Karsa Orlong

Oh you'll hate it, for sure, you're such a sensitive thing. I think you should read it immediately

Thanks bobbly! Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel - finished 13/06/13 Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden Prophecy by S. J. Parris - finished 18/06/13 The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy - finished 27/06/13 The Odyssey by Homer Something by David Gemmell, to be decided (probably either Hero in the Shadows or The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend) A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge The Technician by Neal Asher Pompeii by Robert Harris The Silver Spike by Glen Cook - finished 22/06/13 The one no-one saw coming: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee I'm going off-plan for my next read, as I'm at home so can dig into the big Jules Verne hardback and read From the Earth to the Moon

Sounds like another negative for audio books! Try reading it. Asher's books are the definition of 'action packed'

Book #35: The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy From Amazon: Los Angeles, 15th January 1947: a beautiful young woman walked into the night and met her horrific destiny. Five days later, her tortured body was found drained of blood and cut in half. The newspapers called her 'The Black Dahlia'. Two cops are caught up in the investigation and embark on a hellish journey that takes them to the core of the dead girl's twisted life . . . Thoughts: This, the first book in Ellroy's 'LA Quartet', is a work fiction based around true events: the horrific murder of Elizabeth Short in Los Angeles in 1947. The story itself covers the period 1946 to 1949, and is about LA cop Dwight Bleichert and his partner Lee Blanchard, two ex-boxers who become obsessed with the investigation for quite different reasons. I don't know much about the real-life case, apart from the fact that it remains unsolved, and was every bit as gruesome as Ellroy describes it herein. There's a lot of detail of Bleichert and Blanchard's investigation, naturally, but how much of it holds true to the real investigation I don't know - not a great deal, I suspect, else Ellroy's story would be quite different. What I can say for sure is that The Black Dahlia is not for the faint-hearted or easily offended. Quite apart from the murder itself - and in typical Ellroy style - he paints a disturbing picture of LA in the 40s, and the people who inhabit it. Racism, sexism, in fact every kind of bigotry you can imagine, is exhibited by the characters, some of the cops being the worst examples. Corruption is rife, from the ruthlessly ambitious wannabe-district attorney Ellis Loew downwards. The cops will stop at nothing to get a conviction, even if it means withholding or even faking evidence. You suspect that Ellroy has an axe to grind, given his own mother's murder (I haven't read his book about this, called My Dark Places). This is nothing new if you've read Ellroy before, so I knew what to expect. It's tough to look beyond the depravity but, if you can, you find a warts-and-all portrayal of police procedure coupled with visceral characterisation. Hard-boiled does not even begin to describe it. It's difficult to say I enjoyed a book this full-on, but I did find it extremely compelling, stark, and unsettling - as I have done with his other books that I have read. Ellroy is a brilliant, brilliant writer. I just wouldn't want to meet these people in real life. This website has more details of the actual murder. 9/10

It would help if she could get the ball over the net, I suppose Guess I have to support Lisicki now. Guarantees she won't make it to next week

Hang on, you can see me?

That's nice to hear! My favourite read so far this year is without a doubt Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies. Just behind that, Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold and Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep (which was a re-read). Honourable mentions: The Iliad (Fagles translation), Ready Player One (Ernest Cline), The Coldest War (Ian Tregillis).

Knock him dead, Sari. Not literally. You know what I mean

So refreshing to see someone playing serve and volley (or, as I like to call it, 'proper tennis' ). I reckon these top players are so busy prancing around on the baseline they've forgotten how to play against that style. Hope Stakhovsky goes a lot further Well, the tough half of the draw isn't looking so tough for Murray anymore I take it back about not needing ear protectors after hearing the noise the girl playing Sharapova was making

Her and Azarenka? No need for the ear protectors this year, then!

It's as good a reason as any I suppose

Good grief

Oops Yep, it might be a difficult one if it's their first SF book! Stories involving time dilation do my head in as it is How on earth did it get chosen? Well I look forward to hearing what you think of it, good, bad or indifferent

She played well, didn't she? And she was so sweet with the fans afterwards I see Azarenka's pulled out. My ears are thankful Crikey, Darcis has pulled out, too. ETA: . . . and there goes Ana for another year

Nice price! Personally I'd go for The Lions of Al-Rassan, as it's my favourite. If you want to push the boat out, the two-parter Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors is fantastic, as are A Song for Arbonne and Tigana. Basically, you can't go wrong, providing you don't buy Lord of Emperors without getting Sailing to Sarantium

Castle 5x14. A very amusing episode

Touché Like you meant it that way

That seems to happen a lot around here! I hope you enjoy whichever books took your fancy, if and when you read them

But you're in my thread, therefore I laugh at your so-called rules

Ooh, loads. A lot of the ones I like use real events as a background to their story, if that's of any interest to you? Some of my faves are: Bernard Cornwell - try Harlequin (I know others here can recommend his Sharpe books, too) Patrick O'Brian - try Master and Commander which is the first book of his Jack Aubrey series, although it's quite heavy on nautical terms so could try jumping to Post Captain or HMS Surprise instead Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies, about Thomas Cromwell (probably my favourites but her writing style seems to be an acquired taste) Steven Pressfield - try Gates of Fire, brilliant novel about the Battle of Thermopylae Rory Clements - try Martyr, the first of his Elizabethan 'John Shakespeare' thrillers Robert Harris - try Imperium, about the Roman senator, Cicero Steven Saylor - try Roman Blood, the first of his 'Roma Sub Rosa' series of mysteries set in Ancient Rome Phil Rickman - try The Bones of Avalon Karen Maitland - try The Owl Killers C J Sansom - try Dissolution, the first of his 'Shardlake' murder/mysteries set in the time of Henry VIII Conn Iggulden - his 'Emperor' series, about Julius Caesar, or his 'Conqueror' series, about the Mongol warlords (Genghis Khan etc) There are others I haven't delved too deeply into so far, but want to, like Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane, but that'll do from me - hope it helps

It's a great book I like the sounds of your book group

I meant the end of this year, not 2033

Mine's a Kindle Keyboard If you want it just for reading I'd suggest staying away from the Kindle Fire, as it's a tablet and doesn't use e-ink technology. The Kindle Paperwhite is the one to go for these days, although it's probably worth waiting till the end of the year, when they inevitably bring out the next model and iron out any kinks in the first one

And you call me a cheater. For shame!