Jo-Bridge Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 My reading List! I'm currently reading: Love in The Time Of Cholera- Gabriel Garcia Marquez Tami Hoag- Night Sins LITTOC- really enjoying this but as the writing is so beautiful I'm reading it slowly and not rushing through to find out the ending as I can do! Its also really funny which I didnt expect and he draws the characters really tenderly while also showing their ridiculous sides! TNS- just started last night and kept me up longer than I intended! I think the characters are going to be a bit cliched but it was a great start! Finished this week A Drink Before the War- Dennis Lehane ealier this week. Really enjoyed this and felt it explored deeper themes than your average crime thriller. like the way Angie is a bit more complex than "fiesty female cop" stereo type! Its first in a series so I think the books will get better now the characters and setting have been established! My to read list (I have all these on my shelf waiting so please give me a talking to If I buy/borrow anything else!!!: Any recommendations as to which of these I should try first? My Side of the Story- Will davis Spot of Bother-Mark haddon A Dark Adapted Eye- Barbara Vine Emperor Orchid- Anchee Min Reading The Ceiling-Dayo Foster Anne Bronte-Tenant of wildfell Hall Anne Bronte-Agnes Grey Shirley-Charlotte Bronte The professor-Charlotte Bronte Wuthering Heights-Emily Bronte Resistance- Owen Shears Rebecca- daphne Du Maurier The assasignation of Jessee James.... Ron hansen Chocolat-Joanne harris Slave- Mende Nazer The Magicians Guild Lovers room-Steven carroll Ernest Hemmingway- The Old man and the sea Pure Land-Alan Spense SE Hinton-The Outsiders Peter James- Dead Simple House at Riverton- Kate Morton Death Of Kings-Conn Iggulden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Hi! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying LITTOC, I happened to stumble upon that book in a bookshop today and was wondering if it would be worth a read. I'll probably give it a try. Have you read anything other by Dennis Lehane? A Drink Before the War sounds good, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 Hi! No I haven't read anything else yet. He also wrote Mystic river and Gone Baby Gone which have both been made into films. I've seen Mystic River and I'm concerned i would see the actors rather than imagine the characters if you know what I mean. plus I know whow it ends! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nici Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 How about one of the classics? I have just started reading the classics so would love to hear your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted September 25, 2008 Author Share Posted September 25, 2008 Think i will try a book by the bronte sisters Nici thanks. Now I just need to choose which one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Wuthering Heights! It's a bit of work to get into I remember, but fantastic once you're there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted September 25, 2008 Author Share Posted September 25, 2008 Wuthering Heights! It's a bit of work to get into I remember, but fantastic once you're there. Thats a good one actually- I live in Bronte Country so I wont have any problem visualising the locations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted October 1, 2008 Author Share Posted October 1, 2008 I've just finished Tami Hoag- Night Sins. "Megan O'Malley, the first female field officer of the state's criminal investigation bureau, is forced into a close working relationship with Mitch Holt, the town's police chief, when a child goes missing. Against the background of a multijurisdictional criminal investigation, dialog and plot flow smoothly, and elements of romantic tension that serve to define the characters further are seamlessly inserted into the basic mystery/suspense theme. Current news topics, such as the presence of known pedophiles in a community and the problems of childcare in homes with two working parents, help fuel important subplots. The investigatory techniques are all presented intelligently and provide a strong framework for this gripping suspense tale. Highly recommended for current fiction collections." I can only describe it as, well ,a bit silly! I love a good thriller and they dont always have to be hyper realistic but characterisation wasnt great with some real cardboard cut out characters and lazy descriptions- the police chief looks like Harrison Ford apparently! Also some awful "romantic scenes" , a cute kid and an annoying female lead who just seemed to stomp around accusing everyone of not taking her seriously because shes a woman! I wasnt keen on her either! Hung in for the ending though- you have to with a thriller...and it was a bit of a cop out! Really enjoying Anchee Mins' Empress orchid and Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez at the mo. Wuthering Heights is next I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 Empress Orchid- Anchee Min "To rescue her family from poverty and avoid marrying her slope-shouldered cousin, seventeen-year-old Orchid competes to be one of the Emperor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I really enjoyed Empress Orchid too Must get round to reading the sequel too. I loved the characters and the story line, and it was so wonderfully written Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Read Love In The Time Of Cholera Started of loving this and the writing IS amazing and just beautifully descriptive. I also looked the way that characters were drawn as well. However, I just feel that something about this book left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Fermina Daza is a really well drawn character and I enjoyed her passages of the book but i didnt feel that the other female characters were drawn particularly well and there were a some thoughts and feelings coming directly from the women characters themselves which I found unsettling. O ne character yearns for the man who raped her and whos face she never saw and the relationship between Florentino Ariza and his young school girl charge America was presented as a relationship rather than abusive What does anyone else feel who read this book? Also, I cannot see how in earth this book could have been made into afilm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 Chocolat-Joanne harris.....one of my favourites....oh and eat some too while eating, if you don't you will be wanting to by the end... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted October 25, 2008 Author Share Posted October 25, 2008 Just finished- Trudi Canavan- The Magicians Guild "Each year the magicians of Imardin gather together to purge the city streets of vagrants, urchins and miscreants. Masters of the disciplines of magic, they know that no one can oppose them. But their protective shield is not as impenetrable as they believe. Sonea, angry, frustrated and outraged by the treatment of her family and friends, hurls a stone at the shield, putting all her rage behind it. To the amazement of all who bear witness, the stone passes unhindered through the barrier and renders a magician unconscious. The guild's worst fear has been realised ...There is an untrained magician loose on the streets. She must be found before her uncontrolled powers unleash forces that will destroy both her, and the city that is her home." Really enjoyed this book- great characters and a page turner! The main character Sonea reminded me a lot of Lyra in the dark materials trilogy by Philip Pullman which I loved. Stayed up a good two hours after I meant to because I just had to finish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted October 26, 2008 Author Share Posted October 26, 2008 Just finished Dead Simple-Peter James It was meant to be a harmless stag night prank. A few hours later, four of his best friends are dead and Michael Harrison has disappeared. With only three days to the wedding, Detective Superintendent Grace - a man haunted by the shadow of his own missing wife - is contacted by Michael's beautiful, distraught fiancee, Ashley Harper. Grace discovers that the one man who ought to know Michael Harrison's whereabouts is saying nothing. But then he has a lot to gain - more than anyone realizes. For one man's disaster is another man's fortune..." This was a really enjoyable thriller- with some great twists! Not great for anyone with claustrophobia either! I wasn't too sure about some of the dialogue which seemed a bit like the author was trying too hard to be young which was suprising as I think the author is a writer for film and tv but this was a minoir thing! Will be interested to raed more from the series- was quite intrigued by the detectives interest in the supernatural and mediums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted October 26, 2008 Author Share Posted October 26, 2008 Just started Stallion Gate- Martin Cruz Smith. I'm loving this already! Its set during the second world war during the development of the atomic bomb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nici Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I absolutely love Peter James. Every one of his books has been just as good as the last one. Brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share Posted November 13, 2008 Stallion Gate- Martin Cruz Smith n a New Mexico blizzard, four men cross a barbed-wire fence at Stallion Gate to select a test site for the first atomic weapon. They are Oppenheimer, the physicist; Groves, the general; Fuchs, the spy. The fourth man is Sergeant Joe Pena, a hero, informer, fighter, musician, Indian. These four men Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 Act Of God-Graham Phillips Few know that the face on the famous death mask of Tutankhamen is not his at all. This book reveals an historical mystery which overturns Ancient Egyptian chronology, and also provides evidence that the Parting of the Red Sea and Plagues of Egypt in the Bible are accounts of actual events Really enjoyed this non-fiction book- dragged a little in the middle section but overall couldnt put it down. I love all things ancient egypt and found that aspect of the book fascinating- equally fascinating is the story of the european explorers who "discovered" the hidden tombs and mummies. It explores a discovery of a mummy interned in a very unusual way for an egyptian mummy (the body is male but positioned like a female, all traces of their name removed, all pictures which would have guided the person in the afterlife removed) and links this to a short period in egyptian history where traditional worship of their gods were all abandonned in order to be replaced by the worship of a single god "Aten" by the Pharaoh seemingly without any challange. The central premise which is that an actual event ( I wont give it away!)led to the short lived change in egyptian religion and also led to the events described in the bible such as the exodus and the plagues. Its a very interesting argument but btied together a little too neatly to fully convince. Really recommended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 Dont look Now- Daphne Du Maurier Read these short stories very quickly as they were just so wonderful. Cant tread to re-read "Rebecca" now! What I loved is that nothing she writes in this story is ever obvious and no character is ever less than brilliantly drawn. none of the endings in these stories are obvious- there are two stories with quite shocking "twist" endings but others end completely differently just as you are expecting a shock ending Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Those two both sound interesting! I like short stories, and Daphne Du Maurier is someone I keep meaning to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipread Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Act Of God-Graham Phillips Few know that the face on the famous death mask of Tutankhamen is not his at all. This book reveals an historical mystery which overturns Ancient Egyptian chronology, and also provides evidence that the Parting of the Red Sea and Plagues of Egypt in the Bible are accounts of actual events Think I`m going to check this book out, it sounds really interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted November 21, 2008 Author Share Posted November 21, 2008 Ian Rankin (Writing as Jack Harvey)- Blood Hunt It begins with a phone call. Gordon Reeve's brother has been found dead in his car in San Diego - the car was locked from the inside, a gun in his hand. In the US to identify the body Gordon comes to realise that his brother has in fact been murdered. What's more, it is soon obvious that his own life is in danger. Once back in Scotland he finds out that there have been more visitors than usual to his house and his home has been bugged by professionals. But Reeve is a professional too. Ex-SAS, he was half of a two-man unit with someone he came to fear, then to hate. It looks like his Nemesis is back. The horror has just begun . . . This is a good thriller and a real page turner but its no where near as good as Rankins Rebus books. I dont think Rankin is particularly comfortable when the action moves to the U.S in parts of the book but the main problem is that it gets a bit silly- very Rambo/Steven Segal towards the end!!!!!!!!!! I liked his previous Jack Harvey book "Witch hunt" which had a bit of an implausible villan but pulled it off. This didnt but it still passed the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Dont look Now- Daphne Du Maurier Read these short stories very quickly as they were just so wonderful. Those two both sound interesting! I like short stories, and Daphne Du Maurier is someone I keep meaning to try. Oh you must. As JB says - wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 Trudi Canavan- The novice Sonea knows the other novices in the Magicians' Guild all come from powerful families, but she also knows she can turn to Rothen and Dannyl for help when she needs it. That is, until someone starts spreading malicious rumours about her - and Akkarin, the High Lord, steps in. Prompted by the Guild Ambassador, Lord Dannyl leaves for the Elyne court. His first order from Administrator Lorlen is to resume, in secret, High Lord Akkarin's long-abandoned research into ancient magical knowledge. Not knowing the true reason for his journey, Dannyl is soon facing unexpected dangers. Meanwhile, Sonea has almost forgotten the High Lord's dark secret, but keeping the truth hidden may be a grave mistake. The second in The Black Magicians trilogy. Really enjoyed this- takes you a little farther into the alternative world in which the book is set and the different races and countries making up that world. The characters have also grown since the first book and they are very well developed in this- I felt like I was a little attached to them by the end of it. A great villan to and a bit of a mystery as to what his motives are. I also liked that the character of sonea is in her late teens so her problems are a bit more interesting. Looking forward to reading the third! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 Patricia Highsmith- The Blunderer A second suspense story has much of the malevolent intensity of Strangers On A Train and the whim of circumstance does much to victimize Walter Stackhouse, a lawyer. A newspaper clipping of an unsolved murder of a Mrs. Kimmel obsesses him with the possibility of her husband's guilt, and is at the back of his mind when he follows his own wife (whom he dislikes) who is to meet her death in a parallel situation. The police make a natural affiliation of the two crimes; Kimmel, his equanimity shaken, is now a vengeful man; and Walter, deserted by his friends and disbelieved by the police, is both the blunderer and the killer's butt. I didnt enjoy this as much as I thought I would. It was still a gripping read and I liked 1950's office politics, sexual politics and rinking in the afternoons! I found it too similar to another of her books, "Stangers on a train". However I found it harder to empathise Stackhouse as he makes such stupid decisions and I felt that by the end his situation is of his own making rather than something tragic or even inevitable. The "Bad guy" Kimmel also is too odious- he isnt an oddly appealing anti-hero like Tom Ripley. I also found it odd that the female characters felt like thinly drawn "bad" and "goodl" types when they were written by a female. Sue Grafton- D is for Deadbeat and E is for Evidence Love Sue Graftons books and read these 2 in as many days! Liked seeing Kinseys more vulnerable side in E is for Evidence. I alos like that the books follow pretty closely after each other so Kinsey is still the same age and still in the 80s! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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