vodkafan Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Hi Abcinthia I have taken quite a few of your books for my wishlist and ordered a couple tonight from Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Yes there is one before it called The Crucifix Killer and a third one called Night Stalker. I found everything made sense. It could definitely be read by itself without reading the previous book. There were refrences to The Crucifix Killer but at no point did it say who he was or what excatly he did, so if I find that book in the library it will still be a surprise to read. The only thing really mentioned was that his partner was in some kind of peril at some point because of the Killer but Hunter doesn't go into detail. I have a habit of reading books in a Crime Series out of order. I just pick up whichever book is on display or randomly off the shelf in the library and most of the time just skim the blurb so don't realise it's in a series. I always appreciate the ones that do not give away too many details in previous books or require prior knowledge because if I like the author's style, I'll read the other books at some point and don't want the ending spoilt. That's good to know, thanks. I want to start reading some crime books, but don't really want to get into a big series just yet, and this sounds like a good book to start my crime reading with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookworm44 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 28. The Paris Wife - Paula McLain The Paris Wife tells the story of Ernest Hemmingway's first wife Hadley and the eventual breakdown of their marriage. Set in 1920s Paris and featuring many of the eras influential writers (eg Ezra Pound), it is a wonderful story. I really felt for Hadley and couldn't help but feel she was better off without Ernest. The writing is beautiful and really transports you there. My only problem was that it was a little bit slow in places. 4/5 I've seen this book around, but I had no idea it was about Hemingway's first wife. I'll definitely be adding this to my tbr pile. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Hi Abcinthia I have taken quite a few of your books for my wishlist and ordered a couple tonight from Amazon. Ooo which ones? I've seen this book around, but I had no idea it was about Hemingway's first wife. I'll definitely be adding this to my tbr pile. Thanks! You're welcome! 32. Hungry Hill - Daphne Du Maurier 'I tell you your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten ...but this hill will be standing still to confound you.' So curses Morty Donovan when 'Copper John' Brodrick builds his mine at Hungry Hill. The Brodricks of Clonmere gain great wealth by harnessing the power of Hungry Hill and extracting the treasure it holds. The Donovans, the original owners of Clonmere Castle, resent the Brodricks' success, and consider the great house and its surrounding land theirs by rights. For generations the feud between the families has simmered, always threatening to break into violence ... I was very disapointed with Hungry Hill. The other Du Maurier books that I've read I've adored, so I had high hopes for Hungry Hill. But apart from a few chapters that had me hooked, most of the book left me feeling bored. 2/5 Edited February 22, 2012 by Abcinthia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I read Hungry Hill years ago & seem to remember I found it annoying the way the same personality traits kept cropping in every generation. I agree Du Maurier's books are usually a lot better but I guess everyone should be allowed one dud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 I read Hungry Hill years ago & seem to remember I found it annoying the way the same personality traits kept cropping in every generation. I agree Du Maurier's books are usually a lot better but I guess everyone should be allowed one dud. Oh yes I agree. The same personalities and the same sort of problems. I have Mary Anne in my to-read box so hopefully that one will be a lot better than Hungry Hill. 33. Call The Midwife - Jennifer Worth An unforgettable story of the joy of motherhood, the bravery of a community, and the hope of one extraordinary woman At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in post war London’s East End slums. The colorful characters she meets while delivering babies all over London—from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives to the woman with twenty-four children who can’t speak English to the prostitutes and dockers of the city’s seedier side—illuminate a fascinating time in history. Beautifully written and utterly moving, The Midwife will touch the hearts of anyone who is, and everyone who has, a mother. Call The Midwife was brilliant. I've never read a book that has made me laugh out loud one moment, sit on the edge of my seat with worry the next, then cry bucketfulls of tears. All whilst showing what the East End of London was like in the 1950s and the true life people that inhabited it. That was what made it such an amazing book. What really struck with me was seeing all the different births and what Jennifer was doing at the age of 22 (the age I am now). It bought back memories of the birth of my daughter, as I didn't have any painkillers and just had two midwives and my mum telling me what to do, not a million miles away from some of the births described in the book. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 34. The Somnambulist - Essie Fox When seventeen-year old Phoebe Turner visits Wilton's Music Hall to watch her Aunt Cissy performing on stage, she risks the wrath of her mother Maud who marches with the Hallelujah Army, campaigning for all London theatres to close. While there, Phoebe is drawn to a stranger, the enigmatic Nathaniel Samuels who heralds dramatic changes in the lives of all three women. When offered the position of companion to Nathaniel's reclusive wife, Phoebe leaves her life in London's East End for Dinwood Court in Herefordshire - a house that may well be haunted and which holds the darkest of truths. In a gloriously gothic debut, Essie Fox weaves a spellbinding tale of guilt and deception, regret and lost love. I really enjoyed The Somnambulist and was impressed to discover it was Essie Fox's first novel. Fox is definitely someone to watch out for. The writing style and the plot were both excellent and I really enjoyed the characters of Phoebe and Cissy. It's set in the East End of London and Fox really brings it alive, it's like you are stepping back in time. The reason I gave it four stars and not five is not a fault of the author or the book. It's solely because I was very busy when I started reading the book and could only read a page or two before I had to go do something else. This did spoil my enjoyment and meant it took me a while to get into the plot. But when I get around to re-reading it, I'll probably rate it higher. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I've got this on my wishlist and was chatting with Poppyshake about it the other day, so great to see you enjoyed it. It's being bumped up the wishlist as I type Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Ooo which ones? These ones: The Weaker Vessel The Girl Who Could'nt Say No If Walls Could Talk The Book Of Human Skin The Sisters Brothers Think they were all from your blog....I have already bought The Weaker Vessel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 The Weaker Vessel was excellent. Fraser is such a good historian in general, really indepth and interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 36. Started Early, Took My Dog - Kate Atkinson It's a day like any other for Tracy Waterhouse, running errands at the local shopping center, until she makes a purchase she hadn't bargained for. One moment of madness is all it takes for Tracy's humdrum world to be turned upside down, the tedium of everyday life replaced by fear and danger at every turn. Witnesses to Tracy's Faustian exchange are Tilly, an elderly actress teetering on the brink of her own disaster, and Jackson Brodie, who has returned to the land of his childhood, in search of someone else's roots. Variously accompanied, pursued, or haunted by neglected dogs, unwanted children, and keepers of dark secrets, soon all three will learn that the past is never history-and that no good deed goes unpunished. Brimming with wit, wisdom, and a fierce moral intelligence, Started Early, Took My Dog confirms Kate Atkinson's status as one of the most original and entertaining writers of our time. I've noticed this book on the shelf at the library for a while now and finally picked it up and read it. It took me a very long time to get into this book and after I passed the 100 page mark, I did consider giving up. But I am glad I didn't give up as I did thoroughly enjoy it from the middle onwards. It had an interesting plot, intriguing characters and mysteries. 3.75/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 I decided to do something different for the start of March and take pictures of what books I am currently reading and what is in my reading box. But firstly, Vodkafan sent me a book. Thank you very much These are the books I am currently reading: And these are all the books in my reading box and two library books, in a rough order of how I am going to read them (I spend ages arranging and rearranging the books). I had managed to get the number in it down to 5 books but it's crept up again. My mum is bringing all her Stephen King Dark Tower Books when she visits tomorrow so the to-be-read box is going to be overflowing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 37. The Confessions of Katherine Howard - Suzannah Dunn (from goodreads) ‘England: firelight and fireblush; wine-dark, winking gemstones and a frost of pearls. Wool as soft as silk, in leaf-green and moss; satins glossy like a midsummer night or opalescent like winter sunrise…Little did we know it but that night we were already ghosts in our own lives…’ When twelve-year-old Katherine Howard comes to live in the Duchess of Norfolk's household, poor relation Cat Tilney is deeply suspicious of her. The two girls couldn't be more different: Cat, watchful and ambitious; Katherine, interested only in clothes and boys. Their companions are in thrall to Katherine, but it's Cat in whom Katherine confides and, despite herself, Cat is drawn to her. Summoned to court at seventeen, Katherine leaves Cat in the company of her ex-lover, Francis, and the two begin their own, much more serious, love affair. Within months, the king has set aside his Dutch wife Anne for Katherine. The future seems assured for the new queen and her maid-in-waiting, although Cat would feel more confident if Katherine hadn't embarked on an affair with one of the king's favoured attendants, Thomas Culpeper. However, for a blissful year and a half, it seems that Katherine can have everything she wants. But then allegations are made about her girlhood love affairs. Desperately frightened, Katherine recounts a version of events which implicates Francis but which Cat knows to be a lie. With Francis in the Tower, Cat alone knows the whole truth of Queen Katherine Howard - but if she tells, Katherine will die. It was alright. It was not very accurate in places (but to be fair, all historical novels suffer from that problem to some degree) and the writing was just average but it was enjoyable enough as a light read for a couple of afternoons. I probably wouldn't read this book again but I might read the others the author has written. 2/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 38. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie My first Agatha Christie novel but hopefully not my last! I thoroughly enjoyed The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The plot was great (I never saw the ending coming then had to go back and re-read some paragraphs. If someone had told me when I was about halfway through the book who had killed Roger Ackroyd, I would never have believed them) and the characters were so vivid and realistic. I loved everything about it. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 39. The Family Fang - Kevin Wilson Mr. and Mrs. Fang called it art. Their children called it mischief. Performance artists Caleb and Camille Fang dedicated themselves to making great art. But when an artist’s work lies in subverting normality, it can be difficult to raise well-adjusted children. Just ask Buster and Annie Fang. For as long as they can remember, they starred (unwillingly) in their parents’ madcap pieces. But now that they are grown up, the chaos of their childhood has made it difficult to cope with life outside the fishbowl of their parents’ strange world. When the lives they’ve built come crashing down, brother and sister have nowhere to go but home, where they discover that Caleb and Camille are planning one last performance–their magnum opus–whether the kids agree to participate or not. Soon, ambition breeds conflict, bringing the Fangs to face the difficult decision about what’s ultimately more important: their family or their art. I didn't like this book but I didn't dislike the book either. I think the best review I can give it is that I wanted to love this book but just could not. I could not love the quirky family (the type that only really seems to exist in books and on TV, never in real life). I could not love the plot, which at times felt almost forced. I didn't find it "funny, smart, ingenious, moving, all together great" (Nick Hornby from the book cover). It's so forgettable. I thought about it whilst reading it but in the weeks and months from now I probably wouldn't be able to recall any of the characters or the plot. 1.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bree Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 38. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie My first Agatha Christie novel but hopefully not my last! I thoroughly enjoyed The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The plot was great (I never saw the ending coming then had to go back and re-read some paragraphs. If someone had told me when I was about halfway through the book who had killed Roger Ackroyd, I would never have believed them) and the characters were so vivid and realistic. I loved everything about it. 5/5 Hope its okay to jump in on your thread - I can never resist a Christie mention! Can I tempt you to try Crooked House and And Then They Were None? They both are ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hope its okay to jump in on your thread - I can never resist a Christie mention! Can I tempt you to try Crooked House and And Then They Were None? They both are ace. Of course you can jump in on my thread I'll look for them the next time I'm in the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Ordered some books today! A Kiss Before Dying - Ira Levin The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin Shakespeare's Champion - Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Landlord - Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Counselor - Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Trophy - Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Christmas - Charlaine Harris Bodily Secrets - William Trevor The Women Who Got Away - John Updike Eros Unbound - Anais Nin Magnetism - F.Scott Fitzgerald The Seducer's Diary - Soren Kierkegaard Cures for Love - Stendhal Forbidden Fruit - From the Letters of Abelard & Heloise A Mere Interlude - Thomas Hardy Mary - Vladmir Nabokov Deviant Love - Sigmund Freud Doomed Love - Virgil First Love - Ivan Turgenev The Virgin and the Gypsy - D.H. Lawrence The Kreutzer Sonata - Leo Tolstoy Of Mistresses, Tigresses & Other Conquests - Giacomo Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan The Eaten Heart - Unlikely Tales of Love - Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin A Russian Affair - Anton Chekhov Something Childish but Very Natural - Katherine Mansfield The Last Day Of A Condemned Man - Victor Hugo Peter Schlemihl - Adelbert Von Chamisso The Haunted House - Charles Dickens Notes From The Undergound - Fyodor Dostoevsky The Good Soldier - Ford Maddox Ford The Devil's Elixirs - E.T.A Hoffmann A Strange Manuscript Found In A Copper Cylinder - James De Mille The Sorrows Of Young Werther - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Monk And The Hangman's Daughter - Ambrose Bierce The Black Spider - Jeremias Gotthelf All of them cost me £30! And then I discovered I have won Lucky Break by Esther Freud! I'm going to have a busy time getting through all these book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Some excellent titles there....I love Ira Levin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Thats an impressive haul for £30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) now I have the urge to go book shopping Not a bad haul for that price! Edited March 10, 2012 by Devi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Ordered some books today! A Kiss Before Dying - Ira Levin The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin Shakespeare's Champion - Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Landlord - Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Counselor - Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Trophy - Charlaine Harris Shakespeare's Christmas - Charlaine Harris Bodily Secrets - William Trevor The Women Who Got Away - John Updike Eros Unbound - Anais Nin Magnetism - F.Scott Fitzgerald The Seducer's Diary - Soren Kierkegaard Cures for Love - Stendhal Forbidden Fruit - From the Letters of Abelard & Heloise A Mere Interlude - Thomas Hardy Mary - Vladmir Nabokov Deviant Love - Sigmund Freud Doomed Love - Virgil First Love - Ivan Turgenev The Virgin and the Gypsy - D.H. Lawrence The Kreutzer Sonata - Leo Tolstoy Of Mistresses, Tigresses & Other Conquests - Giacomo Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan The Eaten Heart - Unlikely Tales of Love - Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin A Russian Affair - Anton Chekhov Something Childish but Very Natural - Katherine Mansfield The Last Day Of A Condemned Man - Victor Hugo Peter Schlemihl - Adelbert Von Chamisso The Haunted House - Charles Dickens Notes From The Undergound - Fyodor Dostoevsky The Good Soldier - Ford Maddox Ford The Devil's Elixirs - E.T.A Hoffmann A Strange Manuscript Found In A Copper Cylinder - James De Mille The Sorrows Of Young Werther - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Monk And The Hangman's Daughter - Ambrose Bierce The Black Spider - Jeremias Gotthelf All of them cost me £30! And then I discovered I have won Lucky Break by Esther Freud! I'm going to have a busy time getting through all these book Wow that's a great stack of books for £30! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Some excellent titles there....I love Ira Levin! I've only ever read The Boys From Brazil but I've wanted to read The Stepford Wives and Rosemary's Baby for ages. And thanks everyone! I was pretty impressed that I got them all so cheap. I'm not going to buy any new books for a while though!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Rosemary's Baby is my fave by him.....have you watched the movie? if not, you must!! (after the book of course! ) . I'm not going to buy any new books for a while though!!!! famous last words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abcinthia Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 I haven't yet seen the film! Last time I saw it was on TV it was on really late at night and I just couldn't stay awake late enough. Hehehe yes. Hopefully I'll manage to last a while before I buy anything else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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