julie Posted August 23, 2012 Posted August 23, 2012 Well, you get a Gold Star for completing it ! Good job ! Quote
Kidsmum Posted September 1, 2012 Author Posted September 1, 2012 August has been a good month reading wise i managed to read 7 books despite it being the school holidays. I'm going back to the Sharpe series for my first book of the autumn so going to be reading Sharpe's Eagle next i'd hoped to complete the whole series this year as i have the Flashman books waiting in the wings but with another 10 books still to go that's not looking very likely. Quote
vodkafan Posted September 1, 2012 Posted September 1, 2012 Hi Kidsmum just dropping in to see what you are reading. Good luck with the rest of the Sharpe novels. Quote
Kidsmum Posted September 3, 2012 Author Posted September 3, 2012 Thanks VF, i'm really loving Sharpe's Eagle but the books are a bit formulaic so you couldn't read one straight after the other so i guess it'll be next year before i get through them all Quote
Kidsmum Posted September 20, 2012 Author Posted September 20, 2012 I went on a charity shop binge yesterday so feeling a bit guilty today , I am so weak willed..... Rivers of London Ben Aaronovitch The Sheltering Sky Paul Bowles The Museum of Innocence Orphan Pamuk The Art Of Racing In The Rain Garth Stein The Prime Minister Anthony Trollope The Magician Somerset Maugham The Painted Veil Somerset Maugham Catalina Somerset Maugham Up at the Villa Somerset Maugham Mandoa, Mandoa! Winifred Holtby Quote
karen.d Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 I went on a charity shop binge yesterday so feeling a bit guilty today , I am so weak willed..... The Art Of Racing In The Rain Garth Stein I love this book I hope you enjoy it too Quote
vodkafan Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 Charity shops are great though aren't they. Four Somerset Maugham books in one swoop kidsmum! Are they all from the same shop? Quote
chaliepud Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 (edited) Great haul! The Art of Racing in the Rain is a lovely read. Edited September 20, 2012 by chaliepud Quote
poppyshake Posted September 22, 2012 Posted September 22, 2012 There's a possibility that we might be reading The Art of Racing in the Rain for November's Reading Circle .. though I am jumping the gun a bit Ooh Rivers of London .. great read. I haven't heard of that particular Trollope .. is it a Palliser novel? Great haul anyway and there's no need to feel guilty because you both saved money and gave to charity so it's guilt free Quote
Kidsmum Posted September 23, 2012 Author Posted September 23, 2012 I love this book I hope you enjoy it too Thanks Karen i'm really looking forward to starting it Charity shops are great though aren't they. Four Somerset Maugham books in one swoop kidsmum! Are they all from the same shop? Aren't they just so addictive Yes the Maugham's were all in one shop they have the same vintage covers so i'm kind of tempted to keep them after i've read them because they look so good. Great haul! The Art of Racing in the Rain is a lovely read. Yes it was a great find, i snapped it off the shelf before anyone else could get their hot little hands on it There's a possibility that we might be reading The Art of Racing in the Rain for November's Reading Circle .. though I am jumping the gun a bit Ooh Rivers of London .. great read. I haven't heard of that particular Trollope .. is it a Palliser novel? Great haul anyway and there's no need to feel guilty because you both saved money and gave to charity so it's guilt free I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be the November choice I'd only been reading about Rivers of London on Chesil's thread so it kind of jumped out at me from the shelf . Yes, the Trollope is one of the Palliser novels. I've read The Barchester Chronicles but only the first one of the Palliser's so it's kind of on my to do list Your so right i wont feel guilty anymore Quote
Kylie Posted October 1, 2012 Posted October 1, 2012 Great haul, Kidsmum. I agree about the Vintage Maugham covers. They're irresistible, aren't they? Quote
Kidsmum Posted October 1, 2012 Author Posted October 1, 2012 Great haul, Kidsmum. I agree about the Vintage Maugham covers. They're irresistible, aren't they? They're in really good condition as well so look like new, too nice to give away methinks Quote
Ruth Posted October 2, 2012 Posted October 2, 2012 Adding my voice to the support for The Art of Racing in the Rain. Such a lovely book Quote
Kidsmum Posted October 6, 2012 Author Posted October 6, 2012 Went to York on Friday to visit our eldest DD & got some great books Rabbit Is Rich John Updike The Count Of Monte Cristo Alexander Dumas Moon Over Soho Ben Aaronovitch The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Deborah Moggach The Ginger Tree Oswald Wynd Good Daughters Mary Hocking Welcome Strangers Mary Hocking Indifferent Heroes Mary Hocking Cowards Get Cancer Too John Diamond Quote
Kidsmum Posted October 6, 2012 Author Posted October 6, 2012 (edited) C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too John Diamond Amazon Synopsis Shortly before his 44th birthday, John Diamond received a call from the doctor who had removed a lump from his neck. Having been assured for the previous 2 years that this was a benign cyst, Diamond was told that it was, in fact, cancerous. Suddenly, this man who'd until this point been one of the world's greatest hypochondriacs, was genuinely faced with mortality. And what he saw scared the wits out of him. Out of necessity, he wrote about his feelings in his TIMES column and the response was staggering. Mailbag followed Diamond's story of life with, and without, a lump - the humiliations, the ridiculous bits, the funny bits, the tearful bits. It's compelling, profound, witty, in the mould of THE DIVING BELL & THE BUTTERFLY. (19980914) I bought this book yesterday & read it in one sitting, Diamond's account of his diagnosis & treatment for throat cancer leaves nothing to the imagination & is definitely not for the squeamish but i couldn't put it down till i'd finished the whole book rather bleary eyed in the early hours of the morning. Throughout the book he is totally upfront about how having cancer affected him both physically & psychologically, the side effects of the treatment both temporary & long term & his fears about what the future held for him. It sounds like it should be a horribly depressing read but in fact it wasn't, Diamonds style is so open, honest & funny that the book never becomes just too gruesome to read. For me of course the book was of special interest having gone through a similar experience myself last year, though thankfully without all the horrible surgery that Diamond goes through, i could really identify with a lot of the things he talks about . This is definitely not a book to read if you've just been diagnosed with cancer it doesn't tell you how to cope with the weeks, months or years of treatment ahead , it's not a positive thinking manual but if like me you've come out the other side of it or you have friends or family that have gone through the cancer mill or your just plain curious about what it's like then this is a must read. 5/5 Edited October 6, 2012 by Kidsmum Quote
Kidsmum Posted October 17, 2012 Author Posted October 17, 2012 I've been quite busy of late but have managed to keep up with my reading . My last two books were The Painted Veil Somerset Maugham & The Sheltering Sky Paul Bowles .There were quite a few similarities between the 2 books,they were both set abroad about the same time period end of the 30's -40's well developed characters with complicated relationships & serious illness has a life changing effect on the central characters in both stories but for me Maugham was by far the most enjoyable of the two books. I liked Maughams characters & had a lot of sympathy for Kitty Fane whereas in Bowles story the three main people were annoying, the way they reacted in certain situations was unconvincing & the last third of the book was surreal & confusing with an abrupt ending. On reflection i probably shouldn't have read two such similar books one after the other i probably would have enjoyed The Sheltering Sky more had i read it at a later date so i've been generous & given it a 3. Quote
Kidsmum Posted October 21, 2012 Author Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) My sister came over from Holland for a visit & brought me a pile of books she'd finished with, they are Restless House Emile Zola Kipps H.G. Wells The Moon & Sixpence Somerset Maugham The Silver Sword Ian Serrailer Ramage & The Dido Dudley Pope One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez Solar Ian McEwan Red Lights & Green Lizards A Cambodia Adventure Liz Anderson Theirs Was The Kingdom R. F. Delderfield Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour R.S. Surtees The Silver Sword was more for the children but i'm going to read it myself first. The Maugham & Wells were given to her by a friend, they belonged to her father who's now gone into a home they're orange & white penguin covers & are in pristine condition so when i've finished with them i shall keep them as i don't like the thought of them getting all grubbed up at the charity shop. Edited October 21, 2012 by Kidsmum Quote
poppyshake Posted October 21, 2012 Posted October 21, 2012 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez One of my favouritest books ever but not everyone gets on with it .. looking forward to seeing if you do What a lovely sister to come bearing books I'm telling my sister about that .. she might not know that's what's expected of sisters Quote
Kidsmum Posted October 25, 2012 Author Posted October 25, 2012 One of my favouritest books ever but not everyone gets on with it .. looking forward to seeing if you do Good to hear you liked it Poppy as my sister was a bit iffy about it What a lovely sister to come bearing books I'm telling my sister about that .. she might not know that's what's expected of sisters She is a lovely sister & as we have similar tastes we always have a big pile of books to swap when she comes to visit Quote
Kidsmum Posted November 8, 2012 Author Posted November 8, 2012 Not going to attempt a review of Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch as better reviewers than me have already said their bit so just going to add my thoughts. I really enjoyed this book i loved the idea of there being a kind of magical underworld existing alongside real life & my favourite character was Peter i thought it would be so exciting to find out you had latent magical powers & be co-opted into a special magical division of the police force thinking your life was going to be very ordinary & suddenly finding this whole new world that you never new existed. I know Poppy you didn't think it was like Jasper Fforde but it did make me think of him but whereas The Eyre Affair didn't really grab me i just loved the humor & imagination in this story & i'm really looking forward to reading the next book. Quote
poppyshake Posted November 9, 2012 Posted November 9, 2012 So glad you enjoyed Rivers of London KM .. everyone has I think so far .. it's the opposite of a marmite book (so a strawberry jam book maybe ) The main reason it didn't remind me of the Thursday Next books was because Peter's life .. aside from the magic etc .. is quite ordinary and Thursday's isn't, but I can see how the inventiveness and humour etc is comparative. Hope you enjoy Moon Over Soho and the rest .. who knows how many there'll be eventually They'd make good dramas wouldn't they? I would love to see the BBC tackle them. Who would you get to play Peter? Quote
chaliepud Posted November 9, 2012 Posted November 9, 2012 I'm wondering if I should get my Mum Rivers of London for Christmas... She's a big fan of detective novels but I'm not sure how keen she'd be with the magical element.. Saying that she is a huge Harry Potter fan so maybe I should just go for it? Quote
vodkafan Posted November 10, 2012 Posted November 10, 2012 I have Rivers Of London to read so am looking forward too it even more now. Quote
Kidsmum Posted November 12, 2012 Author Posted November 12, 2012 So glad you enjoyed Rivers of London KM .. everyone has I think so far .. it's the opposite of a marmite book (so a strawberry jam book maybe ) The main reason it didn't remind me of the Thursday Next books was because Peter's life .. aside from the magic etc .. is quite ordinary and Thursday's isn't, but I can see how the inventiveness and humour etc is comparative. Hope you enjoy Moon Over Soho and the rest .. who knows how many there'll be eventually They'd make good dramas wouldn't they? I would love to see the BBC tackle them. Who would you get to play Peter? I'm keeping Moon Over Soho till the madness of Christmas is over & i can properly enjoy it I agree they would make great TV but i can't imagine who would play Peter have you anyone in mind ? I'm wondering if I should get my Mum Rivers of London for Christmas... She's a big fan of detective novels but I'm not sure how keen she'd be with the magical element.. Saying that she is a huge Harry Potter fan so maybe I should just go for it? I think you should definitely get it for your mum for Christmas Chaliepud then you can borrow it off her when she's finished. I usually save books i've liked for my sister but i know she wouldn't like the magical side to the story so i've passed it on to my eldest DD instead I have Rivers Of London to read so am looking forward too it even more now. It's such a good read VF Quote
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