bobblybear

Nice review. I've also added it to my wishlist.

Sorry, I've only just seen this post now. No, I haven't seen it....I didn't even know there was a show based on the book (which I loved)! I will have to see if I can find it on BBC iPlayer, though I suspect I may have left it too late.

I've been playing a bit of Fallout 76 but it doesn't grab me like the others in the series. I'll play maybe once a week, if that. The whole online aspect really puts me off, and you just hear about some players just setting out to ruin other players' experiences. Very annoying! Yes, the Animal Crossing game is Pocket Camp. I hardly ever play anymore as it's very repetitive. I might log on once every couple of weeks. I haven't played Stardew Valley in ages either! I just find myself preferring to read these days, than play a game.

I've signed up to Now TV so have been watching a fair bit of that. Yesterday I watched: Beverly Hills Cop Baby Driver The Godfather (haven't finished it, but will finish it today).

I bought Touching The Void the other day, as it's only £0.99 on Kindle. Glad to hear you enjoyed it; I look forward to reading it.

It's very good so far, easy to understand with some interesting sections. Fascinating to read how some theories suggest that microbes can affect the rest of our lives, depending on conditions at our birth.

Good luck with the purge! It's a pain, but also good to get rid of some books that you no longer feel like reading.

I'm now listening to Wilkie Collins' The Woman In White, narrated by Ian Holm. I am struggling a little bit and I find it requires a lot of concentration, as it is written in a very old-fashioned style (I've only just realised it was written in 1859). Funnily enough, a couple of reviews of The Luminaries pay tribute to The Woman In White as the two books are apparently very similar (in style and language). I didn't realise this before I'd started listening to it (straight after having finished The Luminaries). I'm also reading I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong, about the microbes that live on and in us.

I've finished a few books in the last couple of weeks. Children of Time - Adrian Tchiakovsky Very enjoyable SF. I thought the concept was original but as I don't read a huge amount of SF it may have been done before. The book follows two main storylines. The last surviving group of humans are trapped on a spaceship desperately looking for a place to land and start anew. They find a world that had previously been terraformed for human inhabitation, but on landing they are met with significant resistance from the inhabitants and have to leave pretty much straight away. However, as it's the only suitable planet they make their plans - over many, many generations - to take over the planet. One storyline follows those on the spaceship, the other storyline follows those on the planet. Really loved this, especially the first chapter when it becomes apparent what is about to happen. I thought the middle section was a bit drawn out, but that could have been because I wanted to find out what happened next, as soon as possible. Picking Up The Pieces - Paul Britton Written by a top British psychologist, he covers some very well known criminal cases and also his experiences of dealing with people who are teetering on the edge of committing very violent crimes. I love books like this and he is so good a describing what makes these people tick and how he has managed to help them. Fascinating stuff. The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton I listened to this on Audible as well as reading it on Kindle. It's the first time I've managed to do that, and I enjoyed the experience. It also made me finish the book far quicker than if I'd just been reading it. It has received mixed reviews, but I loved it. The story (based around the New Zealand gold rush of the 1800s) is fairly convoluted and doubles back on itself; it requires a lot of concentration to get the timeline right but even if you get muddled, never mind....the enjoyment is more in the storytelling rather than the plot. It is essentially a tale of mystery (one man is missing and another has been found dead in his cottage), in which 12 men - each with some involvement - try to resolve. It's a big book (800+ pages; 29+ hours audio), but there is not a lot of action. I'd say at least a third of it revolves around the characters telling their side of events. I loved reading/listening to every word, but I can see how some people find it laborious. If you are looking for something plot driven then this probably isn't for you. It's one of my highlights of the year.

I have about 50 minutes left on The Luminaries audiobook. I've thoroughly enjoyed it although the story has sometimes been a bit convoluted. I've also started I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong, about the microbes that live on and in us.

Yeah, I wasn't sure it was my kind of book, so I abstained from buying the audiobook during yesterday's sales. It had a lot of mixed reviews, and I didn't think I would be that into it. Hmm, I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on The Miniaturist. I read it last year, and it wasn't at all what I expected.

Making good progress with The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Enjoying it a lot. There were quite a few audiobook deals on Audible today, so I bought: Pale Blue Dot - Carl Sagan (£1.99) Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier Middlemarch - George Eliot Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami The Godfather - Mario Puzo The Humans - Matt Haig The last 5 were only £2.50 each. Fantastic bargain, I reckon!

Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan is today's Audible Daily Deal for £1.99. There is also a selection of 350 audiobooks for £2.50 each, as part of their Black Friday Deal.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is Audible Daily Deal for £2.99.

Probably not worth it, if you're not enjoying it. I don't recall it getting any better, so if you don't like the first 100 pages then you probably won't like the rest of them.

I started reading and listening to it yesterday. Good so far!

I have Moby Dick on Audible, as I've heard it can be a hard slog. I'm hoping listening to it will be easier than reading it.

I've started The Luminaries (Audio and reading), and I'm enjoying it a lot. It's had a lot of mixed reviews, with most critics saying it's too slow, but so far I'm liking it.

I hope you get your reading mojo back soon, Gaia!

I'm up to episode 4 on the Netflix series. It is a bit slow, and it's only now that I'm starting to get into it.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng is £2.99 for today only (on Audible). I haven't listened to it, so can't say what the narrator is like but I enjoyed reading the book.

Yes, that's the one. I thought it was ok, but not brilliant. I think haunted house stories are hard to write without getting into 'cliche' territory. I much preferred We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, which was far more understated.

How was Nine Perfect Strangers, Frankie? Any good? Last night I finished listening to The Silk Roads, and also finished reading Children of Time. The former was a monumental struggle and I was glad it was finally over. The latter, I really enjoyed though I feel the middle was maybe a tad long. Next up for me is to read Picking Up The Pieces by Paul Britton and also to read/listen to The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (I have the Kindle and Audible versions). Yesterday on Audible I bought I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart which has been very highly rated.

Fallout 76 is out but I'm still waiting for it to be delivered. I'm not massively keen on the online aspect, but will still give it a go.

Yes, Dreamcatcher is one of my least favourites of his books.