & disempowered.
.
to drop off to sleep, i'm reading _The Case of The Frozen Addicts, _J W Langston, MD & Jon Palfreman.
It's the story of a horrible event, the MPTP poisoning of many ppl by bad heroin manufactured in a designer-drug lab in 1982 California, & the enormous impetus & insight it provided to the workings of Parkinson's disease, & new hope for a cure.
Ironically, the drug-maker himself was also MPTP-poisoned & developed parkinsonism, years after his early victims; he was diagnosed during his jail-stay by Dr Langston, the same Dr who saw his original worst-affected 6 victims - but very sadly, the co-author of the doctor, Mr Palfreman, himself now has idiopathic Parkinson's disease. 
It's a riveting story of coincidence, accidents, research politics, & academic rivalry, with a complex biochemistry mystery at the center.
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
Finished 'frozen addicts' /Parkinson's disease, excellent read. 
.
25% into Connectography,
& still not loving the idea of globalizing capitalism / making regional powers of corporations & corporate consortiums. I don't trust corporations as far as i can spit, which isn't much past my chin - i don't practice.
The idea of MonsLanto partnering with Big Pharma & such global giants as Exxon-Mobil & Nestle' Foods frankly gives me gooseflesh, it's deeply creepy, & if i think about it much now - just before going to bed - i *know* i'll have nightmares.
Capitalism isn't healthy - not for humans as a species, not for the planet as a whole. It's ethics-free & concerned only with profits - or per corporations, paying out dividends. What they do to their employees, global resources, the planet's life-sustaining functions such as atmosphere, etc, isn't their concern. MAKING MONEY is their sole concern, their raison d'etre.
.
As a break from the hefty, rapid-fire jargon of Connectography, i've just begun reading _'Snow' _by Orhan Pamuk, a Turk. It's very good - i was sucked in, completely immersed, by page 2.
_.
.
._


----------



## chissy 15

Just finished Summer at the Cornish Cafe by Phillipa Ashley. A romance and a light read, set in present day Cornwall but with a Poldark feel, maybe because of setting. Apparently first book in a trilogy so will look out for the others.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

I'm reading Larkswood by Valerie Mendes - its a family/home saga and so far so good.

However I am so excited as I just received the new Philippa Gregory Three Sisters, Three Queens which will be my next read :Woot


----------



## Pappychi

I've been dared to read Grey which is Fifty Shades from the bloke's point of view by a friend. 

Dear God, I have no idea how this drivel was published.


----------



## Nonnie

Pappychi said:


> I've been dared to read Grey which is Fifty Shades from the bloke's point of view by a friend.
> 
> Dear God, I have no idea how this drivel was published.


My opinion of you has been somewhat diminished after reading this.

OT End Of Watch by Stephen King.

Then im re-reading The Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence. I LOVE anti-heroes.

I have a metaphorical hard-on for The Bloody-Nine.


----------



## Pappychi

Nonnie said:


> My opinion of you has been somewhat diminished after reading this.
> .


Haha  To be fair, there's £50 riding on this. Friend thinks I can't finish it. She's probably right :Banghead

Well, I was reading it the other day and I had tears streaming down my face. My mum says -

'I don't remember Fifty Shades being sad?'

To which I reply -

'They're not sad tears. This is hysterical! They're tears of laughter!'

:Smug


----------



## SusieRainbow

I've just started reading 'Bad things happen in Good Bikinis'
It's an autobiography of a 'teenage' novelist Helen Bailey who wrote the Electra Brown series and the Planet Grief blog. The poor lady was widowed on holiday in the Bahamas in a drowning accident , found ' new love 'a couple of years later and was allegedly murdered by her new partner in May with her Dachshund , Boris. There's been a lot about it in the Dachshund community on Facebook , terribly sad.
I haven't really got into it yet but look forward to reading it next month on Holiday.


----------



## leashedForLife

QUOTE, PappyChi:

I've been dared to read Grey which is Fifty Shades from the bloke's point of view by a friend.
Dear God, I've no idea how this drivel was published.

/QUOTE
.
Take heart - my opinion of U is quite undamaged, in fact, i empathize.
There's a distinct limit to the number of ways that humans - whether opp-sex or same-sex - can be fitted together, tab-B into slots A, B, or C, squeeze this, press that button, slide the other along here, ___ . It becomes mechanical.
.
Imagining or observing the sexual gymnastics of others IME becomes terminally boring; it's certainly not the same as being actively involved. Let's face it, very few men will ever play pro-football, & very-few women will be world-class tennis players, but there's every reason for ordinary humans to engage in sex themselves - not by proxy, written or otherwise.
It's not about doffing our clothing & transforming into Olympian demi-gods or super-heroes; we're not all Clark Kent or Diana Prince - it's tenderness & fun & being vulnerable & enjoying the shared moments.
.
Also BTW, most men will tell U, _'There's no such thing as bad sex; any sexual encounter is by definition, good sex.'_
And when i refer to 'most' men, i mean over 9 men in 10.
The vast majority of women - myself among them - would strongly disagree; there have been a number of times i've sincerely wished i could just hand him a couple rolls of quarters, send him happily off to the games arcade for a few hours, & myself curl up with a good book. By the time he came back, sated & tired, i'd be asleep.
(Sorry, guys, but it's true.)
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
I ran out of gas on _'Snow' - _it became too tangled in local, national, tribal, & even family politics to be enjoyable. I'm taking a break, & will finish it later.
.
Halfway thru _'Connectography' _- I like the insights, & news of cross-border infrastructure or novel economic meshing is heartening, but the overall premise that consumption is good for individuals & consumerism is good for the planet is chilling to me.
.
Burning thru _'an expert in murder' - _enjoying it enormously, love the evocative settings; characters aren't cardboard or mere props for the plot.
.
.
.


----------



## FeelTheBern

"Animal Farm" by George Orwell is still frighteningly relevant today...


----------



## tudorbunnies

About to start reading 'Billy and Me' by Giovanna Fletcher. I'm in the process of setting up a blog to put my reviews on and this will be my first post


----------



## picaresque

I've just finished reading Ghost Children by Sue Townsend. It's a deviation from her usal comic style, it's pretty devastating reading and touches on very sensitive issues. As a dog lover the ending had me going 'Noooo'. 

I'm also reading The Lost Executioner, about Comrade Duch and the Khmer Rouge. It's a subject I know virtually nothing about so it's an education.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
halfway thru _'Joy Comes In The Morning' _- a woman rabbi in NYC, the various ppl in her life & work, issues of love, faith, life's purpose, end of life issues, & personal choices. Very emotive without being soppy, spiritual without being preachy.
I'm enjoying it very much - i think she's falling in love, & hope that love grows into a long-term relationship.
.
.


----------



## Zaros

FeelTheBern said:


> "Animal Farm" by George Orwell is still frighteningly relevant today...


I have not read one of Orwell's that hasn't proved relevant today.

'The moral dilemma that is presented to the weak in a world governed by the strong: Break the rules, or perish' (Books v. Cigarettes)


----------



## Moobli

Just started Coffin Road by Peter May. Good so far.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
Still have 20% of 'Snow' to go; the author got really bogged-down in local politics, & i'm finding it frustrating to struggle thru who wants what, why they want it, & how this relates to the story - if it relates at all! Aggravating. 
.
.
Finished 'Joy Comes in the Morning', excellent read.
.
.
I was very irked while reading _'Connectography'_ by something that's happened with every bl**dy book i buy via Amazon as an e-book: when i turn to a new page, virtually EVERY time, i lose words; they drop out, sometimes whole phrases are missing, or for all i know, an entire sentence.
.
I finish one page & turn to the next, & in fiction, i often must fill-in the blank of the missing segment; generally there are clues that let me guess what dropped out.
Problem is, _'__Connecto__g__ra__p__h__y'_ isn't *fiction*, it's fact - & i can't make-up the facts that are missing.  I can't guess them from clues in the context, either.
I phoned Amazon customer-service for help, & his suggestion was that i delete & re-load the app for Kindle Reading on my MacBook Air. How in H*** removing & reloading the [updated, current] app might solve the issue of gaps between pages, i don't know. It's been happening with every book for over 4 years, & thru 3 iterations of the app.
I'm seriously tempted to ask them to apply my e-book purchase price toward a real, hard-copy version of the book - with *no* words missing. 
.
.
.


----------



## Wee T

Still Alice by Lisa Genova. Not far into it but really enjoying so far.

When I've read it I'll watch the film. I have to read books first. If I watch the film the book is ruined entirely for me.


----------



## ForestWomble

I've just started The Crystal Chalice. Book one of the legend of Erren-dar by R. J. Grieve.

Really enjoying it so far.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

I haven't started it yet but just got hold of an old copy of "Angel From Your Door" by Lois Deacon (I rarely buy second hand books but this one is out of print so no choice) which I came across when reading up about the Legend of Kitty Jay - a young girl from the workhouse who got pregnant by the farmer's son of the house she was sent to to work as a servant (c. 1790). Her grave is part of local folklore as it apparently has fresh flowers put on it everyday and no one ever sees who lays them (? pixies). Next time we are down in Dartmoor we are going to visit the grave. I love a good legend 

http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/kitty_Jay.htm


----------



## picaresque

My reading pile after a little book buying spree. All second hand apart from the middle book which came from Poundland of all places - the title caught my attention and the blurb persuaded me, looks to be a decent psychological thriller


----------



## Guest

Just finished Big Little Lies by Liane Moriaty. Very entertaining, a few little twists, a light but enjoyable read.


----------



## Valanita

I loved the Gerald Durrell books, they were hilarious reads. I met him at Jersey Zoo many years ago, he was a nice man, we were in Jersey on holiday. I was in my late teens.


----------



## lorilu

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
I **loved** Durrel's books! - 
anything i've read of his, i've laughed till i cried over some of the situations - - Remember when he 'caged' a local scorpion in a handy little matchbox, & his poor brother innocently opened the box in order to light tinder in the fireplace?... OMG, the chaos! --- LOL.
.
.
"Alex & Me" was also wonderful - watching her fall in love with her 'research subject' was very touching, she had No Idea what she was getting into, or the enormous effect it would have on her own life, personally - let alone the repercussions in science. 
.
.
'West with the Night' is marvelous. 
.
.
.


----------



## Maxine67

Finally reading "Marley and me" - I have seen the film but hadn't read the book, but I currently have a stack of dog books (21 to be precise! ) that came from a friend of my mum's that I am working my way through! Just finished "Sophie, dog overboard" which was an amazing story of survival just shows how determined dogs can be!


----------



## picaresque

leashedForLife said:


> .
> .
> I **loved** Durrel's books! -
> anything i've read of his, i've laughed till i cried over some of the situations - - Remember when he 'caged' a local scorpion in a handy little matchbox, & his poor brother innocently opened the box in order to light tinder in the fireplace?... OMG, the chaos! --- LOL.
> .
> .
> "Alex & Me" was also wonderful - watching her fall in love with her 'research subject' was very touching, she had No Idea what she was getting into, or the enormous effect it would have on her own life, personally - let alone the repercussions in science.
> .
> .
> 'West with the Night' is marvelous.
> .
> .
> .


Sounds like I've got myself a good selection :Bookworm I've started with The Buried Giant, might go for Alex and Me next. 
I was really late getting into Gerald Durrell, I had a copy of My Family and Other Animals lying around for literally years and never got around to reading it - I think I wasn't sure it was my cup of tea. I was wrong, I finally got down to it a few months ago and I loved it - the scorpion in the matchbox was hysterical. Loved Roger, Widdle and Puke too of course, and the Magenpies.


----------



## Valanita

picaresque said:


> Sounds like I've got myself a good selection :Bookworm I've started with The Buried Giant, might go for Alex and Me next.
> I was really late getting into Gerald Durrell, I had a copy of My Family and Other Animals lying around for literally years and never got around to reading it - I think I wasn't sure it was my cup of tea. I was wrong, I finally got down to it a few months ago and I loved it - the scorpion in the matchbox was hysterical. Loved Roger, Widdle and Puke too of course, and the Magenpies.


They made a TV series of My Family & Other Animals, a while ago now. It was very funny.


----------



## picaresque

I think there was one recently as well on ITV but I didn't catch it.


----------



## Lexiedhb

Just been on holiday so have read

Foetal attraction by kathy lette
John and George: The Dog Who Changed My Life by John Dolan
A Dog Called Hope: The wounded warrior and the dog who dared to love him by Jason Morgan and Damian Lewis
and am half way through 
Judy - a Dog in a Million: From Runaway Puppy to the World's Most Heroic Dog by Damien Lewis


Slight theme.......


----------



## picaresque

Tonight I am comfort-reading Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone


----------



## Argent

I used to be a HUGE reader when I was younger, between the ages of about 8-13 but since then I've not really had the time nor attention span to really get into any books - until now! Just downloaded the Kindle App for my phone so I can read Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes. I love the FNAF games and was really excited to get hold of this extra piece of written lore so hopefully that gives me the motivation to stick with it!


----------



## leashedForLife

.
_'Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs -_
_& how life came ashore but then went back to the water' --- *by Carl Zimmer*_

just finished it today, amazing tour of the recent & not-recent fossils found, explaining the new info from embryology, DNA coding, developmental changes that occur during infancy, Darwin, Haeckel, Richard Owen, & other highly influential thinkers & researchers.
Highly recommended.  **** Four paws up!
.
.
.


----------



## MiffyMoo

I'm half way through A Demon's Promise, and I can't put it down. If you like books about Angels and Demons etc., this is a good one. And it's free for Kindle

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Demons-Pro...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1478171583&sr=8-1


----------



## 1290423

I'm reading the karma sutra, but stuck on page 69 lol.


No seriously,. I'm reading mandasue Heller, afraid,. But in all honesty not really enjoying it that much.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
started "Beautiful Swimmers - watermen, crabs, & the Chesapeake Bay",
by Wm Warner.
having lived there for 12-yrs, i can say he captures the landscape & the intricate estuary of inlets, marshes, islands, many rivers & streams, plus the huge Bay with over 4; miles of shoreline, vividly.
I'm only sorry that he wrote this over 20-yrs before i moved there, & the years -- and the phenomenal popn-growth around the Bay & its watershed, sprawling across 12 states -- have not been kind. 
.
the resilient blue-crab fishery & the grimly persistent native oysters have been exploited for centuries, & with ongoing fisheries for both plus the insults of climate change [the Bay averages a mere 20-ft deep, & it's warming quickly], increasing pollution, O2 depletion, & alien species, both crabs & oysters are in peril.
.
i'm enjoying his writing enormously, he quotes the Island waterfolk extensively [they speak an almost-medieval English with a nearly-impenetrable accent], & is an eloquent writer.
I'm painlessly learning a lot of zoology & Bay lore, too.
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
just finished a 1st-book by a new author, a fantasy -
"The Lies of Locke Lamora".
.
it was wonderfully imagined, a world, several complex cultures, & a derring-do main character.
Locke's an orphan who is swept up by the City Watch, then bought from the cops by a pickpocket who runs a thief-training operation in a disused cemetary; pickpockets & 2nd-story specialists.
Locke proves too precocious & way-too daring; he steals a cop's purse, & is sold again to a priest who trains upperclass thieves to blend in with the gentry & fleece them.
.
the world is richly imagined, with its own tech, many cultures, fauna & flora, & lots of cookery - how one eats is of course very connected to how well-off one is, so the poverty but plenty of the orphan thieves is a potent contrast to the epicurean table set by the priest for his "well-born" trainees.
.
when i returned it, i forgot to ask if they had the 2 subsequent novels, set on the same world -
i'll have to go back. 
.
.
currently, i'm reading "CAT WARS: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer"
.
Peter Marra & Chris Santella explain the history of domestic cats, their global distribution traveling with human migrants, & their massive global impact as one of the most-damaging & successful invasive species in history.
.
they also describe "the perfect storm" of bird-lovers post-World-Wars, with affordable optics & bird-feeders, confronting the army of cat-lovers who feel that pet felines have "a right to roam", & that feral or abandoned cats have "a right to live free" - despite their drastically-shortened lives, their ability to spread disease, & their incredible impact on wildlife, humans, & the ecosystems everywhere they roam.
.
.
something between 60 & 100 MILLION free-roaming cats, owned, abandoned, or feral, now infest the U-S-A.
They slaughter **billions** of songbirds every year, & as cats are hard-wired to hunt anything that falls in their size-range, they also kill everything else not literally bigger than themselves; reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, large insects [crickets, grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, etc], & anything else that they chance across.
I wrote before about Cosmos, the massive 20# lean monster tom from my 1st country pet's initial litter; he dug up & punctured every egg of my box turtle's only nest, eating just 4 of the 14. 
He also hunted ADULT COTTONTAILS year-round, while his tiny 7# mum & average-sized siblings wiped-out entire nests of infant rabbits, every Spring & Fall.
.
I know it's not a popular topic on PF-uk, but free-roaming cats are a luxury the world cannot afford any longer; there are too many humans who own cats that roam, & far too-many "former pets" & outright ferals on every continent but Antartica -
where they were both banned & exterminated, as they were surviving at a horrific toll on wildlife there.
.
even in well-managed, well-fed colonies, which in the USA is approx 4% of free-ranging cats, CATS * WILL * HUNT.
It isn't hunger that drives them, simply predatory impulse.
Wild animals have rights, too - to live & breed without falling prey to an introduced predator who is virtually unparalleled in their wide-ranging impact.
.
this book isn't a diatribe against cats; it's a history & a collation of data, from all over the world, on how free-roaming cats alter their environment & impoverish its diversity.
The havoc they wreak isn't anecdotal anymore; with tracking collars, on-cat cameras, species I.D., & body counts, it's data, accumulated by research & field studies.
And it's a sad story - of feline suffering as much as wildlife devastated.
.
.
.


----------



## Dogloverlou

Just finished The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, but wish I hadn't watched the film first as I knew all the plot details and twists.


----------



## picaresque

leashedForLife said:


> .
> just finished a 1st-book by a new author, a fantasy -
> "The Lies of Locke Lamora".
> .
> it was wonderfully imagined, a world, several complex cultures, & a derring-do main character.
> Locke's an orphan who is swept up by the City Watch, then bought from the cops by a pickpocket who runs a thief-training operation in a disused cemetary; pickpockets & 2nd-story specialists.
> Locke proves too precocious & way-too daring; he steals a cop's purse, & is sold again to a priest who trains upperclass thieves to blend in with the gentry & fleece them.
> .
> the world is richly imagined, with its own tech, many cultures, fauna & flora, & lots of cookery - how one eats is of course very connected to how well-off one is, so the poverty but plenty of the orphan thieves is a potent contrast to the epicurean table set by the priest for his "well-born" trainees.
> .
> when i returned it, i forgot to ask if they had the 2 subsequent novels, set on the same world -
> i'll have to go back.
> 
> .


Sounds quite interesting, I don't read much fantasy but I think I'll keep an eye out for this one.

I'm currently reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan. I'm finding it hard to get into so far tbh.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

picaresque said:


> Sounds quite interesting, I don't read much fantasy but I think I'll keep an eye out for this one.
> 
> I'm currently reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan. I'm finding it hard to get into so far tbh.


I've read that too and must admit I did find it a bit too graphic at times although I think it did get better further in.

I'm reading a book I've been trying to get hold off for months and finally got a second hand copy via an amazon book seller. Its called Archives and Anecdotes, Reflections on English Village Life and its all about the village where some of my relatives lived/worked and got up to no good in the 1800's. I haven't come across any mention of them yet.


----------



## picaresque

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I've read that too and must admit I did find it a bit too graphic at times although I think it did get better further in.


It's the love story at the centre of it that I'm finding I just don't care about. Doesn't seem very convincing. Having said that I'm approaching the halfway point and it does seem to be picking up.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished "Cat Wars", & was very discouraged to see that the UK's Royal Soc for the Protection of Birds flat-out denies any impact on wildlife by roaming cats.
This is plainly a politically-motivated stance, not a science-based fact; the RSPB doesn't want to alienate cat-owning donors, nor stir up controversy.
The HSUS / Humane Soc of the U-S, **used to have** a page on their website where members or visitors could pledge to keep their cat/s indoors, so that their pets & wildlife were kept safe -- that's a pretty low-key advocacy, & even that was too much, HSUS took it down & does not say anything about cats-at-large re depredations on wildlife, only that they can be hurt / sickened / get lost, etc.
Obv, outside of urban / burban areas, there's a lot of Triple-S, 'shoot, shovel, & shut-up', regarding roaming cats - owned or not.
With 1 in 3 species of birds either endangered or threatened around the world, we need to deal with free-range cats - as a public safety topic, an environmental topic, & as an owner's responsibility.
.
.
funny, how trapping cats - let alone shooting them legally! -- brings out all sorts of outcry from Jane & John Public, but let a roaming cat BITE or SCRATCH someone, & nobody claims ownership - because no-one wants to take legal responsibility, & be liable for damages... not even to property.

Rabies is a fatal disease, once symptoms develop, & CATS in the U-S are the #1 vector for human exposures - another tidbit, from the CDC, via 'Cat Wars'.
.
there are 19 pages of citations, & every factoid is super-scripted for ease in finding the footnote for the source.
.
.
========================
.
.
started & finished "GoatMan, how I took a holiday from being human" -
Thos Thwaites is a UK designer who previously wrote 'The Toaster Project', 4-yrs back.
.
.
he wants to escape the angst of being human, worry over the future & regret of the past, to live in the moment -
so he applies for a grant from Wellcome Trust to become an elephant.
The elephant idea metamorphoses, as it's impossible on several levels, & he becomes a goat - complete with a countershaded waterproof wrapper, hoofed prosthetics, & an artificial rumen for his grass.
Very interesting, some great photos, & Buttercups Goat Sanctuary features largely.
.
Recommended! 
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
I'm betw 1/3 & 1/2 into "Body of Water - a sage, a seeker, & the world's most-alluring fish",
by Chris Dombrowski.
.
.
it's a history, a memoir, a mediation on fishing & fishermen, centered on Bahamas bonefish, & the now-old man who started fly-fishing for bonefish as a sport - now a $150-Million dollar per year economic engine for the islands.
David Pinder spent 41 years guiding fisherfolk to the best spots, poling the boat, spotting the fish - silver-white above white sand, beneath a glare of mercury-shining water - & his eyes are curtained with cataracts.
The sun & the sea, all those years, blinded him. His severance check was $18K - for the man who hacked the jungle down to build the lodge, helped build the docks & cabins, developed the techniques to actually catch bonefish on the flats [as opposed to "try" to catch, & fail] -
& that's what his life's work is worth?
The knowledge he carries should be passed to the younger guides, not left to die with him.
.
it's both beautiful & deeply sad, racism & privilege, wealth & poverty, the past crimes of slavery & colonialism still playing out in the great-grandchild of free blacks.

.
.
===================
.
.
the library has Book 3 of the "Gentleman Bastards" series, which opened with 'Locke Lamara'.
I put in a reserve on book 2, also, but it's still out.
.
the author is Scott Lynch, 'Locke' came out in 2006, "Red Seas Under Red Skies" in 2007, & "The Republic of Thieves" in 2013.
.
eventually, there are spozed to be 7 books; book 4's pub'n date has been pushed back twice [so far].
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished Vols I thru III of Scott Lynch's 'Gentleman Bast*rds', tho i read 1, then 3, then 2 - someone had #2 out, & i couldn't keep #3 on hold indefinitely. 
.
read 3 old, old SciFi by Andre Norton -
wonderful paperbacks, sadly on acidic paper & fragile, yellowing, doomed treasures.
"Stargate" - parallel worlds, great characters;
"The Time Traders", Cold-War struggle betw U-S & U-K vs evil Reds to find the source of alien technology in the deep past;
& soon to start "Sargasso of Space".
.
.
meantime, i put in a req to buy Book 4 of Lynch series, with a hold on the new volume,
& i burned thru "A Sea of Glass" last night -
nonfiction; the Blaschkas, father-son lampglass artists, made gorgeous lifelike models of marine invertebrates in the 1880s, & a modern-day researcher tries to find all their species in today's desperattely imperiled oceans. 
Beautiful artistry, terrifying facts.
.
a brief sample:
25% of Blaschka models are found *only* in the Mediterranean - where waters are rapidly warming, pollution & overfishing are destroying the food web & ecosystem, & invasive species are exploding.
.
.
- contagiuos diseases are destroying popns wholesale;
one U-S example, the devastating outbreak of a virus that is crushing 20 different species of sea-stars along the Pacific coast, from Alaska to Baja.
Sea-stars are keystone species, preventing mussels from creating single-species deserts where nothing else lives.
.
.
- we have good data on bony fishes & climate change -
it's BAD news, but solid data. We have not even looked at climate change & its impact on invertebrates, even tho bony fishes are highly dependent on them; as food, as water-gleaners, as habitat-creators.
.
.
- shelled species in the Northwestern Pacific are already under severe stress from ocean acidification; the ocean has sucked up 30% more CO2 than pre-industrial seas, & un-shelled organisms are also at risk:
they can't breed in acidic waters.
.
.
- there have been FOURTEEN mass extinction events in the Med Sea since 1983, both in shallows & deep water.
Hard corals, soft corals, ctenophores, sponges, worms, nudibranchs, & more.
In these events, 1/3 or more of all the habitat-building species DIED.
.
.
we are entering a new era; our oceans are being destroyed, & we lack even the data to know how quickly, let alone how & where to intervene & stop it.
A marvelous book - I'd send a cipy to our incoming POTUS, but doubtless he knows more about the subject than Dr Harvell, her dive team, & all the scientific community around the world studying marine life.
.
.
.


----------



## MollySmith

Dolly by Susan Hill. A ghost novella set in Norfolk (which is where I am) It's terrifying and beautifully written as I'd expect. She's a wonderful writer. I just finished The Bookshop by Penelope Lively and would recommend for anyone interested in the Suffolk coastline.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
returned 2 books, & picked up 1:
"Beloved Poison", set in 1880s? [i think] London; trains & industry have invaded the city, the waters below are ripe with sewage, & a century-plus of secrets is about to be revealed: an old hospital is to be leveled, & the cemetary must be vacated & the burials moved: a new train station will stand where St Savior's Hospital has stood for so long.
Its hidden passages, sealed nooks, & unknown crimes will be exposed to the light of day.
The hospital apothecary haw always been a Flockhart, & Jem's father is too old & too ill to continue; Jem will soon take over his father's duties entirely, & thus she is perforce living as a man - since it's unthinkable that a woman should be a compounder or a chemist or an herbalist, beyond simple home remedies.
.
London is teeming with ppl, seething with change, filthy, crowded, stinking, a stew of fumes, coal ash, woodsmoke, tanneries, p*ss-pots, slops hurled out windows, horse droppings from carriages & drays in the streets... but the stench of old murders will soon join the effluvia of rotting vegetables, fermenting grain, & stagnant water.
The eminent surgeons will be suspects, & Jem will be in danger.
.
so far, it's excellent. 
.
.
.


----------



## Jennifer Walsh

Just read Monty Don"s " Nigel my family and other dogs" He's had many dogs over the years and its very sad in parts when he describes the loss of them. Nigel, his present dog injured his spine and his local vet wanted to amputate his back leg . But Monty took him to the pioneering Professor Noel Fitzpatrick who put him back together again. That man deservers a knighthood ,Imo


----------



## HarlequinCat

Only just started reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Its actually not too bad really. Not seen any of the shows so didnt know what to expect.


----------



## picaresque

I'm reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, which I was given for Christmas. Only about forty pages in (festive hangover hampering reading ability) but it's promising so far. Also just gone a bit mad on ebay buying books.


----------



## Nonnie

The Stone Man.

Looking forward to reading The Vagrant next. Got a goat in it.


----------



## HarlequinCat

I gave up on outlander. I liked her style of writing, the descriptive way she'd set the scene, but I didn't reallylike the characters so much or the way the story was going.

I like the idea of the standing stones being a portal to another time etc, but it just wasn't for me


----------



## leashedForLife

.
I burned thru "Beloved poison" by Sunday morning's coffee, sadly leaving me w/o a book to read myself to sleep on Sunday night.

it was wonderfully evocative, but also not for the delicate - autopsies of unrefrigerated corpses, open sewers, appalling "hygiene" among physicians who are admired for their shiny blood-daubed surgical coats [unwashed], & more; it's a good thing books don't come with Smell-o-Rama, as i know some of the reeks described would have left me green!
.
.
now reading a lovely old SciFi, "Sargasso of Space", a 1955 paperback by Andre Norton.
Wonderful time-capsule treasure, & a good plot.
.
.
.


----------



## squirrel605

Currently reading too many books. I am about to go back to Book 5 of the Harry Potter Series which I purchased a few months ago on my Amazon Kindle Fire. I also found a great site called bookbub.com. You can purchase books for free or 1/2 dollars. Just tell the site what kinds of books you like, you then receive a daily email with books which you then download and read at your leisure.


----------



## picaresque

We Have Always Lived in The Castle - Shirley Jackson


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished "Food Pharmacy" [recipes for specific issues / general purposes, explained the uses of certain ingredients -- Vit-C to improve immune Fxn & reduce bruising, skin / hair / nail boosters, pre-biotics for bowel health, & more].
.
.
finished #2 "Gentleman Bast*rds" & requested the library buy #4.
.
finished "Sea of Glass" & want to see the originals near me - at Harvard, Cornell, etc.
.
.
am buying materials to make paper flowers per the instructions in "100 simple paper flowers".
Also buying a ticket for the Boston Flwer Show. 
.
.
reading & enjoying Russell Baker's "The Rescue of Miss Yaskell & other pipe dreams", a collection of columns & stories from his long career as a newspaper journalist, much of it writing for the NYX & living in NYC, NY.
The earliest piece in this book is from 1975; the latest from 1983.
He has a delightful way with words, & is an engaging writer with a wry humor.
.
.
next up is "The Lion in the Living Room: how house cats tamed us & took over the world" --
Abigail Tucker is a well-known writer of science for layfolk, as a correspondent for Smithsonian magazine; she's written about all sorts of beasts & traveled the globe to see them, or speak to experts on their lives, habits, senses, diets, ecosystem functions, & so on.
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished "Lion in the Living Room", it was excellent.
The studies of Toxo & its FX on humans, as well as non-feline non-humans, are eye-opening & very worrying.
The stats on housecats worldwide are if possible, even more worrying. The number of ferals, owned cats, & abandoned cats roaming over the global landscpe is stunning; the damage being done is astronomical.
.
.
finished "To Catch a Cat",
a memoir; a workaholic NYC cynic meets a Nice Guy, who shortly thereafter moves from NYC to NJ, nearly dooming their budding relationship.
Then a feral cat & her kittens are discovered living in the neighbor's cluttered, waist-high weed-filled yard, & she decides they must be saved.
Catching the kittens to socialize them before the critical window closes is the 1st hurdle; then they must trap the dam & spay her. Eventually they can't bear to worry over the spayed free-roaming mom, & adopt her themselves as an indoor cat - they already placed her 3 boys.
.
I appreciated her frankness about the toll cats wreak on wildlife, & that all the kittens she places go to indoor homes.
I wasn't thrilled that she uses TNR for adult cats. Trap/Neuter/Return is a band-aid on a bullet wound.
.
.
started "Common Ground", Rob Cowen;
he finds an odd-shaped patch of undeveloped land marooned at the edge of a small town in northern England, with an abandoned RR embankment, a stream running to a river, a few clearings, a meadow, & a copse of trees.
He's at loose ends; the recession put him out of his London job. He begins to explore the edge-land & the plants, animals, & people who enter there.
.
began "Who Let the Dog Out?", an episode from the 12 Andy Carpenter mysteries.
So far, it's a fun ride - Andy's a lawyer who hates to take a case; he's also husband to an ex-policenik, & they recently adopted a young boy.
But his dearest cause is the foundation he runs, to pplace adoptable dogs. When a mixed-breed stray, up for adoption, is stolen by a professional thief, his spidey-sense tells him that something weird is going on...
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished "Who Let the Dogs Out?" -
fun, some intiguing twists in the plot. I'm going to read the whole series - 12 books with dogs & mysteries is a reader's Eden in prospect, :lol:
It's brain bubble-gum, but he's a decent writer & they're enjoyable. 
.
.
nearing the end of "Common Ground", & i'll be sorry to see it end; evocative writing of a specific place in time that i probly won't even see in photos, let alone in reality, as a visitor.
He's a wonderful writer, eloquent & by turns concrete or dreaming, depending upon whether it's the present or past he's talking about.
.
Started & finished "A Shepherd's View" -
photos & brief stories of life in the Lake District with fell sheep.
As i grew-up with a home sheep-flock that i was shepherd to, there was much that was familiar & dear, & equally much that was foreign & strange -
the idea of mucking my lovely sheep's fleece with red pigment to make her or him "pretty" for the meet or the sale struck me as incredibly weird; i'd much-rather see the pigment that sheep would *throw* in lambs, not any added-on unnatural hues, no matter how traditional or 'pretty'.
I'd as soon put a mature ram or ewe in a nylon tutu as slabber their nice clean fleeces with mineral pigments & oil. ;--D
.
.
.


----------



## Nonnie

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill.

Bloody good ghost story.


----------



## simplysardonic

Nonnie said:


> Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill.
> 
> Bloody good ghost story.


I really enjoyed it as well, re-read it not long before Christmas.

Currently reading 'The Wild' by Whitley Strieber.


----------



## Nonnie

simplysardonic said:


> I really enjoyed it as well, re-read it not long before Christmas.
> 
> Currently reading 'The Wild' by Whitley Strieber.


Wasn't so impressed with The Fireman (should have been called The Nurse) and the ending had me rolling my eyes with its predictability.

I did enjoy NOS4A2 though. First one i read of his. His fathers influence shines through.


----------



## simplysardonic

Nonnie said:


> Wasn't so impressed with The Fireman (should have been called The Nurse) and the ending had me rolling my eyes with its predictability.
> 
> I did enjoy NOS4A2 though. First one i read of his. His fathers influence shines through.


Heart Shaped Box is the only one I've read of his so far, not sure what to read next, either NOS4A2 or Horns, or the compilation one, I always liked his dad's short stories, some more than his actual novels.


----------



## Nonnie

simplysardonic said:


> Heart Shaped Box is the only one I've read of his so far, not sure what to read next, either NOS4A2 or Horns, or the compilation one, I always liked his dad's short stories, some more than his actual novels.


Ooo, i forgot Horns. Really liked that too.

Out of the two, id go for NO24A2.

Both really different in style though.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
NOS4A2 ?
NO24A2 ?
.
not sure if this is an acronym for a title, an actual title, a shared world series [a setting used by multiple authors, e-g, the RingWorld of science fiction], or something else.
.
could someone translate, please?
I'm presuming this is writing by Joe Hill, & his unnamed father is / was also an author.
TIA,
- terry
.
.
.


----------



## Nonnie

leashedForLife said:


> .
> NOS4A2 ?
> NO24A2 ?
> .
> not sure if this is an acronym for a title, an actual title, a shared world series [a setting used by multiple authors, e-g, the RingWorld of science fiction], or something else.
> .
> could someone translate, please?
> I'm presuming this is writing by Joe Hill, & his unnamed father is / was also an author.
> TIA,
> - terry
> .
> .
> .


Do you not have Google?


----------



## leashedForLife

.
gee, thanks, Nonnie - Why didn't i think of that? 
/sarcasm
.
OTOH, there's a distinct possibility that this is a Brit expression, & Google will reply with a couple thousand non-sequiters, most of them arcane part numbers for electronic doohickeys.
.
I'm sorry i bothered U.
.
.
.


----------



## sandy68

NOS4A2 ....should have thought was acronym for Nosferatu you know vampires and things that go bump in the night (now now clear your mind I don't mean bed ends )


----------



## cheekyscrip

Dangerous Liaisons by Laclose. Written in XVIII by French nobleman.
In form of letters between main characters..
Great pleasure. Great study of vanity and love.
You might remember the film adaptation.


----------



## leashedForLife

QUOTE, sandy68:
NOS4A2 ...should've thot it's an acronym for Nosferatu...

/QUOTE
.
i did think of Nosferatu; i've been reading fantasy & sci-fi, Gothic & historical romance, since i was 11-YO.
I'm also familiar with the classic silent movie of that name.
.
however, Brit-speak has been known to cause some difficulties in comprehension, & Google is apt to give U culture-specific references which don't help with stuff from another culture.
.
however, i've been utterly cured of my previous curiosity.
Joe Hill, whoever he [or she] might be, & all her [or his'n] purported relatives, friends, & admirers, can stay complete unknowns to me - as can NOS4A2 or NO24A2 & all her, his, their or its ilk.
I've more than enuf to read without 'em.
*razzberry*
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished 'Common Ground' -
since it was 1st published in 2015, odds are good that the then-proposed 3-lane highway has already been built, & the edge-land bordering Bilton, Yorkshire, is now buried under the proposed 900 houses.
The last remaining bits of the Knaresborough deer-park, those treed copses, are probly gone.
As for the fox, badgers, voles, mice, roe deer, rabbits, Red Admirals, & other wildlings who lived there, who knows what became of them?
They either died, or moved - tho where they might move to is a hanging Q. The goldcrest, blue tits, & swallows could fly, but small & medium mammals can't flee a building site across open ground & paved roads...
nor can all the littler creatures, invertebrates & smaller kin, who provide food, create habitat, aerate & fertlize soil, & so on.

.
finished 'Unlikely Companions', Laurie Hess, DVM -
a memoir by an exotic vet.
Her compassion for nonhumans & kindness for pet-owners is profound, & the stories of panic, comedy, pain, loss, & joy are great reading.
The mystery of the sick & dying sugar-gliders, scattered over some 10 or 12 states, was especially riveting.
.
.
.


----------



## sandy68

Just finished THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy not sure I'd recommend it ...Its post apocalyptic journey by father and young son not great


----------



## leashedForLife

QUOTE, Sandy68:

just finished THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy - not sure I'd recommend it ...
It's a post apocalyptic journey by father and young son; not great.

/QUOTE
.
I came across this book by accident, as a donated brand-new copy @ a local Starbucks [the coffee chain has bookshelves for sharing, leave book/s, take book/s to read].
.
It's not a happy story, but it was certainly largely believable as a post-catastrophe society, & the scary ppl who prey on the vulnerable are definitely familiar types.
The work-arounds the father finds to keep himself & his boy alive are creative, & the underground survival bunker they find that provides shelter at a crucial time is a slice of life, for preppers in the current day.
.
I didn't 'love' it in the sense of joy, but there was both hope & sadness thruout the story, & there are good ppl as well as predators. It definitely made me think - & feel.
.
.
.


----------



## FeelTheBern

I have been reading "The Little Book of Trump-isms". It's basically a collection of the president-elect's most moronic quotes and opinions. I start to laugh when reading it, but my laughter is then halted when I remember that the man who spouts these laughable quotes will be a world leader by this time next week...


----------



## leashedForLife

.
just finished "Pets on the Couch", Nick Dodman, D.V.M.
.
he explores various case-histories of nonhumans with distinctly analogous psychiatric or behavioral issues to human cases, & the not-surprisingly successful use of the same Rx-meds in the nonhumans as are used in humans.
.
I really don't grok the continuing pigheaded resistance of some [human] Drs, Vets, researchers, clinical psychiatrists, etc, to the hardly-groundbreaking news that humans are animals, too, & that other mammals can suffer from similar if not identical complaints as ppl, & the same drugs can help them all - dogs, cats, humans, mice, horses...
This shouldn't be astonishing.
.
after all, we wouldn't TEST drugs on non-humans if we couldn't logically infer that is this drug helps [mice, rats, dogs...], then it is likely to help humans, too.
 Why would that be so amazing?
.
in any case, it was fasciating stuff, & i enjoyed it enormously.
 Heartily recommended.
.
.
.


----------



## katie200

I'm having a ebook bundle giveaway on my blog that ends on the 12th February. If anyone wants to enter just visit my blog and comment in the comment: Blog link.https://katrinamarie25.wordpress.co...y-kshitij-and-katrina-hart-end-12th-february/


----------



## picaresque

Miserable week. Have given up on Orlando for the time being and am comfort-reading Clan of the Cave Bear.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished Alexandra Horowitz' "Being a Dog", re scents, noses, & how smells shape a dog's world.
Wonderful book. 
.
also in other media, watched Wallace & Grommit, "the Were-Rabbit".
loved it - much harebrained sillyness, some tender truths. 
:-D
.
.
.


----------



## squirrel605

picaresque said:


> Miserable week. Have given up on Orlando for the time being and am comfort-reading Clan of the Cave Bear.


I read Clan of the Cave Bear. Good book. Read it years ago.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished "The Blockade", bk 3 of the Salik wars trilogy by Jean Johnson.
Oddly Boston Central Library owns neither 1 nor 2; i put in buy-requests & holds on both.
.
2/3 thru "The Inevitable", 12 processes that are reshaping technology & our world.
Very interesting, but not free of fallacies -
e-g, the author claims "books have never been CHEAPER".
Really? - then i must've hallucinated all those 99-cent & $1.25 paperback editions of newly published bestsellers, hmmm?
.
.
started "Back Bay", a hybrid of historical fiction & fact with a whodunit blended in, set in colonial Boston thru the modern day.
it opens in 1789 & has segments that foreshadow events in the future, of an influential mercantile family of Calvinists. Very, very good - pub'd in 1979, it's held up amazingly well for a 36-YO paperback. Must be acid-free stock.
.
took 2 Middle eastern cookbooks out, & found a recipe for chocolate-cardamom mousse that i'll make for my Lex client's birthday this wkend.
The book is called "Sirocco" for the warm desert wind.
.
also took out "Divine Food" [Israeli & Palestinian cooking], & "Modified" -
GMOs & the threats they pose to agriculture, the environs, our health, etc.
.
.
.


----------



## ForestWomble

squirrel605 said:


> I read Clan of the Cave Bear. Good book. Read it years ago.


I enjoy Clan of the Cave Bear too. 

I have just started A Cotswold Killing by Rebecca Tope.


----------



## picaresque

Really enjoyed CotCB, want to reread whole series again (perhaps omitting the last one which was terrible) but typically the only one I can't find is book two :Arghh I know I have it somewhere.
I'm reading The Lunar Cats by Lynne Truss for now.


----------



## Jonescat

What the **** is normal? by Francesca Martinez the comedian. It is her autobiography and is brilliant, warm and enlightening.


----------



## Valanita

I am revisiting Anne McCaffrey, I'm now on the first book in her Catteni series.


----------



## cat001

I've actually committed myself to reading something from cover to cover this year lol. I'm not much of a reader, I'm mildly dyslexic so I read ok but lose focus fairly quickly and often get a headache with trying to focus harder. (On bad days I read something but then I'm not sure what I read, so have to re-read). I recently bought a book that isn't strictly a 'reading' book, it's; "Gaining Ground: The Origin and Evolution of Tetrapods", I might as well learn something if I'm going to read lol.


----------



## Valanita

Valanita said:


> I am revisiting Anne McCaffrey, I'm now on the first book in her Catteni series.


Second book now.


----------



## cheekyscrip

" The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner" by James Hogg.
Not what you think. (Unless you think it is about Calvinism and Scottish Reformation lol).


----------



## leashedForLife

.
finished Book 2 of the "Salik Wars", sadly they didn't buy it but went clear to Natick to borrow it...
& Book 1 has yet to appear.  So i'm butt-foremost, as usual. *sigh*
.
.
also finished a marvelous novel that refuses to be pigeonholed -
"The Race", Nina Allen.
I 1st thot the title referred to the annual Classic with the big purse, for human-Greyhound hybrid smartdogs, but it's much more significant.
U'll have to read it to learn more - it's far too good, & too well-written, to cheapen it with explanations or a Cliff's Notes summary. 
Exceptional book.
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
I also watched 2 discs of "Open All Hours", have one yet to go, & i borrowed "Fools & Horses" - haven't watched it yet, nor "Hetty Wainthrop".
.
I really enjoyed 'Open all Hrs'. & Lord knows, i needed some laughs. :-D
.
.
.


----------



## Valanita

Valanita said:


> Second book now.


Finished those now on Sky Dragons.


----------



## Jonescat

The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C Morais
Seems to be about a boy from Mumbai who becomes a chef in Paris via Southall, and the strap line was "Don't read this book if you're hungry. You might eat it". I read a lot of cook books so a book about cooking sounded good. 

The cookbooks I am on at the moment were bought at a Save The Children book stall for 50p each - couldn't quite believe it - the 2nd Moro one and Simply Lebanese.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
'The 100-foot journey' was made into a film, i caught a 20-minute or so bit, it seemed very good.

.
.
.


----------



## Jonescat

leashedForLife said:


> .
> 'The 100-foot journey' was made into a film, i caught a 20-minute or so bit, it seemed very good.
> 
> .
> .
> .


Ooh I didn't know that - . I shall look it up - thanks


----------



## leashedForLife

.
Jonesy, 
Helen Mirren plays the wealthy woman who encourages him to "go pro".
.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2980648/
.
.
.


----------



## squirrel605

I may look into that too. Sounds interesting.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Having ploughed my way through a couple of family history type text books I decided to treat myself to the latest Inspector Banks by Peter Robinson "When the music's over". I'm pleased to find Annie Cabot is still alive (they killed her off in the TV series ) but a bit disappointed with the book which centres on one historic sex abuse case against a "celeb" and a current murder/rape linked to a grooming ring of Asian men using young teenage girls. Just seems like a cop out (excuse pun) to use these two current/topical story lines rather than come up with a decent plot.

Have got Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain out ready to read next as I recorded the film at the weekend but would like to read the book first. Its about a young nurse during WW1 - Vera Brittain's story. I believe she was Shirley Williams the politicians mother.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
would U believe... Book I of the 1st Salik Wars trilogy has *finally* arrived @ Boston Central?!
i thot they either couldn't find a copy, or not finding one in their network for ILL / interlibrary loan, they'd resolved not to buy it!
Can't wait to see how far afield they went to borrow a copy, LOL, or if they actually spent the dough to put one on the shelf. :--D)
.
I'll pick it up on my way to work...
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
began & finished "Penguins, Pineapples, & Pangolins",
a collection of initial reports & first descriptions of exotic or novel nonhumans, plants, foods, commodities, & other ppls or cultures, written by Europeans -
the writers who 1st encounter these novelties were often explorers, but some were seamen, others missionaries, a few had been kidnapped or shanghaied to serve in foreign forces - so the level of education of the writers varies considerably.
.
sadly, most of the interest in living creatures newly-discovered is "what do it taste like?", so the demise of sea-turtles, giant tortoises, flightless birds, & other yummy or conveniently defenceless species is encapsulated in their 1st revelation to the world.

The blatant prejudice or cold-blooded assessment of newly-met native peoples is also pretty appalling, evaluating them on whether they'd make "good slaves" is a common theme.
I didn't enjoy those encounters - learning how someone responded to the 1st taste of a lychee is a lot less disturbing than reading while they describe chasing down & shooting at natives so foolish as to think they could defend their own from projectile-firing weapons they'd never seen.
.
very interesting, but some parts are poignant & others quite disturbing.
.
.
.


----------



## picaresque

Just finished reading Spill Simmer Falter Wither, the debut novel of Irish writer Sara Baume. I haven't been so struck by a book in a long time, as a dog person and a bit of an oddball (and not the cute and quirky kind) it rather resonated with me. Beautiful but devastating. Please read this book.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
been reading a whole series of oldie-but-goodie Sci-Fi novels by Andre' Norton - the oldest, i think, was from 1976.
 Amazed the book still hung together, the pages were browned & brittle with age, & the edges of the covers chipped if they were bumped or bent in the least. I wish publishers would use acid-free paper more often. 
.
.
Just finished a VERY unusual fantasy / SF crossover that was the 1st i've seen with Norton co-writing -
it's from 1984, co-author is one Phyllis Miller, & title is _'House of Shadows' --- _basic plot has a family, parents & 3 kids, forced to move from Florida when the space program is shut down, & the whole family heads for a great-aunt's old house in New England - where they'll separate, the kids to stay with G.A. Hendrika temporarily, Mom going back to college for a different advanced degree, & Dad getting a new, unfortunately distant, job.
He & Mom will be able to live near her college - but they can't afford to rent a place that will house 5 ppl, so the Great-Aunt is going to keep the kids. // She's actually looking forward to this, the children know nothing about their family roots, & she's excited to show them places & tell them about their great-great-grands, the town's history, etc.
.
then the nightmares start... 
.
.
It was fun, but utterly unlike any Norton novel i've ever read before; much more lightweight. Still, i enjoyed it.
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
I also took out 2 non-fiction books, _'Belting' - _techniques to produce loud volume, with bright, intense singing - 
& _'Curl Talk' _by Ouidad, about curly hair, its care & feeding, good cuts & which texture they are apropos for, how to shampoo / arrange / part or not part, etc.
.
I'm going to get my own copy of "Belting", 3-weeks wasn't long enuf to get thru all the exercises, & there are on-line videos as well. 
.
.
.


----------



## Jonescat

Was a bit disappointed with the Hundred Foot Journey although I can see that it would be a cracking part for Helen Mirren. I expect the film re-imagines some of the bits I found disappointing and I wouldn't mind watching it to see. Then read Carrie Fisher's Delusions of Grandma which I found sweet and engaging.


----------



## picaresque

Got this beautiful little book for my birthday. I'll probably cry.









And I've got a Kindle on the way, woohoo :Bookworm


----------



## leashedForLife

.
Done a lot of reading since my last post! 
.
at least 6 more Andre' Norton sci-fi, dating between 1968 & 1976 -
also several "Doc" Smith S-F, which were real cult pieces, but fun.
.
2 weeks back, i borrowed _'H is for Hawk' _in e-book, & really enjoyed it; a Brit falconer's father dies, & she decides to train a goshawk while she's trying to recover from his death.
.
Also saw a terrific film, _'Their Finest' - _a young woman is hired to write scripts for WW-2 propaganda, boosting morale on the home front, & she fictionalizes a real-life story to make it something worth scripting. She gets caught out -- a 3rd-degree acquaintance of the women hears the plot outline, & knows they never made it to Dunkirk - but the film is made anyway. The sexist attitudes are familiar - some things are still wth us. 
.
today i saw a GORGEOUS dramatization of Beatrix Potter's life - _'Miss Potter' , _2006. // Renee Zellweger was amazing, very believable.
.
.
.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
.
I'm currently reading _*The Next 100 Years: **A Forecast for the 21st Century *_by George Friedman - 
published in 2009, it attempts to predict geopolitical patterns. I'm reading it on my laptop.
.
At the same time, i've got a trade-paperback going - _'Absurdistan' _by Gary Shteyngart.
I think it has more appeal for male readers than women - lots of groping, sweaty, staring fantasy, loads of masturbation, sexist & racist comments, & so on. The main character is the son of a Russian criminal who happens to be Jewish; much is made of the son's circumcision as an adult, even tho he's never been observant & his father pays for what's basically a drunken kidnapping.
The reason it dovetails with "The next 100 years" is the POLITICS - Russia, the various 'stans, warlords, crime, energy as a commodity, border wars, civil wars.
.
.
.


----------



## grumpy goby

Re-Reading (for the third time) Neil Gaimans American Gods - seeing as the TV series has started and I am very excited (and impressed by EP1 - well cast, and well shot - great cinematography and appropriately gothic for a Gaiman book)


----------



## MollySmith

Reading *A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara* and struggling. It's mostly been acclaimed but I wonder if it was just cool to do that. Anyone else read this? The prose is very average occassionally it's good. The story is long-winded and unfocussed and if this novelist had allowed her editor to edit it would have benefited from losing at least 200 pages. It feels it's told to us and this has a distancing effect when the subject matter is harrowing and emotionally powerful.


----------



## ForestWomble

Currently reading A Fatal Winter by G. M. Malliet. Very good, would recommend it. It's part of the Max Tudor series, will be looking to read more of the series.


----------



## leashedForLife

.
watching "Shaun of the Dead" - what a bizarre film, _"...glad somebody made it..."_ seems to sum it up.  
.
.
.


----------



## Nonnie

Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

Its ok. Prefer much MUCH more gore and violence (so far there is none) and far FAR less romancy shit.


----------



## Happy Paws2

I'm reading two at moment...
_*Three Sisters, Three Queens*_ by Philippa Gregory, I love her books, I think I've read all her books about the Tudors.
and I've just started
*Conclave* by Robert Harris...


----------



## MrJsk

I would like to read more but no idea what !?

I have read a few of James Pattersons books.. crime/drama which I enjoyed.

Anybody have any recommendations


----------



## ForestWomble

MrJsk said:


> I would like to read more but no idea what !?
> 
> I have read a few of James Pattersons books.. crime/drama which I enjoyed.
> 
> Anybody have any recommendations


I'm reading A Fatal Winter by G. M. Malliet which might interest you.


----------



## MrJsk

Animallover26 said:


> I'm reading A Fatal Winter by G. M. Malliet which might interest you.


Thank you 

I will check it out !


----------



## Zaros

I'm presently reading a book about 'The Stockholm Syndrome'

I absolutely hated it at first,  but now I bloody well love it.


----------



## simplysardonic

Currently reading T.W. Piperbrook's 'Contamination 0-3 boxed set that I downloaded for free onto my Kindle.

Started Stephen King's The Bazaar of Bad Dreams last night as my new non digital fiction.

And my non-fiction is currently Domesticated: Evolution in a Man-Made World by Richard C. Francis.


----------



## Odin_cat

Happy Paws said:


> I'm reading two at moment...
> _*Three Sisters, Three Queens*_ by Philippa Gregory, I love her books, I think I've read all her books about the Tudors.


I've just starting reading her 'Cousins War' books and am addicted! Hoping I can make it onto the Tudor ones in the next month, before DD breaks up from school.


----------



## Happy Paws2

Odin_cat said:


> I've just starting reading her 'Cousins War' books and am addicted! Hoping I can make it onto the Tudor ones in the next month, before DD breaks up from school.


Philippa is a brilliant author, I heard an interview with her a few weeks ago and she said she'd been with Henry VIII longer than any of his wife's.


----------



## Lurch-er

I've just read fingers in the sparkle jar,Chris packhams very open and frank autobiography while I admire Chris as a presenter not so much as an activist I would really recommend this great read 
of which must of been a fairly difficult book to write


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Happy Paws said:


> I'm reading two at moment...
> _*Three Sisters, Three Queens*_ by Philippa Gregory, I love her books, I think I've read all her books about the Tudors.
> and I've just started
> *Conclave* by Robert Harris...





Odin_cat said:


> I've just starting reading her 'Cousins War' books and am addicted! Hoping I can make it onto the Tudor ones in the next month, before DD breaks up from school.


I've read pretty much every book she has written I think and absolutely loved the Cousins War series but I couldn't get on with Three Sisters, Three Queens and actually gave up on it which really surprised me. Might have been because I'd read a very similar book by a different author so found it a bit boring. She has a new one out in August called "The Last Tudor" which is about Lady Jane Grey.


----------



## Elles

Zaros said:


> I'm presently reading a book about 'The Stockholm Syndrome'
> 
> I absolutely hated it at first,  but now I bloody well love it.


Now that one is funny.


----------



## Zaros

Elles said:


> Now that one is funny.


----------



## PawsOnMe

I'm just reading the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. Don't know why I've not started them until now as they've been sitting on my kindle for donkeys age, totally loving them


----------



## leashedForLife

.
just finished watching _'The Last Clinic' - _about repro-health access, abortion rights, & "trap" laws across the USA.
Mississippi once had 14 repro-clinics that could provide 1st-trimester abortions; now, the whole state has ONE.
.
Heartbreaking, inspiring, grinding hard work, frustrating, scary - the clinic was shut down many times, re-opened, VANDALIZED despite 24 / 7 security cameras, clients were harassed verbally & physically, driveway blocked, doors blocked, constant haranguing by threatening or verbally abusive anti-abortion "demonstrators", it was awful to watch.
that many clients were NOT there for abortions, or were not pregnant but wanted to be, or already had multiple children & couldn't afford another... all those personal details meant nothing.

As far as the mouthy jerks on the sidewalk were concerned, EVERY woman or girl entering the clinic was de facto preg & about to "kill her baby" - they shouted hellfire & damnation, told them they'd be sterile, that they'd be traumatized forever by the abortion... frankly, my nightmares would be seeing those furious faces spitting epithets at me, every night.

.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-last-clinic#/
.
.
.


----------



## Nonnie

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kings-Wyld...1497789753&sr=8-1&keywords=kings+of+the+wylde

One of the most entertaining books ive read.

Bloody love Moog.


----------



## ForestWomble

Currently reading The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. 

It's set in Ancient Egyptian times and while it is supposedly a childrens book, it's great, I'm loving it


----------



## simplysardonic

Nonnie said:


> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kings-Wyld...1497789753&sr=8-1&keywords=kings+of+the+wylde
> 
> One of the most entertaining books ive read.
> 
> Bloody love Moog.


That sounds good, added it to my wishlist.

@Animallover26 that sounds interesting, I love ancient Egypt


----------



## Magyarmum

I'm reading two books at the moment ....

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff which is about the Mormons.

and ...

Six Tudor Queens .. Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen by Alison Weir.

I'm also a great fan of Hakan Nesser and his Inspector Van Veeteren novels and Henning Mankell Kurt Wallender crime novels both set in Sweden.


----------



## Franksthename

I walked by night 
The king of the Norfolk poachers


----------



## leashedForLife

*@Magyarmum* said,

I'm reading two books at the moment ....
- The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff, which is about the Mormons.
and ...
- Six Tudor Queens .. Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen by Alison Weir.

I'm also a great fan of Hakan Nesser & his *Inspector Van Veeteren* novels, & Henning Mankell's _*Kurt Wallender*_ crime series --both set in Sweden.
______________________________
.
.
I'm not sure I could stomach any fiction about Mormon life.  I read fiction to enjoy the story & relax, my 6-day workweek is stressful, & the Mormon attitudes toward women & girls really irk me. // Only being able to attain Heaven by submitting to one's husband in this life, as he's the gatekeeper for his wife / wives, is just one of the many grains of sand in that bathing-suit.
.
I don't know Nesser / v-Veeteren, but i read the entire *Wallender* series, & enjoyed it very much. [Altho reading them, U can easily see how depression & Nordic go together, it's a bit like tropical sun & fruit drinks, LOL.]
.
.
.


----------



## Magyarmum

leashedForLife said:


> *@Magyarmum* said,
> 
> I'm reading two books at the moment ....
> - The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff, which is about the Mormons.
> and ...
> - Six Tudor Queens .. Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen by Alison Weir.
> 
> I'm also a great fan of Hakan Nesser & his *Inspector Van Veeteren* novels, & Henning Mankell's _*Kurt Wallender*_ crime series --both set in Sweden.
> ______________________________
> .
> .
> I'm not sure I could stomach any fiction about Mormon life.  I read fiction to enjoy the story & relax, my 6-day workweek is stressful, & the Mormon attitudes toward women & girls really irk me. // Only being able to attain Heaven by submitting to one's husband in this life, as he's the gatekeeper for his wife / wives, is just one of the many grains of sand in that bathing-suit.
> .
> I don't know Nesser / v-Veeteren, but i read the entire *Wallender* series, & enjoyed it very much. [Altho reading them, U can easily see how depression & Nordic go together, it's a bit like tropical sun & fruit drinks, LOL.] .


I have to admit that the 19th Wife is rather heavy going. Although I agree with you about the whole polygamy thing I'm really interested in the history of the Mormon church. I was always puzzled about why a Great Great Aunt of mine, her husband and 5 daughters emigrated to Salt Lake City in 1865. What I didn't realise until I started reading this book was that Mormon preachers were sent to England to convert the "natives" and encourage them to join them in Salt Lake City. Our family tree is lodged in the archives of the LDS although there's no evidence that any member of the family became a Mormon.

I enjoy Nordic crime novels ... perfect for a cold and gloomy Hungarian winter and have just discovered another author ... Karin Fossum and her Inspector Sejur series. I haven't started it yet so don't know whether it will live up to my expectations.


----------



## Zaros

I've just finished reading a science book.:Smug

It was full of weird and wonderful facts I wasn't even aware of.

Such as, did you know that grass feels pain when it's cut? :Jawdrop

I conveyed this rather alarming little fact to MrsZee.

She responded thus;_ 'Nice try Gump, the lawn mower's in the garage' 
_
Another one who doesn't care about the environment.


----------



## noushka05

Lurch-er said:


> I've just read fingers in the sparkle jar,Chris packhams very open and frank autobiography while I admire Chris as a presenter not so much as an activist I would really recommend this great read
> of which must of been a fairly difficult book to write


I've got this book  I agree it is a great read, can't recommend it highly enough.


----------



## picaresque

I've got three books on the go at the moment, which is unusual as I'm normally strictly one at a time.
American Psycho. Was prompted to read it by a thread on another forum about 'what book you wish you'd never read' where it featured prominently - of course I had to.
Jilly Cooper's Class, a wry (if a little dated and eyebrow raising) look at the convoluted British class system
Joyland by Stephen King. All I can say at this early stage is that the supposedly heartbroken-cos-his-college-girlfriend-left-him main character is only upset he never got laid.


----------



## LinznMilly

After a long break from reading, I went to the library this week and rediscovered my love of the hobby. Just finished Philosophy in a Week by Mel Thompson, and am now just over half way through Fruedian Slips, by Joel Levi.


----------



## dorrit

Gosh you lot read intense books .... Ive got a couple of trashy novels on the go plus Im getting to the end of Musicophilia , tales of music and the brain by Dr Oliver Sacks.
He was the man who wrote the book which inspired the film "Awakenings,"


----------



## steveshanks

I'm reading the Davinci Code again, total rubbish but some days thats all you want


----------



## Nonnie

steveshanks said:


> I'm reading the Davinci Code again, total rubbish but some days thats all you want


Dan Brown has a new one out later this year.

OT, im currently reading https://www.amazon.co.uk/Godblind-A...=UTF8&qid=1498917893&sr=8-1&keywords=godblind

Very moorish.


----------



## steveshanks

I need to get more adventurous i only read books i've already read except for the odd non-fiction.


----------



## picaresque

Finished reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl (which was a bit of a marmite book but I liked it). Really loved this one, could hardly put it down. I think though when you're enjoying a book so much and just want to find out what happened the ending is inevitably a bit disappointing, which was kind of the case for me but I still really rate it - a very dark, snappy mystery/thriller.
Just started on Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, about his growing up mixed race in the last days of the apartheid era and afterwards as South Africa rebuilt itself.


----------



## Magyarmum

picaresque said:


> Finished reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl (which was a bit of a marmite book but I liked it). Really loved this one, could hardly put it down. I think though when you're enjoying a book so much and just want to find out what happened the ending is inevitably a bit disappointing, which was kind of the case for me but I still really rate it - a very dark, snappy mystery/thriller.
> Just started on Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, about his growing up mixed race in the last days of the apartheid era and afterwards as South Africa rebuilt itself.


I've just finished "The Grown Up" by Gillian Flynn. Can't say I enjoyed it enough to read any of her other books.

I'm now reading "Fall of Man in Wilmslow" by David Lagercrantz translated from the Swedish. It's a novel about the life and death of Alan Turing the mathematician who worked as a code breaker at Bletchley during WW2 but was later convicted as a homosexual. I've only just started it but so far am enjoying it!


----------



## picaresque

Magyarmum said:


> I've just finished "The Grown Up" by Gillian Flynn. Can't say I enjoyed it enough to read any of her other books.


I've been thinking of getting this on my Kindle, it's a short story though so I'm put off buying it on its own *is tight*. I think her writing is a bit 'love it or hate it'.

Fall of Man in Wilmslow sounds interesting. It was horrendous what they did to Alan Turing, especially considering what he did for his country.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

I've found a series of books about a forensic genealogist by Nathan Dylan Goodwin - a mystery/thriller with a genealogy thread running through, just started the first one "Hiding the past" and really enjoyed it so far.


----------



## kimthecat

picaresque said:


> Finished reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl (which was a bit of a marmite book but I liked it).


I never finished reading Gone Girl . Did she turn up in the end ?

The two main characters , so self centred , I didn't care enough about them to finish it .


----------



## Jonescat

Just finished Phillippa Gregory's "The Lady of the Rivers" which is about the end of the hundred years war and the beginning of the wars of the roses in a very unacademic style. It has lots of facts though and I have learnt quite a bit.

Now reading Monica Ali's "In the Kitchen". Not sure where it is going yet but I like the truthfulness of the depiction of modern London.


----------



## Siskin

Recently started Into the Water by Paula Hawkins who wrote The Girl on the Train. Juries out at the moment as, like her last book, it's very disjointed and chapters are written in a different characters 'voice' and there are different time scales thrown in for good measure. Normally I like books written in this way, but this one is more disjointed then most and difficult to follow as I spend half the chapter trying to remember who the character is and how they fit into the story.


----------



## LinznMilly

I'm still well into my non-fiction phase. Currently reading Proteinaholic by Garth Davis, as recommended by @rottiepointerhouse . Very enjoyable so far.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Just started Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (AKA JK Rowling) - the 3rd Cormoran Strike novel. The 1st one Cuckoos Calling is about to be shown on BBC 1 :Woot:Woot

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-08-14/when-is-strike-the-cuckoos-calling-on-tv/

I quite like the casting of the actor who is going to play Strike and can't wait to see it.


----------



## dorrit

I was just mooching about in a secondhand store and found a copy of Still Alice...only on page 5 but it seems good.


----------



## Zaros

I've just finished reading a book about how to avoid being ripped off.

Best €250.00 I've ever spent.


----------



## Siskin

dorrit said:


> I was just mooching about in a secondhand store and found a copy of Still Alice...only on page 5 but it seems good.


I quite enjoyed that one, felt very true to what it must be like to have Alzheimer's


----------



## dorrit

Siskin said:


> I quite enjoyed that one, felt very true to what it must be like to have Alzheimer's


My MIL is called Alice , she has Alzhiemers ! Ironic...

A great book from the sufferers perspective is Out of mind by J Bernlef. http://www.letterenfonds.nl/en/book/506/out-of-mind


----------



## Magyarmum

I love reading in bed in the evening but haven't been doing so because I'm too busy watching the Life of the Tudors on Viasat History and also the TV adaptation of Wolf Hall with Damian Lewis as Henry 8th and Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell. I read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in history.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Magyarmum said:


> I love reading in bed in the evening but haven't been doing so because I'm too busy watching the Life of the Tudors on Viasat History and also the TV adaptation of Wolf Hall with Damian Lewis as Henry 8th and Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell. I read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in history.


I loved it too and the second book "Bring up the Bodies". She is writing the 3rd book at the moment "The mirror and the light" which they think will be made into series 2 for BBC in a couple of years. Shame its such a long wait so I hope they repeat the first series just before so we can remember who is who.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017...s-2-is-at-least-two-years-away-says-director/


----------



## Minuscule

Hello,

I am looking for a good book to read but I have no inspiration at all.
I was thinking of a non fiction book, but if it's a good book I guess it doesn't matter!
Do you have good recommendations? Perhaps even books about or with cats


----------



## picaresque

Minuscule said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am looking for a good book to read but I have no inspiration at all.
> I was thinking of a non fiction book, but if it's a good book I guess it doesn't matter!
> Do you have good recommendations? Perhaps even books about or with cats


Tom Cox's cat books are great, well I've only read the one so far  but they're not the twee kind of cat books and aren't entirely about cats, v. well written and funny. Think he's done some writing on other subjects as well.

Try Jon Ronson as well, he covers odd/interesting subjects in a sort of Louis Theroux style. Very readable.

I'm finding it hard to concentrate on reading at the mo and have a few too many books on the go. I've just finished Longbourn by Jo Baker which I really really enjoyed - literally Pride and Prejudice but below stairs. Better than it sounds.
Can't get on with Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson even though I normally love her writing, it's a bit overdone imo. Also reading The Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan which is v. good but also v. obviously 'literary' so right now I'm getting stuck in to The Fireman by Joe Hill.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

picaresque said:


> Tom Cox's cat books are great, well I've only read the one so far  but they're not the twee kind of cat books and aren't entirely about cats, v. well written and funny. Think he's done some writing on other subjects as well.
> 
> Try Jon Ronson as well, he covers odd/interesting subjects in a sort of Louis Theroux style. Very readable.
> 
> I'm finding it hard to concentrate on reading at the mo and have a few too many books on the go. I've just finished Longbourn by Jo Baker which I really really enjoyed - literally Pride and Prejudice but below stairs. Better than it sounds.
> Can't get on with Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson even though I normally love her writing, it's a bit overdone imo. Also reading The Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan which is v. good but also v. obviously 'literary' so right now I'm getting stuck in to The Fireman by Joe Hill.


I loved Loungbourn too - apparently its in pre production for a movie :Woot

I'm currently reading The Lost Ancestor which is book 2 of Nathan Dylan Goodwin's forensic genealogist Morton Farrier series. I'm really enjoying this series as its a bit like a mystery/detective story mixed with Ancestry.


----------



## picaresque

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I loved Loungbourn too - apparently its in pre production for a movie :Woot


Ooh, fab.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

picaresque said:


> Ooh, fab.


I can just see it as a TV film at Christmas but probably not enough time for this year.


----------



## Siskin

I've just finished reading Mr Mac and Me by Emma Freud, my choice as the book for our book club in the village.

It's set in Walberswick on the Suffolk coast at the start of the First World War and involves the architect and painter Charles Rennie Macintosh. I know the area well and I could imagine where everyone was in the story, could almost see them. The village hasn't changed hugely since those times, just a few more houses and it no longer has the railway. Very dreamlike and poetic story, really enjoyed it.


----------



## Sandysmum

I'm working my way through the Kemlo series of books by E.C.Elliot. They're sci fi books written in the 50s and even though they are a bit dated they're a nice easy read. These were the first books I ever got out of the library when I was about 8ish, I loved them so much I read them time and again, so it was lovely to find that they'd been put on kindle after being out of print for so long.


----------



## WillowT

The unbearable lightness of being by Milan Kundera. I did read it years ago but I really enjoyed it so was happy to read it again.


----------



## WillowT

Zaros said:


> 1984. _George Orwell._


*Have you read WE? By Yevgeny* Zamyatin ? 
I believe it was a few decades before 1984.


----------



## Zaros

WillowT said:


> *Have you read WE? By Yevgeny* Zamyatin ?
> I believe it was a few decades before 1984.


I haven't.

To be honest, I don't like reading, and from my own perspective, it's the most unproductive thing I could ever think of doing. 
I've read approximately 5/6 books in my life thus far and don't really envision myself adding to that total until I'm on me death bed where I intend to read Tolstoy's War And Peace.
He who rides the pale horse will just have to show a little patience. Either that, or gallop away and find another soul to reap.


----------



## picaresque

Currently reading the final book in the MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood.


----------



## MollySmith

I had the MOST AWFUL experience last week. A holiday home with NO BOOKS. Nothing at all. Luckily the church in the village has a second hand bookshop and I found some great books at Killerton House (Dorset) where they have a second hand bookshop too. I actually haven't bought a new book this year!

So I've started reading Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey stories. I found three in the sales!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

MollySmith said:


> I had the MOST AWFUL experience last week. A holiday home with NO BOOKS. Nothing at all. Luckily the church in the village has a second hand bookshop and I found some great books at Killerton House (Dorset) where they have a second hand bookshop too. I actually haven't bought a new book this year!
> 
> So I've started reading Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey stories. I found three in the sales!


Is that the Josephine Tey "inspector Grant" series? If so I love her book about Richard III - it was the book that got us both really interested in Richard III  Where is Killerton House by the way?


----------



## kittih

I am currently re-reading Sir Terry Pratchett's discworld series in hard-copy (proper books  )

And the latest J.D Robb Secrets in death who dunnit set in the 2060s on audio book.

I usually have more than one book on the go at the time.


----------



## MollySmith

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Is that the Josephine Tey "inspector Grant" series? If so I love her book about Richard III - it was the book that got us both really interested in Richard III  Where is Killerton House by the way?


Oh yes it is!! I've not read her original work but I understand that Upson was fascinated by her but in finding nothing about her, decided to feature her in her books. Sounds a bit fan fiction but her publisher is Faber and Faber and they are a nice read. I started with one based in Loe Pool and the Minack, Angel with Two Faces, because I know that part of Cornwall well (if we stay at Porthleven, we walk Molly around the Penrose estate).

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-expert-in-murder-by-nicola-upson-794377.html

Killerton House is in Devon, here's a link https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/killerton


----------



## picaresque

Midway through How Not To Be a Boy by Robert Webb (Peep Show etc) - part memoir, part examination of gender roles and the pressure on boys to be 'masculine' that starts so young. Really worth a read.


----------



## picaresque

Thought it about time this thread was revived (having killed it). I've just started reading The Light Between Oceans, and I have Brian Plummer's The Complete Jack Russell Terrier on the go as well - proper terrierman stuff which isn't really my thing but very interesting nonetheless.


----------



## Siskin

picaresque said:


> Thought it about time this thread was revived (having killed it). I've just started reading The Light Between Oceans, and I have Brian Plummer's The Complete Jack Russell Terrier on the go as well - proper terrierman stuff which isn't really my thing but very interesting nonetheless.


This was my choice for a book club I'm in and we all enjoyed it. Have you seen the film?


----------



## picaresque

Siskin said:


> This was my choice for a book club I'm in and we all enjoyed it. Have you seen the film?


I'm only about forty pages in but I'm liking it so far - it was an impulse Kindle buy as it was 99p and I thought it sounded good. I didn't know there was a film though.


----------



## Valanita

I've just finished *, Molly & The Cat Cafe by Melissa Daley.
When I started it didn't think I'd enjoy it as it's told from the cat's perspective, but I carried on with it & it's a lovely story.*


----------



## Siskin

Current book club read is The Girl with Seven Names by Hyenseo Lee. It's about a girl who escaped from North Korea. It's very interesting to learn about the controlling state and what the North Koreans view is of the outside world


----------



## Guest

Marley and me at present. Can read the book, can’t watch the movie.


----------



## picaresque

Siskin said:


> Current book club read is The Girl with Seven Names by Hyenseo Lee. It's about a girl who escaped from North Korea. It's very interesting to learn about the controlling state and what the North Koreans view is of the outside world


I've not read this one but I have quite a few books about life in North Korea (can't help feeling a bit ghoulish for it). The accounts from the prison camps are just horrifying, I keep wondering how much longer it can go on.



danielled said:


> Marley and me at present. Can read the book, can't watch the movie.


I've not read the book but the film broke me :Arghh


----------



## Sandysmum

I'm reading 'when the wind changed, the life and death of Tony Hancock' by Cliff Goodwin. It's not just about TH, but also an insight into how comedy evolved during and after WW2, and the struggles some (now) household names faced in those early years, and the big breaks they got. But it does tell the story of how TH rose through the ranks to become one of the nations fave comedians and what happened to him.


----------



## Guest

Anyone read the woman in the window by AJ Flynn?

I’m looking for a book to take on holiday and like the sound of this one.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope is my bed time read - I'm gradually working my way through the Chronicles of Barsetshire. 

Embrace Tiger Return to Mountain by Chunglaing Al Huang which is about Tai Chi during the day (when I'm having breakfast/lunch).


----------



## grumpy goby

Sapiens, a brief history of humankind by Yuval Noah Harari


----------



## Arnie83

If anyone's interested, the kindle version of "Tails of a Country Garden" is now reduced to 99p (or 99c) on Amazon.



Spoiler















Your Cat magazine described it as 'full of humour and charm'.

It stars 3 cats, plus dogs, foxes, squirrels, a hedgehog, and a few cows!


----------



## Neopolitan

The Men Who Stare At Goats, by Ron Johnson, my son (16) reccomended it, apparently it’s a Hollywood movie, I have not seen it yet, I will when I finish the book, and then be furious about how the movie ruined it all lol.


----------



## picaresque

The Pharmacist's Wife by Vanessa Tait - good read with a bit of a Sarah Waters vibe (high praise), set in Victorian Edinburgh. The titular pharmacist is absolutely loathsome and I'm just hoping he comes to a sticky end.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope. I really enjoyed the last one Framley Parsonage and this one, more so than the earlier books in the series. 

Also reading Deskbound standing up in a sitting world by Kelly Starrett about the ill effects sitting it having on our health which seems to explain a lot of my orthopaedic problems over the past few years along with wearing stupid shoes.


----------



## Valanita

I am going through again my vast collection of Anne McCaffrey books, now on the Tower & the Hive series.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

picaresque said:


> The Pharmacist's Wife by Vanessa Tait - good read with a bit of a Sarah Waters vibe (high praise), set in Victorian Edinburgh. The titular pharmacist is absolutely loathsome and I'm just hoping he comes to a sticky end.


I love Sarah Waters, shame she hasn't written anything for a while, unless I've missed one since The Paying Guests.


----------



## picaresque

rottiepointerhouse said:


> I love Sarah Waters, shame she hasn't written anything for a while, unless I've missed one since The Paying Guests.


She's brilliant, only discovered her in the last few years - although I remember watching the tv adaptation of Tipping the Velvet as a teen like :Wideyed - and she's now one of my favourite writers. Hope she's working on something new.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

picaresque said:


> She's brilliant, only discovered her in the last few years - although I remember watching the tv adaptation of Tipping the Velvet as a teen like :Wideyed - and she's now one of my favourite writers. Hope she's working on something new.


Fingersmith was probably my favourite although just looked at her website and so excited to read The Little Stranger is being made into a film which will be released in the autumn :Woot


----------



## picaresque

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Fingersmith was probably my favourite although just looked at her website and so excited to read The Little Stranger is being made into a film which will be released in the autumn :Woot


The Little Stranger was the first book of hers I read and had me hooked, a film sounds great.
Fingersmith is one of my favourites too but I think Affinity wins for me.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

picaresque said:


> The Little Stranger was the first book of hers I read and had me hooked, a film sounds great.
> Fingersmith is one of my favourites too but I think Affinity wins for me.


I haven't read that one. Must go and check my shelves to see if I've even got it.


----------



## Northpup

Scorpio races- all time favourite book and read many many times. 
If you are needing ideas for a good book then have a look at it, it might be up your street


----------



## Bettyboo2

Reading the Faith Martin series the detective Hillary Greene books. Anyone enjoys a uk based female detective these are pretty good.


----------



## picaresque

Now reading The Hunger by Alma Katsu - based on the fate of the Donner party, recommended by Stephen King (main reason I have Twitter tbh). Think I'll be sleeping with the lights on after this one.


----------



## Sandysmum

The Devil rides out , the second volume of Paul O'Gradys autobiography, (not the Dennis Wheatley one!). I love his style of writing, I hear his voice in my head while reading as if we were sat having a cuppa. That came out a bit creepy, but you know what i mean.


----------



## picaresque

The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements - another spooky one.


----------



## MilleD

Life, death and Vanilla Slices by Jenny Éclair.

Not really my thing, but when my sister and I went to start sorting my step dad's house out as he has just passed away I found my mom's Kindle (she died in July 2016).

So I'm reading everything she never got round to. Some of it may do _me_ in, but I'm avoiding those so far


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Not reading but just ordered the new CJ Sansom book in the Shardlake series - Tombland :Woot:Woot (long time to wait though as not released until October)


----------



## karenmc

Just read 'The perfect neighbours' by Rachel Sargeant. It was a really good psychological drama crime book. I've just started getting into this genre and enjoyed it.


----------



## picaresque

Currently reading Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, it's the story of Christopher McCandless who set off alone to live in the wilds of Alaska and died out there. It's a fascinating story and quite eerie.


----------



## karenmc

I've just started 'The third wife' by Lisa Jewell.


----------



## picaresque

Comfort-reading an old favourite, The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory. Just want something relaxing and enjoyable.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

picaresque said:


> Comfort-reading an old favourite, The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory. Just want something relaxing and enjoyable.


You keep reading books I've got in my library and not read yet. I've had that one for years and read nearly everything by Philippa Gregory but not that one. Will go add it to my pile of next ones to read


----------



## picaresque

rottiepointerhouse said:


> You keep reading books I've got in my library and not read yet. I've had that one for years and read nearly everything by Philippa Gregory but not that one. Will go add it to my pile of next ones to read


Oh you definitely should, it's one of her best imo


----------



## Siskin

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.

It’s about whether or not Richard III did kill the princes in the tower or not, written as a modern day detective story. I say modern, it was written in 1951 long before the kings body was found in the car park, nevertheless it’s very interesting and I’m learning lots on the way.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Siskin said:


> The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.
> 
> It's about whether or not Richard III did kill the princes in the tower or not, written as a modern day detective story. I say modern, it was written in 1951 long before the kings body was found in the car park, nevertheless it's very interesting and I'm learning lots on the way.


Jumps up and down with excitement. That was the book that got me so interested in Richard III, it was the first time I really thought about whether he might not have killed the princes in the tower. I then got OH to read it and he got so interested we joined the Richard III society and have read lots of other books about the subject since. I got the whole series of her books about the detective (can't remember his name) but have only tried to read one and couldn't get into it but must give them another go.


----------



## Siskin

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Jumps up and down with excitement. That was the book that got me so interested in Richard III, it was the first time I really thought about whether he might not have killed the princes in the tower. I then got OH to read it and he got so interested we joined the Richard III society and have read lots of other books about the subject since. I got the whole series of her books about the detective (can't remember his name) but have only tried to read one and couldn't get into it but must give them another go.


I can understand that, I spent quite a bit of time googling Richard III last night

It's my own book clubs read so it will be interesting to see what everyone else thinks


----------



## Boxer123

I'll be gone in the dark Michelle Mac namer it's about her hunt for a serial killer she died this year just before he was finally caught. 

Scary stuff.


----------



## ForestWomble

Siskin said:


> The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.
> 
> It's about whether or not Richard III did kill the princes in the tower or not, written as a modern day detective story. I say modern, it was written in 1951 long before the kings body was found in the car park, nevertheless it's very interesting and I'm learning lots on the way.





rottiepointerhouse said:


> Jumps up and down with excitement. That was the book that got me so interested in Richard III, it was the first time I really thought about whether he might not have killed the princes in the tower. I then got OH to read it and he got so interested we joined the Richard III society and have read lots of other books about the subject since. I got the whole series of her books about the detective (can't remember his name) but have only tried to read one and couldn't get into it but must give them another go.


Sounds like something I'd be interested in.


----------



## kittih

Currently have a nice easy police procedural by Damian Boyd "Dead lock" on audiobooks for my work commute. It is set in the west country and includes some places familiar to me so its nice to picture them when listening.


----------



## picaresque

Boxer123 said:


> I'll be gone in the dark Michelle Mac namer it's about her hunt for a serial killer she died this year just before he was finally caught.
> 
> Scary stuff.


Ooh I have this on my kindle waiting to be read. I like a good true crime book but I have to be in the right mood.


----------



## Boxer123

picaresque said:


> Ooh I have this on my kindle waiting to be read. I like a good true crime book but I have to be in the right mood.


It's good but making me double check I've locked my door.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

The King's Witch by Tracy Borman. Only a few chapters in but loving it so far.


----------



## Sacrechat

Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George.


----------



## Siskin

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman


----------



## Boxer123

The cabin at the end of the world.


----------



## picaresque

On the go at the moment - The Child in Time by Ian McEwan; The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson, about the murders of H. H. Holmes and a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury.


----------



## Zaros

Today, I'm reading closed threads.


----------



## cheekyscrip

Long time rejected Pillars of the Earth... but ok as a beach reading, regardless of wooden characters and Hollywood take on history. The fascination with building still rings true... but how atheist could understand medieval soul?


----------



## FeelTheBern

Private Eye.


----------



## Sacrechat

Careless in Red by Elizabeth George.


----------



## PawsOnMe

All your perfects by Colleen Hoover. I've never cried so much at a book in my life.


----------



## Sacrechat

PawsOnMe said:


> All your perfects by Colleen Hoover. I've never cried so much at a book in my life.


The only book that made me cry was Bella Mafia by Lynda la Plante.


----------



## PawsOnMe

Sacremist said:


> The only book that made me cry was Bella Mafia by Lynda la Plante.


Just looked that up on goodreads and it has some suberb reviews, with the subject matter I can see why you'd cry!


----------



## Sacrechat

PawsOnMe said:


> Just looked that up on goodreads and it has some suberb reviews, with the subject matter I can see why you'd cry!


She very cleverly tells you what happens to one of the characters, which is horrific, then makes that character so endearing you fall in love with him. As you read, knowing what is going to happen to him it becomes increasingly and incredibly painful and upsetting.


----------



## picaresque

Finally getting around to Stephen King's newest, The Outsider.


----------



## Valanita

I am reading *Natural History by Neil Cross. *Not seen this author before, he writes screen plays for TV as well & not usually my type of book, but so far it's interesting. Animals & a murder mystery type of book. I found it in a charity shop & it's like new, unread, so I guess the person who had it before didn't fancy reading it.


----------



## Boxer123

Outsider by Stephen king my favourite author.


----------



## Valanita

Valanita said:


> I am reading *Natural History by Neil Cross. *Not seen this author before, he writes screen plays for TV as well & not usually my type of book, but so far it's interesting. Animals & a murder mystery type of book. I found it in a charity shop & it's like new, unread, so I guess the person who had it before didn't fancy reading it.


Finished it, but not as good as I thought it would be. Won't be getting any more by that author.


----------



## Sacrechat

I Can See You by Karen Rose


----------



## Sacrechat

The Pool House by Tasmina Perry.


----------



## Sandysmum

Just started Picnic at hanging rock by Joan Lindsay.


----------



## Sacrechat

jetsmum said:


> Just started Picnic at hanging rock by Joan Lindsay.


I've been watching that on TV.


----------



## picaresque

Star of the North - a pretty good thriller largely set in North Korea.


----------



## Magyarmum

The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St Aubyn.


----------



## picaresque

Bag of Bones - Stephen King must have been having a midlife crisis when he wrote this one.


----------



## Valanita

Reading *The Crystal Line...Anne McCaffrey*, for the umpteenth time. I am going through all my books by her again.


----------



## O2.0

American Gods by Neil Gaiman 
Really liking it so far and I don't normally like fantasy type stuff.


----------



## picaresque

I've mislaid my kindle and I am bereft. It's not like I don't have plenty of paper books but that feeling of being unable to finish what you were reading is like having an itch you can't scratch, argh.


----------



## Tawny75

EveryWoman by Jess Phillips


----------



## O2.0

Anyone read "The Wife" by Meg Wolitzer? 
I read it recently, the movie is out, with Glen Close.
I enjoyed it, but I kind of didn't. I do recommend it though


----------



## Valanita

I am reading *Red Star Rising by Anne McCaffrey,* I am going through her Pern books in chronological order.


----------



## picaresque

picaresque said:


> I've mislaid my kindle and I am bereft. It's not like I don't have plenty of paper books but that feeling of being unable to finish what you were reading is like having an itch you can't scratch, argh.


I've found it :Bookworm Phew.

Currently on the go I have The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney and a biography of Ota Benga by Pamela Newkirk - Spectacle. A thoroughly depressing story of a human being put on display like an animal at the turn of the last century.


----------



## O2.0

picaresque said:


> I've found it :Bookworm Phew.
> 
> Currently on the go I have The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney and a biography of Ota Benga by Pamela Newkirk - Spectacle. A thoroughly depressing story of a human being put on display like an animal at the turn of the last century.


Not liking that Spectacle is depressing, but that you found your Kindle 

Still slowly making my way though American Gods, fell asleep reading it last night and had some rather odd dreams LOL!


----------



## Julie4

I read a wide range of things from chick lit (feel good factor!) to crime thrillers. Always on the look out for something new to try though I have to pace myself as once I’m into a good book I can’t put it down !


----------



## Valanita

Julie4 said:


> I read a wide range of things from chick lit (feel good factor!) to crime thrillers. Always on the look out for something new to try though I have to pace myself as once I'm into a good book I can't put it down !


I read a lot of chic lit, it is escapism. Get those from charity shops & after reading them return them to a different charity shop, else I tend to buy the same book back again, having forgotten I have already read it.


----------



## Julie4

Valanita said:


> I read a lot of chic lit, it is escapism. Get those from charity shops & after reading them return them to a different charity shop, else I tend to buy the same book back again, having forgotten I have already read it.


I think reading is escapism in itself, it's something that's just for the reader and gives you a broader mind.


----------



## westie~ma

Was an avid reader until about two years ago.

Not exactly sure why I've stopped, probably a mixture of tiredness at the end of the day and not finding something to interest me.

So today I went to my local library for a browse, came home with these ...










One fiction and one autobiography.
Read Mac's first book so I'm quite confident I can get through at least one of these book


----------



## picaresque

westie~ma said:


> Was an avid reader until about two years ago.
> 
> Not exactly sure why I've stopped, probably a mixture of tiredness at the end of the day and not finding something to interest me.
> 
> So today I went to my local library for a browse, came home with these ...
> 
> View attachment 374973
> 
> 
> One fiction and one autobiography.
> Read Mac's first book so I'm quite confident I can get through at least one of these book


I went through a similar period several years ago where I just stopped reading for a while, not sure why. It's like riding a bike though, being a bookworm :Bookworm

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with Miss Carter's War; I didn't know Sheila Hancock wrote as well.


----------



## westie~ma

picaresque said:


> I went through a similar period several years ago where I just stopped reading for a while, not sure why. It's like riding a bike though, being a bookworm :Bookworm
> 
> I'd be interested to hear how you get on with Miss Carter's War; I didn't know Sheila Hancock wrote as well.


She's very good at words on the radio 4 show Just a minute. 
I didn't know she wrote fiction (have her book about John Thaw) but thought I'd give her a chance.


----------



## PawsOnMe

I'm currently on the Broken lands series by T.A white. I love it when I find a good fantasy without a ott 'special' heroine, in this series she's gotten to where she is by hard work and no special powers to aide her.. I can't stop reading, on book 2 now  (even risked my kindle in the bath just so I didn't have to stop :Shy)


----------



## Bugsys grandma

I love a good crime thriller, read lots of James Patterson, mo harder, John Grisham that kind of thing. At the mo I'm reading Thirteen by Steve cavanagh. When I was dog sitting for my daughter at the weekend, her mastiff pup decided to have a bit of a nibble on it while I was in the shower, very thoughtfully he only ate the chapters I'd already read though! What a good lad !


----------



## westie~ma

Due to reading just one chapter of the John McEnroe book I've now booked tickets to see him play in the Albert Hall on the 6th December. 

Marvellous


----------



## HarlequinCat

I'm reading Wall of Winipeg by Mariana Zapata. Some may consider her stories a bit slow, but I like how she develops her characters.


----------



## PawsOnMe

HarlequinCat said:


> I'm reading Wall of Winipeg by Mariana Zapata. Some may consider her stories a bit slow, but I like how she develops her characters.


She's one of my top favourite authors. I've read all of her books, love that type of slow burn book


----------



## Boxer123

I'm now re reading Clive Barkers the thief of always.


----------



## HarlequinCat

PawsOnMe said:


> She's one of my top favourite authors. I've read all of her books, love that type of slow burn book


She's good isn't she. I've also read kulti and I am going to read wait for it next


----------



## PawsOnMe

HarlequinCat said:


> She's good isn't she. I've also read kulti and I am going to read wait for it next


Kulti is so good, I really liked Lingus as well (although some might be put off by the blurb xD).

Waking Olivia by Elizabeth O'Roark has the same slow burn developed characters feel, it reminded me of Kulti a little with the sports theme.


----------



## lorilu

Valanita said:


> Reading *The Crystal Line...Anne McCaffrey*, for the umpteenth time. I am going through all my books by her again.


Oh yay! Killashandra is my favorite of those three. But like you, I go through all of them periodically. I'll be due to start the Dragonriders of Pern probably later this winter. I read the Pegasus books last winter. And the Rowan/Damien books the winter before that. And the odd offs like The Ship Who Sang, and Dinosaur Planet/Survivors.

Have you read Todd McCaffrey's Pern books? Some are collaborations with Anne (before she died) but most are his own.


----------



## Valanita

lorilu said:


> Oh yay! Killashandra is my favorite of those three. But like you, I go through all of them periodically. I'll be due to start the Dragonriders of Pern probably later this winter. I read the Pegasus books last winter. And the Rowan/Damien books the winter before that. And the odd offs like The Ship Who Sang, and Dinosaur Planet/Survivors.
> 
> Have you read Todd McCaffrey's Pern books? Some are collaborations with Anne (before she died) but most are his own.


I am reading the Pern books in chronological order. Just finished Red Star Rising, next is a Anne/Todd McCaffrey book Dragon's Kin. He wrote of the older times on Pern, after two with him Mother. These are long before Lessa & F'lar.
If you'd like the chronological list you can find it on the site The Pern Museum & Archives, www.pern.nl or I can post it here?


----------



## HarlequinCat

PawsOnMe said:


> Kulti is so good, I really liked Lingus as well (although some might be put off by the blurb xD).
> 
> Waking Olivia by Elizabeth O'Roark has the same slow burn developed characters feel, it reminded me of Kulti a little with the sports theme.


Ha ha yup, I saw that one and wasn't too sure about giving Lingus a go. It is a rather unusual setting for a slow burn book!

Will have to give waking Olivia a try


----------



## PawsOnMe

HarlequinCat said:


> Ha ha yup, I saw that one and wasn't too sure about giving Lingus a go. It is a rather unusual setting for a slow burn book!
> 
> Will have to give waking Olivia a try


Definitely unusual and not what you'd expect from a book with a dog on the cover xD
I hope you like it


----------



## O2.0

Okay, finished American Gods. I definitely liked it but it felt "thin" in parts. Good book though. 
So I've read a bunch of really good books lately, that one, The Wife, Educated, Small Great Things, and I'm now feeling really picky about what I want to read next. 
I've read the first few chapters of Michael Pollan's "How to Change your Mind" about his research in to psychedelics. Fascinating so far, but it's not a story. I need a story book!


----------



## O2.0

I'm three chapters in to this book and LOVING it!!

https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-w...VZ41LDhuCbpB_goQyA4JNvPFj9aRMa2HJ_VqwvkTkcgXk


----------



## Siskin

Just finished 'We were the lucky ones' by Georgia Hunter a true story of a family of Polish Jews at the during the Second World War. Very moving story


----------



## Puddy2shoes

Siskin said:


> Just finished 'We were the lucky ones' by Georgia Hunter a true story of a family of Polish Jews at the during the Second World War. Very moving story


Hi Siskin, yes, I can imagine how moving a book on this topic would be, I don't think I know of any other group of people in history that have been forced to scatter around the world to seek refuge....... I used to be an avid reader through the '70s and ,80s but don't read as much these days, when I was in infant school I distinctly remember wishing I could climb into the lovely pictures of some of the books we had back then, I think Brer Rabbit might have been one of them, perhaps fond (or otherwise) memories of school could be a topic for another thread...


----------



## picaresque

O2.0 said:


> I'm three chapters in to this book and LOVING it!!
> 
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-w...VZ41LDhuCbpB_goQyA4JNvPFj9aRMa2HJ_VqwvkTkcgXk


This sounds interesting *does not need more books*


----------



## O2.0

picaresque said:


> This sounds interesting *does not need more books*


It's fantastic, I'm to chapter 26 and I can't put it down! People keep trying to talk to me and all I want to do is read or listen to my book LOL!


----------



## Boxer123

I'm now on 'I always find you' by john ajvide lindqvidt haunting.


----------



## tabelmabel

I'm about three quarters through The Girl You Left Behind by jo jo moyes. It's ok but it's not gripping. I only read it on trains and planes and when the kids are at soft play. So i started in march and I'm still not done!


----------



## catz4m8z

lorilu said:


> I go through all of them periodically. I'll be due to start the Dragonriders of Pern probably later this winter.


I love the Pern books. Now I have the urge to dig out all my Anne McCaffrey books and reread them! TBH though any fantasy book suits me. I loved David Eddings Belgariad/Mallorean series and the Dresden books by Jim Butcher.

Anybody read Stephen Fry's book on mythology? I saw him talk about them on Graham Norton and thought they sounded really good (might ask someone to get them for xmas for me!).


----------



## cheekyscrip

catz4m8z said:


> I love the Pern books. Now I have the urge to dig out all my Anne McCaffrey books and reread them! TBH though any fantasy book suits me. I loved David Eddings Belgariad/Mallorean series and the Dresden books by Jim Butcher.
> 
> Anybody read Stephen Fry's book on mythology? I saw him talk about them on Graham Norton and thought they sounded really good (might ask someone to get them for xmas for me!).


I have it, OH liked it but not loved it, I didn't.

I know the stories and somehow it was not sitting right.

I finished something big , but in Polish, XIX century, I love that period in literature, you had Dickens and so on, we had Prus and Sienkiewicz , French had Hugo, Russians had Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky to mention just a few...
Great times in literature, big, slow , broad stories...

Always go back to classics.


----------



## O2.0

Just started "Little Fires Everywhere" this morning on my run. Am liking it so far


----------



## Siskin

I read this as part of my village book club read not so long ago. We all enjoyed it, very interesting. One of our members used to live in the US in a town not dissimilar to where the book it set


----------



## O2.0

Siskin said:


> I read this as part of my village book club read not so long ago. We all enjoyed it, very interesting. One of our members used to live in the US in a town not dissimilar to where the book it set


Apparently Shaker Heights is a real town, designed much as described in the book. There definitely are towns like that in the US, something very uniquely American IME as most towns and cities in the rest of the world were developed before municipal planning, or, if there was planning, it was by Romans or something and the idea was not to avoid main roads on the walk to school ha ha!

I'm already intrigued. Trying to ration myself to listening to it only when running so it lasts longer LOL!


----------



## Siskin

O2.0 said:


> Apparently Shaker Heights is a real town, designed much as described in the book. There definitely are towns like that in the US, something very uniquely American IME as most towns and cities in the rest of the world were developed before municipal planning, or, if there was planning, it was by Romans or something and the idea was not to avoid main roads on the walk to school ha ha!
> 
> I'm already intrigued. Trying to ration myself to listening to it only when running so it lasts longer LOL!


I hadn't realised Shaker Heights actually exists. Wonder what the people who live there think of the book, it's not exactly complimentary at times.


----------



## O2.0

Siskin said:


> I hadn't realised Shaker Heights actually exists. Wonder what the people who live there think of the book, it's not exactly complimentary at times.


Interesting commentary here  
https://beltmag.com/white-lady-problems/


----------



## Siskin

O2.0 said:


> Interesting commentary here
> https://beltmag.com/white-lady-problems/


That was interesting, thank you.

When we had the meeting to discuss the book only four of us were there, the other two sent in critiques. The four of us discussed the book for ages, wandering off onto other subjects, then coming back to something in the book which sparked another discussion. It was probably the most discussed book we've had since we started ten years ago.

Edited to add. Didn't I say discussed a lot


----------



## O2.0

Siskin said:


> That was interesting, thank you.
> 
> When we had the meeting to discuss the book only four of us were there, the other two sent in critiques. The four of us discussed the book for ages, wandering off onto other subjects, then coming back to something in the book which sparked another discussion. It was probably the most discussed book we've had since we started ten years ago.
> 
> Edited to add. Didn't I say discussed a lot


 Sounds really good, I'm excited to listen through it


----------



## O2.0

Ah! Just finished Little Fires Everywhere today. OMG it took twists and turns I was totally not expecting, and I LOVED the part at the end where the mom is wondering if she is the cage or the bird in her portrait. So good!

Now I'm in a book depression. 
Where the Crawdads Sing was fabulous
Little Fires Everywhere was fabulous
I need a good book!!!!


----------



## Siskin

Glad you enjoyed it so much.
I’ve downloaded her next book but haven’t read it yet


----------



## O2.0

Siskin said:


> Glad you enjoyed it so much.
> I've downloaded her next book but haven't read it yet


Everything I Never Told You?


----------



## Siskin

O2.0 said:


> Everything I Never Told You?


That's the one


----------



## O2.0

Downloading


----------



## KittenEevee

Im waiting on hold online through my library for 'whistle in the dark' by Emma Healy. I've read a few chapters online and it's so good so far. I'm number 5 on the waiting list and they've only got two copies available. I'm hoping I'll get it in time to be able to read over new year. 
I would suggest 'Elizabeth is Missing' by Emma Healy. It's such a good book, I couldn't put it down.


----------



## picaresque

O2.0 said:


> Ah! Just finished Little Fires Everywhere today. OMG it took twists and turns I was totally not expecting, and I LOVED the part at the end where the mom is wondering if she is the cage or the bird in her portrait. So good!
> 
> Now I'm in a book depression.
> Where the Crawdads Sing was fabulous
> Little Fires Everywhere was fabulous
> I need a good book!!!!


I've had Little Fires Everywhere on my kindle for a while, must get around to reading it in the new year. I enjoyed her previous novel. I also added Where The Crawdads Sing to my wishlist and as luck would have it they later dropped the price to 99p so now I have that too (I am obsessed with kindle deals, I get really good books and hardly ever pay full price).

I'm currently reading and can recommend So Much For That by Lionel Shriver. I've never read a bad book by her. This one covers some heavy topics - illness, disability and mortality - but it's darkly comic and hard to put down.


----------



## Guest

I've just finished The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce. My mum recommended it but it wasn't quite my cup of tea in the end. 

Next up is Jodi Picoult's new one, A Spark of Light.


----------



## Guest

Oh @O2.0 @Siskin I loved Little Fires Everywhere too!


----------



## O2.0

McKenzie said:


> Oh @O2.0 @Siskin I loved Little Fires Everywhere too!


It was great so I got her other book "Everything I never told you" and didn't like that one near as much. Also dysfunctional family stuff, but not nearly as well constructed if that makes sense. Still a good book, just not as great as Little Fires.

Currently reading The Hate U Give, very mixed emotions!


----------



## Guest

24 hours later and I’m done with a Spark of Light. Very engaging, held my attention the whole way. A couple of nice twists at the end. So much better than Small Great Things which I never finished.

And now I’m out of books!


----------



## O2.0

McKenzie said:


> 24 hours later and I'm done with a Spark of Light. Very engaging, held my attention the whole way. A couple of nice twists at the end. So much better than Small Great Things which I never finished.
> 
> And now I'm out of books!


Check out Where the Crawdads Sing!


----------



## Guest

My mum had a new book I hadn't read - The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte wood. Very gripping but horribly depressing the whole way through!



O2.0 said:


> Check out Where the Crawdads Sing!


Thanks, might try this next


----------



## Boxer123

I'm reading a book called Meddling Kids it's not very high brow an adult version of Scooby Do but is entertaining.


----------



## picaresque

Starting off the new year with Half of a Yellow Sun.


----------



## PawsOnMe

I'm reading Verity by Colleen Hoover. My heart is racing! I don't normally read thriller and it's proper creeping me out:Shy


----------



## picaresque

Rereading Harry Potter (OotP), and have a novel by Madeleine Thien on the go as well - Do Not Say We Have Nothing.


----------



## KittenEevee

Reading Tattooist of Auschwitz 
And
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine


----------



## Mutant

Recently finished _A Head Full of Ghosts_ by Paul Tremblay, currently reading _Past Mortems_ by Carla Valentine.


----------



## ForestWomble

Not started yet but have just got Narrow Minds by Marie Browne, I really enjoyed her book Narrow Margins and its really funny so hoping this one will be just as good. 
It's about her life on a narrow boat.


----------



## errwin

_A Head Full of Ghosts - _interesting book


----------



## Mutant

errwin said:


> _A Head Full of Ghosts - _interesting book


Yeah, I thought so, too. I'd like to read _Disappearance at Devil's Rock_ by the same author. Have you read that one?


----------



## picaresque

Just finished reading Sleeping with Dogs: A Peripheral Autobiography by the late Brian Sewell. I don't do books of the 'dog tales' variety normally but I really enjoyed this one, it's not very long, a chapter for each of the dogs he had throughout his life, how they came into it and how they left (there are a few weepy moments). Lovely little book.


----------



## HarlequinCat

@PawsOnMe did you see the new book out by Zapata? . Luna and the Lie.


----------



## tabelmabel

I finally finished 'The Girl you Left Behind' by Jo Jo Moyes. Only took me a full year! It was ok, neither boring nor gripping.

Just recently started 'Rebecca' and am loving that. Have seen the play and film but have never read the book before.


----------



## Valanita

I am back to Chic-lit, reading a Jenny Colgan at present.


----------



## PawsOnMe

HarlequinCat said:


> @PawsOnMe did you see the new book out by Zapata? . Luna and the Lie.


Yeah I've read it and really enjoyed it  I seriously love her books and can't wait for the next one :Happy what did you think of it?


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Just finished Tombland by CJ Sansom - my favourite of all the Shardlake series and just started The girl in the glass tower by Elizabeth Fremantle which is about the woman who was expecting to become queen after Elizabeth I.


----------



## HarlequinCat

PawsOnMe said:


> Yeah I've read it and really enjoyed it  I seriously love her books and can't wait for the next one :Happy what did you think of it?


Oh yeah, rather enjoyed it too! Like how she thinks of all different setting for her books. 
I'd read a few reviews beforehand, and wasn't sure if I would read it or not because they said it wasn't her best. But, I was pleasantly surprised!


----------



## O2.0

tabelmabel said:


> I finally finished 'The Girl you Left Behind' by Jo Jo Moyes. Only took me a full year! It was ok, neither boring nor gripping.


I read Me Before You and found it... meh. It felt a little manipulative I guess. Like she was toying with the reader's emotions for the sake of it. I feel that way about a lot of Jodi Picoult's books. I read them, I like them, but I feel like I've been played a little. Don't know if any of that makes sense! :Hilarious:Hilarious

Finished Circe by Madeline Miller, not my type of book at all but it was really well crafted and I found myself really fascinated with the characters and their personalities. I'm going to read her next one too.

Currently reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, also not my 'type' of book but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Set in London, fantasy genre. He's a great storyteller 

The Hate You Give was very good. Not excellent, but I'm glad I read it.


----------



## tabelmabel

O2.0 said:


> I feel that way about a lot of Jodi Picoult's books. I read them, I like them, but I feel like I've been played a little.


I know what you mean. I read a couple of jodi picoult and found them a bit "samey" Like a formula had been used.

I know i will enjoy Rebecca as i already know the story of it - wonder if it will be as chilling as the film! That Mrs Danvers was well- scary!

Last books i really enjoyed were "The girl with the Dragon Tattoo" - think there are 3 of them. I had seen the films but the books were way better.


----------



## picaresque

Started reading NOS4R2 by Joe Hill - love his books normally. We've just met the librarian Maggie and she is a Quirky Girl (purple hair and scrabble tile earrings; she has a stutter -pity- but she says swears and stuff, isn't she fun). Hate this trope, argh (autocorrected to tripe oddly enough)


----------



## Animalfan

Only recently rediscovered reading after getting Noel Fitzpatricks book as a Christmas gift.... loved that, just finished The lost child of Philomena Lee, which I sought out after watching the film Philomena and I’ve just bought The woman at the window, its my first thriller experience so I will let you know....


----------



## picaresque

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne, can hardly put it down.


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

Bedtime reading the Thomnas Chaloner series by Susanna Gregory, just finished Blood on the Strand and just started The Butcher of Smithfield. Daytime reading The Longevity Diet by Professor Valter Longo which is interesting but very off putting as he talks animal experiments far too much including monkeys


----------



## HarlequinCat

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Bedtime reading the Thomnas Chaloner series by Susanna Gregory, just finished Blood on the Strand and just started The Butcher of Smithfield. Daytime reading The Longevity Diet by Professor Valter Longo which is interesting but very off putting as he talks animal experiments far too much including monkeys


Oh I used to enjoy reading the Matthew Bartholemew series by Susanna Gregory. I forgot about them, I may try them again. 
Don't think I've tried the Thomas Chaloner series, but I may give them a go too


----------



## NaomiM

I'm currently on the second book of the _Inkheart _trilogy by Cornelia Funke. It's translated from German and there are a few places where the language doesn't flow as well as I'd like, but the storyline itself is riveting. It's aimed at older teens/YA but I often prefer those - sometimes I find with the more "adult" novels that the story itself is marred by unnecessary use of profanities, sex scenes or overly gratuitous violence. My taste in books is more PG to 12!


----------



## rottiepointerhouse

HarlequinCat said:


> Oh I used to enjoy reading the Matthew Bartholemew series by Susanna Gregory. I forgot about them, I may try them again.
> Don't think I've tried the Thomas Chaloner series, but I may give them a go too


I've seen those on her website and thought I might try them next when I've finished Thomal Chaloner, I think I have about 8 to go though


----------



## O2.0

Loving this one!


----------



## picaresque

I have just discovered Nora Roberts who has somehow passed me by until now. Recently finished The Obsession which hooked me with the beginning chapters but sort of let me down further in - I don't care about your dream-home renovation Naomi, please get on with it. Don't know if the mystery murderer's identity was supposed to be so bloody obvious either but I knew who he was from the get-go.
Still decided to pick up the paperback of her latest Shelter in Place* which I'm reading rn, much better so far.

*Got Normal People by Sally Rooney at the same time which everyone's been raving about, it's on my to-read pile


----------



## NaomiM

_The Bee-keeper of Aleppo_. Bought it for a friend, but I might have to get my own copy. It's not an easy read, as you'd expect from the subject matter (plus the publishers need to get a better proofreader!) but hard to put down.


----------



## Valanita

I have just finished *Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm* & am now reading *The Children Of The New Forest.*


----------



## O2.0

NaomiM said:


> _The Bee-keeper of Aleppo_. Bought it for a friend, but I might have to get my own copy. It's not an easy read, as you'd expect from the subject matter (plus the publishers need to get a better proofreader!) but hard to put down.


That sounds interesting! Off to check it out


----------



## NaomiM

Valanita said:


> I have just finished *Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm* & am now reading *The Children Of The New Forest.*


Good choices - both classics I've read many times


----------



## Valanita

NaomiM said:


> Good choices - both classics I've read many times


I hadn't read either since school, where both were set books, a long time ago now. I find now, that Rebecca is a bit boring, but The Children Of The New Forest is still a good read.


----------



## tabelmabel

I have finally reached the scary parts of rebecca (daphne du maurier) where mrs danvers and the new mrs de winter are in rebecca's bedroom and mrs danvers is showing mrs de winter all of rebecca's clothes. Not quite as scary as the film yet but definitely un nerving. I have whizzed through a couple of cathy glass books whilst getting properly into rebecca but i think i will finish it quite quickly now it has got to the exciting and scary part!


----------



## tabelmabel

I havent come across rebecca of sunnybrook farm - i just looked it up. Is it a bit like Anne of Green Gables or more grown up than that? I do love Anne of Green Gables and read the entire novel aloud to my daughter a couple of years back. Think that was more for my benefit really


----------



## NaomiM

tabelmabel said:


> I havent come across rebecca of sunnybrook farm - i just looked it up. Is it a bit like Anne of Green Gables or more grown up than that? I do love Anne of Green Gables and read the entire novel aloud to my daughter a couple of years back. Think that was more for my benefit really


It's very similar to _Anne of Green Gables_. I often get the two plots mixed up in my head when reading one of them, so I'm expecting something to happen that's actually in the other one!


----------



## NaomiM

tabelmabel said:


> I have finally reached the scary parts of rebecca (daphne du maurier) where mrs danvers and the new mrs de winter are in rebecca's bedroom and mrs danvers is showing mrs de winter all of rebecca's clothes. Not quite as scary as the film yet but definitely un nerving. I have whizzed through a couple of cathy glass books whilst getting properly into rebecca but i think i will finish it quite quickly now it has got to the exciting and scary part!


That's actually one I haven't yet read. I just looked it up on Wikipedia - sounds quite similar to _Jane Eyre_?


----------



## tabelmabel

Yes - though i havent read jane eyre either! For both rebecca and jane eyre, i have seen both film and stage versions, but never read them. I do love the story of jane eyre too and have always meant to read it so maybe that will be next.


----------



## tabelmabel

I finished Rebecca and absolutely loved it!!

Started jane eyre last night and it is gripping straight away. Think it is going to be another fabulous read


----------



## picaresque

Love Jane Eyre, despite the now problematic plot (#nospoilers...)

I'm currently reading my first Jodi Picoult - Small Great Things.


----------



## lorilu

I just recently discovered Angela Huth. Loved The Land Girls. Read another I liked, don't remember which one it was, now I'm on Invitation to the Married Life and I am finding it slow going. At first it went pretty quickly, I do like her way of developing characters, but she seems to keep getting bogged down in useless detail that has nothing to do with anything, in this particular book.. I really WANT to finish it, to find out how all these particular couples fit together, but oh YAWN I don't know if I can do it.

I also recently discovered a new-to me (American) author I find delightful. The books are basically romances, but the story lines are really interesting and her characterization is even better than Huth's. And the books have a bit of the mystical about them, which I do enjoy in small doses. Start with The Sugar Queen.


----------



## O2.0

picaresque said:


> Love Jane Eyre, despite the now problematic plot (#nospoilers...)
> 
> I'm currently reading my first Jodi Picoult - Small Great Things.


Oh please let me know what you thought of it. I read it, have opinions, but will wait till you've finished


----------



## tabelmabel

I read a couple of jodi piccoult and loved the ones i read. The idea of chapters being from individual character perspectives was quite a novelty for me when i first discovered her. But then i felt i had had enough of her as they were a bit 'samey'

Has anyone read 'we need to talk about kevin' (lionel schriver) 

I really, really loved that one. The film wasnt a patch on the book.


----------



## lorilu

O2.0 said:


> Oh please let me know what you thought of it. I read it, have opinions, but will wait till you've finished


I would like to read Piccoult but I can't stand that present tense way of writing so I gave her up. A number of other authors I used to like have started writing that way too, so I've lost them as well.

I have tried and tried, but I just can not read a book written in the present tense. I have no idea why it bothers me so much. I know I miss out on some really good books because of it, but it just is.

I'm not talking about books that jump from past to now type of thing, I don't mind that. I mean the style of the prose. As in "She says" instead of "She said". "She goes" instead of "She went". "She washes" instead of "She washed".


----------



## NaomiM

lorilu said:


> I would like to read Piccoult but I can't stand that present tense way of writing so I gave her up. A number of other authors I used to like have started writing that way too, so I've lost them as well.
> 
> I have tried and tried, but I just can not read a book written in the present tense. I have no idea why it bothers me so much. I know I miss out on some really good books because of it, but it just is.
> 
> I'm not talking about books that jump from past to now type of thing, I don't mind that. I mean the style of the prose. As in "She says" instead of "She said". "She goes" instead of "She went". "She washes" instead of "She washed".


@lorilu Purely out of interest, how would you feel about a book that jumps from past to present and uses the tense to differentiate between these? i.e. "I say", "I go" etc in the present, and then there's a long flashback scene that uses "I said", "I went" etc as the narrator recalls past events.

I ask because this is the style I've picked for the novel I'm currently writing, and it would be interesting to hear opinions on this


----------



## Guest

tabelmabel said:


> Has anyone read 'we need to talk about kevin' (lionel schriver)
> 
> I really, really loved that one. The film wasnt a patch on the book.


I haven't seen the film but I'm not being dramatic when I say that book scarred me for life, more than any other book I have ever read. It still haunts me many years later.

I'm reading Pachinko at the moment. I'm about halfway through and finding it incredibly interesting.


----------



## lorilu

NaomiM said:


> @lorilu Purely out of interest, how would you feel about a book that jumps from past to present and uses the tense to differentiate between these? i.e. "I say", "I go" etc in the present, and then there's a long flashback scene that uses "I said", "I went" etc as the narrator recalls past events.
> 
> I ask because this is the style I've picked for the novel I'm currently writing, and it would be interesting to hear opinions on this


Yes I have encountered books like that and I have to give them up. If they start in the present tense I don't read it at all. But if I am reading along and it suddenly goes from (what I perceive to be) normal, "She said and I said" to that infernal present tense,"She says and I say" . I can't carry on. I HAVE tried. Once or twice I was so interested in the story I might persevere through one or two changes back to that present tense writing. But in the end it always defeats me.

I have no idea why I am like that. My sister thinks it is hilarious. My friend Barbara can't comprehend what I mean, no matter how many times I try to explain it. She just doesn't notice any difference at all.

I suspect it's something to do with my sensory intolerance. It is just one more thing that I find assaulting in my life, like the noise and smells and sights and sounds of every day life. At least this one I have some control over, by just avoiding those books.


----------



## Guest

lorilu said:


> Yes I have encountered books like that and I have to give them up. If they start in the present tense I don't read it at all. But if I am reading along and it suddenly goes from (what I perceive to be) normal, "She said and I said" to that infernal present tense,"She says and I say" . I can't carry on. I HAVE tried. Once or twice I was so interested in the story I might persevere through one or two changes back to that present tense writing. But in the end it always defeats me.
> 
> I have no idea why I am like that. My sister thinks it is hilarious. My friend Barbara can't comprehend what I mean, no matter how many times I try to explain it. She just doesn't notice any difference at all.
> 
> I suspect it's something to do with my sensory intolerance. It is just one more thing that I find assaulting in my life, like the noise and smells and sights and sounds of every day life. At least this one I have some control over, by just avoiding those books.


I do tend agree with you. While it wouldn't stop me reading a book (I will read pretty much anything) I do find it grates on me a bit.


----------



## tabelmabel

McKenzie said:


> I haven't seen the film but I'm not being dramatic when I say that book scarred me for life, more than any other book I have ever read. It still haunts me many years later.


It didnt have such a long lasting impact on me, but it was powerful enough to create some vivid, frightening images in my mind which lasted for some weeks after. The film wasnt able to do that.

I would recommend the book as a good read though - i liked the fact it had thae power to scare me!


----------



## Guest

tabelmabel said:


> It didnt have such a long lasting impact on me, but it was powerful enough to create some vivid, frightening images in my mind which lasted for some weeks after. The film wasnt able to do that.
> 
> I would recommend the book as a good read though - i liked the fact it had thae power to scare me!


I don't remember feeling scared, I just remember feeling absolutely horrified, especially at the end. I guess that's what the author was going for so it succeeded on that level.


----------



## tabelmabel

I felt scared when she went into the garden and saw her husband's brogues sticking out from under that bush - but, yes, you're right it was shocking with the sight at the top of the garden and the sister. The film couldnt recreate that scene in my mind. Yes, horror, you are right.

What a fantastic book! I might read it again. The lychees were scary - how he peeled them like eyeballs. It was all very cleverly written, it is many years since i read it - but some of the scenes it created in my mind are still there. That is a powerful read for sure.


----------



## Dogloverlou

Two good books I've read recently are 'Vox' by Christina Dalcher and 'Bad Apple' by Zoje Stage. Vox is like a modern day twist on The Handmaid's Tale and Bad Apple is described as when "Gone Girl meets We need to talk about Kevin" so might interest those just discussing that book. Both were really good books that had me on the edge of my seat. Bad Apple was really intense I thought. 

Now I'm currently reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn but think I might have read it before as it seems familiar in places. Then next up is To kill a Mockingbird.


----------



## tabelmabel

Dogloverlou said:


> Then next up is To kill a Mockingbird.


Fantastic book! And the film's great too!

Will keep Bad Apple in mind.

After jane eyre, i am going to read A Thousand Splendid Suns which has been sitting on my shelf for years. My daughter read it and loved it. I have read The Kite Runner by the same author - fantastic. So i think i will enjoy it.


----------



## lorilu

Dogloverlou said:


> next up is To kill a Mockingbird.


You're in for a treat there. It's one of my go to books when I can't think of anything else to read. After that you might try True Grit after that, another of my emergency reads.


----------



## lorilu

lorilu said:


> I just recently discovered Angela Huth. Loved The Land Girls. Read another I liked, don't remember which one it was, now I'm on Invitation to the Married Life and I am finding it slow going. At first it went pretty quickly, I do like her way of developing characters, but she seems to keep getting bogged down in useless detail that has nothing to do with anything, in this particular book.. I really WANT to finish it, to find out how all these particular couples fit together, but oh YAWN I don't know if I can do it.
> 
> I also recently discovered a new-to me (American) author I find delightful. The books are basically romances, but the story lines are really interesting and her characterization is even better than Huth's. And the books have a bit of the mystical about them, which I do enjoy in small doses. Start with The Sugar Queen.


I found the library slip. Easy Silence was the second Angela Huth book I read and I liked it very much (with, I do remember, a few impatient moments).

I've given up on Invitation to the Married Life, It's just too dull with all that rambling. Now I've started Wanting. It's grabbed my interest so far, let's hope she doesn't go off again on irrelevant descriptions lol.


----------



## lorilu

lorilu said:


> I found the library slip. Easy Silence was the second Angela Huth book I read and I liked it very much (with, I do remember, a few impatient moments).
> 
> I've given up on Invitation to the Married Life, It's just too dull with all that rambling. Now I've started Wanting. It's grabbed my interest so far, let's hope she doesn't go off again on irrelevant descriptions lol.


I've given up on the other Huth as well. I can't understand it, the other two books I read by her I liked so much. I just can't seem to get interested in any of these people's lives, lol. Life is too short to read boring books.

With no other library book to choose from I've decided to take my own advice and have reached for my old friend True Grit.


----------



## lorilu

lorilu said:


> I've given up on the other Huth as well. I can't understand it, the other two books I read by her I liked so much. I just can't seem to get interested in any of these people's lives, lol. Life is too short to read boring books.
> 
> With no other library book to choose from I've decided to take my own advice and have reached for my old friend True Grit.


I enjoyed "True Grit" so much I've started another old favorite comfort read. "Daddy Long Legs" by Jean Webster. It's been a few years, but I've been reading it regularly since I was a girl. It's still as fresh and delightful and funny as it ever was.


----------



## MollySmith

NaomiM said:


> That's actually one I haven't yet read. I just looked it up on Wikipedia - sounds quite similar to _Jane Eyre_?


There's a good article here about the influence of the Bronte writing on du Maurier. 
https://www.annebronte.org/2018/04/08/daphne-du-maurier-and-the-bronte-influence/

Both are different time periods and different writing styles and Rebecca is very gothic. I recommend The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, which is written from Antoinette's point of view (the first Mrs Rochester.) I also recommend du Maurier's Don't Look Now and My Cousin Rachel. I studied them all and still rate Rebecca as one of the best novels of all time. I wish I could write something so wonderful.


----------



## ForestWomble

Dogloverlou said:


> Two good books I've read recently are 'Vox' by Christina Dalcher and 'Bad Apple' by Zoje Stage. Vox is like a modern day twist on The Handmaid's Tale and Bad Apple is described as when "Gone Girl meets We need to talk about Kevin" so might interest those just discussing that book. Both were really good books that had me on the edge of my seat. Bad Apple was really intense I thought.
> 
> Now I'm currently reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn but think I might have read it before as it seems familiar in places. Then next up is To kill a Mockingbird.


I've read To Kill A Mockingbird, was a very long time ago though, had to read it as our GCSE book.


----------



## NaomiM

MollySmith said:


> There's a good article here about the influence of the Bronte writing on du Maurier.
> https://www.annebronte.org/2018/04/08/daphne-du-maurier-and-the-bronte-influence/
> 
> Both are different time periods and different writing styles and Rebecca is very gothic. I recommend The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, which is written from Antoinette's point of view (the first Mrs Rochester.) I also recommend du Maurier's Don't Look Now and My Cousin Rachel. I studied them all and still rate Rebecca as one of the best novels of all time. I wish I could write something so wonderful.


Thanks for the recommendations  I've read _Wide Sargasso Sea_ - have to confess I was a bit disappointed, though I couldn't put my finger on why, as I loved _Jane Eyre_! Maybe that's exactly why - giving the "mad wife in the attic" a bit more humanity makes Mr Rochester less of a hero at the end of _Jane Eyre_ and leaves a cloud over the happy ending! (I'm always a sucker for a happy ending!)


----------



## tabelmabel

I am loving jane eyre, though i am not very far into it. She is at Lowood and has just met helen burns.


----------



## NaomiM

tabelmabel said:


> I am loving jane eyre, though i am not very far into it. She is at Lowood and has just met helen burns.


Oops, sorry, hope my post above wasn't too much of a spoiler!


----------



## lorilu

MollySmith said:


> There's a good article here about the influence of the Bronte writing on du Maurier.
> https://www.annebronte.org/2018/04/08/daphne-du-maurier-and-the-bronte-influence/
> 
> Both are different time periods and different writing styles and Rebecca is very gothic. I recommend The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, which is written from Antoinette's point of view (the first Mrs Rochester.) I also recommend du Maurier's Don't Look Now and My Cousin Rachel. I studied them all and still rate Rebecca as one of the best novels of all time. I wish I could write something so wonderful.


Oh, my sister just loves Daphne du Maurier. I loved The Glass Blowers, read it as a girl, but not sure I ever read anything else by her. Maybe it's time I start.


----------



## HarlequinCat

tabelmabel said:


> I am loving jane eyre, though i am not very far into it. She is at Lowood and has just met helen burns.


I remember being off school with the flu when I was a kid and being given Jane Eyre to read. I enjoyed it, and it sort of started me off reading books that werent just kids books


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## tabelmabel

NaomiM said:


> Oops, sorry, hope my post above wasn't too much of a spoiler!


Don't worry - i already know the story, having seen both stage and screen versions.

Same with Rebecca - i already knew the story. I used to think the film was fantastic, but having read the book, the film doesnt seem as good as i remembered.


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## margy

After starting to read Wuthering Heights and giving up because I couldn't get into it, I was telling a client that I was finding it hard going. She told me to read Jane Eyre and insisted I borrow her book. It was very old as her mother had owned it and this lady was in her eighties. I didn't want to offend her or seem ungrateful so took it home and put it in a safe place where my kids wouldn't touch it, they were young at the time. Then I went to the library and borrowed it. I loved it and when I'd finished it I took the ladies book back to her telling her how much I'd enjoyed it!


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## MollySmith

NaomiM said:


> Thanks for the recommendations  I've read _Wide Sargasso Sea_ - have to confess I was a bit disappointed, though I couldn't put my finger on why, as I loved _Jane Eyre_! Maybe that's exactly why - giving the "mad wife in the attic" a bit more humanity makes Mr Rochester less of a hero at the end of _Jane Eyre_ and leaves a cloud over the happy ending! (I'm always a sucker for a happy ending!)


I stayed at North Lees Hall years ago which inspired Jane Eyre and the mad woman in the attic. I can't say I slept very well!

I agree, I like a nice happy ending. I have been recently watching The Durrells having enjoyed Gerald Durrell's book and was so sad by the ending (which I won't mention in case someone hasn't watched it and wants to). I don't mind ambiguity but not when it involves heartbreak.. or animals especially dogs 

Have you tried The Tenant of Wildfell Hall? I wished that Anne Bronte had written more, there's so much potential in this book and by far my favourite Bronte novel.


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## NaomiM

MollySmith said:


> I stayed at North Lees Hall years ago which inspired Jane Eyre and the mad woman in the attic. I can't say I slept very well!
> 
> I agree, I like a nice happy ending. I have been recently watching The Durrells having enjoyed Gerald Durrell's book and was so sad by the ending (which I won't mention in case someone hasn't watched it and wants to). I don't mind ambiguity but not when it involves heartbreak.. or animals especially dogs
> 
> Have you tried The Tenant of Wildfell Hall? I wished that Anne Bronte had written more, there's so much potential in this book and by far my favourite Bronte novel.


No, I haven't - will have to give it a try! Jane Eyre is the only Bronte novel I've really liked so far  Wuthering Heights was OK but not something I'd choose to read again.


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## 3dogs2cats

Love Wuthering Heights! Most definitely my favourite book, I have read it many, many times.


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## lorilu

3dogs2cats said:


> Love Wuthering Heights! Most definitely my favourite book, I have read it many, many times.


I love WH too. A comfort re-read. Jane Eyre too. I usually read them back to back, every few years. After them I usually turn to Jane Austin. Then Little Women and the other Alcott books. I do have a bit of a re-read cycle.

Last night I was desperate for something to read because my latest stack of library books have all failed me. I rummaged around on my shelves and found _Désirée by _AnneMarie Selinko. I haven't read it in years, probably not since I was a teenager, and hardly remember the story at all. I am quite enjoying it.

I'm going to see if I can find other Selinko books, I believe she wrote a few novels but I don't know if they were all translated into English. I guess I will find out..

PS I had to search, copy and paste _Désirée_ to get the proper accent marks_. _


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## NaomiM

I'm going to be controversial and say I can't stand Jane Austen. I've tried, I really have, but just can't bring myself to finish a single one of her books. Eighteenth-century soap operas - yawn!


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## tabelmabel

Woah! I love jane austin! Did mansfield park for English A level many moons ago and re read a few years back. Love pride and prejudice too. Fabulous stuff!

Do you like Thomas Hardy @NaomiM? I did mayor of casterbridge for English o level even more moons ago and loved that. Tess of the D'urbervilles even better. When my mum was alive, i mind her saying she found Thomas Hardy too full of co incidence. It annoyed her. But, of his, The Woodlanders was her fave. Not one i have read. Yet!


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## tabelmabel

Ps @NaomiM - have you seen any jane austin on screen? A few good versions about!


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## lorilu

tabelmabel said:


> Do you like Thomas Hardy @NaomiM? I did mayor of casterbridge for English o level even more moons ago and loved that. Tess of the D'urbervilles even better. When my mum was alive, i mind her saying she found Thomas Hardy too full of co incidence. It annoyed her. But, of his, The Woodlanders was her fave. Not one i have read. Yet!


Tess drove me INSANE. That is one book I never felt the desire to read again lol.



tabelmabel said:


> Ps @NaomiM - have you seen any jane austin on screen? A few good versions about!


I adored the BBC miniseries film made of Emma. Someone loaned it to me. Then she gave me another but it was so annoying I couldn't stand it and gave it back without finishing it. I forget which one it was.


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## tabelmabel

lorilu said:


> Tess drove me INSANE. That is one book I never felt the desire to read again lol.


You won't like the film then with natasha kinski- it is a very faithful retelling of the book.

What drove you insane about it?


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## lorilu

tabelmabel said:


> You won't like the film then with natasha kinski- it is a very faithful retelling of the book.
> 
> What drove you insane about it?


Really? One misfortune after another only because she was raped, her entire life ruined by her disclosing that one thing? I kept reading and reading hoping it would get better but it never did. When I finished it I threw it against the wall. I read it when I was 25, 34 years ago but I'll never forget how much it bothered me.

I've read a couple of other books like that too. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. And Tully by (I had to look the author up) Paullina Simons.

I guess I just don't like those kind of depressing books about women. I didn't like Lolita either though I have a vague memory that it had a slightly better outcome than those others..


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## tabelmabel

Ah - you wouldnt like The Mayor of Casterbridge either. Michael Henchard is definitely a man more sinned against than sinning.

I love all that stuff -though Tess is set in victorian times, it deals with issues relevent today.


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## NaomiM

@lorilu I'm with you on Tess of the D'urbervilles! It was a good book inasmuch as it drew me in and kept me reading, but as I've said I like my happy endings, and she didn't get hers  I won't read any other Thomas Hardys after that one because I've heard the rest of his stuff is even more depressing!

@tabelmabel When I was at uni, my friends made me sit through the film of _Emma_. I endured it but wouldn't choose to watch it! I'm not much of a TV/film fan in general anyway - give me a good book any day


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## lorilu

NaomiM said:


> @lorilu I'm with you on Tess of the D'urbervilles! It was a good book inasmuch as it drew me in and kept me reading, but as I've said I like my happy endings, and she didn't get hers  I won't read any other Thomas Hardys after that one because I've heard the rest of his stuff is even more depressing!
> 
> @tabelmabel When I was at uni, my friends made me sit through the film of _Emma_. I endured it but wouldn't choose to watch it! I'm not much of a TV/film fan in general anyway - give me a good book any day


Yes, Tess was certainly an engrossing story, well written.

I prefer books too. But I did like the mini series Emma.



tabelmabel said:


> Ah - you wouldnt like The Mayor of Casterbridge either. Michael Henchard is definitely a man more sinned against than sinning.
> 
> I love all that stuff -though Tess is set in victorian times, it deals with issues relevent today.


Yes the issues are relevant. But I don't want to read about them in fiction.

There are SOME depressing books I re-read. Herman Wouk's Winds of War, and War and Remembrance for example.

The Grapes of Wrath.

But somehow I draw the line at women and rape and their lives never getting any better.


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## MollySmith

I read Jude the Obscure which is relentlessly miserable and then saw the film which was beautiful but also miserable. But I'd rather read Thomas Hardy over Charles Dickens.

I studied Pride and Prejudice for my degree after hating Mansfield Park for my A Levels, and was pleased I did. I didn't like the 'sexed' up BBC version at first but on reflection I think Jennifer Ehle was a great Elizabeth. I've since binge watched it when I had to go back to work after an Xmas break and loved it! Like you @NaomiM I'm not a film fan. Prefer a book any day.


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## NaomiM

MollySmith said:


> I read Jude the Obscure which is relentlessly miserable and then saw the film which was beautiful but also miserable. But I'd rather read Thomas Hardy over Charles Dickens.


I'm the other way around. I like Dickens - it can be slow to get going, but generally I find it's worth persevering. _A Tale of Two Cities_ is one of my favourite novels ever. If there's one thing I like more than a happy ending, it's a bittersweet one - someone going out in a blaze of glory!

The only Dickens novel I really didn't get along with is _Pickwick Papers_.


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## tabelmabel

Wonder if you were the same school year as me @MollySmith? I loved mansfield park, The Crucible and King Lear. Not as keen on Othello and absolutely hated The Rime of the Ancient Mariner with that blimmin' albatross!

Lucky you, going on to study English lit at degree level. I would have loved that but instead chose a career which included grammatical analysis which was altogether a much drier kind of subject!


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## tabelmabel

I havent read much Dickens but i did enjoy Great Expectations. Both the book and the film.


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## ForestWomble

I don't like Hardy, Bronte, Dickens etc etc

I just can't get on with the way they are written. I don't like sad/miserable stories either, I read to 'escape', to feel good etc. 

I couldn't get on with other classics like Treasure Island, Black Beauty etc etc. either. 

Are there any any of you could recommend I try, an easy start as I'd love to read Treasure Island, Black Beauty and others, just never managed. 

I've been recommended 1984 by George Orwell, anyone read that? What is it like?


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## tabelmabel

I didnt like 1984 at all. Its very grim.

You might enjoy catch 22 - it is very funny!

Or why not go for something lighter if you like escapism? I really enjoyed reading anne of green gables with my daughter. That is an easy read, but long enough to give you a good read.


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## tabelmabel

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/19/book-clinic-best-escapist-novels

Here are some more suggestions - i think i started Travels with my great Aunt a long time ago. Im not sure if i finished it. I do like stories about adversity, i must admit! Strength of the human spirit and all that harrowing stuff really suits me.

So i dont think Travels with my Great Aunt appealed to me it might be a good one for you to try. I might have a copy on my bookcase. I will have a thumb through if i can find it and see what it is like.


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## HarlequinCat

Theres a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It's one of his shorter stories, and a classic. The black and white film with Alistair Sim as Scrooge is a good film version of it too.


I remember reading Silas Marner by George Elliot, and enjoying it. But I don't think it's good for escapism.

A lot of classics I find it hard to keep my attention on. I'm not sure why, I find it hard going and realise I'm just reading words on a page, rather than getting into the story


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## tabelmabel

I have got a copy of Travels with my Great Aunt @ForestWomble. Its nice and slim and the blurb says it is funny. Can pop it in post for you if you pm me your address


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## NaomiM

_Animal Farm_ might be easier than _1984 _for getting into Orwell. For dystopian visions of the future, I prefer _Brave New World_ to _1984_ - but neither is easy reading!

You can sometimes find abridged versions of classics to give you the story in a slightly easier format.


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## ForestWomble

tabelmabel said:


> I didnt like 1984 at all. Its very grim.
> 
> You might enjoy catch 22 - it is very funny!
> 
> Or why not go for something lighter if you like escapism? I really enjoyed reading anne of green gables with my daughter. That is an easy read, but long enough to give you a good read.


Thanks. I remember trying Anne of green gables a few times and never getting on with it, but I can give it another go.
I had to try What Katy Did a few times before finally getting into, and I found I enjoyed it and ended up reading the other two books as well.



HarlequinCat said:


> Theres a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It's one of his shorter stories, and a classic. The black and white film with Alistair Sim as Scrooge is a good film version of it too.
> 
> I remember reading Silas Marner by George Elliot, and enjoying it. But I don't think it's good for escapism.
> 
> A lot of classics I find it hard to keep my attention on. I'm not sure why, I find it hard going and realise I'm just reading words on a page, rather than getting into the story


Thanks. A Christmas Carol I own and have never managed to get very far. I really enjoy the film staring Patrick Stewart though.

I think I'm the same as you in that I feel I'm just reading words on a page instead of enjoying it when it comes to classics.



tabelmabel said:


> I have got a copy of Travels with my Great Aunt @ForestWomble. Its nice and slim and the blurb says it is funny. Can pop it in post for you if you pm me your address


Do you mean Travels with my aunt by Graham Greene or Finding Annie: Travels with my great aunt by Peter Maher?

If the later I've read that, but if the former then yes please, I've just read the sample on Amazon and liked it 



NaomiM said:


> _Animal Farm_ might be easier than _1984 _for getting into Orwell. For dystopian visions of the future, I prefer _Brave New World_ to _1984_ - but neither is easy reading!
> 
> You can sometimes find abridged versions of classics to give you the story in a slightly easier format.


Thank you. I shall have to see if I can find abridged versions.

Sounds like Orwell might not be for me.

I'm into things like:
Chronicles of Pern, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Stravaganza series, Doreen Tovey (Siamese cat real life stories), Constable on the hill and the other Constable books, Narrow boat books by Marie Browne. Etc.
Oh and I recently discovered and LOVE The needlecraft mysteries by Monica Ferris.


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## tabelmabel

ForestWomble said:


> Do you mean Travels with my aunt by Graham Greene


Yes - that's the one! It is recommended in the linked article. Pm me your address and will get it in the post


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## HarlequinCat

ForestWomble said:


> Thanks. I remember trying Anne of green gables a few times and never getting on with it, but I can give it another go.
> I had to try What Katy Did a few times before finally getting into, and I found I enjoyed it and ended up reading the other two books as well.
> 
> Thanks. A Christmas Carol I own and have never managed to get very far. I really enjoy the film staring Patrick Stewart though.
> 
> I think I'm the same as you in that I feel I'm just reading words on a page instead of enjoying it when it comes to classics.
> 
> Do you mean Travels with my aunt by Graham Greene or Finding Annie: Travels with my great aunt by Peter Maher?
> 
> If the later I've read that, but if the former then yes please, I've just read the sample on Amazon and liked it
> 
> Thank you. I shall have to see if I can find abridged versions.
> 
> Sounds like Orwell might not be for me.
> 
> I'm into things like:
> Chronicles of Pern, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Stravaganza series, Doreen Tovey (Siamese cat real life stories), Constable on the hill and the other Constable books, Narrow boat books by Marie Browne. Etc.
> Oh and I recently discovered and LOVE The needlecraft mysteries by Monica Ferris.


Have you tried the Shanara series by Terry Brooks. They're not classics, but they are good epic fantasy. The first book is called The Sword of Shanara. Not read them for ages but remember enjoying them as a bit of escapism as a teen


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## tabelmabel

All that stuff you like - sounds like you like the stuff my daughter likes. She is grown up now and left home so not sure exactly what she is reading just now but she loved Philip Pullman, also The Edge Chronicles by chris riddell.
She also loved harry potter. 

I just cant think what else off the top of my head


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## ForestWomble

tabelmabel said:


> Yes - that's the one! It is recommended in the linked article. Pm me your address and will get it in the post


Thank you. I shall PM you in a minute. I'm happy to pay postage.



HarlequinCat said:


> Have you tried the Shanara series by Terry Brooks. They're not classics, but they are good epic fantasy. The first book is called The Sword of Shanara. Not read them for ages but remember enjoying them as a bit of escapism as a teen


No not tried that, I shall have to see if I can find them.


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## ForestWomble

tabelmabel said:


> All that stuff you like - sounds like you like the stuff my daughter likes. She is grown up now and left home so not sure exactly what she is reading just now but she loved Philip Pullman, also The Edge Chronicles by chris riddell.
> She also loved harry potter.
> 
> I just cant think what else off the top of my head


I've read Harry Potter, but none of the others, I watched The Golden Compass film though.


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## tabelmabel

ForestWomble said:


> I'm happy to pay postage.


Dont be daft - it is a slim paperback.


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## ForestWomble

tabelmabel said:


> Dont be daft - it is a slim paperback.


Thank you :Shy Just sent the PM as you replied so offered again, but if your sure, ignore the offer.


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## tabelmabel

ForestWomble said:


> I watched The Golden Compass film though.


Yes i saw that too, very good.

Was thinking - does it help you if you see it on tv first? I already knew i would enjoy Rebecca, Jane Eyre and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy as i knew the story.

We have anne of green gables on dvd so i knew the story there too before i read it. I love the dvds too - they are for children really so that is my escapism. Though i watch with my daughter!

If you enjoyed Little House on the Prairie as a kid, you will like Anne i feel sure!

I have been watching dvds of Grange Hill with my daughter! Loved them, that is a sort of escapism for me!


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## ForestWomble

I'm not sure, I've read books and enjoyed them, then watched the TV/film version and find I keep saying 'they've missed things' or 'it was good if you forget the book' lol (Harry Potter and Narnia being two that I've read then watched), however I have watched films (The city of Ember being the most recent) and enjoyed it, then wanting to read the book and enjoying the book and understanding the story better, I enjoy both the film and the book with that one. 
So maybe.

Never watched L.H. but I saw Road to Avonlea a couple of years ago and enjoyed it after I got into it, a 'Green Gables' was mentioned, I wonder if Anne and Avonlea are related? If so I might enjoy Anne. 

Grange Hill! Golly, I remember watching that! lol


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## tabelmabel

ForestWomble said:


> , I wonder if Anne and Avonlea are related?


They are!!

Anne of Green Gables tells the story of anne growing up and anne of avon lea is the same anne, grown up!

Yes, if you read first and then watch, it is always disapointing as the books are always better.

But watch first, then read can definitely work.

The girl with the dragon tattoo starts with lots of political stuff and i would never have continued, had i not seen the films first.

If you do fancy catch 22 - that is definitely book only. It really does not convert at all well to screen imo.


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## tabelmabel

https://anneofgreengables.fandom.com/wiki/Anne_of_Green_Gables_series

Here are the anne books


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## ForestWomble

I must give Anne of Green Gables another go as I did enjoy the TV series R. to. A. 

Rachel Lynde is in Road to Avonlea and I think I reconise the name Mirilla Cuthbert from it as well. 

I didn't know there were so many Anne books.


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## lorilu

ForestWomble said:


> I must give Anne of Green Gables another go as I did enjoy the TV series R. to. A.
> 
> Rachel Lynde is in Road to Avonlea and I think I reconise the name Mirilla Cuthbert from it as well.
> 
> I didn't know there were so many Anne books.


I had the whole set as a girl, then though I had lost some of them over a move 21 years ago, so not too long ago bought the set again. Then I found the missing ones from my original set. So now I have them twice. 

I re-read them periodically, all but the last one. I won't read that one ever again and I wish I could forget WHY I don't re-read that one, but the one time I did forget why and re-read it, I regretted it.

Same with Maud Montgomery's Emily series. I love the story line, but there is some upsetting stuff having to do with old ways of dealing with unwanted cats that I hate reading about and wish I could forget I ever read.

On the other hand:


lorilu said:


> Last night I was desperate for something to read because my latest stack of library books have all failed me. I rummaged around on my shelves and found *Désirée by AnneMarie Selinko*. I haven't read it in years, probably not since I was a teenager, and hardly remember the story at all. I am quite enjoying it.


I am enjoying this so much!


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## lorilu

Some books are so difficult to finish..you just want them to never end. I found this with Désirée, I finished it last night and I find my mind keeps wandering back to it, like it always does when I am in the middle of a good book. Except I'm not in the middle any more, it's over! Wah!

It's a long book but took me even longer to read because I did put it down in favor of some library books that came in now and then. I do enjoy historical fiction when it's done right.

I don't know what I am going to read tonight, the rest of my library list has not come in and I've been mooning over my shelves all afternoon trying to find something that will grab me. Maybe Tim, by Colleen McCullough......haven't read that in a long time.


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## tabelmabel

I know what you mean. Im just into the very exciting parts of jane eyre now. I don't want it to end, even though i know what happens!


----------



## ForestWomble

tabelmabel said:


> I have got a copy of Travels with my Great Aunt @ForestWomble. Its nice and slim and the blurb says it is funny. Can pop it in post for you if you pm me your address


Thought I'd give an update on the book. It was fine until half way through chapter 3 then I started to struggle, I kept going but ended up giving up for now. I have started something else and will go back to it soon.


----------



## margy

Anyone wanting to read a good ghost story around Halloween should read Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. It's very good and even has dogs featured in it. It's a bit slow at first but the tension builds gradually. Very good.


----------



## Valanita

I am reading a Johnny Francome horse racing thriller. I loved Dick Francis books & Johnny's are similar.


----------



## margy

I've just finished reading, WHERE THE CRAW DADS SING. Written by Delia Owens. After having to wait awhile for to borrow it from the library, it was well worth the wait. One of those books you just can't put down, it drew me in completely. I would definitely recommend it.


----------



## MollySmith

margy said:


> Anyone wanting to read a good ghost story around Halloween should read Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. It's very good and even has dogs featured in it. It's a bit slow at first but the tension builds gradually. Very good.


Brilliant book, I was scared by it!

I'm reading the Salt Path by Raynor Winn, a real story of Ray and her husband Moth who were made homeless by a 'friend' and walked the South West path as comfort. One of those books everyone needs to read.


----------



## Happy Paws2

I'm reading Empress Orchid based on the early years of last Empress of China's life, I've got the follow up to it to read sometime.

I love these sort of books.


----------



## HarlequinCat

I'm in a book reading rut at the moment. I feel the urge to read something but at the moment I'm easily distracted, and get bored by what I'm reading.


----------



## cheekyscrip

I discovered Carlo Rovelli...


----------



## lorilu

Nothing. Out of the stack of library books I picked up yesterday, only one, the new Alice Hoffman, was worth reading, and it stinks so badly of cigarettes and perfume it is out on the porch until I can bring it back to the library (with the other really lame books.) Usually out of a stack from the library I can find at least one or two worth reading, but not this time. Phooey!

Cold dark rainy day, first day of my vacation the plan was to spend it on the couch with a good book and a couple purring cats.

Hmmmm.........Well maybe I'll just read The Abandoned by Paul Gallico. Haven't read that in a few years. That should work. Okay, crisis averted! Whew.


----------



## O2.0

Just finished The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I don't normally like 'scary' books but thoroughly enjoyed this one except for the ending. And that's all I'll say  

Currently 2 chapters in to The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes and liking it a lot. It's about an Englishwoman who married an American in the 1930s and is transplanted to small town Kentucky. The culture shock alone is book-worthy


----------



## lorilu

lorilu said:


> Hmmmm.........Well maybe I'll just read The Abandoned by Paul Gallico. Haven't read that in a few years. That should work. Okay, crisis averted! Whew.


When I picked it up to start it I realized it hadn't been long enough since I last read it. However, as I put it back my eye fell on the stack of Deric Longden books and I realized that I had started him early last summer and got side tracked. So I've started them back up, and chuckled my way half through "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" last night.


----------



## Boxer123

I'm reading Imaginary friend by Stephen chbosky it's spooky.


----------



## margy

I might give that a go, I love a spooky book at Christmas.


----------



## westie~ma

Jenny Eclair, Moving

This is the third book of hers I've read this year. I also took out Life Death and Vanilla Slices.


----------



## Boxer123

margy said:


> I might give that a go, I love a spooky book at Christmas.


I'm enjoying it so far.


----------



## Milo’s mum

Oh, I did not realise we have a book club in the pet forum!
Can I join?
Currently reading Elena Ferante’s “My Brilliant Friend “. It is a rare jem!
Hooked my mum and two friends.
The first book is also televised very successfully and can be watched on NowTv.


----------



## cheekyscrip

Old classic always good for this time of the year...
Anyone else enjoys those long Victorian novels?


----------



## FletchNo1

I've just found this thread! Excellent! I'm a big reader 
I've just finished The Hunting Party and would recommend it as an easy read.
Started on Nora Roberts Shelter in Place, which is pretty good so far. Next up is Karen Swann's new one The Christmas Party. A tradition of mine is always to read Karen's Christmas book!


----------



## Psygon

FletchNo1 said:


> I've just found this thread! Excellent! I'm a big reader
> I've just finished The Hunting Party and would recommend it as an easy read.
> Started on Nora Roberts Shelter in Place, which is pretty good so far. Next up is Karen Swann's new one The Christmas Party. A tradition of mine is always to read Karen's Christmas book!


I've just read the hunting party too. I didn't really like the characters but still enjoyed it! I'm very much into easy reading at the moment. Had a year of barely reading anything, and need to ease my way back in so if anyone has any recommendations they are well appreciated!


----------



## FletchNo1

Psygon said:


> I've just read the hunting party too. I didn't really like the characters but still enjoyed it! I'm very much into easy reading at the moment. Had a year of barely reading anything, and need to ease my way back in so if anyone has any recommendations they are well appreciated!


Try Karen Swan. She is usually really good! If you like crime, I can highly recommend Stephen Booth too. Ann Cleeves is good as well, especially her Shetland series.


----------



## O2.0

Oh my goodness, The Giver of Stars is fabulous! I was hesitant because even though everyone raved about Me Before You, I just wasn't a massive fan. But this one is absolutely terrific. I was thoroughly invested in the characters, the plot is original and interesting, and it's set in Appalachia near where we are so I can totally picture the scenery and the people. Highly recommend  

Now I'm going to re-read Shadow of the Wind one of my all-time favorites


----------



## FletchNo1

O2.0 said:


> Oh my goodness, The Giver of Stars is fabulous! I was hesitant because even though everyone raved about Me Before You, I just wasn't a massive fan. But this one is absolutely terrific. I was thoroughly invested in the characters, the plot is original and interesting, and it's set in Appalachia near where we are so I can totally picture the scenery and the people. Highly recommend
> 
> Now I'm going to re-read Shadow of the Wind one of my all-time favorites


Giver of stars keeps attracting my attention- don't usually buy hardback but may give in to temptation...


----------



## O2.0

FletchNo1 said:


> Giver of stars keeps attracting my attention- don't usually buy hardback but may give in to temptation...


I used audible, I'm sure kindle and other e-readers has it too if you don't want to commit to buying the book  
It's such a well crafted story. I was intrigued by the notion of an Englishwoman in rural Kentucky in the 1930's but the story is so much more! I did not know about the pack horse librarians, which is factual history, and that part alone is fascinating, but again, the story is so much more. Really great read! Let me know if you get it how you like it


----------



## Guest

I've just read The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris. Brilliant. 
Now reading Eye of the Reindeer and The Lubetkin Legacy


----------



## karenmc

Just finished 'The perfect girlfriend' by Karen Hamilton. It is a thriller based on the idea of a doting girlfriend who has even got a job working at the same airline as the man she loves but unfortunately her boyfriend dumped her 6 months earlier. She is determined to get back with him at all costs. It was really good.


----------



## Guest

karenmc said:


> Just finished 'The perfect girlfriend' by Karen Hamilton. It is a thriller based on the idea of a doting girlfriend who has even got a job working at the same airline as the man she loves but unfortunately her boyfriend dumped her 6 months earlier. She is determined to get back with him at all costs. It was really good.


I've not read this but sounds alright lol
For some reason I like these kinds of books near Christmas.
I'm also reading Lumberjanes, The Gift by Cecelia Ahern, an Agatha Christie Poirot one,and The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood


----------



## cheekyscrip

AsahiGo said:


> I've just read The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris. Brilliant.
> Now reading Eye of the Reindeer and The Lubetkin Legacy


It was s good sequel and I enjoyed the story of the youngest daughter.

Magical.


----------



## Guest

Yeah! I was disappointed with 'peaches...'; this one was great. I love Rosette, and strangely, Reynaud! 
Have you read Players and Gentlemen?


----------



## lorilu

Okay judge me if you must but.....

I recently discovered that the VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic series has some new books I never read. Four, in total. I read the last (newest) one first because it was on the "new book shelf" at the library. That's how I discovered there are three others, written before the newest one. So I am reading them. And I confess it makes me want to go back and re-read the original five in the series all over again. It's been 30 years after all.

Potato chips for the brain, right? Of course VC Andrews, the original author, died years ago, not quite finishing that fifth book. I looked it up and found the VC Andrews name is now a trademark name, they use a ghost writer to keep the series going.


----------



## Boxer123

lorilu said:


> Okay judge me if you must but.....
> 
> I recently discovered that the VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic series has some new books I never read. Four, in total. I read the last (newest) one first because it was on the "new book shelf" at the library. That's how I discovered there are three others, written before the newest one. So I am reading them. And I confess it makes me want to go back and re-read the original five in the series all over again. It's been 30 years after all.
> 
> Potato chips for the brain, right? Of course VC Andrews, the original author, died years ago, not quite finishing that fifth book. I looked it up and found the VC Andrews name is now a trademark name, they use a ghost writer to keep the series going.


I remember reading all of these when I was younger I really enjoyed them.


----------



## lorilu

Boxer123 said:


> I remember reading all of these when I was younger I really enjoyed them.


I'm thinking now would be a good time for me to re-read the original series. I always start my re-read of Jean Auel's books (Clan of the Cave Bear etc) at Christmas time. So I could intersperse between the two series.


----------



## Guest

I've never heard of flowers in the attic!


----------



## ForestWomble

lorilu said:


> I'm thinking now would be a good time for me to re-read the original series. I always start my re-read of Jean Auel's books (Clan of the Cave Bear etc) at Christmas time. So I could intersperse between the two series.


I love Clan of the Cave Bear and Valley of Horses .......... never known anyone else who has read them.


----------



## Boxer123

lorilu said:


> I'm thinking now would be a good time for me to re-read the original series. I always start my re-read of Jean Auel's books (Clan of the Cave Bear etc) at Christmas time. So I could intersperse between the two series.


I really enjoyed flowers in the attic read it several times. We used to call sox flowers when I went out he would go to the top bedroom and look out the window it always reminded me of the cover.


----------



## lorilu

ForestWomble said:


> I love Clan of the Cave Bear and Valley of Horses .......... never known anyone else who has read them.


Well I read them annually.  I settled on Christmas time because then I can keep track of when I last read them so as to keep myself to once a year. I always save my last personal day and take Christmas Eve off (when it falls on a week day) and spend both days, Eve and Christmas Day immersed, to start it off.

I haven't yet reached the point where I am tired of them and want to skip a year, and in fact find myself very eagerly looking forward to it. Every reading brings out new things in the stories me. The biggest problem these days is the paperback copies are falling apart. I'm on my second Clan copy and Valley of the Horses needs to be replaced too. Plains is getting pretty ragged as well. The only ones I have in hardcover are The Mammoth Hunters and The Land of the Painted Caves, and that's because they were gifts.

I am always reading other books as well, and this year I really do think I might do a kind of back and forth with the Flowers series, along with any other library books I may have at the time. Sounds like fun!


----------



## picaresque

The Clan of the Cave Bear is one of my favourites; I have mixed feelings about the rest of the series. The Mammoth Hunters I still love to reread, felt seriously let down by the last (and presumably final) instalment though.


----------



## ForestWomble

picaresque said:


> The Clan of the Cave Bear is one of my favourites; I have mixed feelings about the rest of the series. The Mammoth Hunters I still love to reread, felt seriously let down by the last (and presumably final) instalment though.


Clan of the cave bear and valley of horses I enjoy, then mammoth hunters I struggled with to start with with the very adult content, but enjoyed the middle, the next one, whose title has left me for now, I found uncomfortable to read again due to the very adult content and haven't read the others yet but want to try as forgetting the adult content they are good.


----------



## lorilu

picaresque said:


> The Clan of the Cave Bear is one of my favourites; I have mixed feelings about the rest of the series. The Mammoth Hunters I still love to reread, felt seriously let down by the last (and presumably final) instalment though.


Interesting! Most people like The Mammoth Hunters the least because of all the misunderstanding. The first time I read it, it did cause a lot of feelings of anxiety and frustration in me. However, once I knew the outcome, I found I was able to get on with paying attention to everything else the book has to offer and now like it quite well.

And I had a similar experience with The Painted Caves. The first time I read it I got so bored I had to put it down half way through, and return to it later. After that first reading though I now find I can focus on the parts that interest me and I want to learn more about, and simply skim over the duller repetitious bits.

I never give up hope that we might see a final story about Durc and his intended, but I guess we just have to assume that it's happening the way Ayla is thinking of it. That Durc's mate will be unhappy and Broud will make her life miserable but as a woman of the Clan she simply accepts it. Durc will be a successful hunter, but never rise very high in status because Broud hates him. Perhaps when Broud's son Brac takes over......


----------



## lorilu

AsahiGo said:


> I've never heard of flowers in the attic!


Have you looked it up now?


----------



## picaresque

lorilu said:


> Interesting! Most people like The Mammoth Hunters the least because of all the misunderstanding. The first time I read it, it did cause a lot of feelings of anxiety and frustration in me. However, once I knew the outcome, I found I was able to get on with paying attention to everything else the book has to offer and now like it quite well.
> 
> And I had a similar experience with The Painted Caves. The first time I read it I got so bored I had to put it down half way through, and return to it later. After that first reading though I now find I can focus on the parts that interest me and I want to learn more about, and simply skim over the duller repetitious bits.
> 
> I never give up hope that we might see a final story about Durc and his intended, but I guess we just have to assume that it's happening the way Ayla is thinking of it. That Durc's mate will be unhappy and Broud will make her life miserable but as a woman of the Clan she simply accepts it. Durc will be a successful hunter, but never rise very high in status because Broud hates him. Perhaps when Broud's son Brac takes over......


I think it's because I like the Mamutoi so much and enjoy reading about the day to day tribal life, I find it quite soothing somehow. It's the closest imo to CotCB which I love so much - also the only book without the tedious sex scenes @ForestWomble haha 
Unpopular opinion maybe but I really can't stand Jondalar which might be why the love triangle with Ranec (had to look that up as it's been a while) didn't bother me. I was rooting for her to stay with him but I suppose that wouldn't have made an interesting series. Ooh you've inspired me to have a reread now


----------



## lorilu

picaresque said:


> I think it's because I like the Mamutoi so much and enjoy reading about the day to day tribal life, I find it quite soothing somehow. It's the closest imo to CotCB which I love so much - also the only book without the tedious sex scenes @ForestWomble haha
> Unpopular opinion maybe but I really can't stand Jondalar which might be why the love triangle with Ranec (had to look that up as it's been a while) didn't bother me. I was rooting for her to stay with him but I suppose that wouldn't have made an interesting series. Ooh you've inspired me to have a reread now


I dislike Jondolar too.I think we are meant to. He is a product of his upbringing in a privileged family. He's never had to take responsibility for his actions, never really held accountable. Even at the very end he isn't.

I never understood the reason for the constant sex scene descriptions, especially in Plains. I suppose sex sells in every venue . It's easy to skip over though.

I hope you enjoy them this time around. I'll be starting Clan on Christmas Eve.


----------



## ForestWomble

Plains of Passage, that's it! That's as far as I've got. This discussion has made me want to reread from book one and I'm going to keep going to the end


----------



## Guest

lorilu said:


> Have you looked it up now?


Yeah, it looks really dark. And extremely popular, can't believe I hadn't heard of it until now. May wait until after Christmas to read


----------



## lorilu

AsahiGo said:


> Yeah, it looks really dark. And extremely popular, can't believe I hadn't heard of it until now. May wait until after Christmas to read


Dark indeed.


----------



## FletchNo1

O2.0 said:


> I used audible, I'm sure kindle and other e-readers has it too if you don't want to commit to buying the book
> It's such a well crafted story. I was intrigued by the notion of an Englishwoman in rural Kentucky in the 1930's but the story is so much more! I did not know about the pack horse librarians, which is factual history, and that part alone is fascinating, but again, the story is so much more. Really great read! Let me know if you get it how you like it


I've succumbed to temptation and bought Giver of Stars


----------



## O2.0

FletchNo1 said:


> I've succumbed to temptation and bought Giver of Stars


Oh do tell me what you think when you're done


----------



## cheekyscrip

AsahiGo said:


> Yeah! I was disappointed with 'peaches...'; this one was great. I love Rosette, and strangely, Reynaud!
> Have you read Players and Gentlemen?


Yes and I liked it . But Blue Eyed Boy was not for me.


----------



## Guest

Same, I got bored


----------



## Jason25

Picked up 'the lost symbol' by Dan brown for 20p at a bootsale yesterday. Haven't read a book a years so looking forward to reading it


----------



## Smuge

Current reading Thatcher's autobiography for my dissertation


----------



## Guest

Jason25 said:


> Picked up 'the lost symbol' by Dan brown for 20p at a bootsale yesterday. Haven't read a book a years so looking forward to reading it


Haven't read a book in years?! Why on earth not?!


----------



## Jason25

AsahiGo said:


> Haven't read a book in years?! Why on earth not?!


Come to think of it, the last fictional book I read and finished was 'of mice and men' when I was studying for my school exams in 2008 lol. I like reading fact based stuff about space, animals etc but stories never seemed to do it for me lol


----------



## Guest

Steinbeck is wonderful; I read that back in 2003 when I sat my GCSE's


----------



## margy

Can anyone recommend a good ghost story for Christmas? Hubby used to buy me Susan Hill books at Christmas time.


----------



## picaresque

margy said:


> Can anyone recommend a good ghost story for Christmas? Hubby used to buy me Susan Hill books at Christmas time.


I haven't read this myself yet but it has very good reviews - Miss Marley by Vanessa Lafaye. A prequel to A Christmas Carol.


----------



## margy

Thankyou I'll have a look at that on my kindle


----------



## Boxer123

margy said:


> Can anyone recommend a good ghost story for Christmas? Hubby used to buy me Susan Hill books at Christmas time.


The Silent Land by Graham Joyce


----------



## picaresque

Currently reading Wakenhyrst by Sarah Paver who is fast becoming one of my favourite writers. If you like a good gothic thriller you'll love this; I can hardly it down.


----------



## lorilu

Oddly enough, or maybe not so odd, being down with the flu this week I felt compelled to read Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (Anne McCaffrey).









(and the companion novel Nerilka's Story)


----------



## laugher

I'm currently reading both fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction: Yann Martel's _Beatrice and Virgil - _Really terrific so far; focuses on questions such as the relation between historiography and fiction. Also involves a very rewarding meditation on the nature of fiction and how it can be used to explore delicate historical issues. Central to all this are non-human animals, taxidermy as fiction and historiography, and both of the above are related back to the Holocaust. It has drawn plenty of criticism, but I find this to be a terrific read so far. Critics argue that to compare Holocaust to animal cruelty is crass, but that's not what YM's doing here. As an animal lover, and as a sensitive reader, I'm on Mr. Martel's side.
Non-Fiction: Gregory Mankiw's _Principles of Economics - _An introductory textbook-style account of what it means to adopt an economic perspective. That is, it asks and answers just what makes concerns and questions "economic" in nature. Also draws from behavioral psych to explain aspects such as decision making and rationality/irrationality. Interesting and informative so far.


----------



## Dave S

Fabulous Finn - The brave police dog who came back from the brink.

The story of a Police dog and his handler - Dave Wardell - and Finn's fight for survival after being repeatedly stabbed and saving his handlers life and the story of "Finn's law" which give police dogs similar right to police men.


----------



## Dave S

.


----------



## Guest

Dave S said:


> Fabulous Finn - The brave police dog who came back from the brink.
> 
> The story of a Police dog and his handler - Dave Wardell - and Finn's fight for survival after being repeatedly stabbed and saving his handlers life and the story of "Finn's law" which give police dogs similar right to police men.


Is that the BGT guy?

I finished reading The Gift by Cecelia Ahern last week. It was the first book I read by her.

I cried. It was ugly. And it really made me think. It's still left an impression on me.

A few pages ago, someone was after a ghost story - I'd recommed The Gift. Not *quite* a ghost story, but almost.

Now I'm reading Manage Your Money Like A F**king Grown-Up and My No Spend Year.

Guess what my New Years Resolutions are :Bag


----------



## Dave S

AsahiGo said:


> Is that the BGT guy?


I believe he was on there as well. Well worth a read but keep a box of tissues near.


----------



## margy

Boxer123 said:


> The Silent Land by Graham Joyce


Just finished this, thank you for recommending it. A good story with a twist, I enjoyed it.


----------



## Boxer123

margy said:


> Just finished this, thank you for recommending it. A good story with a twist, I enjoyed it.


That's ok I quite like graham joyce.


----------



## kamui675

Currently I am university student so I do not much time for reading literature. I study in Melbourne. My major is computer science. So I want to be a programmer in the future. But lately I need to improve my algebra skills so I check private tutor on https://www.ezymathtutoring.com.au/tutors/melbourne-3000


----------



## FletchNo1

O2.0 said:


> Oh do tell me what you think when you're done


Just finished this today - absolutely brilliant! Now to choose what to read next....


----------



## O2.0

FletchNo1 said:


> Just finished this today - absolutely brilliant! Now to choose what to read next....


Oh so glad you liked it! I've been struggling to get in to a book since, reading some non-fiction now just to keep myself occupied, but I need another good fiction read....


----------



## FletchNo1

O2.0 said:


> Oh so glad you liked it! I've been struggling to get in to a book since, reading some non-fiction now just to keep myself occupied, but I need another good fiction read....


My next one will be the Yorkshire Shepherdess biographies  Not fiction I know. I have the Night Circus, Dark Matter and Where the Crawdads sing on the pile...


----------



## O2.0

FletchNo1 said:


> My next one will be the Yorkshire Shepherdess biographies  Not fiction I know. I have the Night Circus, Dark Matter and Where the Crawdads sing on the pile...


Oh Fletch, Where the Crawdads Sing is absolutely fantastic. If you liked The Giver of Stars, you'll love Where the Crawdads Sing. Artfully crafted plot and characters, beautifully written, I got very attached to all the characters. Truly great book!

Now I'm off to check out Night Circus and Dark Matter.

A couple people have recommended to me A Discovery of Witches and I started it today, on chapter 3, not sold on it yet, but we'll see


----------



## FletchNo1

O2.0 said:


> Oh Fletch, Where the Crawdads Sing is absolutely fantastic. If you liked The Giver of Stars, you'll love Where the Crawdads Sing. Artfully crafted plot and characters, beautifully written, I got very attached to all the characters. Truly great book!
> 
> Now I'm off to check out Night Circus and Dark Matter.
> 
> A couple people have recommended to me A Discovery of Witches and I started it today, on chapter 3, not sold on it yet, but we'll see


Discovery of Witches is fab! Does take a while to get into the story but I loved it! The second book is on my wishlist!


----------



## O2.0

FletchNo1 said:


> Discovery of Witches is fab! Does take a while to get into the story but I loved it! The second book is on my wishlist!


LOL it looks like we have similar reading lists, we'll have to keep up with each other  
Not gonna lie, I kind of rolled my eyes a little at the vampire showing up, not usually my genre the whole witches wolves and vampires thing, but I'll hang in there!


----------



## FletchNo1

O2.0 said:


> LOL it looks like we have similar reading lists, we'll have to keep up with each other
> Not gonna lie, I kind of rolled my eyes a little at the vampire showing up, not usually my genre the whole witches wolves and vampires thing, but I'll hang in there!


My taste is extremely eclectic. Open to different genres. A good story, well written, is key. Stephen Booth, Anne Cleeves and Jane Harper are always good. Robert Dinsdale is on my watchlist too.


----------



## FletchNo1

Forgot to mention Anne Tyler and Will Dean as well!


----------



## margy

FletchNo1 said:


> My next one will be the Yorkshire Shepherdess biographies  Not fiction I know. I have the Night Circus, Dark Matter and Where the Crawdads sing on the pile...


I can recommend Where The Crawdads Sing as I read it a few months ago. It was very good also Dark Matter. Very scary, starts a bit slow but the tension builds. A very good story.


----------



## O2.0

Oh my goodness The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is wonderful! I'm listening to the audiobook narrated by Tom Hanks, it is so good! 
I have an hour left and am so emotionally conflicted right now. I want to keep listening, but I don't want it to end, and the story has me very emotionally conflicted too! Ah!


----------



## MilleD

O2.0 said:


> A couple people have recommended to me A Discovery of Witches and I started it today, on chapter 3, not sold on it yet, but we'll see


My sister lent me all the Discovery of Witches books. I gave them her back. I thought it was terribly written


----------



## O2.0

MilleD said:


> My sister lent me all the Discovery of Witches books. I gave them her back. I thought it was terribly written


I finished the first one, won't be reading any more. Too many eye roll moments for me, like when he bought her riding boots and she throws her arms around him and say "I love them" on tip toes. Gag. I'm a jaded old hag I guess :Hilarious:Hilarious:Hilarious

I finished The Dutch House last night and now am in a book depression. It was so good!!!!


----------



## picaresque

Just finished The Binding by Bridget Collins. Not sure how to describe it without spoiling the plot but it was one of those where you don't want it to end, I loved it. Read it and thank me later.


----------



## FletchNo1

picaresque said:


> Just finished The Binding by Bridget Collins. Not sure how to describe it without spoiling the plot but it was one of those where you don't want it to end, I loved it. Read it and thank me later.


I've read this too.It was brilliant!


----------



## ebonycat

O2.0 said:


> I finished the first one, won't be reading any more. Too many eye roll moments for me, like when he bought her riding boots and she throws her arms around him and say "I love them" on tip toes. Gag. I'm a jaded old hag I guess :Hilarious:Hilarious:Hilarious
> 
> I finished The Dutch House last night and now am in a book depression. It was so good!!!!


Have put The Dutch House on my reading list


----------



## Boxer123

Bridget Jones Diary all four books I need some escapism.


----------



## O2.0

ebonycat said:


> Have put The Dutch House on my reading list


Let me know what you think! I absolutely loved it!



Boxer123 said:


> Bridget Jones Diary all four books I need some escapism.


I'm doing the same thing - escapism  Re-reading The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. Forgot how much I loved them as a kid  Still loving them!


----------



## ForestWomble

I've just ordered "The Garden Jungle or Gardening to save the planet" by Dave Goulson
Should be an interesting read.


----------



## FletchNo1

Just finished the Night Circus. It was brilliant, haven't been able to put it down all weekend! Highly recommended!


----------



## kamui675

Now I read some books about finance. I need to prepare for test. From time to time I work on corporate finance homework help because I have bad experience in writing essays. Plus I need to go to grammar class and improve my English proficiency.


----------



## Guest

FletchNo1 said:


> Just finished the Night Circus. It was brilliant, haven't been able to put it down all weekend! Highly recommended!


I want to read this book! It's talked about constantly by a booktuber I follow


----------



## Guest

Does anyone have a reading slump? Where it seems every book you start is just crap?

I've tried several books lately and couldn't be bothered with them.

Last one I finished was 'Out' by Natsuo Kirino. Very, very good


----------



## FletchNo1

AsahiGo said:


> Does anyone have a reading slump? Where it seems every book you start is just crap?
> 
> I've tried several books lately and couldn't be bothered with them.
> 
> Last one I finished was 'Out' by Natsuo Kirino. Very, very good


Kind of. I seem to have real trouble starting books and getting into them recently..


----------



## HarlequinCat

AsahiGo said:


> Does anyone have a reading slump? Where it seems every book you start is just crap?
> 
> I've tried several books lately and couldn't be bothered with them.
> 
> Last one I finished was 'Out' by Natsuo Kirino. Very, very good


I read a lot of books on kindle, but the past few months I have had trouble finding new authors to read. I generally have trouble finishing a book because the characters are very one dimensional, or not very likeable. There are spelling or grammatical errors too - I can't get into the story because it doesn't flow right, or I keep noticing mistakes.


----------



## Guest

HarlequinCat said:


> I read a lot of books on kindle, but the past few months I have had trouble finding new authors to read. I generally have trouble finishing a book because the characters are very one dimensional, or not very likeable. There are spelling or grammatical errors too - I can't get into the story because it doesn't flow right, or I keep noticing mistakes.


That puts me off too.
I get really pedantic with books; I've given up on a few books because they use the same phrases as other's that I've read in a similar genre. 
"she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding"- authors are loving that one!


----------



## Magyarmum

I'm reading "The Family" by Jeff Sharlet. .

It's about the American Right and the secret fundamentalism at the heart of American power.

Now made into a Netflix documentary


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## lorilu

With the library closed I'm having to rely on my own library. Poking around my shelves I decided to enjoy Louisa May Alcott again. Little Women and Little Men done and dusted, just starting Old Fashioned Girl, which is really my favorite. After that will be Work, and Eight Cousins neither are favorites but might as well do all of them that I own. I don't have any of her others.

While digging through I found a copy of Sophie's Choice, which I don't think I ever read. Not sure if I want to read it now, I am familiar with the story, I think I saw the movie once.


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## lorilu

lorilu said:


> I found a copy of Sophie's Choice, which I don't think I ever read.


Oh gosh its all coming back to me now. I DID try to read this before. It's so annoying and dull I gave it up before managing to get to the real story. Plus I must have picked the book up at a used book sale somewhere as there are annoying underlines in the text and reader comments in the margins.

This time I may be desperate enough to try to get through it. I do have a whole stack of Frank Yerby books I can read. Years ago when I still worked in education, at the summer program the school library was having a clear out and they had a box of books they were discarding. I took all the Yerbys because I never can resit a "set" of books for free.

I've only read one or two...so that is something to dig into.


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## picaresque

Anyone else having trouble concentrating on reading right now? I've been struggling my way through The Institute for about a month.


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## Sandysmum

AsahiGo said:


> Last one I finished was 'Out' by Natsuo Kirino. Very, very good


I enjoyed that one aswell, a little bit graphic but a really good story.


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## 3dogs2cats

picaresque said:


> Anyone else having trouble concentrating on reading right now? I've been struggling my way through The Institute for about a month.


Yes I am struggling to concentrate at the moment. I haven't got anything to do here really but read so thought I would have got through a couple of books by now and be asking for new ones to be sent to me, in actual fact I have barely read a chapter and find I have to keep going back and read the same pages again as I`m just not taking it in!


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## Sandysmum

I can't seem to concentrate on a real book, but I'm having no trouble with reading my kindle. That's probably coz I can make the font bigger so it's not so much of a strain on the eyes.


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## picaresque

3dogs2cats said:


> Yes I am struggling to concentrate at the moment. I haven't got anything to do here really but read so thought I would have got through a couple of books by now and be asking for new ones to be sent to me, in actual fact I have barely read a chapter and find I have to keep going back and read the same pages again as I`m just not taking it in!


Unsurprising with everything that's going on. Not just the extra stress and worry but lockdown lethargy setting in.



jetsmum said:


> I can't seem to concentrate on a real book, but I'm having no trouble with reading my kindle. That's probably coz I can make the font bigger so it's not so much of a strain on the eyes.


I know what you mean, it's a hardback I'm reading at the moment and I think part of the problem is I'm often feeling too knackered to deal with its bulk whereas with my kindle I can curl up on my side in bed and have it in one hand.
I'm sure fitting the stereotype of lazy millennial rn, my coal mining forefathers would be disgusted with me, can't even be bothered holding a book


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## lorilu

picaresque said:


> Anyone else having trouble concentrating on reading right now? I've been struggling my way through The Institute for about a month.


I did at first. It's been 18 days now since our stay at home started, and I am starting to adjust and able to read more now. At first I couldn't read at all, it was like when my mother died. I couldn't read then either.

I am relegated now to my own library. I have finished my Louisa May Alcott collection. This morning I dug out my Jacqueline Susann books. Once Is Not Enough is the current title.


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## picaresque

Good to know it's not just me.
@lorilu I'm glad you're back in the saddle so to speak. I think I need to get off PF/Twitter and make more of an effort to read an actual book instead of feeding that feeling of doom with corona news


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## Psygon

picaresque said:


> Good to know it's not just me.
> @lorilu I'm glad you're back in the saddle so to speak. I think I need to get off PF/Twitter and make more of an effort to read an actual book instead of feeding that feeling of doom with corona news


I was spending far too long on news and Twitter in the first few days and then I decided to limit how much bad news I take in. I'm now reading a lot more and have read 3 books this week. On to my fourth last night.

I've read a book by Tim Weaver, I Am Missing and two books by Jessica Fellowes, The Mitford Murders and Bright Young Dead.

Nothing overly challenging to read, just easy going stuff really. But it's been nice to spend my evenings with a cup of tea and a book rather than doom and gloom. I'm planning to read in the garden today since the sun is shining


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## picaresque

Psygon said:


> I'm planning to read in the garden today since the sun is shining


Sounds perfect, hope you enjoyed 

I've been thinking of some of my old faves to comfort-read. Probably just end up being Harry Potter haha


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## Psygon

picaresque said:


> Sounds perfect, hope you enjoyed
> 
> I've been thinking of some of my old faves to comfort-read. Probably just end up being Harry Potter haha


I didn't end up reading in the garden... Just lay on the sofa all day and read. Felt so lazy. Now I have hurt my back tho!


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## picaresque

Psygon said:


> I didn't end up reading in the garden... Just lay on the sofa all day and read. Felt so lazy. Now I have hurt my back tho!


I thought staying at home was supposed to keep us safe :Hilarious


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## ScruffyCat

I am reading Phillippa Gregory - Tidelands. It was a bit slow to start but is picking up now!!


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## Boxer123

I’ve invested in a kindle haven’t wanted to before because I love real books but lockdown has forced my hand. I love it ! Currently reading The Other People by CJ Tudor.


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## kamui675

I read now book called The book Thief by Markus Zusak. This novel has cool story line. I need to write essay on 6000 words about my impressions after reading this book. So I will apply to some additional help to here


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## FletchNo1

ScruffyCat said:


> I am reading Phillippa Gregory - Tidelands. It was a bit slow to start but is picking up now!!


I have this on my wishlist so I'd be very interested in your thoughts. Historical novels aren't my usual choice!


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## Summercat

I have begun rereading a series, the first book is called ' The Case of the Missing Books' by Ian Sansom 
The series is the Mobile Library Mysteries. Nice, light and with a chuckle here & there. 
I recommend.


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## ScruffyCat

FletchNo1 said:


> I have this on my wishlist so I'd be very interested in your thoughts. Historical novels aren't my usual choice!


It's more like a period drama I would say rather than a historical novel. Phillipa is very clever and she almost seems to weave a story inbetween points in history. I'm quite enjoying it.... I will keep you posted...


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## cheekyscrip

“Como Aqua para chocolate “ Laura Esquivel. I am sure it was published in English. This is about cooking and love... delicious.
Love reading. I am very lucky as can read in four languages, so never short of books!!!


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## ForestWomble

cheekyscrip said:


> "Como Aqua para chocolate " Laura Esquivel. I am sure it was published in English. This is about cooking and love... delicious.
> Love reading. I am very lucky as can read in four languages, so never short of books!!!


Four languages! :Jawdrop Wow, that's amazing.

I always admire anyone who know, fluently more than one language, I think it's amazing.

What languages if you don't mind me asking?

*********

I'm reading an old favourite - Dragon's Kin by Anne and Todd McCaffrey.


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## cheekyscrip

ForestWomble said:


> Four languages! :Jawdrop Wow, that's amazing.
> 
> I always admire anyone who know, fluently more than one language, I think it's amazing.
> 
> What languages if you don't mind me asking?
> 
> *********
> 
> I'm reading an old favourite - Dragon's Kin by Anne and Todd McCaffrey.


English, Spanish, Russian and Polish...
Blessing as not everything translates well into one language but much better to another...

Just wish had more time to read, but can't complain ....
How are doing hun?


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## ForestWomble

cheekyscrip said:


> English, Spanish, Russian and Polish...
> Blessing as not everything translates well into one language but much better to another...
> 
> Just wish had more time to read, but can't complain ....
> How are doing hun?


Wow! 
As you say gives you the chance to read many, many books and you can find the best translation for others as well.

I'm doing OK thanks, just trying to keep busy and trying to keep calm during this strange time. Books are a blessing as they have always been my way to 'escape'.


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## lorilu

I am reading two books. One is a library discard picked up from some library sale or other, youth (or is it young adult?) called Under a Different Sky. I find I get impatient with it if I read it longer than a half hour or so for some reason. ( I read a lot of YA and Y and J so it's not that). I also discovered in my book rummaging an Anne McCaffrey series that I purchased in paper back many years ago, but astoundingly, have never read. It's called the "Freedom Series". 

I'm on the second one. They aren't great but better than nothing.


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## Sandysmum

I've just finished Adam Hills autobiography, which I started ages ago and forgot about. It's a nice easy read, almost as if he's just having a chat with you. He's one of my fave comedians, and seems like a really nice, genuine person.


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## lorilu

I found a treasure trove! I found a small box of carefully selected books, I mean, they were stored together for a reason. I don't know when I boxed them up like this, in fact I am not sure I remember most of the stories at all except in a vague way, only the titles and my sister's snort during our teen years at seeing me with one of them in my hands. "Are you reading that AGAIN?"

Shannon's Way and How Green Was My Valley - Richard Llewellyn

Captain From Castile - Samuel Shellabarger

A Bag of Marbles - Joseph Joffo

The Travels of Jamie McPheeters - Robert Louis Taylor

Now that I am writing this and thinking about it, I do have this vague memory of me as a twenty something thinking, I might spoil them for myself if I kept reading them so I lovingly boxed them up in a boot box..in fact..oh it's all coming back, they are in the box my first pair of Merrell hiking boots came in.

Well now all that would have been in 1984 or 1985 so I think it's time I read them again, don't you?


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## picaresque

lorilu said:


> I found a treasure trove! I found a small box of carefully selected books, I mean, they were stored together for a reason. I don't know when I boxed them up like this, in fact I am not sure I remember most of the stories at all except in a vague way, only the titles and my sister's snort during our teen years at seeing me with one of them in my hands. "Are you reading that AGAIN?"
> 
> Shannon's Way and How Green Was My Valley - Richard Llewellyn
> 
> Captain From Castile - Samuel Shellabarger
> 
> A Bag of Marbles - Joseph Joffo
> 
> The Travels of Jamie McPheeters - Robert Louis Taylor
> 
> Now that I am writing this and thinking about it, I do have this vague memory of me as a twenty something thinking, I might spoil them for myself if I kept reading them so I lovingly boxed them up in a boot box..in fact..oh it's all coming back, they are in the box my first pair of Merrell hiking boots came in.
> 
> Well now all that would have been in 1984 or 1985 so I think it's time I read them again, don't you?


opera

What a lovely surprise 

I'm currently listening to Michelle Obama's Becoming. Never tried audiobooks before but had an Amazon credit so this was free. Certainly helps my reading lag to have someone else do the work. I'm rather enjoying it anyway, very interesting.


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## O2.0

The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd. I'm about 1/3 of the way in and absolutely loving it. Based on the life of Eliza Lucas Pinckney a remarkable woman in the colonial south in the 1700s


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## Nonnie

Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen)


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## O2.0

Just finished "The Nightingale" by Krisin Hannah. 
Highly, highly recommend. It took me a few chapters to really get in to it because I'm kind of over the WW2 backdrop for so many new novels lately, but oh it was so worth it. Excellent story, well told, was in tears at one point - not fun 'cause I was also trying to go for a run at the same time and I'm chocking up at the book I'm listening to! 

Now I need to find something light LOL!


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## margy

Iv'e just read a very short book called A House In The Country by Matt Shaw. I enjoyed it so thought I'd post it on here.


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## LinznMilly

I have 2 books on the go at the moment.

1). Is Tom Wood's _The Enemy,_ borrowed from my dad. It's Book 2 in a series which follows an assassin called Victor.

2). Is Antonia Hodgeon's _The Devil in the Marshelsea_. Set in the early 18th century. I've had it for years, but never got round to reading it.

Thoroughly enjoying both.


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## FletchNo1

Recently read Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, the follow on to the The Shining. Slow start but enjoyed it.
Now reading Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver - it's very good but I really do enjoy her books


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## laugher

As always I'm reading both fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction: Thomas Pynchon's "Bleeding Edge" - Many consider this one of his weaker books, if not the weakest. But I disagree. It's certainly more accessible in that it requires less effort than _Gravity's Rainbow_ or _V, _and it's also short (but only if we go by Pynchon's standards--this is a good 475 pages). The book is remarkable for its generosity of spirit--whether he's writing about the internet, the deep web, terrorism, or domestic life, Pynchon has so many wonderful insights. Reading this is giving me new ways to think about things, which is more than I could ask for.

Non-Fiction: We're currently doing a module on research methodology. The past couple of weeks we did plenty of z-score- and chi-squared-related readings. Now we're on to the qualitative side of things with "The Basics of Social Research." Well, to be fair, this is not only about the qualitative method. It aims to balance the quantitative and qualitative side of things. Which I find interesting and rewarding, though I must say I don't really have a flair for the quantitative method.

It's been loooong since I logged in, so I hope everyone's doing great and staying safe!


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## Linda Weasel

Since lockdown I’m the proud owner of a Kindle. I always said I’d never replace real books but now I’m a convert. 

Anything and everything is available; I’ve just finished Suzanne Clothier’s book about the balance of power. And it’s stored so that I can go back and read it again, which I will in the future.


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## Guest

Holidays are the only times I ever get time to read as I'm not one of these people who can read a bit each night - I have to go all in! Currently about halfway through Educated by Tara Westover and really enjoying it! I don't usually choose Memoirs but I'm glad I chose this one - my kindle recommended it to me


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## Boxer123

Linda Weasel said:


> Since lockdown I'm the proud owner of a Kindle. I always said I'd never replace real books but now I'm a convert.
> 
> Anything and everything is available; I've just finished Suzanne Clothier's book about the balance of power. And it's stored so that I can go back and read it again, which I will in the future.


I'm the same I still love the feel of books but my kindle was a lifesaver in lock down. I love how you can download one any time if you run out of reading.


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## Linda Weasel

Boxer123 said:


> I'm the same I still love the feel of books but my kindle was a lifesaver in lock down. I love how you can download one any time if you run out of reading.


I love mine now for exactly the same reason.
I still have yards of 'go back to' books which I wouldn't part with, though.
Currently reading a John Galbraith book; I was intrigued that it's J. K. Rowling writing a different genre. It's good so far.


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## Summercat

I love my Kindle too, for the ease with which I can store many books and have a light weight 'pile' of books with me wherever I go. 
I do love paper books as well and any good bookshop has me leaving with an armful.
Currently on my Kindle, I am rereading the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, by Alexander McCall Smith.


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## margy

I love my kindle because in the winter I can read it in the dark in my car while at work and in another area, waiting between clients.


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## Boxer123

margy said:


> I love my kindle because in the winter I can read it in the dark in my car while at work and in another area, waiting between clients.


Yes I like the light up function can sit in the dark reading nice and snug.


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## LinznMilly

Currently about halfway through _Closed Circle_ by Robert Goddard. Like _The Devil in the Marshelsea_, I came across it while hunting for old books that I'd read, to swap with an elderly woman down the road. Ended up keeping them both, but still managed to find 4, or 5 books for her.

Got 4 books in return.


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## LinznMilly

Inspired by the One Rule for Them thread, I'm reading _White Fragility_ by Robin DiAngelo and _Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Racism_ byvReni Eddo-Lodge.

A pair of very eye-opening, thought-provoking books.


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## FletchNo1

Just finished The Hidden Beach by Karen Swann. She is brilliant, usually writes a summer and a Christmas novel. Highly recommended light reading. Now starting on The Furies x


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## O2.0

LinznMilly said:


> Inspired by the One Rule for Them thread, I'm reading _White Fragility_ by Robin DiAngelo and _Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Racism_ byvReni Eddo-Lodge.
> 
> A pair of very eye-opening, thought-provoking books.


For another thought provoking book on racism but also highly entertaining, I really recommend Trevor Noah's "Born a Crime" it's absolutely brilliant


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## LinznMilly

O2.0 said:


> For another thought provoking book on racism but also highly entertaining, I really recommend Trevor Noah's "Born a Crime" it's absolutely brilliant


Previewing it on Google Goodreads. Three pages in and I'm sold!


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## FletchNo1

O2.0 said:


> Oh my goodness The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is wonderful! I'm listening to the audiobook narrated by Tom Hanks, it is so good!
> I have an hour left and am so emotionally conflicted right now. I want to keep listening, but I don't want it to end, and the story has me very emotionally conflicted too! Ah!


Just finished the Dutch House 
Started The Way Home by Mark Boyle. Non fiction about a life without modern technology. Did start The Furies but gave up!


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## Jason25

I am on my third and last attempt of reading "The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown". I get a couple chapters in, get side tracked and forget about picking the book up again lol. I've forgot where I was up to so need to start from the beginning.

I've got plenty of time and about 500 pages to read, should be doable :Hilarious


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## Dave S

Started reading "Over the hills and far away", a book written by Harford Logan about his life growing up on a farm in war years Ireland and his Border Collies that led him to National and International sheep dog championships.
Really interesting read and full of good advise re buying and training sheepdogs.
Not a big book - about 180 pages but set out in small sections of good info and recollections.

Harford Logan also designed the Logan sheep dog whistle which is the most common whistle used now days at trials and out in the field, marketed mainly by his daughter Joanne McHardy at https://www.thebordercollie.co.uk/


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## Siskin

Just finished The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife. It’s about the Ravens at the Tower of London and how they are cared for by Christopher who is one of the Yeoman Warders. Also delves into the history of the Tower.


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## Pawscrossed

This book like a really interesting read, about the internet - '_Nobody Is Talking About This' _Patricia Lockwood. Just based on the interview in the link below and this quote "You have to look for where the language goes crunchy, where everybody starts saying the same things and formulating their reactions the same ways - and step out of it.'

That's so true, not just Twitter but Facebook and here too specially around topics that attract cliques.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2...vqScrHuUV7dh526GhH2V0_mzPOKgPnKaWVzslS3uVWA3I


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