Your Book Activity - December 2015

[Anna Begins]

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

Wow- I loved this read, it might be my favorite of the year.

 

 

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!

Consider it a payback for telling me The Alchemist sucked  

 

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

 

Read over 100 books this year!

You might like the book I am currently reading, Gone by Michael Grant.  Congrats on the 100!

 

I plan to read A Christmas Carol at some stage before Christmas as I've never read it,

Oh, do!  It's not that long at all, I want to say about 120 pages.

 

I stayed up last night reading ^^ Gone by Michael Grant and ended up reading about 230 pages yesterday.  Which is good, considering it's 580 pages   

[Kylie]

Consider it a payback for telling me The Alchemist sucked

 

It's my mission in life to warn people off this book. 

[Athena]

I'm currently reading Robert Thorogood - Death in Paradise 1: A Meditation on Murder. It's a lot like the TV show and I'm enjoying it .

[chesilbeach]

I finished reading The Bees by Laline Paull this morning - it's for my book group meeting this week.

 

Think I'm going to try Emma by Alexander McCall Smith next.

[Nollaig]

Started reading Landline by Rainbow Rowell last night, one I've heard absolutely nothing about from anyone else. I'm really enjoying it! Read half of it in one sitting.

[Athena]

Started reading Landline by Rainbow Rowell last night, one I've heard absolutely nothing about from anyone else. I'm really enjoying it! Read half of it in one sitting.

I have it on my TBR, I read three books by Rainbow Rowell but I haven't read this one yet. I'm glad to hear you're really enjoying it!

 

I just finished Death in Paradise 1: A Meditation on Murder by Robert Thorogood. Now I'm at that point where I'm still processing the book I just finished so I don't think I'm ready yet to pick a new book! It will definitely be something that's not a thriller or detective (no crime solving books) seeing as my last few reads happened to be of those genres.

[Anna Begins]

I finished reading The Bees by Laline Paull this morning - it's for my book group meeting this week.

That's on my TBR for next year, like actually on a list, so I'll be curious to see how you like it!

 

It's my mission in life to warn people off this book. 

Well, I am grateful!

 

I had a terrible reading day yesterday, I just couldn't find time to read!  I am at 55% in Gone by Michael Grant... so about 319 pages.  I got an early start today though! 

[willoyd]

Well, Nollaig, Bobblybear and Anna, you were all too right. I finished Burial Rites last night - a brilliant read. I don't know whether it's quite going to make my top book of the year as it's likely to do for you Anna, but it's certainly on the short list. Very powerful, beautifully descriptive (having been to that part of Iceland, it certainly evokes the memories), really deep characters - it had the lot.

If you haven't read it, don't read the Amazon reviews, as there are all sorts of spoilers, which is a real pity, as the plotline contributes much to that power.

Edited December 18, 2015 by willoyd

[Nollaig]

I would love to go to that part of Iceland! I have a friend from Akureyri (now lives in Reykjavik) and I'd love to visit both the capital and northern Iceland. Glad you enjoyed the book, also not my top read but definitely on the short list

[Athena]

I'm currently reading Catherine Ryan Hyde - Chasing Windmills. I'm enjoying it so far, but I'm not that far into it yet (in fact I haven't read in it at all yet today). I hope to read more in it this afternoon.

[bobblybear]

I finished Wild by Chery Strayed this morning. Absolutely loved it.

 

Now I'm going to make a start on Death Descends on Saturn Villa by MRC Kasasian. Heard a few mixed things about it, so I wonder what I will make of it.

[Alexi]

I've been putting it off for that reason BB! Will be interested to see what you make of it.

 

I'm 3/4 of the way through the mammoth Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. I'm on a train all day tomorrow for work so hoping to get it finished. Am also listening to To Kill a Mockingbird on audiobook in the car to prepare for reading Go Set A Watchman in the New Year.

[BookShelfy91]

I have started reading The Count Of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas. Managed to start and finish Misery- Stephen King last night. Really starting to make some headway on my To Read list.

 

 

Shelfy

[Nollaig]

I have started reading The Count Of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas. 

Shelfy

 

Demanding in its length but a great read.

 

I finished All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. Really read like a John Green knockoff with no heart. 

 

Read A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (I nearly typed 'by Sherlock Holmes!') I'd never read any Sherlock novels/stories before, but since a friend of mine got me a beautiful complete works collector's edition, I decided to get them on my tablet (the book is too big, pretty and heavy to read out of) and start them. LOVED A Study In Scarlet and am now onto The Sign of the Four.

[Inver]

Finished reading 'The Snow Child' by Eowyn Ivey....very enjoyable. Now on to another Christmas read....'The Great Christmas Knit Off' by Alexandra Brown.

[Anna Begins]

I finished Gone by Michael Grant and am half way through The Other Boleyn Girl  by Philippa Gregory... at 350 pages or so.  Still, nice to see that 50% on the screen.

[muggle not]

The library didn't obtain "Sons" by Pearl S. Buck" so I broke down and bought it on Amazon for my kindle. So far, so good, about 25% into the book. 

[Anna Begins]

The library didn't obtain "Sons" by Pearl S. Buck" so I broke down and bought it on Amazon for my kindle. So far, so good, about 25% into the book. 

I was JUST thinking about that- how random.  Anyway, I am glad you are enjoying it, I can't decide which one is my favorite out of the 3.  I've read quite a few of her books (11, I think) and have never been disappointed.

[bobblybear]

I'm about a quarter of the way through Death Descends on Saturn Villa. It's good so far.

 

I've also started on A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I've read it a few times before but because it's so comprehensive there are always things that I have missed or forgotten.

[Athena]

I'm currently reading Michael Grant - Gone Saga 1: Gone, I'm at about 50% / halfway through. It's good so far.

[chesilbeach]

Slow reading week this week, but I did read a couple of short stories, and I'm about a third of the way through Alexander McCall Smith's retelling of Jane Austen's Emma.  I still don't like Emma as a character (and I know that's intentional), but I do like his Mr Woodhouse more and how's he's set the modern day story, although it's very wealthy society that doesn't bear much relation to any families I know!  It is taking a long time to get going, and we haven't really met George Knightley yet, so I'm reserving judgement on it as this stage.

[Anna Begins]

I finished Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl and have made The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough my last book of the year.  One of my favorites of all time, I revisit it from time to time.

[Nollaig]

I'm onto The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes, the first set of short stories. Looking forward to these and hoping they won't have so much background set in foreign countries featuring tons of exotic backstories for characters getting arrested! It's a bit like reading two different stories. 

 

Also reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Not very far in yet.

[willoyd]

Just finished The Fortune of the Rougons, the first in Zola's Rougon-Macquart sequence.  A bit of an introductory novel, but a good read all the same.  Certainly want to carry on the series.  Very hard (actually, nigh on impossible) to get a recent (i.e. twentieth century!) translation of the next in Zola's recommended reading order (not the same as the publishing order), His Excellencey, Eugene Rougon, but it was good to read Brian Nelson's recently completed translation of the first book - he seems to be doing others for Oxford World Classics, so hopefully they'll fill in the gaps in the not too distant future.

 

Just started Gwen Raverat's Period Piece, one of the Slightly Foxed editions of memoirs.

Edited December 23, 2015 by willoyd

[Athena]

I'm reading Trudi Canavan - The Age of the Five 1: Priestess of the White. It might be my last book I read in 2015. I felt in the mood for something a little bit more slow paced (not that it's very slow) as opposed to the fast paced Gone by Michael Grant that I just read. So far I'm really enjoying Priestess of the White.