~Andrea~ Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Thanks Sari and Kay I haven't read Beyond Ugly but I think I probably will one day. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I'll try and remember to let you know how I liked it when I get to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 Well I didn't start Godric as I was really tired last night but still wanted to read before trying to sleep, and I think Godric will be a bit hardgoing. So I settled for The Golden Fool instead which I know I will enjoy and find an easy pleasant read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) Oh and I've given up on The Trial because I just couldn't get on with it. I think I'll give it to a charity shop as I'm not sure I can face a second attempt. Edited January 15, 2015 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 The Trial is certainly a unique book, and not a particularly easy read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 Did you enjoy it Kylie? What did you make of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I don't know if 'enjoy' is the right word for such a strange book! I remember it remarkably well considering I read it quite a few years ago. That's the mark of a good book to me. I remember it being difficult and confusing, but overall I thought it was very clever. And I've since bought volumes of Kafka's collected stories and short stories, as well as his diaries and letters, so I guess that means I enjoyed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Hmmm - I'm in a bit of a dilemma whether to persevere or not now Maybe I will set it to one side and come back to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Hehe. Sorry I wasn't much help! Sounds like a good idea to put it aside though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Finished The Golden Fool last night. Another great Farseer read. As ever I want to pick up the next one straight away, but I won't. I have two unfinished books to crack on with, so I'll get cracking with King Solomon's carpet next I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I have two unfinished books to crack on with, so I'll get cracking with King Solomon's carpet next I think. Without wanting to big it up too much so that it can only disappoint, I loved King Solomon's Carpet. I have a thing for books about London, but this has been one of the best. Quirkily different! I hope you enjoy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Finished The Golden Fool last night. Another great Farseer read. As ever I want to pick up the next one straight away, but I won't. I have two unfinished books to crack on with, so I'll get cracking with King Solomon's carpet next I think. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy your two unfinished reads too . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Without wanting to big it up too much so that it can only disappoint, I loved King Solomon's Carpet. I have a thing for books about London, but this has been one of the best. Quirkily different! I hope you enjoy too. Thanks. I have actually become quite hooked since getting stuck in again so I'm looking forward to completing this one. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy your two unfinished reads too . Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 (edited) I finished King Solomon's Carpet at last. Not sure why it took me so long to read, probably because I haven't been very disciplined about going to bed on time lately and I do most of my reading in bed. from Amazon: Jarvis Stringer lives in a crumbling schoolhouse overlooking a tube line, compiling his obsessive, secret history of London's Underground. His presence and his strange house draw a band of misfits into his orbit: young Alice, who has run away from her husband and baby; Tom, the busker who rescues her; truant Jasper who gets his kicks on the tube; and mysterious Axel, whose dark secret later casts a shadow over all of their lives. Dispossessed and outcast, those who come to inhabit Jarvis's schoolhouse are gradually brought closer together in violent and unforeseen ways by London's forbidding and dangerous Undergound . . My thoughts: This was an enjoyable read, a dark and thoughtful character based story. The pace was steady rather than fast but the characters engaging. In some ways I found it a somewhat disjointed read, not in a bad way, but there are quite a lot of characters and the links between them are fairly loose, so the story is a bit of a patchwork of different lives running alongside each other. But the things that happen in those lives were sometimes shocking and I was always interested in what was happening to these people. It was very well written, almost literary for a crime novel or psychological thriller. I also enjoyed the little asides about the history of the Underground which added to the atmosphere of the book and helped to paint the scene. Next: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Edited March 25, 2015 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 Started The Girl on the Train last night and was instantly hooked. I have a feeling I'm giong to love reading this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Great review of King Solomon's Carpet . I've never read any of Barbara Vine's books, as I have had an aversion to psychological thrillers for a while. I loved Room, but after that one I tend to shy away from psych thrillers. Ridiculous, I know .Maybe I should dip into them again, as The Girl on the Train is getting great reviews too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 I loved Room too Marie. I'm loving The Girl on the Train and would definitely recommend it based on what I've read so far - it's really pacey and the characters are so interesting but I'm not even a quarter way through yet. The Barbara Vine is somewhat slower. I'd never read any of hers before either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Glad you're enjoying The Girl On The Train, definitely one of my favourite reads of the year so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) The Girl On The Train This is the story of Rachel, who likes to watch people in their houses from her seat on the train. She gets drawn into the life of one couple in particular and one day sees something that shocks and upsets her. From thereon she becomes truly caught up in their lives and is no longer a mere spectator. Described as "Rear Window meets Gone Girl, in this exceptional and startling psychological thriller" Warning my spoiler tags contain some quite big spoilers so no peeking if you want to read This book had me utterly engrossed from page one. The main narrator is Rachel, who, as it becomes increasingly clear, is quite an unstable person with lots of issues. That made her really interesting, and I thought she was well drawn and believable. The other characters as well were interesting and flawed and I liked the emotional turmoil and complexity in the book. The story itself was gripping and I always wanted to know what would happen next. It was often hard to put down.So the book got off to a great start. There were however a few things I didn't like. I really could not believe all the press coverage about the disappearance of Megan. It was covered in great detail by major national newspapers when really I would have thought this kind of thing happens far too often (unfortunately) for the big papers and channels to be able to cover in any detail, if indeed at all. It's only really missing teenage girls and children that get this kind of national coverage (and they were delving into her background and all sorts) I'd have bought it if the coverage was from the local press. So maybe that was a minor quibble but it really bugged me when I was reading it. Another thing I couldn't buy into at all was the sudden transformation of Tom from adored ex-husband to moustache-twirling villain. Being in an angry mood after dealing with Rachel and then straight afterwards being confronted with Megan's demands and threats to ruin his life and expose him could easily be enough to explain why, in a moment of madness, he is driven to kill. There was no need to suddenly make him into something quite evil. I think the author went a step too far there, and it was unnecessary. I'd have preferred some subtlety; I like characters who have elements of light and shade and darkness rather than being wholly one or the other. Overall I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it, but it did have one or two rather large flaws. Edited April 8, 2015 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 A lot of people agree with your latter point, in my experience, and I agree myself. Still though I loved the rest of it so much I ended up giving it 5/5 hehe. Glad you enjoyed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 It was a great book Noll, so I can kind of forgive it. Most of the characterization was superb. The female characters were particularly well drawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 (edited) I started reading Godric by Frederick Buechner a few days ago. So far I like it, but it is an unusual book. Edited April 13, 2015 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 I haven't been reading a great deal lately. I've been ploughing away with my Philosophy of Mind book which is a bit of a tome and quite hardgoing at times although very interesting. I am struggling with Godric though. It's a modern book set in medieval times and written in medieval style language and it's quite hard work. I think maybe the heavy nature of my current reads is why I'm not reading a lot lately lol! I picked up a load of second hand books for £2 from my church fete last May bank holiday though and a lot of them were quite light reads so I guess I'm craving that: Gillian Flynn - Sharp ObjectsGillian Flynn - Dark PlacesIan Rankin - A Cool HeadIan Rankin - WatchmenFern Britten - A Seaside AffairPam Rhodes - Letting GoSusan Hill - The Various Haunts of MenCharles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities JoJo Moyes - The Girl You Left BehindJohn Caunt - Organise YourselfA little box of Penguins (10 tiny books) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Penguins-Volumes-Including-Umneys/dp/0140954139/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432640794&sr=1-2&keywords=little+box+of+penguins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I enjoyed both of those Gillian Flynn books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I hope you enjoy your new books ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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