Alexi

I'm back from the US with horrendous jetlag and a pile of reviews to catch up on I've now started The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan - premise sounds promising and I am enjoying the Scottish accents in the early pages

I'm an avid fan I'm a Giants fan. I don't want to talk about it I went to see the Raiders this afternoon though, and life really could be much worse. I could be a Raiders fan. Ouch, they were dreadful.

Thanks for this review Willoyd - I've just bought it for kindle based on this

I'm finding it a little tricky to get into Love in the Time of Cholera, so have started Mr Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore alongside it, which I'm absolutely loving so far.

7 books in 7 days is crazy - unless you do nothing else but read and even then surely they would be short books! Assuming you aren't reading seven kindle singles/kids picture books or something, I guess... Shame you didn't enjoy Elizabeth is Missing, I have it on my TBR but will try and not let your review put me off

Ha - brilliant, scathing review of the Reacher kindle single! I do love negative reviews. They are much easier to write and more entertaining to read I find. And also good for the size of the wishlist and TBR pile

The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud Synopsis: From a writer “of near-miraculous perfection” (The New York Times Book Review) and “a literary intelligence far surpassing most other writers of her generation” (San Francisco Chronicle), The Emperor’s Children is a dazzling, masterful novel about the intersections in the lives of three friends, now on the cusp of their thirties, making their way—and not—in New York City. (From Goodreads) Thoughts: This is rather an apt title for a book that seems to divide opinion in reviewers and critics. It is rather an unfortunate title, one suspects, for a book that attempts to be multi-layered and comment on society, but to this reader at least came across as pretentious, overrated twaddle. It seems to have gone down well with critics, but most reviewers on Goodreads seem to agree with my assessment. The prose is absolutely beautiful, but the plot is close to non-existent at times and it could have done with some heavy editing. The three friends mentioned in the synopsis met at college and are now living their meandering lives in New York at the turn of the century. Add to this, one of the character's famous literary father, and a cousin who idolises him and you have a cast of rich, vacuous characters it is impossible to care a jot for. They all appear, in their own ways to be on the verge of a mid life or third life crisis (delete according to generation), and at least three seem to be entirely self-destructive. But we never get any resolution on their arcs, so not only did we not care in the first place but we reach the end with all of them pretty much exactly where they started and me wanting to throw the book out of the window. We finish with the attack on the Twin Towers in 2001 and it all feels like it is building up to a crescendo of drama and then... nothing. Nothing. The characters speak in a way that I have never heard anyone speak, and although the prose is wonderful in places, it does help the reader if occasionally a full stop is used rather than trying to cram five ideas into various parentheses. I gave this a 2 when I first finished it but this review is rather scathing so I feel that may have been generous. It was probably due to the prose I marked it up. Avoid. 2/5 (It barely reached ok)

When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde Synopsis: When Nathan McCann discovers a newborn baby boy half buried in the woods, he assumes he's found a tiny dead body. But then the baby moves and in one remarkable moment, Nathan's life is changed forever. The baby is sent to grow up with his grandmother, but Nathan can't forget him and is compelled to pay her a visit. He asks for one simple promise - that one day she will introduce the boy to Nathan and tell him, 'This is the man who found you in the woods.' Years pass and Nathan assumes that the old lady has not kept her promise, until one day an angry, troubled boy arrives on his doorstep with a suitcase . . . (From Goodreads) Thoughts: I've had this on my kindle for a while now, but finally picked it up due to the continued praise of the author I read on this forum, mentioning no names...! I'm glad I did, for this was a thoroughly enjoyable read and a great introduction to an author I certainly hope to read more of. She packs a lot in to what appears, at first, to be a simple plot line, but there is a lot of emotion and depth in there and it is that that drives the reader on. The character of Nathan is wonderful, and I wondered if CRH had experience of adoption/fostering, because the relationship between the two main characters works wonderfully well, but I'm sure that Nathan is the exactly the sort of man that the social services system would hope is on hand to pick up the pieces when a damaged child is rehomed. Nathan and Nat are flawed, and both exasperated me at times during this read but I really could root for them, and that made it a very emotional read. The writing style might fool you into expecting an easy read, and while the book flies along at a fair lick, I wouldn't ever categorise something like this that tugs in so many heart strings as easy. More CRH needed on my TBR. 4/5 (I really enjoyed it)

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle Synopsis: When even Sherlock Holmes is threatened, it seems that no one can escape the death and dread that blight Victorian England. (From Goodreads) Thoughts: Hmm. This was the last collection of Sherlock short stories I had to read - although I still have two novels to go, and I'm glad I didn't finish my Holmes reading on this collection. Arthur Conan Doyle had clearly tired of the character by then and didn't intend to write any more Holmes, but did as a result of public pressure. I think that's obvious, and I wonder what the baying public made of this. Sort of like persuading your favourite player to come back for a swan song only to discover that the manager was probably right to move him on in the first place. Apologies for the sporting analogy... There are some touching moments in this collection, such as Holmes' genuine concern for Watson when he gets injured, and a few experiments by Conan Doyle - such as Holmes describing his own cases for the reader with no Watson as scribe - but on the whole, you're relying on the reader to already have a love of Holmes. Fortunately I do, so I enjoyed the collection but it is a bit odd in places and one story in particular seemed to lack any semblance of point. I'm glad I still have a couple of novels to go on which to end my experience of Holmes, and I can't rate this collection beyond a 3. 3/5 (I liked it)

That's interesting! I was intrigued by the ones he's done on Ireland but maybe Sarum is the one to go for. Wave when I'm in San Francisco the following week - I will be closer

Great reviews Noll! The Cry is on my TBR so great to read another recommendation after Janet's as well.

Finally finished New York by Edward Rutherfurd. What an absorbing read, that flew along for 500 years of rich history. Wonderful stuff, that has left me chomping at the bit for my flight to JFK in 2 weeks. Now starting Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere but Cluj, a city in Romania, are offering free rides on public transport if you're reading http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/romanian-city-offers-free-rides-to-people-reading-on-the-bus-10463497.html

Interesting reviews Willoyd I've got Humans on my TBR and will be reading Cranford for the ECC - although I may now go for North and South first after reading your review.

It does feel a bit whistle-stop tour - I've read 250 pages and we are now in 1775 on the brink of independence! - but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I love New York and I'm reading it as a prelude to my time there in 3 weeks However he's written a similar tome about London and I'm intrigued by that now. Surely that would be even harder to do in 1000 pages given it was populated years earlier than New York? Or indeed New Amsterdam as it is when we start in 1666! Your ancestors were brave people I think. What a leap of faith to sail across the ocean from Netherlands/England/France etc, never see family again and take up a new life in (at that time), a very small settlement - at least by European, if not Native American, standards? The history of the U.S. fascinates me to be honest

I recently read a book like that J. I hope you are spared!!

I do worry that in 200 years time small children will be in history lessons learning about the now extinct "library" and wondering how we ever let such a service go.

I've now finished The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith. It's not great literature by any means and I want to not like them, but they're such easy reads when I don't have much time to devote to a book properly. Enjoyed it! Now starting a(nother) 1000 page epic - New York by Edward Rutherfurd. Fiction, but takes us through from New Amsterdam in 1664 through to the early 2000s. Should be interesting!

I think I bought the exact same shirt and have the exact same problem I was thinking black skinny jeans and knee high boots with a very long shirt. Like I clearly intentionally bought it that long... Not sure how many I will fool. Very wintry look that though so going to wait until September to get it out of the wardrobe!

I must read this soon! What I find interesting is on this forum we all read a lot of different genres and styles yet this seems to cross over and everyone loves it. Great review Brian.

Great reviews Noll. Feed sounds like a great idea yet poorly executed and that never fails to annoy me!

Copied from my book log: I read this as a group read with Janet and Claire, and I decided to that mainly because the novel intimidated me. Why, I cannot say, except perhaps for length, and it's status as a classic - but without the familiarity of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen in today's literature/popular culture. The first thing to say is: please don't follow my lead. Please don't be intimidated by this novel. It's surprisingly accessible, and very readable. The only exceptions to that are the paragraphs were Eliot goes off at a slight tangent about her views on the society of the day - these often require multiple readings to get one's head around! However, they aren't that regular and even if you skipped them entirely it wouldn't detract from the actual plot. This weighty tome follows the lives of three couples, with the main heroine Dorothea Brooke - decades ahead of her time, rather like the author! It does take some time to get into and the first 100 pages feels a little meandering, but actually it's a clearly plotted novel and the prose is gorgeous. What I did like most about the book was that within the confines of West Midland society at that time, we are introduced to a snapshot of it. The differing couples have different levels of wealth and ambition and none are perfect - all have vices. Even if Rosamond had a few more than the others and I wanted to repeatedly slap her! Willoyd noted that it was best to read this novel in chunks and I definitely think he's right. I enjoyed it the most when I gobbled it up in big sittings, which makes it ever the more intriguing that it was published over a period of months (over year I think?) as a serial. I am deducting one mark because it took me a little time to get into and it seemed to end rather abruptly, but I certainly have no regrets in tackling this classic and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thanks for reading alongside me, Janet and Claire

Middlemarch by George Eliot I'm not including a synopsis because the ones I can see on Amazon are distinctly spoiler (!), while many of the ones on Goodreads seem to extoll the virtues of Eliot rather than actually describe what the book is about. I read this as a group read with Janet and Claire, and I decided to that mainly because the novel intimidated me. Why, I cannot say, except perhaps for length, and it's status as a classic - but without the familiarity of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen in today's literature/popular culture. The first thing to say is: please don't follow my lead. Please don't be intimidated by this novel. It's surprisingly accessible, and very readable. The only exceptions to that are the paragraphs were Eliot goes off at a slight tangent about her views on the society of the day - these often require multiple readings to get one's head around! However, they aren't that regular and even if you skipped them entirely it wouldn't detract from the actual plot. This weighty tome follows the lives of three couples, with the main heroine Dorothea Brooke - decades ahead of her time, rather like the author! It does take some time to get into and the first 100 pages feels a little meandering, but actually it's a clearly plotted novel and the prose is gorgeous. What I did like most about the book was that within the confines of West Midland society at that time, we are introduced to a snapshot of it. The differing couples have different levels of wealth and ambition and none are perfect - all have vices. Even if Rosamond had a few more than the others and I wanted to repeatedly slap her! Willoyd noted that it was best to read this novel in chunks and I definitely think he's right. I enjoyed it the most when I gobbled it up in big sittings, which makes it ever the more intriguing that it was published over a period of months (over year I think?) as a serial. I am deducting one mark because it took me a little time to get into and it seemed to end rather abruptly, but I certainly have no regrets in tackling this classic and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thanks for reading alongside me, Janet and Claire 4/5 (I really enjoyed it)

She can't do convincing anything yet that has never held her up in the past

A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor Synopsis: Book Two in the madcap time-travel series based at the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research that seems to be everyone's cup of tea. In the second book in the Chronicles of St Mary's series, Max and the team visit Victorian London in search of Jack the Ripper, witness the murder of Archbishop Thomas a Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, and discover that dodos make a grockling noise when eating cucumber sandwiches. But they must also confront an enemy intent on destroying St Mary's - an enemy willing, if necessary, to destroy History itself to do it. (From Amazon) Thoughts: After loving the first book in the St Mary's series, I was eager to start book two. Our favourite tea-drinking tribe are back careering their way through history - it's great fun seeing history through modern eyes as it were, however (in)accurate the pictured scenes may be. The plot isn't quite as good as the first in this series, but it's a fun, quick read with great characters. The pace fairly rattles along and I was tempted to immediately read the short story between books 2 and 3 as soon as I'd finished - but restrained myself, for now... It feels like a guilty pleasure as it is such an easy read (478 pages according to Amazon, I read it on my kindle) that utterly whiz by, but Taylor packs a lot in. Some might say she packs too much in - there's a lot of sub-plots here - but they're such fun reads. 4/5 (I really liked it)