~Andrea~ Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Finished God of Surprises last night (a re-read I started last year) I don't think I actually ever finished it last time round as the end of the book was all very unfamiliar - but very good, as the author talks about his own struggles here, which was very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Finished listening to the first Sherlock Holmes short story yesterday, The Adventure of the Speckled Band. It was really good Enjoying this audio book a lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Well I'm fed up of both the books I'm reading at the moment, so I think I may cheat and start something new Not sure what though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley.s Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Hehe nowt wrong with cheating. I finally finished The Night Cirus but didnt enjoy it at all, I wont be forcing my self to read a really boring book again like that, as some one said 'its really bad for your mojo' So what next? Did you read Flowers for Algernon in the end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 I agree. I think I'm going to ditch 'Think' but maybe pick up the William Dalrymple one again later. No Flowers is still on my bookshelf but I'll probably get to it this year. I started Silver Birches by Adrain Plass last night, and it was a blessed relief to be reading something thoroughly enjoyable again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Finished listening to my Sherlock short stories on audio yesterday. It was great. Delightful stories excellently read by David Timson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Started listening to Middlemarch on audio today, read by Harriet Walters. So far so teensy bit dull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Finished Silver Birches yesterday which I quite enjoyed, will write a full review later, and started Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb. I knew I'd enjoy this (I already am) so I picked it to revive my dwindling mojo. I'm craving escapism at the moment and this will be just the ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 I finished Assassin's Quest last night. What a great book, and what a great trilogy. Although I will say that while the first half of the book was truly gripping, with events unleashing at a cracking pace, the second half was a lot slower, still enjoyable but I found I missed the pacy ride of the first half. Things picked up for the finale though, which was very satisfying I would highly recommend this series to anyone, whether you like fantasy or not (this was my first real taste of fantasy apart from Harry Potter and the Hobbit). The characters are great and the story really interesting and gripping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 silver birches by Adrian Plass From Amazon: When David Herrick receives an invitation to a reunion from a long-forgotten acquaintance, his first reaction is to refuse. He isn't feeling very sociable since his wife, Jessica, died six months ago. But the invitation comes from Angela, one of his wife's oldest friends---and mysteriously, she has something for him from his beloved Jessica. Reluctant but curious, he visits Headly Manor. When the friends gather, they no longer resemble the fresh-faced group of twenty years ago. One has been deserted by her husband, another has lost his faith, and another is filled with anger and bitterness. As they have less than forty-eight hours with each other, they decide to be vulnerable and bear their souls. This poignant and moving story blends Adrian Plass's rich style of writing with his knack for addressing the deep issues we all face, such as faith, grief, love ... and fear. Review: I've read stuff by Adrian Plass in the past, but not for a while. This novel was recommended to me recently, and while I enjoyed it on the whole, I do think it is aimed more at the christian market and non-christians, or more probably a non-evangelicals, might not find it that accessible. This disappointed me as I like to read fiction that is accessible to everyone. I also found the soul-bearing nature of the weekend a little odd. The weekend was organised by Angela who planned lots of 'opening-up' sessions which I found a little unrealistic. The story deals with problems and issues found within church, particularly evangelical church, such as attitides to homosexuality for example. In that respect I welcome a book like this, as it is addressing issues faced by real people, but it does give the book a rather niche appeal. I think Adrian Plass is a very good writer and I would love to see him branch out in to more mainstream fiction. However the story was enjoyable and it also contains one of the creepiest ghost stories I have ever read, which is always good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 I've started reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. So far it's quite readable, but a little strange. The martian world is very alien and I'm finding it difficult to visualise either the setting or the characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted May 24, 2012 Author Share Posted May 24, 2012 (edited) Finished The Martian Chronicles last night. It was very good. I wasn't sure I'd like it at first, I found the writing style quite clipped, but once I'd got used to that I really liked it. It's more of a series of chronological short stories than a novel, and I'd say it's classic sci fi, where the ideas are more important than deep characterisation. A slightly unusual read, which I found quite refreshing. Some of the stories were actually very poignant and I think I'll miss dipping into this unusual world of an evening. Edited May 24, 2012 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Last night I finished 'Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science and Belief' by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale. From the forward: Cambridge academic eyebrows were raised in 1979 when the distinguished quantum physicist Professor John Polkinghorne resigned from his chair in order to start training as an Anglican priest. Since then he has become well known for a series of books on science and religion. Although not personally online his ideas have generated worldwide interest and discussion on the internet through a Web site set up and managed by Nicholas Beale, his onetime mathematical student at Trinity College and long-standing friend and colleague. This book is a compilation of some of the responses that can be found on that website. I found it very interesting and readable. Most interesting to me were some of the responses to Richard Dawkins claims in The God Delusion, particularly where he ventures into cosmology and physics, but the whole book was very interesting. I did find that not all of the questions were answered to my satisfaction but on the whole it was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 I have now started More than Matter by Keith Ward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Last night I finished 'Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science and Belief' by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale. From the forward: Cambridge academic eyebrows were raised in 1979 when the distinguished quantum physicist Professor John Polkinghorne resigned from his chair in order to start training as an Anglican priest. Since then he has become well known for a series of books on science and religion. Although not personally online his ideas have generated worldwide interest and discussion on the internet through a Web site set up and managed by Nicholas Beale, his onetime mathematical student at Trinity College and long-standing friend and colleague. This book is a compilation of some of the responses that can be found on that website. I found it very interesting and readable. Most interesting to me were some of the responses to Richard Dawkins claims in The God Delusion, particularly where he ventures into cosmology and physics, but the whole book was very interesting. I did find that not all of the questions were answered to my satisfaction but on the whole it was pretty good. That sounds good Andrea. A lot of people believe science and God don't mix, it's always interesting when great minds say otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 Thanks Poppy. I find the interface between science and religion a fascinating subject. I look forward to reading more Polkinghorne having read this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Started listening to Grahame Greene's Brighon Rock read by Richard Brown today. I must say I'm not much impressed with the narration so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 I've sadly had to ditch Brighton Rock as the narration was just too irritating and distracting and I didn't want it to take away from the book. I think I'll have to be a bit more careful choosing narrators in the future. I guess I'll just have to read this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 The narrator can make such a difference on an audiobook. I don't listen to many, but I've stopped myself downloading some after listening to a sample and finding the narrator too irritating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 Sample tracks are a great idea for audio books. I've never come across samples for any of the cds I've bought but will try and find some, and do a bit more research generally next time. In other news, I think I've decided to give up on "From the Holy Mountain". It's 'ok' but perhaps not good enough to justify persevering with it. It's always a bad sign when you keep putting a book down in favour of something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Good narrators make all the difference. I've hard some terrible ones where you can hear them swallowing and sniffing and all sorts. I download most of mine now and always listen to the samples .. you can tell even after a few minutes whether the narrator is going to irritate or not. If only Stephen Fry could read everything .. but then again he irritates some people so that wouldn't do. Brighton Rock is on my TBR too .. I've 'sort of' seen the film .. unfortunately I have a short attention span when it comes to TV and I'm always wandering off in search of cake or something but I enjoyed the bits I did see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Brighton Rock is on my TBR too .. I've 'sort of' seen the film .. unfortunately I have a short attention span when it comes to TV and I'm always wandering off in search of cake or something but I enjoyed the bits I did see. I love this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 I've also started reading Hens reunited by Lucy Diamond, just to give my brain a rest from philosophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 (edited) I finished More than Matter last night. Review: More than Matter is Keith's Ward's attack on the philosophical idea of materialism (the matter is ultimately all that there is) and defence of idealism (the idea that reality is mind-like rather than matter-like). It specifically addresses Gilbert Ryle's critique of Descaarte's mind-body dualism (Gilbert Ryle famously coined the phrase 'the ghost in the machine' in his attack on Cartesian dualism in The Concept of Mind). Idealism is a philosophy rather than a religion but supports the idea of God as found in many religions, be they theistic or deistic, or simply the idea that the universe itself is a kind of intelligence.But this is first and foremost a philosophy book and defends idealism on purely philosophical grounds, arguing for example for the irreducability of consciousness. It does breifly touch in religion, mostly at the very end. I found it an interesting and engaging read, but did struggle to keep up with/understand some of the philosophical concepts and to follow his arguments in all cases. I do like Wards writing style though; he covers quite serious, often potentially dry topics, but peppered with such dry humour that I can almost imagine his eyes twinkling with mischief as he speaks, and I found myself chuckling along frequently. Edited June 27, 2012 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Well Lucy Diamond's Hen's Reunited is off to a slow start. I'm not finding it as good as her other two. There is one character I find particullarly annoying and one character I quite like, but the description and characterisation of the not very in-depth characters is a bit repetitive. Also the blurb on the back has given too much away. I can see the hooks in the story but I already know what the reveal is from the back cover. Smart move publishers I'm happy to keep reading - so far. I'm off to North Wales in a few days so I'm going to start reading some welsh learners fiction tonight to try and brush up on my welsh. The gogs are a lot friendlier if you throw a bit of welsh in with your English Today I ordered The Elegance of the Hedgehog for the August reading circle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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