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Your Book Activity - May 2018


Athena

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It's May now, so time for a new book activity thread!

 

What are you currently reading? What's your bookish activity in May?

 

I'm currently reading The Complete Chi's Sweet Home Part 3 by Konami Kanata (the first of my read-a-thon reads). In terms of buying books, I am expecting some pre-orders this month. I've also cleaned up my TBR-soon shelves next to my desk.

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I just finished The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Which was really, just so very good. It's provoked me to read some additional Pulitzer Prize winners (and some finalists), so I posted a TBR list of a selection of them in the beginning of my thread. I am currently reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

 

Oh! And I bought some books to read this month, including Less by Andrew Sean Greer, 2018's Pulitzer winner.

Edited by Anna Begins
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I finally finished The Waves by Virginia Woolf!  It took me three weeks to read 168 pages.  Phew.  I preferred the first half of the book.  The further in I waded, the more oblique and fractured the narrative became, and my attention kept wandering off and away.  Not my favourite, but still a 3/5.

 

I'm now about to start Testimony of Light by Helen Greaves, a non-fiction book about messages from the afterlife, which sounds pretty interesting.

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I am so behind on everything! We have just moved house and been without internet for about 2 weeks, so I have a lot of catching up to do. :lol: 

 

I still have so many books to unpack (among other things to do) but have managed to get some reading done here and there.

 

Recently I finished The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which was just ok for me. I'm now reading The Spinster Wife by Christina McKenna and also A History of 20th Century Britain by Andrew Marr. Both are good but I feel like I need more time to concentrate on them. :huh: Hopefully things will settle down and I can visit here a bit more regularly. :)

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16 hours ago, bobblybear said:

I am so behind on everything! We have just moved house and been without internet for about 2 weeks, so I have a lot of catching up to do. :lol: 

 

I still have so many books to unpack (among other things to do) but have managed to get some reading done here and there.

 

Recently I finished The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which was just ok for me. I'm now reading The Spinster Wife by Christina McKenna and also A History of 20th Century Britain by Andrew Marr. Both are good but I feel like I need more time to concentrate on them. :huh: Hopefully things will settle down and I can visit here a bit more regularly. :)

 

It must have been a hectic time! Good luck with all the unpacking and everything else to do. We do chat a bit on this forum :D so I can imagine you have a lot to catch up on, good luck :)!

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On 03/05/2018 at 8:09 PM, Anna Begins said:

I just finished The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Which was really, just so very good. It's provoked me to read some additional Pulitzer Prize winners (and some finalists), so I posted a TBR list of a selection of them in the beginning of my thread. I am currently reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

 

Oh! And I bought some books to read this month, including Less by Andrew Sean Greer, 2018's Pulitzer winner.

 

Ooh, I want to get Less at some point; I loved his The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells:wub:

 

 

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I've been on a bit of a fantasy kick lately, which I'm loving. I really need to be in the mood for fantasy/sci-fi/magical realism/things that sort of dip into those areas, but when I am in the mood they're some of my favourite books.

 

I finished The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and really enjoyed it, and now am reading Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

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Completed James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom today, his classic, monumental (862 pretty dense pages) history of the American Civil War.  Absolutely fascinating.  Perhaps rather too much to take it all in in on one reading, even allowing a good month or so to complete it (with occasional diversions), but revelatory. 5 stars - excellent.

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My reading has severely suffered over the last month and I am still

only about 200 pages into The Dark Tower. Last time I posted, I said I probably need to pick another book to read alongside it but I still haven't managed to choose one. My reading at work lunchtimes has also taken a nosedive as I've mainly been dealing with emails and to-do lists (or today, on this message board :lol:) but it should start to calm down soon, so I'm hopeful I can kickstart my reading again. :)

 

And write some reviews...:ph34r:

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3 hours ago, More reading time required said:

My reading has severely suffered over the last month and I am still

only about 200 pages into The Dark Tower. Last time I posted, I said I probably need to pick another book to read alongside it but I still haven't managed to choose one. My reading at work lunchtimes has also taken a nosedive as I've mainly been dealing with emails and to-do lists (or today, on this message board :lol:) but it should start to calm down soon, so I'm hopeful I can kickstart my reading again. :)

 

And write some reviews...:ph34r:

 

Fingers crossed, etc. ;) Trying to catch up with reviews is soul destroying. :ph34r:

 

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I am currently reading still The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall I believe I should be finished with it by next week. I am loving the story. I feel now I am back into the reading mood, properly, I can’t wait to dive into the book. 

It’s a shame when I have to work or do other chores. :dry:

 

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Testimony of Light turned out to be an amazing, eye-opening read.  Would recommend to anyone who's interested in the afterlife.

 

I've just started Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household, which is a thriller about a failed assassination attempt on Hitler.  The would-be killer is caught and tortured, but manages to escape.  The book follows the man's attempts to outwit his pursuers.  Not my usual genre, but I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

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5 hours ago, Onion Budgie said:

Testimony of Light turned out to be an amazing, eye-opening read.  Would recommend to anyone who's interested in the afterlife.

 

I've just started Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household, which is a thriller about a failed assassination attempt on Hitler.  The would-be killer is caught and tortured, but manages to escape.  The book follows the man's attempts to outwit his pursuers.  Not my usual genre, but I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

 

Testimony of Light looks fascinating - thanks for the heads-up. :)

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3 hours ago, Onion Budgie said:

You're welcome!  I want to read more books on the subject now.  :)

 

I`ve ordered it for my Dad now. :D

 

Currently reading - Fran Pickering`s The Bullet Train Murder ( a fun cosy mystery series set in Japan - hoping she writes more books.  ). :)

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I treated myself to a new book the other day: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I started reading it straight away (unusual for me!) and I'm about halfway through it. It's very readable and enjoyable—difficult to put down, which is just what I need in a book right now!

 

Also recently finished How to Stop Time by Matt Haig—another excellent book.

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I’m a third of the way through The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - so close to 400 pages in ;) 

 

I owe you (half?) an apology @Madeleine for picking this as your round robin challenge book - it’s over 1000 pages! But if it helps, I’m really enjoying it... :ph34r:

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39 minutes ago, willoyd said:

Am currently reading The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher.  Addictive!

I read it in my early 20s.  I remember enjoying it but can't recall anything about it.  Are you reading it for book club?

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1 hour ago, Janet said:

I read it in my early 20s.  I remember enjoying it but can't recall anything about it.  Are you reading it for book club?

 

No - it's just a book I'd heard about (I think from it being on the BBC Big Read list) and the blurb appealed. It's on my Round Robin Challenge, but that's because I challenged Madeleine with it and I'm reading the books I've challenged others with as well.

 

Funny you should say that about it, because that's exactly what others in my book group said last night when I said I was currently reading it!

 

 

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16 hours ago, willoyd said:

 

No - it's just a book I'd heard about (I think from it being on the BBC Big Read list) and the blurb appealed. It's on my Round Robin Challenge, but that's because I challenged Madeleine with it and I'm reading the books I've challenged others with as well.

 

Funny you should say that about it, because that's exactly what others in my book group said last night when I said I was currently reading it!

Ah, the Round Robin!  I was a bit surprised as I wouldn't have said this was your choice of book at all, so that explains it.  :)  It's good that you're finding it addictive - I guess that means you're enjoying it?

 

I'm currently rereading My Family and Other Animals.  I first read this in about 2005 on the recommendation of my then GCSE English tutor (I did the exam as a mature student) and I loved it.  I had forgotten just how beautiful the writing is.  

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