Ooshie Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Well I chose Weaveworld this time. Yay! Hope you enjoy it, or I will feel soooo bad for talking you into it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I just bought my first Vance novel The Blue World, have you read it Vodkafan? He has indeed Hope you enjoy it Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 (edited) He has indeed Hope you enjoy it Timstar Hi Timstar yes it is my favourite Jack Vance book and one of my favourite books of all time. I eagerly await your written review or any thoughts you get part way through!Poppyshake enjoyed it too. Edited May 15, 2012 by vodkafan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Yay! Hope you enjoy it, or I will feel soooo bad for talking you into it... Nah, you should never feel bad for getting someone to read a book, even if they don't like it! Anyway, going by the 270-odd pages I've read so far, I think you're safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 15, 2012 Author Share Posted May 15, 2012 I'm going to read Weaveworld too soon. I think that's one we might both like Steve it sounds good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Hi Timstar yes it is my favourite Jack Vance book and one of my favourite books of all time. I eagerly await your written review or any thoughts you get part way through! Poppyshake enjoyed it too. Cool, glad to hear it. I just bought it on a whim based on his reputation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 I finished The Naked Civil Servant and another LGBT book that was on my kindle for good measure. So that's my Genre Challenge done for this month. Will review them saturday. Am now free to choose whatever books off my TBR that I fancy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marypaixao Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Hey! Thanks for the welcome! From your read-list, I've read 2 books: both from Stephanie Plum's series! I've been meaning to read Jenny Downham's Before I Die -- I already have You Against Me by her and heard a LOT of great comments about her writing! And I'd also like to read The Catcher in the Rye, but I really don't know when I'm going to. There's a "Girl Meets Boy" in your wishlist... Who's the author? I don't know other books from your lists =( Happy read-year! \o/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 Hey! Thanks for the welcome! From your read-list, I've read 2 books: both from Stephanie Plum's series! I've been meaning to read Jenny Downham's Before I Die -- I already have You Against Me by her and heard a LOT of great comments about her writing! And I'd also like to read The Catcher in the Rye, but I really don't know when I'm going to. There's a "Girl Meets Boy" in your wishlist... Who's the author? I don't know other books from your lists =( Happy read-year! \o/ Hi Mary, Girl Meets Boy is by Ali Smith, a writer I have just discovered. Yes Before I Die was great, very moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marypaixao Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Hi Mary, Girl Meets Boy is by Ali Smith, a writer I have just discovered. Yes Before I Die was great, very moving. Thanks! I read the synopsis of Girl Meets Boy, it's seems very interesting! (: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 (edited) Thanks! I read the synopsis of Girl Meets Boy, it's seems very interesting! (: I have only read Chesil's review but I liked the book of short stories I read by her (The First Person and Other Stories). Hold On Stop The Press! I have just had a count up of my TBR. Not counting books on my kindle I have 34 actual physical books to read. Even if I read nothing else that will take me until about november to get through all those. And that doesn't include about a dozen I am planning to box up and send to Charmer along with her hair dryer. (we split up a week ago) So I am putting a complete stop on all book buying until further notice. Unless I see an Ali Smith in a charity shop of course. Edited May 17, 2012 by vodkafan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 34 tree books? VF, I know we have different standards, but that is really not that much. Or is it? But how do you think you'll be able to avoid all the great titles in the bookshops? Do you reckon you'll try and pass all them without going in? Yeah right!! This reminds me of a Dickens title. Hard Times. I've not read it yet, but I can imagine it's about a same kind of scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 34 tree books? VF, I know we have different standards, but that is really not that much. Or is it? But how do you think you'll be able to avoid all the great titles in the bookshops? Do you reckon you'll try and pass all them without going in? Yeah right!! This reminds me of a Dickens title. Hard Times. I've not read it yet, but I can imagine it's about a same kind of scenario. Well, I look at it in the sense of how much space they take up and how long it will take me to read them. At an average of 7 books a month that is 5 months worth. So I really don't need to buy any more for the moment.. I want to be a reader not a collector. I am less bothered about unread books on my kindle , I have around 40 on there. So any must have purchases will have to be on kindle. Actually this brings up another subject. I have been here 2 and a half years now. I feel that I am finally starting to get somewhere with all this reading. I have identified many authors I do not like that I can drop and discovered others that really touch me. The genre challenge has helped. I think next year my reading pattern will change, I will concentrate on reading all books by a particular author then move on to another one, maybe only do 6 or 8 authors. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 The Atlantis Code Charles Brokaw I have just finished this book. At 584 pages it was a hard slog to be honest. An expert on ancient languages stumbles across an old language he cannot decipher on an artifact. He is forced to run around the world looking for some other artifacts to help him decipher the language while avoiding assassination attempts. He is being chased by members of a secret society inside the Roman Catholic Church blah blah blah . Any similarities to The Da Vinci Code completely coincidental of course......whole thing got more far fetched and boring as it went on. 33 Tree Books to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Have you got this one James? http://www.sfsite.com/06a/dw345.htm Being a Subterranean Press edition I'd imagine it'll be quite a collector's item Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 Have you got this one James? http://www.sfsite.com/06a/dw345.htm Being a Subterranean Press edition I'd imagine it'll be quite a collector's item No that was a nice surprise Steve I knew he had written some books in other Genres but had never read any or seen them reviewed. They do sound interesting. At one time I had virtually all his scifi's except 2 or 3 in paperback but now have only a few. Hey did you read the reviews of Lyonesse? What you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Hey did you read the reviews of Lyonesse? What you think? Yes, I've read the reviews on that site, and on others. I've got it on my Kindle, but I did spend some time looking at second hand copies of the original paperbacks. Haven't quite decided what to do on that score, yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 24, 2012 Author Share Posted May 24, 2012 Yes, I've read the reviews on that site, and on others. I've got it on my Kindle, but I did spend some time looking at second hand copies of the original paperbacks. Haven't quite decided what to do on that score, yet. There is a map in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 There is a map in it Yeah, that is an issue. I looked at the Kindle version and changed the orientation so it filled the screen. It wasn't too bad, but still ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Because I have been so busy my reading time is severely curtailed. Still managed to finish the second Dido Kent mystery today. A Gentleman Of Fortune. The first one was OK, but I am glad I read it as the second one raises the bar quite considerably. I will review it tomorrow. 32 tree books to go ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 A Gentleman Of Fortune (or, The Suspicions Of Miss Dido Kent) by a Lady Miss Anna Dean The spoof 19th Century style title is an indication of the gentle tongue in cheek humour to be enjoyed in this series. This is the second in this series, they are sequential so are best read in order. They are set in the world of Jane Austen in the early 1800s (Is that Regency period?). Miss Dido Kent is a 35 year old unmarried spinster , who, having more or less given up hope of finding a husband at the beginning of the first book , finds a new interest in solving murder mysteries. She has a lot of time on her hands and (like Lizzie Bennet) a brain that is very sharp (which in the past has not been appreciated by possible suitors) and an eye for unusual detail. The first book was a pleasant enough easy read. I would not have gone out of my way to pick up the second book but I saw it in a charity shop. This second book really flies in my opinion. The central mystery is this time far more involved with red herrings and loose ends all over the place which excercise poor Dido to her limits and keep the reader guessing until the end. As far as that goes, this is as good a murder mystery as you would read anywhere. Added to this is the very subtle romantic sub -plot which starts to gather pace . We find out a little more -not too much- about Dido's unfortunate history with men who did not like intelligence in a possible wife. This of course endears her to us modern readers and we root for her. There is only one man who does seem to appreciate her powers of reasoning, Mr William Lomax (who she met in the first book). However, the course of her investigations lead Dido into an embarrassing mistake ( but very amusing to us) which brings her into conflict with Mr Lomax. A man's life may hang in the balance. Should Dido bow to the wishes of Mr Lomax and abandon her investigations? Or must she be true to her nature and almost certainly lose the regard of her only male friend? I will certainly read the rest of this series now.. Dido is a great heroine. The genius of the author is in not giving her character omnipotent powers of insight, she can and does get led astray sometimes by having incomplete information. But as other facts come to light her rigid application of logic is fun to read. It is not like Poirot where he holds silence until the very end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 A Gentleman Of Fortune sounds just like the sort of thing I enjoy for a holiday read, vodkafan, great review that has whetted my apetite - have added them to my wishlist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 I think they would be perfect for a holiday read Chesil. If you read the third book before I do let me know what you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Trying to read Anne Enright's The Gathering but really struggling with it. I wish she would get to the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 I did it! I found an Ali Smith book in a charity shop today so had to buy it on sight. The Accidental. This however puts me back up to 33 tree books to go, dammit!! The Gathering is not getting any better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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