Jump to content

More reading time required

Member
  • Posts

    498
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by More reading time required

  1. In the last couple of weeks, I have finished Nomad (quite good), read Elevation by Stephen King (interesting concept to begin with, weird ending), had a birthday and had Mothering Sunday (today). I'm pretty sure that I got no books last year for my birthday but this one I had quite a lot. :D

     

    From the kids I got TWoT book 14 (for when I finally get to it) and a new Tad Williams - The Witchwood Crown - which I am quite excited about and from hubby I got Frank Turner's Try This at Home (signed and limited edition with my name listed in the sleeve)

    Then I got a voucher from my sister with which I bought If I die before I wake by Emily Koch, Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce, Transcription by Kate Atkinson and The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey.

    Finally, for Mother's Day, my kids (husband) took a punt on getting me a new trilogy I'd never heard of - The Shades of Magic trilogy by V E Schwab, which looks very cool.

     

    Anyway, I have already read If I die before I wake, which I loved, even though I wanted it to end in a slightly different manner.

    I've now started Dear Mrs Bird, which I like the writing style of so far.

     

    I'm hoping this is the year I really manage to recapture my reading bug! I'll need to - I've got too much to get through now! ^_^

  2. On 11/03/2019 at 10:24 PM, Hayley said:

     

    It’s so addictive! I actually spent ages just gathering ingredients and cooking.

     

    I was looking at Octopath Traveller but I wasn’t sure if it seemed worth the price. I think it has a demo now so I might give that a try. I think Mario Odyssey is on sale at the moment too so I’ll have a look at that :)  

     

    Does anybody else like the Pokemon games? They’ve announced the next one (sword and shield) and I can’t wait to play it!

    We got a pre-owned version of Octopath, which made it a bit cheaper. It's kinda like old school final fantasy. 

     

    My son is playing Let's go Pikachu. I don't really understand it though. :lol:

  3. Wow, it's been a while since I was here. Let's see, what have I been reading:

    First,

    to go back to A column of fire and The lonliest girl in the universe (as I believe Athena asked me what I thought of them and then I wasn't around for months :rolleyes:)

     

    A column of fire - perhaps not as good as the first two, it was still a very enjoyable romp through another period in history.

     

    The loneliest girl in the universe - I found this really compelling and I got through it really quickly. It perhaps turned a bit 'Point Horrory' at the end, but on the whole I enjoyed it.

     

    The Fireman by Joe Hill - absolutely brilliant. One of the best things I've ever read.


    Lyra's Oxford by Philip Pullman - a very short and a little bit pointless story 


    Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman - ditto :lol:


    La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman -  very different to what I was expecting but it was very good and I'm keen to read the next in the series when it comes out


    Nomad by Alan Partridge - currently halfway through. Pretty funny so far. It kind of helps that a new tv series is on a the same time so I can hear the personality come out more. :D

  4. Happy new year all!

     

    I thought my book count for last year would stay at 24 as I started A Column of Fire by Ken Follettearly December and wasn't getting through it that quickly. But I ended up racing through it towards the end of December and even squeezed in another book before the end of the year - The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James. 

     

    This year, I started The Fireman by Joe Hill. I'm about 250 pages in so far and enjoying it a lot.

  5. I read about 4 I think. I did anticipate reading at least another 2 more before the end of the year, but I lost a few months of reading to work/exam busyness so it just wasn't possible in the end. They are still on my list to get through earlier than later though and I shall attempt to finish the others by the end of this year. :)

  6. I hadn't read anything for weeks apart from technical books (and just about managing to get through Dark Tower book 8), as I've been preparing for an exam I did this morning, which I'm happy to say I passed! ^_^  So I'm looking forward to being able to get back into reading for pleasure again.

     

    I've picked up Ken Follet's A column of fire this evening. Although it's lengthy it will hopefully be a bit addictive and get me back into the reading spirit!

  7. I've not been as regular a visitor as I would have liked recently (this summer holiday being especially busy) but I was sad to read the news last night that the forum was to close. However, it might get me out the obligation I've felt to catch up with more book reviews. :lol:

     

    Thanks to Michelle and the admin team for all their hard work over the years. I've joined the FB group and hope to participate on there a little more regularly. :)

  8. It's July, so I'm sure it's time for some quick fire reviews of the year's books so far. :lol:

     

    Fool's Quest by Robin Hobb
    Assassin's Fate  by Robin Hobb

     

    I've lumped these together as I can't now distinguish between the two of them. Suffice to say, I thoroughly loved this trilogy and it made me realise 
    how much I had missed reading Robin Hobb. Years back I had skipped one of her series as I'd let myself get put off by reading a bad review of the first book (Dragon Keeper) whereas it was probably just saying it wasn't as good as her others, which would still be bloody good, I'm sure. Anyway, I now definitely need to go back and read those ones.

     

    Song of Susannah by Stephen King
    This made more sense this time around as I wasn't racing through it and although it was weird and perhaps slightly self indulgent 
    (especially when Stephen King himself appeared in the story), it was a quick easy read. Pity I'm having more trouble with the final volume!


    The Daily Struggles of Archie Adams (aged 2 1/4) by Katie Kirby

    This is a funny little cartoony account of toddlerhood from the perspective of the toddler. It wouldn't surprise me if that was what they were thinking. A fun read.


    Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

    My first Round Robin challenge. When I first started reading this, I thought it rather twee. Then I had to remind myself that it was a kids book and I embraced 
    the fact that I needed to get in the mindset of the age I was when I was reading things like Mallory Towers. After that point, although I think it was probably lacking a bit of excitement, I enjoyed it a lot more.  I can't say I'm champing at the bit to read the sequel though. :lol: 

     

    How Not to be a Boy by Robert Webb

    An interesting account of Robert Webb's upbringing and how he often struggles against the "rules" of what it is to be a man. Funny, yet thought provoking.

     

    The Unmumsy Mum Diary by Sarah Turner

    Another really fun account of some more kid based trials and tribulations. Enjoyed it. :)

     

    Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery

     

    Another Round Robin choice. Anne reminded me a bit of a Pollyanna character. I can imagine that some people might find her quite annoying, but I find her quite engaging.

    One odd thing I found about the book though, all the way through, right until the end, I thought the couple that took her on, were married, until right at the end when it intimated that they were brother and sister, which seemed a bit of an odd set-up! :lol: 

     

    Into the Water by Paula Hawkins 

    I really enjoyed Girl on a Train, so picked this up from the library when I saw it. It was a bit disappointed really. It kept me hooked as I went through it, 
    but it didn't really have a stand out conclusion.  It seemed like it couldn't work out if it was trying to be a supernatural story or a straight mystery.
     

    Dummy by Matt Coyne

    Even though it's parenting through a man's eyes, I could still relate to this account so much. Especially when it talked about basically living in a hovel as soon as kids arrive. :lol: 
    It was hilarious - highly recommended.


    Believe Me by Eddie Izzard

    I've always loved Eddie Izzard as a comic and it was great to read more of his life and upbringing and how he manages to keep succeeding with all the crazy goals he sets himself.
    I think this mainly expands on the documentary of the same name, but I've not got round to watching that yet.

     

    F*** You Very Much by Danny Wallace

    This was a very interesting read based on how everyone is getting ruder (or apparently seemingly so). It's broken down into different section about things like road rage, teenagers, social media etc including this fab comment about road rage, which very much resonates with me:

     

    Quote

    How many times have you been in a car and waited for the other person to say thank you? It's all you can focus on. After five seconds with no response, you immediately dismiss that person as an absolute ninnyhammer. You hate them for their arrogance, for their rudeness. And in that sixth second, when they *do* press their hazards or raise their hand, literally everything is forgiven. You think they're great again.You'd invite them round to your house, such is your relief. You're just grateful they're grateful.

     

    It also talked about how when someone is rude to you, it stays with you all day and can affect your performance. So don't be rude to your doctor or else they might get something wrong!

  9. Sorry to hear about the co-worker, Echo. It must be quite a difficult situation for everyone there. :(

     

    I'm mostly full of World Cup fever at the mo. I wasn't really interested in it at all on the run up, but now that it's here and it's been good entertainment and most importantly, England are progressing, I've kinda got sucked into it. :lol: 

     

    Annoyingly, I'm booked in to go to the theatre on Wednesday night, the night of England's semi-final, but I'm glad there is a good reason for me to be annoyed about the clash, rather than it not matter because we didn't get through. :)

  10. 1 hour ago, Little Pixie said:

    :o Oof, worrying ! :) Aw, glad that Mario`s okay. :D Poor other cat though. :(

     

    Yes, it's not the first cat to be a victim of that road. :( Even though it's supposed to be a 30, people whizz down it as it's quite a wide through road. 

  11. I thought our cat had been run over last week. On the way back from a Foo fighters gig in London on Friday night (so really late, or really early on Saturday morning depending on your perspective), I was looking at Facebook and one of the groups I'm on is about the local goings on in our town.

    Well, I read on that that someone had witnessed a tabby with no collar get run over at the bottom of our road under the bridge, and all they could do was move it to the side. Mario quite often races across the road like an idiot and he has a history of getting hit by cars in the past, but has survived them all (I think he's down to 6 lives now!)

     

    Of course Mario was nowhere to be seen when we got back home (at 4am) and we even walked down to the bridge the next morning, but couldn't see any sign of it.

     

    Every meow I heard was Clara, every cat flap beep was Clara and I found myself apologising to her for saying 'wrong cat'.

     

    Anyway, come 9pm,  Mario breezes in through the cat flap as if nothing is the matter. :rolleyes: 

     

    Phew!

  12. I am loving the current heatwave, it seems to have lasted forever! I just hope it continues throughout July/August.

     

    It feels just like being on holiday :lol: but it's not so hot that you feel drained and exhausted.

     

    We probably could do with a bit of rain though - not too much mind! ;) 

  13. I finished Into the Water which was nowhere near as good as Girl on a Train, but still fairly compelling. I've now started Dummy by Matt Coyne, which is another 'real-life parenting social media blogger' book spin off. It's hilarious. I've properly guffawed whilst reading it, so I've nearly finished it. :lol: 

  14. On 25/06/2018 at 3:20 PM, Little Pixie said:

     

    Anniversary congrats, Michelle. :D

     

    Grr at the loft damage. :( What a shame about the Sword of Truth book. ;) Are you sure it wasn`t a critic visiting the house wot dunnit ? :lol:

     

    Well this was 9 years ago, so we're over it now. :lol:

  15. Bad news on the leak and the damaged books, Sarah. :(

     

    Reminds me of when we had our loft done. They chose to take the roof off at the worst possible time as it rained massively and they hadn't covered it up properly. We were at a festival at the time, so my parents & brother in law went in to help clear up. All the ceiling wallpaper in the front bedroom came down and luckily all the bookshelves in there had plastic sheeting over them, so they allsurvived. However, Tom had a few books on his bedside cabinet in the back bedroom and they got damaged - one or two irrevocably so - including the second Sword of Truth book. :o Luckily I'd already read it by then, but it stopped Tom from reading on, which is obviously a great tragedy. :lol:  

     

    I seem to have been away for some weeks but during that time I had a lovely 4 day trip to Bruges with my mum & sister (leaving the kids at home!), my boy turned 6 last week and we celebrated 10 years of marriage by seeing the Foo fighters at the Olympic Stadium on Friday - it was fantastic!

     

    I am also enjoying the world cup so far. I wasn't all that fussed about it to begin with, but I have got sucked in! :)

     

    Hope everyone is good?

  16. Last month I finished How Not to be a Boy by Robert Webb & read The Unmumsy Mum diary by Sarah Turner. This month I read Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery (a round robin book) and started Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, which I've nearly finished.  I also noticed that Danny Wallace's new book F*** You Very Much was 99p on Kindle, so I downloaded that onto my phone on Friday at Stratford tube station to read just before I went 'underground'.   

     

    I'm still kinda stuck in the same place in The Dark Tower. :lol: 

  17. I borrowed an Asterix book from the library for my son a few weeks ago, but so far he's not been keen to start it, preferring instead for me to read him a Pokemon diamond & pearl comic book instead. Which I find very dull & confusing - not least because I have to read it back to front & right to left. :lol:

×
×
  • Create New...