willoyd Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) March was off to a fast start with a book for one of my book groups: The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith. It's a while since I read quite such a load of dross. I thought that The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry could well be out on its own as my Duffer of the Year, but it's actually got a really strong contender. At least there was a point to the latter. The one saving grace about this book is that it took barely a couple of hours to read. 1 star. Edited March 1, 2022 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Currently reading Golden Hill by Francis Spufford as recommended by Willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Read 34% of Jane Smiley’s The Strays of Paris (a.k.a Perestroika in Paris) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
France Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Currently reading Girl, Woman, Other and taking it very slowly because I'm enjoying it so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 3 hours ago, France said: Currently reading Girl, Woman, Other and taking it very slowly because I'm enjoying it so much. A wonderful book IMO. Have read a couple of others since, and they're not far behind! Currently reading His Excellency Eugene Rougon, the second book (chronologically, not publication order) in Emile Zola's Rougon-Macquart sequence. Pretty good so far (one-third in). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 Finished His Excellency Eugene Rougon this morning. A slower read than I usually find, not least because I needed to force myself to slow down and read each and every paragraph carefully to get the full benefit of his highly descriptive writing. Once I did - and I should have remembered from reading previous books of his - I found myself really immersed and reluctant to put it down, whereas I'd previously struggled to stay engaged. An increasingly absorbing insight into French Second Empire political and social life. 4 stars (out of 6). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hux Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Berlin Alexanderplatz. Less stream of consciousness, more stream of dialogue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Currently reading Thomas Bernhard, Goethe Dies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 4 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said: Currently reading Thomas Bernhard, Goethe Dies. Finished it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 Read 37% of The October Man (Rivers of London #7.5) so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 Currently reading Sacred (Kenzie and Gennaro Book 3) by Dennis Lehane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share Posted March 11, 2022 (edited) Finished In The United States of Africa by Abdourahman Waberi, a short (123 pp) but challenging read, set in a world where Africa is the 'first' world, and Europe and America are the 'third' world. The book for Djibouti on my Read Around the World. 4 out of 6 stars. Moved on to Chocolate House Treason by David Fairer, a chunky 600+ page read set in early 18th century London. Edited March 18, 2022 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted March 12, 2022 Share Posted March 12, 2022 Just bought : Satantango by Laszlo Krasznahorkai Impatience of the Heart by Stefan Zweig Curved Origami: Unlocking the Secrets of Curved Folding in Easy Steps by Ekaterina Lukasheva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudz Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 Hmm…it looks like a lot of the members on here read books that are way above my intellect. My reading has been pretty much non-existent for the past week and a half due to me having had Covid; it hit me a lot harder than I thought it would and I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything. This morning, however, I settled down with Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge, the first book in the D. I. Helen Grace series, and I am flying through it. Really enjoying it so far and looking forward to reading the other books in this series. I love it when you find a new series, particularly when there are already several books written. Debating with myself over whether to read them back-to-back or alternate them with other books. Decisions, decisions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Kudz said: Hmm…it looks like a lot of the members on here read books that are way above my intellect. My reading has been pretty much non-existent for the past week and a half due to me having had Covid; it hit me a lot harder than I thought it would and I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything. This morning, however, I settled down with Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge, the first book in the D. I. Helen Grace series, and I am flying through it. Really enjoying it so far and looking forward to reading the other books in this series. I love it when you find a new series, particularly when there are already several books written. Debating with myself over whether to read them back-to-back or alternate them with other books. Decisions, decisions... The Dennis Lehane that I've just read isn't above your intellect. Straight forward crime novel by the writer of Shutter Island. Sacred is the third in a series of six Kenzie and Gennaro (detectives) novels set in America. And Shutter Island is a cracking not hard read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Currently reading Serotonin, Michel Houellebecq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Just bought The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill by C.S. Robertson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 On 13/03/2022 at 2:26 PM, Kudz said: Hmm…it looks like a lot of the members on here read books that are way above my intellect. My reading has been pretty much non-existent for the past week and a half due to me having had Covid; it hit me a lot harder than I thought it would and I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything. This morning, however, I settled down with Eeny Meeny by M. J. Arlidge, the first book in the D. I. Helen Grace series, and I am flying through it. Really enjoying it so far and looking forward to reading the other books in this series. I love it when you find a new series, particularly when there are already several books written. Debating with myself over whether to read them back-to-back or alternate them with other books. Decisions, decisions... What did you decide!? I always have to pace myself when I find a great new series. I don't want it to be over too fast . I just finished reading the fifth book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage - which is an example of a series I'm pacing myself with. It's also a children's book, so definitely below the intellect level of your last read! Just started Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (which, from the first chapter, seems totally crazy but also very addictive). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bel-ami Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) Having read a few thrillers already this year, I thought I'd move onto some classic literature starting with Jane Austen - I've only read Pride & Prejudice and Emma previously - so I'm now mid-way through Sense & Sensibility. Thankfully I'm really enjoying it, like I did Pride & Prejudice. (Emma I just found a bit irritating). Edited March 16, 2022 by Bel-ami Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudz Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 15 hours ago, Hayley said: What did you decide!? I always have to pace myself when I find a great new series. I don't want it to be over too fast I can understand this and usually I would do the same but as I have been in a little bit of a reading slump recently and am only just getting my mojo back, I decided to continue with them, at least for the time being. I figure I can always read something else after the first 2-3 books if I feel like I need a break from them. I’m currently halfway through the second one Pop Goes the Weasel. On 13/03/2022 at 3:59 PM, lunababymoonchild said: The Dennis Lehane that I've just read isn't above your intellect. Straight forward crime novel by the writer of Shutter Island. Sacred is the third in a series of six Kenzie and Gennaro (detectives) novels set in America. And Shutter Island is a cracking not hard read. Although I haven't read anything by him, I have heard of him. I’ve just looked up Shutter Island and it sounds like it might be my kind of thing, so will be adding that to my 'to-read' list and will also check out some of his other work. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lau_Lou Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 On my currently reading list Rereading Animal Farm. Thirteen Problems Agatha Christie A Storm Of Swords G Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
France Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 On 15/03/2022 at 11:20 PM, Hayley said: What did you decide!? I always have to pace myself when I find a great new series. I don't want it to be over too fast . I just finished reading the fifth book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage - which is an example of a series I'm pacing myself with. It's also a children's book, so definitely below the intellect level of your last read! I'm like that too except I got one of Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan's books as a Kobo cheapie during lockdown (no 4 in the series I think) and on finishing bought all the rest in the series and read them all in order. I was really sorry to get to the end too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
France Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 I've just bought The Magician by Colm Toibin (I looked up how to pronounce his name so won't embarrass myself now) to start after I've finished The Course of Honour by Lindsay Davies which is the story of the Emperor Vaspasian and his freedwoman lover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 (edited) Had very reluctantly to put Chocolate House Treason (which I was really enjoying) aside to ensure I finished The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula Le Guin) in time for the book group whose choice this was this month. This (latter) was one that took some considerable effort and more than one go to get into, but eventually rewarded that effort with narrative that grew on me (and a powerful passage set on the planetary icecap) and considerable though provocation, particularly over gender, but also on aspects of society and government. I'm probably undergrading it, but initial reaction says 4 out of 6 stars. Edited March 18, 2022 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudz Posted March 19, 2022 Share Posted March 19, 2022 Since my last update I have now finished Pop Goes the Reader, have read The Doll’s House and am currently about 180 pages into book 4, Liar Liar. I’m not enjoying this one quite as much as the previous three in the series, but it is still good. I am thinking of taking a break from the series after this though to read something else; not sure what and I probably won’t need to decide until tomorrow, but I think it’s time for something a little more light-hearted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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