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Your Book Activity - July 2017


Athena

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My very lovely mum bought me the following by Alison Weir:

The Princes In The Tower

Lancaster and York: The War Of The Roses

Elizabeth The Queen

Eleanor Of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England

 

Really looking forward to all of these. I also bought The Handmaid's Tale for 60 pence.

 Might get to that soon, as my mum wants to watch the television adaptation. 

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On 20 July 2017 at 10:53 PM, Alexander the Great said:

 

I'd say 200 pages is really giving it your best shot! I used to be unable to quit a book, but sometimes it's the only possibility. What a shame for this to happen when you looked forward to it!

 

On 21 July 2017 at 9:41 AM, Madeleine said:

200 pages is fine - I gave The Book Thief about 250 before I ditched it - depends on the size of the book obviously, but if it's a longish book than the 200 zone is an honourable attempt.

I just kept thinking it would eventually pick up, but it didn't, there wasn't one character I liked, or that I thought was realistic for the time and situation. Never mind, just a blip in my reading year! :)

 

On 22 July 2017 at 11:26 AM, bobblybear said:

Oh no, that's a shame. That was going to be one of my next reads, once I get the library book out of the way. I might postpone it then, but then again I may enjoy it. :wacko:

 

Well, different books suit different people, at different times, so don't let my experience put you off! :blush:

 

On 22 July 2017 at 1:03 PM, karen.d said:

I've just finished 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult. In general, I think this is an interesting read, but I felt extremely cheated by the ending.

 

Once my Kindle has charged, I'm going to start reading 'The Gunslinger' by Stephen King, the first in his 'Dark Tower' series.

I've only read 2 Picoult books, this one and The Storyteller and in my opinion the ending has let them both down. I'm not averse to a surprising ending but for me there has to be some realism.

On 28 July 2017 at 9:10 AM, Nollaig said:

Started The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. It has very polarised reviews, with a lot of people hating it but some people praising it highly. So far, I'm enjoying it and am really interested in the characters and their viewpoints.

I didn't get past the first chapter, in fact probably only the first few pages, the language was too offensive too soon and it just wasn't for me.

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I finished The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.  It started out well enough, but ultimately waded into a bottomless pit of self-absorbed introspection, and I found myself irritated with the protagonist.  How did this win the Man Booker?  2/5

 

Next up is a bit of non-fiction: Crystal Skulls: Ancient Tools for Peace, Knowledge, and Enlightenment by Judy Hall.  

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15 hours ago, chaliepud said:

 

 

 

I've only read 2 Picoult books, this one and The Storyteller and in my opinion the ending has let them both down. I'm not averse to a surprising ending but for me there has to be some realism.

 

I've also read two Picoult books this and 'The Tenth Circle' and both started well and ended in a disapponting way. I've got another book by Jodi Picoult sitting in my book case, but now I'm not sure if I dare read it.

I'm about halfway through 'The Gunslinger' by Stephen King and I just can't seem to get on with it. There are moments I find interesting, but I haven't managed to get into it. 

Spoiler

I don't exactly get what is going on! What is High Speech and Low Speech? Is Jake from the present day? It seems like this is set in the cowboy times, but I think it isn't, is it? I'm finding this very odd, even for Stephen King!

 

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3 hours ago, karen.d said:

I've also read two Picoult books this and 'The Tenth Circle' and both started well and ended in a disapponting way. I've got another book by Jodi Picoult sitting in my book case, but now I'm not sure if I dare read it.

I'm about halfway through 'The Gunslinger' by Stephen King and I just can't seem to get on with it. There are moments I find interesting, but I haven't managed to get into it. 

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I don't exactly get what is going on! What is High Speech and Low Speech? Is Jake from the present day? It seems like this is set in the cowboy times, but I think it isn't, is it? I'm finding this very odd, even for Stephen King!

 

I suppose there's only one way to find out? I won't be trying any more though as I have no more on my TBR shelves.

 

I am a third of the way through The Little Pieces of You and Me by Vanessa Greene, an easy read but good so far. :) 

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I finished reading The Wild Other yesterday night, so that's all the books on the Wainwright Prize long list finished, and with four days to spare! :D

 

Also finished listening to Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller this afternoon.  Next up, I'm going to read Simply the Quest by Maz Evans.

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24 minutes ago, chaliepud said:

I suppose there's only one way to find out? I won't be trying any more though as I have no more on my TBR shelves.

 

I am a third of the way through The Little Pieces of You and Me by Vanessa Greene, an easy read but good so far. :) 

Having read a little bit more today, I think things are starting to fit into place.......a bit.

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I didn't like the Tenth circle very much either, in fact I've gone right off her books now, although I may still read Plain Truth at some point.  I liked The Pact and Salem Falls though.

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8 hours ago, Marie H said:

50% read of Crocodile on the Sandbank. This is the 1st Amelia Peabody series for me, and now am looking forward to them! :wub:

 

The first time round, I read the ending and it put me off continuing with the series. Years later, I did a reread, still disliked the ending but gave the second book a go and loved it, plus I understood why the author wrote that ending. 

 

Just telling you in case you're similarly inflicted !:)

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This summer I opened for myself a brand new genre - LitRPG. I have never thought I like it, but it has its charm.

 

I started my jorney with LitRPG book series called Fayroll. It has been written by russian author Vasiliev, and so far, I can tell that russian authors write the best LitRPG.

I strongly recommend to try this genre and this book. It is good for anyone who likes video games and experiments in books .

 

A few words about Fayroll -  it has great description both real and virtual worlds. It has a well written book protagonist. Also, if you aren't sure to read it, you can listen to its audiobook. I hope someone will like it ;)

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13 hours ago, Little Pixie said:

 

The first time round, I read the ending and it put me off continuing with the series. Years later, I did a reread, still disliked the ending but gave the second book a go and loved it, plus I understood why the author wrote that ending. 

 

Just telling you in case you're similarly inflicted !:)

Oooh, so the ending of CotS will be....interesting for me?:unsure::o. I'm now approx. 2/3rd way through the book. Now it's even more intriguing! :lol:

 

I bought a paperback edition of the 2nd Amelia Peabody from Amazon during the weekend :D.  £2.81 was such a bargain, I couldn't resist.

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I finished 'The Gunslinger' by Stephen King and was generally disappointed with it. I couldn't work it out until nearly the end, where it finally gained my interest. So much so, that I've started 'The Drawing of the Three' the second book of the series. If I don't get on with this book, then I'm going to abandon the series. 

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I picked this one up over the weekend and got through it in no time The Cake Shop in the Garden - Carole Matthews - really enjoyed it wasent hard to read and was an easy way of relaxing.

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On 7/29/2017 at 8:48 PM, chaliepud said:

 

I didn't get past the first chapter, in fact probably only the first few pages, the language was too offensive too soon and it just wasn't for me.

 

That's fair. The entire book is full of selfish, self-absorbed people complaining about the state of everything around them. I swear like a sailor, unfortunately, and really don't get offended by language (though I do agree, there is a lot quite fast in this book. It doesn't let up!) so that aspect doesn't bother me. I can absolutely see why people wouldn't get on with it, I'm just weirdly fascinated by the characters!

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On 22/07/2017 at 8:26 PM, bobblybear said:

 

I read this earlier in the month and thought it was so fascinating. It's a bit depressing as well when you realise the destruction humans have caused to other animals. :angry:

 

 

Yes, indeed @bobblybear! It's very sad.

 

On 23/07/2017 at 11:05 PM, Marie H said:

Started reading Jane Austen's Persuasion last night. I have seen the film version a few times, but now I'm trying the book. :)

 

Finished The Case of the Gilded Fly (Gervase Fen #1) by Edmund Crispin. A Golden Age of Crime Mystery, first published 1944.

Really enjoyed this book, so the Gervase Fen #2 will be next from the library. :)

 

I hope you're enjoying Persuasion. I dearly love all of Austen's books and really want to re-read one soon.

 

So glad you enjoyed TCotGF. I bought it last year but haven't read it yet (or anything else by Crispin).

 

In my last piece of book activity for July, I finished reading The Gruen Transfer, which I've been dipping in and out of for many months. Quite an interesting look at the advertising industry.

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On 31/07/2017 at 0:18 PM, Marie H said:

Oooh, so the ending of CotS will be....interesting for me?:unsure::o. I'm now approx. 2/3rd way through the book. Now it's even more intriguing! :lol:

 

I bought a paperback edition of the 2nd Amelia Peabody from Amazon during the weekend :D.  £2.81 was such a bargain, I couldn't resist.

 

Ooh, bargainous indeed. :D

 

Well, you might like the ending, but I thought....meh. ;)

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On 2017-7-25 at 1:53 PM, Marie H said:

Oh dear, collected a few books from the library! Most exciting one is The big necessity : adventures in the world of human waste by Rose George. Yep, human waste = what we produce as pee and poo; global sanitation and how we have to deal with, or more likely that we don't deal with very well. Or as many people in the less developed countries do not have the facilities to deal with.  

 

I read this a couple of years ago. I've forgotten all of it but I recall it was interesting!

 

On 2017-7-28 at 9:10 AM, Nollaig said:

Started The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. It has very polarised reviews, with a lot of people hating it but some people praising it highly. So far, I'm enjoying it and am really interested in the characters and their viewpoints.

 

I'm in the 'hated it' camp. Some of the characters just irritated me senselessly! :angry:

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2 hours ago, bobblybear said:

 

I'm in the 'hated it' camp. Some of the characters just irritated me senselessly! :angry:

 

I don't 'like' any of them, but do find them interesting to read about. I honestly can't say why. I'm finding the 'Greek culture in Australian culture' element interesting too.

 

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On 7/31/2017 at 2:53 PM, karen.d said:

I finished 'The Gunslinger' by Stephen King and was generally disappointed with it. I couldn't work it out until nearly the end, where it finally gained my interest. So much so, that I've started 'The Drawing of the Three' the second book of the series. If I don't get on with this book, then I'm going to abandon the series. 

 

I was going to reply "stick with it" when I saw you were struggling with The Gunslinger and then I saw further down that you'd completed it. He wrote The Gunslinger when he was 19 and probably didn't have all the writing skills he had later on. The Drawing of the Three is where it really gets going in my opinion. I finished it about a week ago (and read it in a few days) as even though I've read it before, I found it compelling. I hope you're liking this one better. :)

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3 hours ago, More reading time required said:

 

. The Drawing of the Three is where it really gets going in my opinion. I finished it about a week ago (and read it in a few days) as even though I've read it before, I found it compelling. I hope you're liking this one better. :)

 

You're right, this really starts the story. I'm enjoying this much more than 'The Gunslinger' so far, the writing is much more of what I would expect Stephen King to create. It kind of almost makes me wish that King hadn't bothered with the first book and condensed the majority of it into 'The Drawing Of The Three' , if that would be at all possible.

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On 01/08/2017 at 5:37 PM, Little Pixie said:

 

Ooh, bargainous indeed. :D

 

Well, you might like the ending, but I thought....meh. ;)

The ending was odd, and it was the author suddenly had to dash out in an emergency, or something like that :shrug: but forgetting to finish the book when she returned? :D. The next of the series arrived, so I'm looking forward to it soon.

 

On 02/08/2017 at 7:34 AM, bobblybear said:

 

I read this a couple of years ago. I've forgotten all of it but I recall it was interesting!

It is a very interesting subject, and I really like her style of writing. But it's better to read this book after you have eaten, not before! :D

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2 hours ago, Marie H said:

The ending was odd, and it was the author suddenly had to dash out in an emergency, or something like that :shrug: but forgetting to finish the book when she returned? :D. The next of the series arrived, so I'm looking forward to it soon.

 

Once you`ve read the second book, I`m guessing you`ll see the reason for it. ;) Still it`s a pity she didn`t find a way of going back and fitting in the missing stuff. :(

Edited by Little Pixie
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