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Your Book Activity - August 2017


Athena

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16 hours ago, Alexi said:

I finally finished American Gods! Nearly three weeks that has taken me. 

 

Did you like it?

 

16 hours ago, Alexi said:

Planning to spend some time this weekend updating lists and working way through ReviewsOfDoom. 

 

Lol :P. Good luck :)!

 

I finished my previous book yesterday, but am not sure yet what I want to read next. I've got some other things planned for today, so I might not pick another book until tomorrow. I'm a mood reader, so will see what I feel in the mood for later. I'm still not entirely out of my reading slump unfortunately.

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Two books finished in quick order in the last day or so, both started whilst away on holiday in the Hebrides.  One on the Kindle - Sightlines by Kathleen Jamie, a series of short essays that I could read in bed (after lights out!), and the other in paperback - Sea Room by Adam Nicolson, all about the Shiants, a small group of islands just off the coast of Harris/Lewis, and almost visible from where we were staying for the second half of the holiday.  A brilliant holiday, and two excellent books, both on 5 stars.

 

A bit of a loss as to what to go onto next, but have provisionally plumped for some more short essays, this time A Point of View by the late and great polymath, Lisa Jardine.

 

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I'm nearly halfway through The Burning, a DC Meave Kerrigan crime thriller by Jane Casey. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the title character or her colleagues yet, but the writing is very good and I'm enjoying the story, so will definitely continue with the series. There's six books in this series, so I'm glad I'm enjoying it as the other two series I've enjoyed recently (Maggie Neville and Matilda Darke) have only 1 and 3 books respectively so far.

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I'm reading two books at the moment. The Idiot Brain by Dean Burnett which falls under neuropsychology. And for a lighter touch, I'm also reading After You by Jojo Moyes. I'm still drastically behind on reviews...I have no idea what is going on but I just find it hard to motivate myself to write them. :blush: I'm still reading though, so that's the main thing I guess! :lol:

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Had a couple of days of sitting and waiting, so have been devouring books and have finished four books - Storm in a Teacup and The Persephone Book of Short Stories both of which I was already over half way through, then today I've read Cream Buns and Crime by Robin Stevens and The Long and Short of It by Jodi Taylor (which is a collection of short stories which had mostly initially been available as audiobooks, but collected together with a  brand new story, so I whizzed through most of it having read/listened to most of them before).  The new Chronicles of St. Mary's is out on Thursday, so the short stories were a nice settling into the world again before I start the new one which I've pre-ordered. :)

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Lisa Jardine lived up to all expectations, A Point of View being a collection of thought provoking essays from the eponymous Radio Four programe.  They are a little bit dated, mostly from around 2006, but most still have something strong to say about life and events today.  5*.

Have now moved on to Peter Clarke's The Timeless Way, in which he puts together a walk the length of the Outer Hebrides based on old tracks and ways.  Interested as have just returned from there.

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Decided to give the police procedurals a break for a little while - they're a bit like fast food, they're the easier option in terms of time and they do satisfy a craving, but rarely as satisfying as something that requires a bit more effort.

 

So, I'm reading Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist which so far I'm enjoying a lot.

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3 hours ago, Nollaig said:

So, I'm reading Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist which so far I'm enjoying a lot.

 

I keep seeing this at the library and can't decide whether to give it a go!

 

I'm now reading We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson. I'm intrigued so far. :o

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7 minutes ago, bobblybear said:

 

I keep seeing this at the library and can't decide whether to give it a go!

 

I'm a quarter of the way through, and so far it's almost entirely not about the disappearance mentioned on the cover. It's about people related to them, mostly recounting their histories from long before the disappeared person was born. Fortunately, though it's quite rambling and doing little more than telling you about these people, it's beautifully written and the people are super interesting, so I'm thoroughly enjoying it! I will report back when it's finished :)

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Still reading A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel.  I'm almost two-thirds way of the through it.  It's good, but slow-moving and bleak, so I'm reading it in small chunks.  When I finally finish it, it'll be September -- which means I'll be diving back into my murder mysteries for the onset of autumn!  Wahooo!  Agatha Christie (et al), here I come.

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3 hours ago, Lau_Lou said:

My reading has slowed down a bit. I am hoping to get the books I am currently reading finished by the end of August.

 

I am in the mood for some history/historical fiction.

My girl Philippa Gregory I think and want to try a new author Alison Weir.

 

 

I read Alison Weir' s The Lady Elizabeth ( oslt ), and quite enjoyed it ( but not as much as the superb P.G. :)

 

I'm up to page 174  of The Goldfinch by Donna Tarry. It's great so far, but I'm still feeling the loss of my reading mono. Hopefully reading something so good will restart my reading engine. ;)

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I finished Harbour. While there was a lot I loved about it (the writing, characters, setting, concept), it was reeeeeeally drawn out and kept jumping from present day to the past to fill in the gaps about what's happening in the community. It seemed to take a very lot time to tell, essentially, quite a simple story. And it was enjoyable, but not very rewarding, ultimately. So I only gave it 3 stars. (@bobblybear)

 

Yesterday I started Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas. Read just over half of it yesterday, really enjoying it. A few cliches, but I'm as clueless as the characters about what's happening and why!

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Have gone a bit mad with book buying recently, with a special deal on Georgette Heyer books on Kindle and then a trip to the book shop on Saturday, my TBR is back up over 50, but I'm not bothered.  I'll start working my way through them again and see how I get on.

 

Books bought are:

A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer

Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer

Charity Gril by Georgette Heyer

Cotillion by Georgette Heyer

Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer

Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer

The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore

Freshers by Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison

Indigo Donut by Patrice Lawrence

Lockwood & Co: The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

The Huntress: Sea by Sarah Driver

 

I'm going to an event with Ali Smith and Kamila Shamsie later in the year, and I've never read any of Kamila's books, so I've also just downloaded Home Fire which is one of the books they'll be discussing, so I'll be a bit more informed before the talk.

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Rattled through three or four books in the last few days, all of them pretty short, including The Timeless Way by Peter Clarke, More About Paddington (read for the Popsugar challenge category, a previously read book guaranteed to raise a smile - more like an out and out howl of laughter!), and The Bridges of Madison County.  Now a change of pace, as have started Arnold Bennett's chunky Clayhanger, this month's choice for my book group - to be discussed next Monday!

 

 

Edited by willoyd
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A long weekend and I hardly read anything, seem to have slowed down on my reading for some reason, cannot say I am doing anything else to replace it.  It had to happen I suppose.

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Finished Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas, really enjoyed it. Quite original, and while I did guess one twist, I didn't guess another two. Loved the ending.

 

Now halfway through Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I'm generally reluctant to read books about unusual individuals, as I usually don't get along with these books. Eleanor is funny, I've laughed out loud a few times. But as with many of these kinds of characters, she comes across almost as a caricature of someone who isn't 'stereotypically normal' and as such is a source of amusement for the reader. I can relate to the majority of her attitudes and her social attitudes, so apart from her exaggerated lack of social skills, her way of speaking and the obvious impact of her past, she's not that odd to me! She's more social at work than I am! I like Raymond, though. Interested to see where the book goes, but can't imagine it'll be more than a 3 star read.

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On 8/26/2017 at 3:45 PM, Little Pixie said:

 

I read Alison Weir' s The Lady Elizabeth ( oslt ), and quite enjoyed it ( but not as much as the superb P.G. :)

I have to agree about PG vs AW. I have never liked AW's historical fiction. As a historian, she is amazing. But PG is great with the historical fiction.

 

Hi everyone!  I've missed you all! I am back to reading and with Athena's encouragement, I decided to come back :)

 

Recently, I have finished a few re reads, like Memiors of a Geisha and Only Ever Yours by Louise O'neil.

 

Some new ones I enjoyed were Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, which I read as an Immersion Reading book. That got me interested in mountain climbing books- this is totally NOT me at all lol- and I also enjoyed K2: The Savage Mountain by Charles Houston and Robert Bates. One of my next reads will also be about a K2 climb (one of the worlds 14, 8,000 meter mountains (28,000 feet). They are the highest in the world- topped by Everest- but K2 is more deadly. It is in Pakistan).

 

Right now I am reading No god, But God by Reza Aslan, about the Muslim faith and also Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright, about plagues and illnesses that have afflicted civilization.

 

Good to "see" everyone again :wub:

Edited by Anna Begins
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2 hours ago, Nollaig said:

But as with many of these kinds of characters, she comes across almost as a caricature of someone who isn't 'stereotypically normal' and as such is a source of amusement for the reader.

 

Yes, that was one of the problems I had with the book.  Playing Eleanor for crass laughs seemed a bit "off" to me, to be honest.  (That, and the utter predictability of the plot!)

 

 

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