SueK
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Posts posted by SueK
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I've finally finished The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths. Been a bit slow with my reading lately. I'm now going to start The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan.
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Thanks for posting that Sue. It puts a new perspective on the whole thing.
The problem though, is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. No matter how good the intentions. And your post does indicate good intentions. What that government does next will tell the tale as to whether it is a lasting good or becomes what it sought to eradicate.
The plan is that the Military will bring back the Democratic vote once they are fully happy the factions involved in the politics leading up to the Coup don't happen again. They forecast that to be in about a year's time. It has happened many times before so I'm hopeful. Coups are extremely common in Thailand as it has a history of political instability. We're not talking of a Mugabe-style or even a Burmese junta type of government there.
For what it's worth, we thought it was good news that the Thaksin government was brought down as corruption was so rife. .When we were there during the coup we hardly saw any military so they didn't come in "guns ablazing" - they just stood around some of the main central squares. When we were there, we saw them dinking coke outside McDonalds and they were having their pictures taken with tourists!
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I'm not going to get embroiled in Thai politics here HOWEVER, as some of you know I'm married to a Thai so have a bit of inside knowledge of the political scene there.
When the Coup came in May this year, it was viewed as a positive move for Thailand as up to then there were violent protests between the Thaksin regime (whose younger sister Yingluck was PM) - the Red Shirts - and the anti Thaksin regime - the Yellow Shirts. There was an impasse so the Military did what they felt was best. It was a totally bloodless coup (I was there when it happened) and apart from a curfew it went quietly.
The General in charge is a hard-liner but very fair and he has obliterated much of the corruption bought on by the Thaksin Government. He has effectively "killed off" mafia run businesses and cracked down on a lot of crime. It's not perfect by any means and the item mentioned above doesn't make for good reading BUT most people welcome the change and it for the most part better than before.
I Just wanted you to get a picture of what is happening out there since the coup.
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The Girl on the Train sounds right up my alley! It's not coming out over here till the middle of January.....
Also like the sound of Black Roses...interestingly enough the author is married to Philip Kerr...one of my favorite authors. He also writes in that time frame.
Oy, I need to stay away from your thread!! LOL
hi Pontalba yes I had forgotten that Philip Kerr was her husband. I love his Bernie Gunther books.
I hope you enjoy The Girl on the Train it's a great read.
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I finished Inflicted by Ria Francis and will shortly make a start on the Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths - I hope it is as good as her first book Crossing Places.
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I'm really enjoying this. Each episode seems to throw up a new suspect. We're half way through and I still have no idea what happened to Oliver. James Nesbit is so compelling and I love the French Detective, Julien - great performance.
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I've just finished Inflicted by Ria Francis. It is a debut novel and it well written. My only comment is I'm not sure what audience she was trying to capture. Some suggest it is targeted at YA and others as a crossover. If YA then I think it should be read as it charts a young woman's time in Theresienstadt concentration camp and it is extremely emotional. Her story is told to a young boy (in present day) as a sort of springboard but the boy's story is very incidental and doesn't actually add much to the storyline, in my opinion. Still, as a debut novel I think it is very promising.
Next on the list is The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths.
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Another one for the list is The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
One of her typical unassuming books set in a seaside village in Sussex. It is odd in some respects but I'm a fan of hers so I liked it.
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Well, I guest top of my list would have to be Conan Doyle. I can't get enough Sherlock
But other authors I have devoured are:
H E Bates
J B Priestly
Georges Simenon (Maigret in particular)
Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael series)
Daphne du Maurier
Guy de Maupassant
Barbara Erskine
more to come probably .......
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I finished The White Russian by Vanora Bennett. It was OK. I loved her other book - Midnight in St Petersburg - but this didn't quite come to the mark for me.
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Hi all
Right! so I didn't realise it was this long since I'd been on here
and to be honest I haven't kept up my plan to read as many WW1 books as I had hoped. It can be a very depressing subject after a while as I found after finishing Solzhenitzyn's August 1914. So I will summarise some of the books I have read and enjoyed this year starting with the WW1 related books:The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear - I'm up to about Book 5 or 6 now and really enjoy them . Although not strictly set in WW1 there are implications relating to the investigations that Maisie delves into but I like the storylines - undemanding but good reads.
The Storms of War - Kate Williams not a great lover of saga style books but it had an itneresting premise with the family living in England with a German father.
Various Penguin Short stories of WW1 - always good to pick up.
A Month in the country by J L Carr - short but exquisitely written
Moving on to later times .....
The Inspector Maigret series - Penguin released updates of these and publish a new one every month. I have now read the first 6 and love them. I've also read The Engagement by Simenon which is non Maigret book and very different to the series. Well worth a try I think.
The Flowers on the Grass - Monica Dickens - first time I've read her and love her style of writing. Simple plots, beautifully told.
This House is Haunted by John Boyne - very atmospheric Gothic ghost story - should be just the job for Christmas
Black Roses by Jane Thynne - tense novel set in Berlin before the war which centres on a young English girl's friendship with Magda Goebels - well written and looking forward to the follow up.
The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins - best read of the year for me so far. It's due for release early next year I think but should be a big hit. Well written with fabulous characters - it is not what is seems is all I'm saying.
The Dig - John Preston - atmospheric story of the people who discovered the Sutton Hoo treasure in the mid 30s in Woodbridge, Suffolk. It is a fictionalised story but absolutely lovely read.
Ok those are the main reads for me - I have interspersed these with lots of short stories and various other reads that have been quite forgettable.
I'm now starting a new book called Inflicted by Ria Francis - it's a debut novel so will come back on here about that soon.
Thanks for reading this ........
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I've just started The White Russian by Vanora Bennett. I loved her first outing "Midnight in St Petersburg" and this look like being just as good. This one takes in Paris before the outbreak of WW2 so lots of possibilities to expect here.
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Thanks all for your good wishes. Hi Pontalba, yes I've read a few in the Anne Perry series but I seem to have missed out "Shoulder the Sky" for some reason so looking forward to that.
Hi Signor Finzioni, I have the Pat Barker books on my "to read" list but thanks for mentioning.
I am stuggling a bit with Solzhenitzyn's August 1914 book at the moment but I'm putting that down to my being in the wrong mood for it - but I will persevere. In the meantime I am reading a few chapters from the "Wipers Times" which is quite hilarious (in spite of the circumstances).
I will include Dr Zhivago in my WW1 reading list as it covers that as well as the Revolution and it's due another read (last read about 15 years ago).
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Thanks for the recommendation Claire - I've look up the book and it's right up my street. I'm a great follower of Persephone books.
I hope you enjoyed Turn of the Screw!!
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Happy New Year to all!
This is my first ever reading list and thought it was time I put one together.
I've decided this year to read as many WW1 books as possible to commemorate the start of the Great War. I don't know how far I will get or if I can cope with so much horror but I've made a start.
August 1914 - Solshentizyn - I've made a start and so far so good. Maybe a bit slow at times but I'm looking forward a a big build up.
The Lie - by Helen Dunmore is due out next and I've got it on pre-order. I love her books and I'm really looking forward to reading this.
Shoulder the Sky - Anne Perry - I've had this book a while now and I shall make a start in a month or so.
I might well be dipping into lighter books in between some of the big reads though.
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I've decided to read as many WW1 books this year to commemorate the start of the War in 1914. I'm presently reading August 1914 by Solzhenitzyn and I'm looking forward to Helen Dunmore's new book to be released next week - The Lie. At least there is plenty of reading material out ther.
I may start a reading list for 2014 to see how(if) I can keep this up.
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Hi James, nobody has mentioned A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot.
Good shout Vodkafan. I bought this book fairly recently as the DVD is one of my all-time favourites.
Another good book (although non-fiction but reads as fiction) is Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain.
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Many thanks for that Michelle. I have to admit that a lot of books on Negalley don't appeal but I noted they're offering the new Helen Dunmore which I would really love to get my hands on.
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Are many of you on here members of Netgalley. I joined recently but to be honest I'm not quite sure of the set up. I appreciate you have to be a reviewer; blogger; librarian etc to join and I've been given confirmation of membership as hopefully being a reviewer might have helped . I've requested my first book today but it's just pending - does anyone know what happens next? Thanks all
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I'm reading a good one at the moment courtesy of Amazon Vine and is due for release in mid Jan 2014, called "The Moon Field" by Judith Allnatt. Another good read was "My Dear I wanted to tell you" by Louisa Young. There is an excellent one by Susan Hill but the title totally eludes me at the moment. Anne Perry has also written a series of WW1 books, the most memorable for me being Shoulder the Sky.
Strange Meeting is the Susan Hill book.
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I don't think it matters. The main thing is to enjoy the book rather than time yourself reading it. Some are written in a way that you can get through them quicker and some are meant to be savoured.
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I gave up after the first episode. To show Jason as killing the minatoar and not Theseus is just bad and if kids want to get to know mythology this is not the way to do it. I know it's nit-picking but I can't help it.
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"Ooh, I'm jealous! It has been a long wait for a new book by Setterfield. I'm glad you enjoyed it."
Thanks Kylie. Yes I thought Bellman and Black was an excellent read. I hadn't read The Thirteenth Tale which seems to have been a massive hit for her so I will go and look out for it.
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When will they stop!!
Today Amazon has announced the HDX next generation Kindle Fire on their home page. They feature this amazing "Mayday" button which means you can access a "real" amazon support person and speak to them with your query 24x7 365 days a week. They show how it works on the site. Really amazing technology. I wish I hadn't seen it as I want one (like a Kindle 3G keyboard and Kindle Fire HD is not enough already
).
SueK's reading list - 2014
in Past Book Logs
Posted · Edited by SueK
I've finally finished the Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths. For those who aren't aware of the series, these are books about an archeologist, Ruth Galloway, who lives by herself in an isolated area by the sea in Norfolk. There are about 3/4 books so far in the series and The Janus Stone is the second. The first is The Crossing Places. I've read the first two and will settle down to the next one, The House at Seas End, probably over Christmas. I enjoy Elly Griffiths work as she has a sense of humour in her writing and Ruth is a loveable character who happens to find herself in danger when finding dubious bodies when she is on a dig. Definitely worth pursuing. I'm a sucker for books with an archeological flavour anyway, hence my love of The Dig by John Preston.
I'm now going to make a start on The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan which I picked up from Netgalley.