France
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Posts posted by France
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On 6/1/2024 at 4:37 AM, poppy said:
I'm reminded of the bullies in Lord of the Flies, a book I hated.
Oh so did I.
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10 hours ago, itsmeagain said:
A man named Ove by Fredrik Backman. is my current book. Disturbing by his callousness so far to cats as well as dogs. Offers nothing to the story and makes me dislike Ove.
You're supposed to dislike Ove at the beginning and then what makes him so apparently grumpy starts becoming more obvious. I can't remember anything about him being more callous and indifferent to cats and dogs than other human beings. I really warmed to him by the end.
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20 hours ago, Madeleine said:
"The Bay" by L J Ross - this is the 3rd in the summer suspense series, and this time the main character is police detective Sophie Keane, who has featured in the earlier books. When a body is found on a local beach in St Ives, Sophie is forced to confront her past (I thought that police officers weren't meant to police the same town that they live in,but....) and also sort through the list of suspects, that's after they body is identified. She's drawn into the local artists' community, especially Gabriel, who has returned to his family home, and also has issues from his past to confront, and lay to rest. No surprise that he and Sophie get together, but this is more of a crime novel than the earlier books, though there's a cheeky refernce to Ross's most popular, and longest running, series featuring DCI Ryan, in fact there's even a visit to Northumberland, though at least Ryan doesn't pop up. However the author's habit of making her heroes all pretty much cut from the same cloth ie tall, dark and handsome with blue/grey eyes that are full of emotion, is starting to look a little cliched, as is her theme of
which is beginning to also feel a bit repetitive. Apart from that, this was a very quick, easy read, and the atmosphere of St Ives is well evoked (but without having to fight the crowds!). 6.5/10
I listened to the first of these on Audible, The Cove I think, and to be honest wasn't impressed. It seemed both long-winded and Mills and Boonish
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On 5/6/2024 at 5:17 PM, friendofbooks said:
I found that book to be mostly super boring. The ending was a bit more lively, but the overall impression of the book was already ruined for me by that point.
I find that most of the books I really enjoy are Marmite books, some people loathe them, others adore them. I can see why you might have found it boring, the pace wasn't fast at the beginning but the sly humour made up for it imo.
Good things reading tastes are so different - it means lots of variety!
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Funny how you can change your mind - I tried Slow Horses by Mick Herron a couple of years ago and it just didn't appeal. Then after having read his latest book after fervent recommendations I gave Slow Horses another go and really enjoyed it.
For those who haven't seen the tv series (and I haven't) it's about a group of apparently washed up spies who for policy reasons haven't been sacked and have been exiled to a building called Slough House to do boring stuff in the hope they'll be driven to resign. It's twisty, clever, has unexpected but satisfying plot twists and doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm certainly going to read more in the series.
It's been 10 years since Shades of Grey by Jasper fforde came out. It was startlingly inventive even for fforde, about an England where ever since Something Happened people have only been able to see one colour and your status in society is governed by which colour you can see and how much of it. The Greys, who have no colour vision, are the labourers and have very few rights. It was very witty, very funny and full of wonderfully daft ideas such as the rule that once something was declared apocryphal you literally could not see it, so the Apocryphal Man was able to walk around with impunity with no clothes on, stealing food off plates in the communal dining hall. A sequel was promised and Red Side Story finally arrived this year. It's worth the wait. Shades of Grey had a serious undercurrent, Red Side Story is a lot darker but it's still witty, funny and a crashing good read. I'm really sorry to have finished it.
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On 4/25/2024 at 2:29 PM, muggle not said:
What about using libraries, especially the digital libraries where you can download to a kindle.
Most French libraries have a small selection of English books in paper (most of it donated) but digital books are in French mostly and my French isn't up to reading a book.
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Do you mean actually analysing note by note or books which describe the effect of music? I don't play any instruments but the novel which got me making a huge listen-to list is Trio by Sue Gee. It's a terrific book too.
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delicately through a straw
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12 hours ago, friendofbooks said:
How do you do it? Every time I walk into a bookstore, I feel like buying everything at once!
Living in France helps as there are far fewer bookshops with less choice! When I visit the UK it's a different story though. I could literally barely lift my case for books last time and that was before I'd got airside at Gatwick and a look at the large airport only paperbacks!
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her sister was coming
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I think you're being a bit harsh on the members of my book group Kev!
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Most of the books covering the walls upstairs! Basically if I don't want to reread it or keep it for the children or my husband then it goes to the charity sale, but that still leaves several hundred. There are some books I loved but know I'll never reread - War and Peace being one, and others that get picked up regularly, Mapp and Lucia, Cold Comfort Farm, P & P, Dorothy L Sayers, Diana Wynne Jones to name but a few.
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I seem to be on a roll with good books at the moment (long may it continue!)
The House of Lamentations by Shona Maclean is the fifth in her series about Cromwell's agent Damien Seeker and is as good as the previous ones. She is so good at imbuing her stories with a sense of place.
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros is the sequel to Fourth Wing and is very good indeed, the sort of good where you ignore everyone in the room while you get on with the next few chapters. What's not to like about dragons, especially adolescent dragons with attitude? My only criticism is the sex scenes, I may be old and stuffy but my daughters are anything but and they agree, what Violet and Xaden get up to between the sheets does not need to be described in that detail and interrupts the flow of the story which is about dragons , their riders, other magical creatures and battles against evil.
Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin is a cosyish mystery written by a TV chef. It's light, well written, well plotted and great fun, prefect for the shift I was on yesterday which was lots of waiting around interspersed with short bursts of activity. One to look out for and I'll be reading his next one.
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1 hour ago, lunababymoonchild said:
Currently reading 'Salem's Lot, Stephen King
I think that's probably the best vampire story I've ever read and I've read quite a few.
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You obviously like Iain Banks. Have you read Espadair Street? I really enjoyed that one.
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On 2/18/2024 at 4:25 PM, muggle not said:
3. Iron Flame ( Book2 of the Empyrean series) - Rebecca Yarros - 4/5 -Iron Flame was every bit as good as Book 1, Fourth Wing. I hope that Rebecca Yarros continues the series. I believe the ending of Iron Flame leaves open the possibility of future books. The Riders of Dragons battle the bad guys in the exciting finish of book 2 but it appears that one of the main characters is gone, but maybe not. The personality of the dragons is interesting and a good part of the books. I recommend both Fourth Wing and iron Flame.
I've just started Iron Flame. I'm not talking to anyone.
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Kobo are launching two colour e-readers this month, one with a 6 inch screen, the other the Libra which is 7 inches. Both are waterproof. Apparently Amazon will be launching colour versions of Kindle next year.
Is colour important to you? I miss it in my Kobo Libra, particularly when I'm reading something with illustrations though I'm not so desperate for it that I'll buy a new Libra before my existing one gives up the ghost. I daresay I'll be playing with the demostration models in Fnac in Bordeaux when it comes out though.
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Yes, this one had a lot of plot similarities to one I'd read before (the first they wrote I think) and ridiculously useless police, both in 1990 and 2020.
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Another good run;
The Fake Wife by Sharon Bolton , this is a real page turner, not quite her best but still very good.
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo is the follow up to Ninth House and suffers a bit by comparison, that was so good and so different that it was always going to be a hard act to follow. This one wanders a bit in the first half but the last quarter is epic stuff. Definitely worth reading.
I tried Nicci French a couple of times and always found her a bit lacking,her plot lines had 'that really couldn't happen' elements - a girl disappearing, presumed murdered, last seen at a party of her parents. Turned out her best friend who was at the party had the same coloured hair so everyone presumed she was the daughter... Anyway Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter had such rave reviews that I bought it as an ebook special. It's certainly very readable, I finished it in 24 hours - being stuck in a car that had slid into a ditch for over two hours got me off to a good start, but afterwards I got that unsatisfied feeling you get from too many sweets. A really good mystery leaves you savouring things, this didn't.
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Scott is definitely a Marmite author. I used to love his books, less so now. He was a great storyteller but I think of his time, some of his attitudes stick in the modern craw particularly where Jews are concerned.
My book group read Ivanhoe a few years ago and two people said that if a book by Sir Walter Scott was ever chosen again they were leaving the group!
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On 3/30/2024 at 11:09 PM, muggle not said:
How did you like the big surprise at the end of Fourth Wing? It took me completely by surprise. Iron Flame is equally as good.
I really didn't expect that!
And yes, I've ordered Iron Flame...
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Oh goodness, how often do you read three books you can't put down in succession?
The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith is a prime example that certain books are definitely better suited to paper. I had it on my Kobo and gave up on it twice, long before I got to the infamous pages of tweets. Then on urging from another online book group I got a real book and was hooked, the tweets are easy to read on a proper page and do add a lot. Yes, it's too long and should have been edited but it's still very good indeed.
A Stranger in the Family by Jane Casey is the 11th in her Maeve Kerrigan series and the standard is keeping up. You need to start at the beginning for these books as the characters develop and change.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros For once the sort of facile comparisons to other books on the jacket are pretty close to the bone - this is The Hunger Games with dragons (and I loved the Hunger Games). It really is unputtdownable, I got up at 6 which is very unlike me just so I could fit in some intensive reading. The pace doesn't let up and there is a totally unexpected ending.
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3 hours ago, muggle not said:
Have you read the WinterNight Trilogy by Katherine Arden?
Yes, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Btw, just finished Fourth Wing. Wow!
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This is another one I really, really want to read!
Hux Book Blog 2024 (Spoilers)
in Past Book Logs
Posted
What a terrific review! Autumn Rounds is now on my wish list.