Karsa Orlong Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Aren't mothers supposed to teach their children stuff and not the other way around. You'd like to think so, wouldn't you? Bless her, she taught me all these manners and then doesn't use them herself Oh great frankie, you painted yourself in the corner. Nicely done. I thought so When you come out of the corner you can go on the naughty step Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 You'd like to think so, wouldn't you? Bless her, she taught me all these manners and then doesn't use them herself I bet they'd go unnoticed in the company of the likes of you, Sir Lord of the Flies! I thought so When you come out of the corner you can go on the naughty step I'm scared, I think I'll rather stay in the corner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 I bet they'd go unnoticed in the company of the likes of you, Sir Lord of the Flies! Exsqueaze me??? I'll have you know I'm the sort of person who lets ladies go first and holds the door open for people. And then gets annoyed when they don't say 'thank you' I'm scared, I think I'll rather stay in the corner! There's a BIG spider over there. Just thought I should warn you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 You'd like me, Steve. I always say thank you when a gentleman holds the door open for me or let's me on/off the elevator first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) Exsqueaze me??? I'll have you know I'm the sort of person who lets ladies go first and holds the door open for people. And then gets annoyed when they don't say 'thank you' I'll believe when I see it! There's a BIG spider over there. Just thought I should warn you. I've now caught it and am smashing it between the pages of a book I'm going to send you You'd like me, Steve. I always say thank you when a gentleman holds the door open for me or let's me on/off the elevator first. Yes. Kylie is a true lady. I have so much to learn from her. Edited January 25, 2012 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 You'd like me, Steve. I always say thank you when a gentleman holds the door open for me or let's me on/off the elevator first. Aww, I liked you anyway, Kylie. All the Aussies I've known have always been well-mannered. And when I went to Toronto I couldn't believe how polite everyone was over there. People in London have no manners (apart from me). It's a fact. I've now caught it and am smashing it between the pages of a book I'm going to send you <<moistens tongue in preparation>> Yes. Kylie is a true lady. I have so much to learn from her. You do. You really do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Not to mess with your maths, Frankie, but I just went a bit mad on Amazon. I saw they were selling Phil Rickman's 'Merrily Watkins' books for 90p each on Kindle, and I really enjoyed his 'The Bones of Avalon' when I read it a few months back, so the following have just been added to my TBR list: http://www.amazon.co...27491888&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.co...f=pd_sim_kinc_3 http://www.amazon.co...f=pd_sim_kinc_5 http://www.amazon.co...f=pd_sim_kinc_2 http://www.amazon.co...f=pd_sim_kinc_6 http://www.amazon.co...f=pd_sim_kinc_1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Kindle TBR list added to post 2: http://www.bookclubf...post__p__282073 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 <<moistens tongue in preparation>> You must've been a boy scout back in the day, to be so ready and eager! You do. You really do. OI!! Not to mess with your maths, Frankie, but I just went a bit mad on Amazon. I saw they were selling Phil Rickman's 'Merrily Watkins' books for 90p each on Kindle, and I really enjoyed his 'The Bones of Avalon' when I read it a few months back, so the following have just been added to my TBR list: I noticed that already in the Book Activity thread and my brain started hurting Off to browse the list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Yes. Kylie is a true lady. I have so much to learn from her. Hmmm...there are no emoticons so I can't tell if you're joking or not! I assume you must be joking because, well, you've met me... Aww, I liked you anyway, Kylie. All the Aussies I've known have always been well-mannered. And when I went to Toronto I couldn't believe how polite everyone was over there. People in London have no manners (apart from me). It's a fact. Aw, shucks. Thanks Steve. I wish I could say the same about all the Aussies *I've* known! Before I went to London I'd read about how I should expect to see lots of rude Londoners, but everyone was very nice to me. The cabbies were great, I saw people standing for others on the Tube and I remember a sophisticated-looking chick showing me how to work the taps in a McDonald's bathroom (yes, I had trouble with the high-tech taps ). In fact, everyone I met during my trip to England and Scotland was incredibly nice. Maybe it was my natural charm and beauty that won everyone over *snorts with laughter in a most unladylike manner* You do. You really do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Before I went to London I'd read about how I should expect to see lots of rude Londoners, but everyone was very nice to me. The cabbies were great, I saw people standing for others on the Tube and I remember a sophisticated-looking chick showing me how to work the taps in a McDonald's bathroom (yes, I had trouble with the high-tech taps ). In fact, everyone I met during my trip to England and Scotland was incredibly nice. You must've gone to the posh parts I find London a very unfriendly place, I must admit. I sit on the tube in the morning and nobody even looks at each other, let alone talks. Mind you, at least they don't disturb me while I'm reading my book Maybe it was my natural charm and beauty that won everyone over *snorts with laughter in a most unladylike manner* I'm sure it was. It's either that or that you were in London and you could speak English. It's a rarity these days! (controversial!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson Without giving too much of the plot away (because there isn't a lot of it, to be totally truthful), Chrissy awakes one morning believing she's a young woman only to find that she's in her 40s, with no recall of the intervening years, and no memories of the man in the bed next to her. Each day her husband, Ben, explains to her that she was in an accident and is suffering from amnesia, and each night she goes to sleep and her memory is wiped again. A doctor encourages her to write a journal each day, and the bulk of the book is taken up with her journal entries, as she writes down everything she has learned each day, reads it the following morning, and gradually begins to piece together her life and what has happened to her. I found the writing style quite stilted and uninvolving for large chunks of the book. Whether this was intentional or not, I'm not sure, but I found it difficult to connect with any of the small number of characters in the book as a result. Chrissy herself is problematic because she is not sure who she is for 90% of the story. Watson keeps the repetition to a minimum, thankfully, but there were a lot of times where I felt the answers were obvious but the characters weren't seeing it - it was almost like the author was making them deliberately obtuse just to pad the story out a bit. To my mind, it may have worked better as a short story or novella. I thought it really got going at about three quarters of the way through, for spoilery reasons which I shan't mention here, and even though the final couple of twists were obvious from much earlier in the book, they were handled pretty well when they eventually came to happen. For a thriller it maybe lacks a few thrills, but it's enjoyable enough. And as a debut novel this isn't bad, but I do think the hype-machine has worked against it, at least for me. 6/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I highly, highly, highly (highly!) recommend Hyperion - providing you like science fiction, that is I do like some sci-fi although I have to be in the mood for it. I'll keep an eye open for Hyperion. (By which I mean I'm heading off to Amazon right now, and will more than likely end up buying it ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 I do like some sci-fi although I have to be in the mood for it. I'll keep an eye open for Hyperion. (By which I mean I'm heading off to Amazon right now, and will more than likely end up buying it ) I do like spending other people's money for them I hope you enjoy it, Ruth. I wrote a review of it when I read it last year: http://www.bookclubf...post__p__268843 Actually, I think I put the same review up on Amazon as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 (edited) Added my oustanding treebooks to the TBR list. A couple of thoughts spring to mind, first and foremost: holy rainforest, Batman, I've got about 20 more treebooks to read than I thought I had, and 86 to read in total (including ebooks). That's over a years worth! Secondly, I don't think my plan of reading less sf and fantasy this year is going to work if I'm to eat into that TBR list at all Thirdly, what is it with these authors and their middle initials? EDIT: 86?? I can't add up, lol. It should say 91. Edited January 26, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 The White Rose by Glen Cook The White Rose and the survivors from The Black Company are surrounded by the Lady's armies on the Plains of Fear. There they intend to wait the long years until the great comet returns ot mark the time where The Dominator, The Lady and her Taken can be defeated. As the enemy forces grow near, Croaker, medic and historian for the Company, starts to receive messages that tell of the history of the wizard Bomanz, and how his magic brought The Lady back to the world in the first place. Soon Croaker realises that The Dominator is also on the verge of return from his imprisonment beneath The Barrowlands, and that even The Lady may not be able to defeat him. This is the third of Cook's 'Black Company' novels, and the last of the original 'Black Company' trilogy. Cook's writing style is very different from other fantasy writers. Where the likes of Erikson, Martin, Hobb et al are too verbose (and probably need stronger editors!), Cook goes in the opposite direction: his sentences are terse and laced with a knowingly dry wit. It reminds me of James Ellroy's American Tabloid, although not as brutal. In fact, Cook doesn't really deal in violence. Sure, it's there, but where other writers spend pages and pages describing battles, Cook's writing style demands that you read between the lines and use your imagination, otherwise it's gone in a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of way. In the same manner, I find that if I'm not fully concentrating it is very easy to miss very important pieces of information that are concealed within very few words. At times I love this style, at others I find it a real pain, having to re-read sections because they have been written in such a deliberately obtuse manner. It's so unique though, conjuring fantastical images, and the characters are drawn so wonderfully and with such economy, that it's hard to knock it. Even the 'bad guys' are given such dimension that it's difficult to actually consider them bad at all. Still, this may be my favourite of the, ahem, Cook books I've read so far. I think this is largely down to a narrative trick that he uses: the letters that Croaker receives from an unknown source, the reading of which allows Cook to switch viewpoints and from his usual first person to third person. The tale of Bomanz the wizard is probably the best part of the story, at least until Croaker and The Lady renew their acquaintance, and it is witty and quite exciting. I did find that the novel lost a bit of its drive in the latter stages, probably due to the writing style which races through major events like they happen every day, but it was enjoyable. Cook revels in being unpredictable and, as the final book in a trilogy, where you might expect it to be told on a huge scale, he goes for the weird instead. Ultimately, if talking menhirs, walking trees, flying whales and manta rays, a tree that might be a god, and storms that physically alter anyone and anything in their path are your kind of thing, then give this a go. 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Here we go then. As per Frankie and Kylie's suggestion, this is a list of some of my favourite books. I'm sure there are many I've lost to memory (which must mean they weren't that good ... maybe), especially those going back before I started keeping a list of what I've read, but these are the ones that stick out in my memory. I may add to it if I remember any others. It also proves to me that I need to read some different genres, and soon! Steve's Favourite Fiction I'll get these out of the way first: The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson - my favourite fantasy series. I've banged the drum about it quite enough by now. It's like Marmite. Seven out of the ten books in the series are right at the top of my list: Gardens of the Moon / Deadhouse Gates / Memories of Ice / House of Chains / Midnight Tides / The Bonehunters / Toll the Hounds. The Belgariad - David Eddings - this was the series that introduced me to the fantasy genre. I loved it when I was 14 or 15. Not sure how I'd feel about it if I read it again now, but I have to include it here. On to the rest: A Man on the Moon - Andrew Chaikin (okay, this one isn't fiction!) A Storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin Arms of Nemesis - Steven Saylor Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds Cujo - Stephen King Die Trying - Lee Child Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Phillip K. Dick Dune - Frank Herbert Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Feersum Endjinn - Iain M. Banks Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman Hyperion - Dan Simmons I Am Legend - Richard Matheson Legend - David Gemmell Lightning - Dean Koontz Lustrum - Robert Harris Perdido Street Station - China Mieville Salem's Lot - Stephen King Sovereign - C J Sansom Stinger - Robert McCammon The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers The Kraken Wakes - John Wyndham The Dead Zone - Stephen King The Fifth Horseman - Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre The Forever War - Joe Haldeman The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay The Reality Dysfunction / The Neutronium Alchemist / The Naked God (The Night's Dawn Trilogy) - Peter F. Hamilton The Osterman Weekend - Robert Ludlum The Redbreast - Jo Nesbo The Satan Bug - Alistair MacLean The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Shining - Stephen King The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester The Time Machine - H. G. Wells The Winter King / Enemy of God / Excalibur (Warlord Trilogy) - Bernard Cornwell Voyage - Stephen Baxter Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel Edited January 30, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Cujo - Stephen King The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Shining - Stephen King The Time Machine - H. G. Wells These I've read, And I included The Shadow of the Wind on my list. I also almost added Cujo, but went with Green Mile instead, ... Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Phillip K. Dick Salem's Lot - Stephen King Sovereign - C J Sansom Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel ... and these are on my TBR pile.... I Am Legend - Richard Matheson ... and this is on my wishlist ... Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman ... and these I've seen in real life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 ... and these I've seen in real life I'd love to see them for myself one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Great lists! I see plenty of recommendations for me to add to my wish list. I have these on my TBR pile: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Phillip K. Dick Dune - Frank Herbert Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman Perdido Street Station - China Mieville The Kraken Wakes - John Wyndham The Forever War - Joe Haldeman The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel I've read (and loved): I Am Legend - Richard Matheson The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Time Machine - H. G. Wells I intend to see the Northern Lights next year. Edited January 30, 2012 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 More or less than you both thought? I haven't read The Green Mile, Frankie. I'd better not add it to the TBR list just yet ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 More or less than you both thought? I'd say the list was a lot more approachable than I feared I thought it would be sci-fi only. I haven't read The Green Mile, Frankie. I'd better not add it to the TBR list just yet ... And why not?! It's a great novel. I bet you'll get all soft and will need tissues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson Without giving too much of the plot away (because there isn't a lot of it, to be totally truthful), Chrissy awakes one morning believing she's a young woman only to find that she's in her 40s, with no recall of the intervening years, and no memories of the man in the bed next to her. Each day her husband, Ben, explains to her that she was in an accident and is suffering from amnesia, and each night she goes to sleep and her memory is wiped again. A doctor encourages her to write a journal each day, and the bulk of the book is taken up with her journal entries, as she writes down everything she has learned each day, reads it the following morning, and gradually begins to piece together her life and what has happened to her. I found the writing style quite stilted and uninvolving for large chunks of the book. Whether this was intentional or not, I'm not sure, but I found it difficult to connect with any of the small number of characters in the book as a result. Chrissy herself is problematic because she is not sure who she is for 90% of the story. Watson keeps the repetition to a minimum, thankfully, but there were a lot of times where I felt the answers were obvious but the characters weren't seeing it - it was almost like the author was making them deliberately obtuse just to pad the story out a bit. To my mind, it may have worked better as a short story or novella. I thought it really got going at about three quarters of the way through, for spoilery reasons which I shan't mention here, and even though the final couple of twists were obvious from much earlier in the book, they were handled pretty well when they eventually came to happen. For a thriller it maybe lacks a few thrills, but it's enjoyable enough. And as a debut novel this isn't bad, but I do think the hype-machine has worked against it, at least for me. 6/10 This was reviewed on that Channel 4 (or is is More 4/E4) TV book programme this week .. I've forgotten the name of it .. it's dismal anyway .. I only watch it because it's about books and anything is better than nothing. Anyway, on the whole the reviewers didn't enjoy it much and I got the impression that it didn't quite live up to the hype. Thanks for your review Steve, it's one of those books that I'd be half interested in if I saw it in a bookstore. I think I'll give it a miss but I might borrow it if the library gets it in. I think I'm right in saying that Ridley Scott is after or has got the film rights!! I expect they'll beef it up a bit for the screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I'd say the list was a lot more approachable than I feared I thought it would be sci-fi only. And why not?! It's a great novel. I bet you'll get all soft and will need tissues The Green Mile really was a great book indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 The Green Mile really was a great book indeed! Yap! And I really love the movie as well. A bit long, but definitely worth a watch. I love Tom Hanks and David Morse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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