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Your Book Activity - October 2020


Raven

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Kicking this one off, as September seems so last week!

 

I actually bought my first paper book in several months yesterday; Andrzej Sapkowski's Sword of Destiny (the second book in the Witcher series, which is actually a second collection of short stories following on from The Last Wish, that I read earlier this year).

 

As with all new authors or book series that I start, the moment I buy and enjoy the first book the *naughty word* publishers (in this case, Gollancz) decide to reissue the series with a new set of covers, so this purchase was justified (in my head, anyway) by my needing to get the old version when I noticed it in my local WHSmiths earlier this week (I'm also justifying it on the grounds that as I fancied reading it and my reading mojo has been so poor recently, I was going to buy it!)

 

I'm now about 30 pages in to the first story and it's pretty good!

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I started the month off by finishing Stasi Wolf by David Young, a bit of a step down compared with his first book in my opinion. This morning I have made a start on Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo. I bought a copy of it earlier this year as I'd had it on my wishlist for a few years but no idea where I heard about it from.

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First book of the month: Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo.  I absolutely loved Girl, Woman, Other - my book of the year for 2019 - and this wasn't a million miles behind.  Maybe not quite a favourite, but Evaristo is rapidly achieving that status as an author.  5* (out of 6).

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Finished two books yesterday. Mary Poppins In The Park more fun  adventures with Ms Poppins and the Banks children. 

 

Deenie by Judy Blume. I liked this for the most part. The characters were good but I did not like the main character's mother who I felt was very selfish. The books are very quick paced.

 

I am currently reading Operation Sunshine by Jenny Colgan it is okay. 

 

 

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Finished Raw Spirit by Iain Banks - an exploration of Scottish whisky!  What was written about whisky was interesting, but too much on jolly japes with friends etc on his travels, which overall left me a tad disappointed. 3/6.

 

Moved on to To War with Whitaker by Hermione Ranfurly.

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I'm currently re-reading Zondagskind by Judith Visser. The sequel Zondagsleven has just come out, but before I read it I wanted to re-read the first book Zondagskind. I'm just over halfway through my re-read and I'm loving every page. This book is one of my favourite books and I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel after I finish Zondagskind.

 

Today I started reading Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl 7: Artemis Fowl en het Atlantiscomplex (Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex), which I'm reading together with a friend. We'll be reading a chapter a day (ish) (because my friend is pretty busy with uni studies). I read the first chapter today (and the prologue) and it is interesting.. definitely not what I was expecting (but then I didn't read the synopsis of the book before I started reading, I did that after and well that is some of the stuff that happened so haha).

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Finished To War with Whitaker by Hermione Whitaker late last night - a vividly written diary account of one woman's experience of World War 2 in the Mediterranean theatre.  Sounds a bit unpromising, in fact a great read - definitely a 'hidden gem'.  4 (possibly 5) stars out of 6.

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Bought Kindle versions of Let's Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood by Jasper Rees, and  Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes: words, wit, wisdom, one-liners and rants.

EDIT: it's a grim thought that two of my great heroes/heroines have died, at early ages. :wibbly:

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Two reads, fairly quickly one after the other, this week.  First up was Plainsong by Kent Haruf, the 18th state, Colorado, in my Tour of the USA challenge. Superficially simply written, but deeper and more complex than it first appears, and highly engaging.  Good read - 4/6.  Then My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, a book group selection, and my first experience of the author.  This one was short and rather unsatisfying, leaving too much space to be read between the lines, although beautifully written. 3/6. 

 

That takes me to 60 books for the year, only the second time I've done that before the end of October - all a result of lockdown, as the first three months were slower than usual.

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On 17/10/2020 at 10:20 AM, Brian. said:

My reading took a bit of a slump for the last 2ish week but I have managed to finish two books this week, The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Dictator by Robert Harris.

 

sorry to hear about your reading slump. Hope those books helped.

 

I have just finished The Sisters by Claire Douglas. I was highly disappointed in this, did not like it at all. I don't really know what to say about it to explain why without spoilers, but it was very disturbing and creepy. This is my first read by this author but I won't give her up as I think that is unfair on a first read.

 

currently reading Murder At The Vicarage by Agatha Christie, I will admit I was a little bored at the start, but it's picking up and I am liking it. 

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Just completed Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman. This was an interesting examination of why our parliament is as dysfunctional as it is, from the pressures limiting the quality and range of candidate MPs, through to structural and cultural issues undermining the role of parliament as a legislature.  I would have liked her to give greater regard to what could be done to put it right - this section was all too brief - but it was very illuminating!  4/6.

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Just ordered the hardback of Olive, Mabel and Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs by Andrew Cotter. Think that a book about two Labradors (and their owner) is just the ticket for me!

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Completed Dear Reader by Cathy Rentzenbrink - a memoir of a life heavily influenced by her reading and writing.  Easy read, fairly simplistic, almost childish, style of writing that was oddly engaging.  4/6 stars.

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