bobblybear
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Posts posted by bobblybear
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Thanks!
Yeah, I've been fortunate in my recent reads. Let's hope the trend continues!! 
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I started This Is Life by Dan Rhodes last night. Good so far.
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1Q84 – Haruki Murakami
Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
Watership Down - Richard Adams
The Surgeon of Crowthorne - Simon Winchester
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Forensics - Val McDermid
I'm always interested in books on forensics, and I'd had this on my wishlist for a while, but was very surprised to see it at the local library. I haven't read any of Val McDermid's fiction books (I'm open to recommendations)...not sure why as I've seen them around, but I just haven't got around to trying them out.
This is a very comprehsive look at all aspects of forensics. It covers the usual areas of blood spatter analysis, fingerprinting and DNA profiling. But it also delves a bit deeper into the history of how these sciences became refined, including many cases of injustice in the long ago past, when forensic science was still in it's infancy. It also looks at more modern computer based techniques which have assisted in tracking criminals online.
There are some illustrations as well, but nothing too gory.
The version I read was a hardback, and every page had a lifesize picture of a fly somewhere on the margin, which caught me off guard more times than I care to remember.
If you have any interest in forensics, then I would highly recommend this one as a very good overall view on all aspects of it.
5/6
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Nod - Adrian Barnes (abandoned)
A strange illness has swept the world preventing millions from sleeping. Our narrator is one of the few who has no problems sleeping, but his partner is one of those people suffering from lack of sleep. Over the next few days, normal living begins to deteriorate as the effects of this illness spreads through society.
I wanted to like this so much, but in the end I had to abandon it about halfway through. It wasn't half as interesting as the premise sounded, and I didn't like the way it was written. I thought there was too much emphasis on certain characters, and rather than look at the impact on society as a whole, it became about a cult obsessed with one irrational man who claimed to have all the answers.
It's a pretty short book – maybe a bit over 200 pages – but even so I couldn't finish it.
2/6 (even though I couldn't finish it, I somehow feel it deserves more than 1/6.
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Chocolate Wars - Deborah Cadbury
Deborah Cadbury is a distant relative of the famous Cadbury's brothers who built up the famous chocolate brand. She's an author of 6 other books (on a variety of topics – I enjoyed her The Dinosaur Hunters, about the early years of fossil discoveries), so she's an author in her own right, but I guess she was very well suited to write this one, given her family connections.
This was a very detailed book and I found it so interesting to read about the history of so many of these giant confectionery companies (Rowntree's and Fry are mentioned throughout in plenty of detail) and how they got started and built up together. I was fascinated by the Quaker history and ideology that they built into their business, though funnily enough Cadbury's business took off when they went against Quaker principles, and decided to place advertisements for their products.
It surprised me how charitable these businesses were, and how they genuinely cared for their employees. They even had a rural home set aside for any employees who felt they needed to get away and have a break from everything.
It also covered the growth of Nestle, Hershey and Mars in a fair amount of detail.
It took us up to the recent takeover by Kraft. I wished there was a bit more about this, but I guess it was early days when the book was written.
The book has plenty of old photographs of key people, as well as the old factories and this provided a wonderful insight into this era.
Recommended.
4.5/6
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This Must Be The Place - Maggie O'Farrell
This is the latest Maggie O'Farrell book, which was released earlier this year. I'm a massive fan and have read (and enjoyed) all her books, so I had high hopes for this one. I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.
Daniel Sullivan is an American, now living in Ireland. He is married to a once famous but now very reclusive film star, Claudette Wells. They have two young children together, and he also has another two children from his first marriage who live in America.
Daniel has moved on from his life in America, with Claudette. However, by sheer chance he catches a radio broadcast excerpt delivered by a woman he knew back in the 1980s. This and a few other events leads him to travel to America to unravel the mystery surrounding this woman.
There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and I got a bit confused with the constant jumping from one country to another and the timelines. A lot of her books are like that, come to think of it, but I think this one had more characters than usual.
I didn't like Claudette. She wasn't meant to be unlikeable but I simply couldn't warm to her, however that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.
It's a very non-linear story that jumps around in time, from the 1980s when Daniel was a young man living in America, and Claudette's career just starting, to 2013 when Daniel is trying to resolve issues from his past.
It's wonderfully written, and though it's a fairly decent size I read it pretty quickly. Another win for O'Farrell.
5/6
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IT and The Stand are also such long books that I've always been put off them for that reason. I may just have to bite the bullet and give them all a go.
Oh don't let that put you off! They both hook you in right from the start, and I found them very hard to put down. They are two of my favourite King books. IT is a bit more 'horrory' than The Stand, I think.
What about Christine? That one was pretty good, but it has been a while since I read it.
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I watched The Revenant last night. I really enjoyed it....it was a bit violent though.
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^ I second this. I'm re-reading it at the moment, and there is so much information in there. It must have taken years of research.
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I hope you enjoy all three of these
.Thanks, I'm sure I will.
I've just started Child 44 by Tom Robb Smith. It's been sitting on my bookshelf since before Christmas but with there being so much to read I've never got round to it. Only 80 pages in but have to say very impressed.
I loved Child 44. I thought it was a cut above many of the crime thriller that are out there today. Hope you continue to enjoy it.
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I'm still reading The Hills Is Lonely. It's a short book but it seems to be taking me forever.
I went to the library today and borrowed:
The Book of Strange New Things - Michel Faber
Cell - Stephen King (a re-read but I haven't seen it at the library before, so figured I'd give it another go)
Flight Behaviour - Barbara Kingsolver
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I loved Pillars of the Earth as well. I've read it a couple of times, but that was a while ago and I mean to give it a re-read at some point.
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I watched the movie earlier this week.....highly recommended.
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I'm still watching Orange Is The New Black. I love the flashbacks to what caused the women to end up in prison.
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Room, which I loved. Point Break remake, which I gave up on as it was rubbish. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - enjoyed it a lot, but I don't think I'd watch it again. It must be very difficult for people who lost someone in 9/11 to watch it.
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I loved I Let You Go (like you say, best twist ever!
) , so I have high hopes for I See You. I've just looked at my libary catalogue and they have one copy, currently out on loan with four reservations pending. So, I will get to it at some point hopefully. I have Apple Tree Yard on my Kindle waiting to be read, so I'm glad you gave it a good review.
I read Before I Go To Sleep a while back, and I remember enjoying it, but not much else about it. I recall the twist but that's about it. I wouldn't mind seeing the movie either.
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Oh, I've always been too skittish of Bukowski's novels
, (so far anyway) but I do love his poetry! Ham on Rye is on the wishlist now This is the only one I have read, and apparently it's the most autobiographical of his books. I enjoyed it, but I have no idea how it compares to his other books.
Oh yeah, my most fave read of the year by far
It's not for everyone, I hope you shall like it It will be my next read, after I finish The Hills Is Lonely.
Ooh, there's a blast from the past. My Mum read some of her books in the 1970s - I remember the pretty covers. I hope you enjoy it.
The cover on my Kindle version is very dull, but the cover on the Kindle app on my phone is quite pretty. Not sure why they are different though. Maybe my phone has the latest cover as the books only download when you select them to read.
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I've started The Hills Is Lonely by Lillian Beckwith. I've had it on my Kindle since 2012
. I'm not sure why I bought it - maybe a recommendation from this site? - but I'm enjoying it! I've only read the first chapter, but it's good so far. -
I finished Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski this morning. Loved it! Not sure what is up next though. I may try to sneak a Kindle book in before tackling my next library read.
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How's it going?
It's going ok, but I need to read it for a decent length of time, instead of 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there!
I also borrowed This Is Life by Dan Rhodes, which I think you gave a rave review recently?
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Have you had a chance to read Stiff by Mary Roach?
I have...I've read it a couple of times....very entertaining.
I finished Smoke Gets In Your Eyes....a really interesting read.
I'm not sure what to read next. I'm still working my way through A Short History of Nearly Everything but I'd like to read a fiction along side it. I'm considering The Distant Hours by Kate Morton but haven't fully made my mind up yet.
Edit: What am I on about? I decided on Ham on Rye this morning!
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Oooh, this one is on my wishlist, and this has had a lot of good reviews, though i'm sure that I will have to be in a light frame of mind when I actually read it
Oh, you should definitely get it! It's a very interesting (with a bit of humour) read. I thought the author was a bit too flippant in the first chapter, but as she reveals more about herself you can see she has a genuine interest in cremation and concern that it is done correctly.
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I'm really keen to read this, and also watch the movie. Sounds like you really enjoyed it.
I've just logged on to Amazon and the Kindle version is only £0.99! Needless to say, I bought it.
Bobblybear's Book List - 2016
in Past Book Logs
Posted
The Maggie O'Farrell may not be for you then, as it is basically a familial/social/romantic drama.
You may enjoy Nod....it was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke award, so it can't be all bad. It just wasn't my cup of tea.