BookJumper Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Hm, has anyone read The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by G.W. Dahlquist? After being intrigued by this ages ago (Waterstone's was giving out promotional booklets of the first chapter, and I devoured that) I flipped through it when it came out but didn't buy it because I got the feeling it would be a The End of Mr. Y kind of experience (brilliant premise, grippingly written, really want what happens next but the book turns out to be too explicit for the likes of me and I am forced to abandon it)... so I could use your comments; if after having read it you reckon it wouldn't bother me I'll read it also and we can trade opinions ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Has anyone read On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan? I was thinking about buying it. I read it when it first came out - it was an okay book - very short and quick read. It was okay, but I wasn't that enamoured - it was a bit over rated in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 After being intrigued by this ages ago (Waterstone's was giving out promotional booklets of the first chapter, and I devoured that) I flipped through it when it came out but didn't buy it because I got the feeling it would be a The End of Mr. Y kind of experience (brilliant premise, grippingly written, really want what happens next but the book turns out to be too explicit for the likes of me and I am forced to abandon it)... so I could use your comments; if after having read it you reckon it wouldn't bother me I'll read it also and we can trade opinions ! Well I'm a 150 pages in or so, and I don't think that the mild sexual nature of the book has drawn me away from the plot yet. Don't get me wrong, that could change as I progress. I actually thought of you when I started reading it. I'll let you know how I get on and then of course we can trade opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
page turner Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I've been debating buying the following two series the first is the fever series by Karen Marie Moning. Fever 1. Darkfever (2006) 2. Bloodfever (2007) 3. Faefever (2008) 4. Dreamfever They've been on my fishpond wishlist since I joined here so that leads me to believe someone on here has read them as it's not something I'd normally read. The second series is by Diana Wynne Jones called the Chrestomanci series 1. Charmed Life (1977) 2. The Magicians of Caprona (1980) 3. Witch Week (1982) 4. The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988) 5. Conrad's Fate (2005) 6. The Pinhoe Egg (2006) I was drawn to these after looking up the Howl's castle books of which I saw the cartoon version on telly a few months ago. Was hoping someone had some good/bad reviews on any of the books as I want to place an order soon and will probably need to cut one or the other off as it's too expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I haven't read them myself but according to my sister the "Chrestomanci" series is the best thing since toast and she's got a pretty good taste in books (second only to mine and my mum's, which towers over us all ), so I feel confident recommending that, if only second-hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikkititi Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 The second series is by Diana Wynne Jones called the Chrestomanci series1. Charmed Life (1977) 2. The Magicians of Caprona (1980) 3. Witch Week (1982) 4. The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988) 5. Conrad's Fate (2005) 6. The Pinhoe Egg (2006) I was drawn to these after looking up the Howl's castle books of which I saw the cartoon version on telly a few months ago. Oooooh, those titles sound intriguing! *runs off to investigate* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
page turner Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I've ordered the whole series so fingers crossed I like them. Oh I just checked out my order and realised that the books I originally started the order for have managed to jump back on my wishlist so weren't ordered - how annoying:irked: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 The Chrestomanci books are fabulous - I've read the whole series more than once! The Karen Marie Moning books are slightly adult books about the Fae, vampires and other creatures so whether you like them will depend on your reading taste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
page turner Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 The Chrestomanci books are fabulous - I've read the whole series more than once! The Karen Marie Moning books are slightly adult books about the Fae, vampires and other creatures so whether you like them will depend on your reading taste I've still got the Karen books on my wishlist - I seem to be reading lots of YA fiction at the moment. There's just so much good stuff out there at the moment for young adults it would be a crime not to read it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 There's just so much good stuff out there at the moment for young adults it would be a crime not to read it all. I agree! I've been reading a lot of YA fiction this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Has anyone read any of the following: "The Phoenix Guards" by Stephen Brust and/or its sequel "500 years later" (both prequels to his "Taltos" series, I believe) "The Looking Glass Wars" series by Frank Beddor "Calculating God" by Robert J. Sawyer They caught my eye in Forbidden Planet the other day and I was wondering if anyone could share opinions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ophelia Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 This thread has come along at a good time. I was given some books yesterday and was going to ask if people had read any of them. Donna Tartt - The Secret History Donna Tartt - The Little Friend Colette - The Claudine Novels Angela Carter - The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories Michael Chabon (ed) - All New McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories (collection of short stories by Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, David Mitchell and many others) I've read 'The Secret History' - twice. Loved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Has anyone read any of the following: "The Phoenix Guards" by Stephen Brust and/or its sequel "500 years later" (both prequels to his "Taltos" series, I believe) "The Looking Glass Wars" series by Frank Beddor "Calculating God" by Robert J. Sawyer They caught my eye in Forbidden Planet the other day and I was wondering if anyone could share opinions... I've read the first book in the Looking Glass Wars and loved it - I have the others here waiting to be read at some time this century I've read some Brust but not those particular titles, what I have read was okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 I've read the first book in the Looking Glass Wars and loved it - I have the others here waiting to be read at some time this century I've read some Brust but not those particular titles, what I have read was okay.Thanks for that, reviewers seem to be uncommonly divided on "The Looking Glass Wars" so I was unsure what to think! Although to be honest, some of the detractors sounded a bit on the dense side, such as the one who was horrified to think that others would fall for Beddor's claim that this was the "true" story of Alice in Wonderland. Obviously never heard of artistic licence and suspension of disbelief, some people... . I've never read any Brust, but this looked right up my alley because apparently it's a loving parody of the cash-driven eloquence of "The Three Musketeers" (Dumas was paid by the word) - "500 Years Later" being Brust's response to Dumas's "20 Years Later". Could I ask you why what you read of his was just "okay"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 It was a case of the right book at the wrong time, I'm sure if I reread the two books now I would probably have a different opinion but at the time I didn't like them too much. Having said that, I just flipped through my book journals and I absolutely loved Gypsy which I must admit I had forgotten was by Brust Mst people I know that have read the Beddor books really liked them and when I was working in a particular chain of bookstores they were very popular! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
page turner Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 I've read both The looking glass wars and Seeing Redd and enjoyed them both. I'm waiting for the third to be released which is slated for next month I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ophelia Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 'A Spot of Bother' by Mark Haddon. I want something to take on holiday with me that will be an enjoyable, but not too taxing, read. I like black comedy and someone has told me that this will do the job. Any of you good folk read it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirinrob Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Yes have started it and what I have read is very funny and written in an easy style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ophelia Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Yes have started it and what I have read is very funny and written in an easy style. Thanks, sirinrob! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirinrob Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Hope you enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I've read both The looking glass wars and Seeing Redd and enjoyed them both. I'm waiting for the third to be released which is slated for next month I think. It's out on October 15th - I was lucky enough to get an ARC but I've not read it yet! Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone has read The Affinity Bridge by George Mann? I keep getting recommendations for it and the other 2 in the series - this is the blurb from Amazon. "Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new era of technology, dazzled each day by new inventions. Airships soar in the skies over the city, whilst ground trains rumble through the streets and clockwork automatons are programmed to carry out menial tasks in the offices of lawyers, policemen and journalists. But beneath this shiny veneer of progress lurks a sinister side. For this is also a world where lycanthropy is a rampant disease that plagues the dirty whorehouses of Whitechapel, where poltergeist infestations create havoc in old country seats, where cadavers can rise from the dead and where nobody ever goes near the Natural History Museum." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysalis_stage Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 It's out on October 15th - I was lucky enough to get an ARC but I've not read it yet! Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone has read The Affinity Bridge by George Mann? I keep getting recommendations for it and the other 2 in the series - this is the blurb from Amazon. "Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new era of technology, dazzled each day by new inventions. Airships soar in the skies over the city, whilst ground trains rumble through the streets and clockwork automatons are programmed to carry out menial tasks in the offices of lawyers, policemen and journalists. But beneath this shiny veneer of progress lurks a sinister side. For this is also a world where lycanthropy is a rampant disease that plagues the dirty whorehouses of Whitechapel, where poltergeist infestations create havoc in old country seats, where cadavers can rise from the dead and where nobody ever goes near the Natural History Museum." I have had this book in my amazon basket for too long I keep umming and ahhing on whether to buy it too as it sounds really good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 'A Spot of Bother' by Mark Haddon. I want something to take on holiday with me that will be an enjoyable, but not too taxing, read. I like black comedy and someone has told me that this will do the job. Any of you good folk read it? Hello, I read this a little while ago and really enjoyed it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I have had this book in my amazon basket for too long I keep umming and ahhing on whether to buy it too as it sounds really good! It does doesn't it? The blurb makes it sound exactly like something that I would love! I think I might just go for it anyway - I'll let you know if it's any good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueB Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Has anyone read The Last Watch by Sergei Lukyankenko? I bought it randomly on Play.com just wondered what feedback anyone has to share! Many Thanks xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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