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Abcinthia's Reading List (2012)


Abcinthia

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I finished 2 books this afternoon:

 

44. The Drawing Of Three - Stephen King

This is the second book in The Dark Tower book and continues in Roland's quest to The Dark Tower. In this book he was to draw 3 people who will help him on his quest. To do so, he has to enter through doorways into America (Roland lives in another world but not too disimiliar to our own). I really enjoyed reading it; it was a page turner and I cannot wait to start the next book.

 

4/5

 

45. I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb

This book is about identitcal twin boys. One of whom has paranoid schizophrenia and the other who is just trying to fight for the brother he loves but also find himself. At times I felt that there was too much repetition and long-winded dialogue. I can see why the author did this but at over 900 pages long, I just felt it would have been just as powerful if parts of it were condensed slightly.

 

4/5

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48. Never Knowing - Chevy Stevens (abandoned)

 

I could not bear to finish this book. I got 2/3rds of the way in and had to give up. All the characters are so pathetic, boring and obnoxious and ruined what might have been an interesting plot (adoptive woman descovers her mother is the only victim of a serial killer to get away. Her father is the serial killer). The main character's daughter is the main reason for giving up though. She is 6 years old and is the most obnoxious, rude and downright unpleasant child I have ever come across (in literature, tv, films and real life). All the scenes with her in them play out like this:

 

Daughter gets really really angry because she cannot have waffles for dinner or has to pick one present to buy some kid for their birthday. Daughter throws a MASSIVE tantrum. Daughter then kicks things or throws books at dogs. Mother cries and vaguely tells daughter off then gives into her every desire. But I suppose if the author had given the mother the ability to say "No" and to discipline her child, she wouldn't have been able to write umpteen pages on serial killer's genetics.

 

0/5

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48. Never Knowing - Chevy Stevens (abandoned)

 

I could not bear to finish this book. I got 2/3rds of the way in and had to give up. All the characters are so pathetic, boring and obnoxious and ruined what might have been an interesting plot (adoptive woman descovers her mother is the only victim of a serial killer to get away. Her father is the serial killer). The main character's daughter is the main reason for giving up though. She is 6 years old and is the most obnoxious, rude and downright unpleasant child I have ever come across (in literature, tv, films and real life). All the scenes with her in them play out like this:

 

Daughter gets really really angry because she cannot have waffles for dinner or has to pick one present to buy some kid for their birthday. Daughter throws a MASSIVE tantrum. Daughter then kicks things or throws books at dogs. Mother cries and vaguely tells daughter off then gives into her every desire. But I suppose if the author had given the mother the ability to say "No" and to discipline her child, she wouldn't have been able to write umpteen pages on serial killer's genetics.

 

 

0/5

 

Interesting...I almost bought this...I read her other...Still Missing...not the greatest, but readable anyway...I'll be sure to wait till this one is offered up for free on Nook

Edited by Sofia
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I've not read Still Missing.

 

I really wanted to like Never Knowing because it was an interesting idea for a plot but in my opinion, it would have been better without her daughter in it. She is so rude and spoilt and it got to the point that everytime she was there, she was just throwing tantrums and the main character thinking "I wonder if being a serial killer is genetic. My daughter has bad behaviour so she could be a serial killer?"

 

The other characters aren't great but I could live with their flaws. It was written as sessions from a psychiatrist's office who the main character is seeing so all you know about the other characters is what she tells the psychiatrist.

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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

 

I have this on my tbr - because I spotted the hardback for £3, which seemed like a bargain. I read The Sixth Wife, about Catherine Parr. I thought it was a light and easy read, also with historical inaccuracies (which I can forgive), but the problem was that the speech and language just seemed far too modern for the time in which it was set. Not that I expect the characters to go round calling each other thou or anything like that, but it seemed slightly jarring. Still, I bought The Confession of Katharine Howard after reading The Sixth Wife, so I must have enjoyed it!

 

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!!!!

 

The Stepford Wives is a terrific book (and the first film version is good too). I have A Kiss Before Dying on my tbr, and am tempted by The Boys From Brazil.

 

I finished 2 books this afternoon:

 

44. The Drawing Of Three - Stephen King

This is the second book in The Dark Tower book and continues in Roland's quest to The Dark Tower. In this book he was to draw 3 people who will help him on his quest. To do so, he has to enter through doorways into America (Roland lives in another world but not too disimiliar to our own). I really enjoyed reading it; it was a page turner and I cannot wait to start the next book.

 

4/5

 

 

This has reminded me that I've been meaning to read The Gunslinger for AGES. It's sitting there on my shelf, looking at me reproachfully. Must get to it soon!

Edited by Ruth
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I've not read Still Missing.

 

 

The other characters aren't great but I could live with their flaws. It was written as sessions from a psychiatrist's office who the main character is seeing so all you know about the other characters is what she tells the psychiatrist.

 

Still Missing is written the same way :/

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50. The Waste Lands - Stephen King

Oh this book was brilliant. Definitely my favourite of the Dark Tower series so far. I've been on the edge of my seat for most of the book and now I'm itching to start reading Wizard and Glass because The Waste Lands finishes with such a nail-biting cliffhanger.

I was so glad that Jake has returned! I was so worried that he wouldn't make it and then I was worried when he was taken.

 

5/5

 

51. The Hound Of Death - Agatha Christie

This was a collection of short stories by Agatha Christie and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Nearly all of them ended in a way I did not expect and were all delightful. I'm fast becoming a massive Christie fan. My only problem is that a couple of them felt a tiny bit rushed towards the end or the ending was very abrupt.

 

4/5

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I started it earlier today and so far, I'm loving it. The riddle battle is such a good idea. I've been trying to work out the answer before reading on to what Blaine answers :D

 

 

 

I also started Doomed Love by Virgil this afternoon, which is the first 4 chapters of the Aeneid. It's part of the Great Loves Collection by Penguin; there are 20 books which are short novels, short story collections, parts of essays or selected bits of an author's work all relating to different types of love. It's RRP is £90 but I managed to find the entire set (brand new) for £9.99 so I am very pleased!

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52. Doomed Love - Virgil

 

Doomed Love, Penguin Great Loves book no. 1, is the first 4 books of Virgil's Aeneid. It tells the story of the fall of Troy from Aeneas and of the tragedy of Dido. I really enjoyed it and hope to one day read the Aeneid.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've just finished book 63. I've not been updating as I've been having internet problems and it's been crashing loads (but it's sorted now).

 

I'll do some reviews in the next couple of days hopefully.

 

53. The Man Who Was Thursday - G.K. Chesterton

54. The Devotion Of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino

55. Into The Darkest Corner - Elizabeth Haynes

56. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

57. Wizard And Glass - Stephen King

58. Forbidden Fruit - From The Letters Of Abelard And Heloise

59. Half Of The Human Race - Anthony Quinn

60. Pure - Andrew Miller

 

61. The Eaten Heart: Unlikely Tales Of Love - Giovanni Boccaccio

62. Of Mistresses, Tigresses And Other Conquests - Giacomo Casanova

 

63. The Road - Cormac McCarthy

I really enjoyed The Road. I had only the vaguest idea of what it would be about (I haven't seen the film and the book didn't have a blurb, just reviews) but I was hooked on the plot and wanting to know what would become of The Man and The Boy. I was so worried for them and their struggle. The ending was unexpected.

I actually cried when The Man died. I felt like someone close to me had died.

 

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  • 2 months later...

Is Abcinthia still here? Don't think she has posted for ages....

She hasn't posted for a while but was online on 15 June - hopefully she'll be back soon. :)

 

I have The Man Who Was Thursday on my 'to read' pile - I haven't read any G K Chesterton before. :)

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I am here, mainly just lurking and editing my reading list.

 

I've been a bit busy and had various internet/laptop problems.

 

 

 

I liked The Man Who was Thursday. I read it very quickly because it was gripping although the ending threw me a bit and I had to re-read it.

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