Your Book Activity - December 2015

[bobblybear]

I started Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Enjoying it much more than I was expecting to.

[Anna Begins]

I started Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Enjoying it much more than I was expecting to.

I found it way too depressing! Hopefully you will find it less so.

[pontalba]

I've finished The Door by Magda Szabo, (review on my book thread) and now I'll get back to Truth and Other Lies.

[bobblybear]

I found it way too depressing! Hopefully you will find it less so.

 

I'm not finding it too bad, aside from the start of the book. She's about 300 miles through her hike at the moment, and I take my hat off to her. She's so brave going it alone. I'm such a wussy-pants, I could never do that!!

[willoyd]

Did you like/ read Lord of the Flies?

 

We were read it as a class reader when I was eleven or twelve.  I hated it then, and had it on my hate list for years.  For some reason, I read it again a couple of years ago, and thought it really good - not a favourite, but vastly better than I had previously thought.  I suspect, in hindsight, that I was simply not ready for it.

 

Have just given up on Consider Phlebas, around 150 pages in.  Just found it confusing, and, perhaps partly as a result, a real drag to read; certainly not worth wading through another 300 pages or so.  A pity - I was really looking forward to it.

Edited December 14, 2015 by willoyd

[Athena]

I finished reading Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Loved it!! Halfway through reading it I realised that I have Hercule Poirot's Christmas on my TBR pile, so I'm going to read that before the end of the year.

Oooh let me know what you think of the latter . I have it in Dutch as an ebook.

 

I am currently reading Gabrielle Zevin - The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. I've only read 20 pages, but I am intrigued so far .

[Janet]

Halfway through reading it I realised that I have Hercule Poirot's Christmas on my TBR pile, so I'm going to read that before the end of the year.

I chose that for Book Club so I'm going to be starting that when I've finished my current read. 

 

I bought the paperback and then typically a week later it went down to £1.49 on Kindle!    Ah well...

[Anna Begins]

I read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park and started James Hankins The Prettiest One, it was free to Prime members a few months ago.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Anna Begins

[Nollaig]

I've started reading A Pleasure & A Calling by Phil Hogan. So far so good!

[Anna Begins]

I'm not finding it too bad, aside from the start of the book. She's about 300 miles through her hike at the moment, and I take my hat off to her. She's so brave going it alone. I'm such a wussy-pants, I could never do that!!

Oh me neither!  Will you/ have you seen the movie?

 

We were read it as a class reader when I was eleven or twelve.  I hated it then, and had it on my hate list for years.  For some reason, I read it again a couple of years ago, and thought it really good - not a favourite, but vastly better than I had previously thought.  I suspect, in hindsight, that I was simply not ready for it.

I read Lord of the Flies later in life and hated it, tried it again and still hated it! 

[bobblybear]

Oh me neither!  Will you/ have you seen the movie?

 

I haven't seen it yet, but will do so once I've finished the book. Have you seen it?

[frankie]

I finished reading Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay last night. Read about 200 pages in bed It was so good! I didn't think I'd finish it when I picked the book up from where I'd left off, what with that many pages still to go, but I couldn't put it down  

 

Then I started reading Skeleton Crew by Stephen King. I've read it before, or at least some of the stories in it... I've been meaning to re-read the book for years, because there's the story of Gramma in it and I started thinking about it some years ago, while discussing Stephen King in some reading log or another... Might have been my own reading log. I think it was peacefield who told me what the story was called, and thus it went on my mental must re-read list  

[Anna Begins]

I haven't seen it yet, but will do so once I've finished the book. Have you seen it?

No,  my mom wanted to see it, but we haven't yet.  I thought I'd read the book first too, but then found the book too sad!

 

Well, I am done messing around with just "ok" books.  I gave up The Prettiest One by James Hankins.  I was into it, but it wasn't making me grab my kindle.  So, on Gaia's suggestion I picked up Gone by Michael Grant and I am loving it!  It's long though, about 600 pages.  And there are 6 of them!  Next year is starting to look like the year of the series.

[pontalba]

I've started reading A Pleasure & A Calling by Phil Hogan. So far so good!

 

Oh, glad to hear it!  I hope it lives up to expectations.

 

 

I read Lord of the Flies later in life and hated it, tried it again and still hated it! 

 

I read it in school, don't remember thinking too much about it.....I should reread, just for the experience.

 

 

I finished reading Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay last night. Read about 200 pages in bed It was so good! I didn't think I'd finish it when I picked the book up from where I'd left off, what with that many pages still to go, but I couldn't put it down

 

I've read a few of Barclay's books, and enjoyed every one of them.

[Anna Begins]

I read it in school, don't remember thinking too much about it.....I should reread, just for the experience.

Don't.  Really.

Just kidding

 

And I'm glad you were able to enjoy BBC Magazine, I buy it issue by issue, but I find I want most of them!

[willoyd]

Have just given up on Consider Phlebas, around 150 pages in.  Just found it confusing, and, perhaps partly as a result, a real drag to read; certainly not worth wading through another 300 pages or so.  A pity - I was really looking forward to it.

Have followed this with Hannah Kent's Burial Rites.  Rapidly tucked a hundred pages under my belt - a brilliant read.  What a contrast!

[Nollaig]

Have followed this with Hannah Kent's Burial Rites.  Rapidly tucked a hundred pages under my belt - a brilliant read.  What a contrast!

 

Great read. Glad you're enjoying it.

[Kylie]

I am currently reading Gabrielle Zevin - The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. I've only read 20 pages, but I am intrigued so far .

 

I loved this! I hope you're enjoying it.

 

I chose that for Book Club so I'm going to be starting that when I've finished my current read. 

 

I started reading Hercule Poirot's Christmas last night. A few pages in I thought the characters seemed a bit familiar. Sure enough, I've actually read it last year and had forgotten (I rated it 4/5 stars, Athena). I've decided not to read it again—too many other books on the TBR pile, including many by Agatha Christie. I hope your book group enjoys it, Janet.

 

I read Lord of the Flies later in life and hated it, tried it again and still hated it! 

 

I read it once and hated it. I sometimes think that I should give it another go, but you've inspired me to hold off. Thanks!

 

Then I started reading Skeleton Crew by Stephen King. I've read it before, or at least some of the stories in it... 

 

This was one of the first SK books I ever read. I borrowed it off my brother when I was in my teens. Is this the one that has The Lawnmower Man story? If not, it must be the other short story collection I read around that time (name escapes me at the moment). Ooh, and does it have the story about the trucks (I think it's actually called Trucks)?

[Timstar]

I read Lord of the Flies later in life and hated it, tried it again and still hated it! 

 

I hated it in School as well! No desire to give it a second chance though

 

Read over 100 books this year!

Edited December 16, 2015 by Timstar

[Janet]

I started reading Hercule Poirot's Christmas last night. A few pages in I thought the characters seemed a bit familiar. Sure enough, I've actually read it last year and had forgotten (I rated it 4/5 stars, Athena). I've decided not to read it again—too many other books on the TBR pile, including many by Agatha Christie. I hope your book group enjoys it, Janet.

Thanks.    I finished my book last night so I'm going to start it today.   I've read/listened to quite a few Christies this year - they've all been good. 

[Kylie]

I've read/listened to quite a few Christies this year - they've all been good. 

 

I've read most of her best-known books by now, and I keep thinking that the next one will be a dud—they can't all be that good, right? ...But they are! The only mild disappointment so far has been Black Coffee, but that was a novelisation of her play that was written by someone else, so I can forgive it.  

[bobblybear]

Have followed this with Hannah Kent's Burial Rites.  Rapidly tucked a hundred pages under my belt - a brilliant read.  What a contrast!

 

I read this earlier in the year.....it is such a good read.

[Athena]

Have just given up on Consider Phlebas, around 150 pages in.  Just found it confusing, and, perhaps partly as a result, a real drag to read; certainly not worth wading through another 300 pages or so.  A pity - I was really looking forward to it.

x

I'm sorry it wasn't your cup of tea. I thought it was confusing too at first, but I did enjoy it by the end. It's not my favourite book of Iain M. Banks, but I liked it enough to buy more of his books.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying Burial Rites

 

I loved this! I hope you're enjoying it.

x

I really enjoyed it ! Such a great book.

 

I started reading Hercule Poirot's Christmas last night. A few pages in I thought the characters seemed a bit familiar. Sure enough, I've actually read it last year and had forgotten (I rated it 4/5 stars, Athena). I've decided not to read it again—too many other books on the TBR pile, including many by Agatha Christie. I hope your book group enjoys it, Janet.

x

Whoops . I'm glad you found out early on. Thanks, good to know .

 

Read over 100 books this year!

x

Congratulations !

 

I'm currently reading Robin Cook - Autopsie (Drugs and Death in Key West). I haven't read anything by Robin Cook since I was a teenager, so it's partly nostalgia for me (I don't think I read this one before but I couldn't say for sure). I'm enjoying this novella so far .

[Nollaig]

Oh, glad to hear it!  I hope it lives up to expectations.

 

Loved it! Felt the thriller aspects were a bit disjointed and sudden by comparison with the otherwise meandering pace of the novel, but I did love it and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it

 

I plan to read A Christmas Carol at some stage before Christmas as I've never read it, and I do have a copy of it at home in a collection of Dickens stories (it's that white hardback Penguin one with the snowflakes on it - there's a series of classic novels, the Oscar Wilde one is black with white feathers etc). I picked it up because it was pretty and because I should have tried Dickens out many years ago.

[Athena]

I plan to read A Christmas Carol at some stage before Christmas as I've never read it, and I do have a copy of it at home in a collection of Dickens stories (it's that white hardback Penguin one with the snowflakes on it - there's a series of classic novels, the Oscar Wilde one is black with white feathers etc). I picked it up because it was pretty and because I should have tried Dickens out many years ago.

You should totally read it . I didn't get on with the four other Dickens story in my short story collection, but I loved A Christmas Carol. Your edition sounds so pretty . I hope you enjoy reading it .