Ophelia Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Anyone else read the JB novels written by Kate Atkinson? I'm loving them. Haven't seen the televised version (Case Histories on BBC) yet. Thought I'd read all the books first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I've got Started Early, Took My Dog, Ophelia, but I'm some way off getting round to it - maybe one to take on holiday. I've only heard good things about Kate Atkinson's work, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ophelia Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 I've got Started Early, Took My Dog, Ophelia, but I'm some way off getting round to it - maybe one to take on holiday. I've only heard good things about Kate Atkinson's work, though. I haven't read that one yet, Roland. Hope you enjoy it (and your holiday). 'Behind the Scenes at the Museum' isn't a detective story but it's well worth a read. A well written and moving story, but with some nice dollops of humour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I've read Case Histories, but I have to say, I probably wouldn't have read it if it wasn't a book choice for my reading group. I think it's well written, and I did finish it, but it's really not my cup of tea, as I'm not a fan of crime books in general. The other people in my reading group thought it was good, and enjoyed it as far as I remember. I have also read Behind the Scenes at the Museum which I thought was a wonderful novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ophelia Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) I would say that 'Behind the Scenes at the Museum' is the best book I've read this year (so far) and one that I will read again Edited July 21, 2011 by Ophelia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidr Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Hi I've read all Kate Atkinson's JB books and really enjoyed them. I had started with her Behind the Scenes At The Museum which I thought was terrific and so moved on to Case Histories when that came out. I enjoy the way she weaves her different stories of different characters together. I read a review recently that complained about the 'forced' coincidences but just love the way she brings it all together. My favourite I think is One Good Turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ophelia Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Hello David. Yes, I really like her writing style and I enjoyed 'One Good Turn'. Let's hope she keeps churning them out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I'm a big fan of Kate Atkinson's, particularly her 'Jackson Brodie' series. I have read, 'Started Early, Took my Dog', 'When Will There Be Good News?', 'Case Histories' and 'One Good Turn'. I think that she has a fantastic style of writing, her characters are realistic and she has the ability to weave several strands of plot together, without confusing her audience. I also thought that BBC 6-part adaptation of her novels was brilliant, even with the changes the producers made to location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Case Histories is one of a very rare breed of crime stories that earned 6/6 stars from me when I read it. I enjoy crime a lot, but it rarely scores more than a 4, occasionally a 5. Which makes it all the more of a mystery why I've yet to read any of the subsequent stories. One to tackle maybe this year! Whatever, I have read other Kate Atkinson. Was very disappointed with Emotionally Weird, but really enjoyed Human Croquet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Another series of books I need to read - I've only read Case Histories so far, but really enjoyed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peahen Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 He is a fantastic character. I do not tend to get hooked on series however Kate Atkinson is a fantastic writer. I refuse to watch the series though as I have a image of Jackson that i don't think the BBC have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvancott Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 The TV version of Case Histories was the start of my current reading kick that began about 18 months ago. I thought the TV show improved some aspects of the book except for introducing a supernatural element. I thought Case Histories was the best of the four JB books. To me they went downhill after that and the the forth one, which doesn't have nearly enough Jackson Brodie in it, was the worst. I found some of the author's female characters to be unsympathetic, especially in the second and fourth books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 I just recently read Case Histories and really enjoyed it! I'm definitely keeping my eyes open for the sequels. Hi I've read all Kate Atkinson's JB books and really enjoyed them. I had started with her Behind the Scenes At The Museum which I thought was terrific and so moved on to Case Histories when that came out. I enjoy the way she weaves her different stories of different characters together. I read a review recently that complained about the 'forced' coincidences but just love the way she brings it all together. My favourite I think is One Good Turn. I agree with davidr 100 %. At first I was a bit puzzled about all the different people and situations featured in the book, but it was such a readable, page turning book that I just kept on going and it all made sense in the end. A terrific novel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I've just finished Started Early, Took My Dog. I have very mixed opinions of it. On one hand I loved the different stories and how they came together in the end, but at the same time I found it very hard to concentrate while I was reading it. I read some of the one star reviews on Amazon, and the criticisms were the same - that it was very rambly, borderline stream-of-consciousness, and not very coherent. While I was reading it, I was thinking that I'm not going to read another Kate Atkinson book, but once I finished it, I had a bit more of an appreciation of the cleverness of it. I don't remember Case Histories being rambly or difficult though, so I won't give up her just yet (even though I couldn't even finish Life After Life). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I love her Jackson Brodie books although I still haven't read Started Early.... as the book came out around the same time as the TV version was shown, and I watched the TV show and thought I'd leave reading the book until I'd forgotten about the screen adaptation! I did however enjoy the first three and think that One Good Turn is the best so far. I did enjoy the TV series even though Jason Isaacs wasn't my image of Jackson, although he was fine and made the part his own. I do agree somewhat with bobblybear about her rambling style, I did find Case Histories a bit disjointed at first, but then the plot threads did all eventually come together but she can get a bit carried away I think. The only one of her non-crime books which I've read is Emotionally Weird and I absolutely hated it, I only finished it as it was a book group read but I thought it was awful - weird is the right word! I do have Human Croquet and Behind the Scenes on my tbr shelf, I think her work certainly seems to divide readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyM Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 I think Kate Atkinson's skill is that she manages to break the tension with dry humour, but then the tension slips seamlessly back into the plot. Her characters are offbeat but credible too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bel-ami Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Currently reading Case Histories - enjoying the style, the humour and the plot - full marks so far. Also I watched the BBC series long enough ago, for it not to cloud my image of Jackson too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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