ian Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Happy New Year everyone! I had two books for Christmas - And the first one I have started this year is Michael Connelly "The Fifth Witness". About a third of the way through, so I let you know what I think once I've finished. I intend to mark all my books read out of five this year. My only "challenge" is to try to read all the Dickens I haven't so far read (and I have no idea at this point how many books that will ammount to) Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Happy New Year Ian, I'm planning on reading some Dickens this year as well , thought I might attempt David Copperfield or Oliver Twist . I always enjoy watching the tv adaptations but have never managed to get through any of his books apart from Great Expectations which I had to read at school so that doesn't count Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Happy New Year Ian .. good luck in 2012 Time spent with Dickens is never wasted is it. Which one's have you got left to read? (or which one's have you read? .. if that's the shorter answer ) I feel like I've read a lot of Dickens but I've only read about nine (which would be a fair amount if it was any other author.) You have to invest so much time in them though because most of them are doorsteps. Those I've read ... The Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Bleak House, The Tale of Two Cities, Martin Chuzzlewit, Our Mutual Friend, A Christmas Carol & The Chimes. I really would like to read Little Dorrit, The Mystery of Edwin Drood & Oliver Twist, perhaps I'll be able to tackle one of them this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Now I know for sure that I've read: The Pickwick Papers, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist & Hard Times. I'm fairly sure I've read David Copperfield & Great Expectations, but that long ago, I might need to read them again to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 I've finished my first book of 2012! "The Fifth Witness" by Michael Connelly. I've put a proper review elsewhere, but I gave it 4 out of 5. I now have two new books on the go - "11.22.63" by Stephen King, and "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" which I'm reading to my daughter (and myself: I was probably 10 or 11 when I last read this, and I wanted to read it again!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 My only "challenge" is to try to read all the Dickens I haven't so far read (and I have no idea at this point how many books that will ammount to) Ian I can honestly say I have never read any Dickens! Good luck with your challenge Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Reader Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 My only "challenge" is to try to read all the Dickens I haven't so far read (and I have no idea at this point how many books that will ammount to) I am sure you will manage it. I wish I could read more Dickens but I find him hard going he is too wordyfor me. I have read Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend and have started A Tale of Two Cities and am currently listening to a couple of them on the I-player at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 I know what you mean, Easy Reader. I struggled with A tale of two cities and the first few chapters of Pickwick Papers. I can add David Copperfield to my list of those I've already read - I picked up a copy at the library and flicking through it, realised I had already read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 I'm going to count this as my second book of the year - The Lion,the Witch and the Wardrobe. I was actually reading this to my daughter, but it was on my TBR list as I hadn't read it since I was about 10. What can you say? It's a children's classic and rightly so score 4/5 Books read this year = 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Reading it out loud is still reading it, so it definitely counts. I read The Chronicles Of Narnia again in recent years and loved it. They felt shorter than I had remembered, but just as magical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King over the weekend. What can I say? Absolutely blown away by it, best thing he's written in years. Score = 5/5 Failed to get inspired by anything I saw in the library on Saturday, so I think I'm going to go with "The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo which I've had in my TBR pile for a while now Books read this year = 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Finished "The Devil's Star" by Jo Nesbo. This is the second Jo Nesbo book I've read, the first being the Snowman. I can't say that I enjoyed it quite as much as that, but still a very enjoyable read 4/5 My next read is something I've never heard of, given to me by the other voracious reader at work - "Sanctus" by Simon Toyne. I know nothing about this, so we'll see Books read this year - 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Finished "The Devil's Star" by Jo Nesbo. This is the second Jo Nesbo book I've read, the first being the Snowman. I can't say that I enjoyed it quite as much as that, but still a very enjoyable read 4/5 Hey Ian Were you aware that you were reading them out of order? The Devil's Star effectively completes a storyline that carried over from the first two books in the series, so I thought it was great from that point of view. I do agree that it's not as good as The Snowman, though - that was a corker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hey Ian Were you aware that you were reading them out of order? The Devil's Star effectively completes a storyline that carried over from the first two books in the series, so I thought it was great from that point of view. I do agree that it's not as good as The Snowman, though - that was a corker I do this a lot! I tend to get most of my books as swaps from friends or from charity shops (If I buy 'em, I want to keep 'em, and I just don't have the room anymore!), so I read them as I get them so I can pass them on again. Consequently, they are all read out of order. Still, I don't think missed too much, as the story all made sense and no doubt I'll get to the intervening book eventually. I understand that the first two books are yet to be translated into english, so unless my Nowegian improves, I'll have to wait anyway. I assume the first book deals with this serial killer he captures in Austrailia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I do this a lot! I tend to get most of my books as swaps from friends or from charity shops (If I buy 'em, I want to keep 'em, and I just don't have the room anymore!), so I read them as I get them so I can pass them on again. Consequently, they are all read out of order. Still, I don't think missed too much, as the story all made sense and no doubt I'll get to the intervening book eventually. I understand that the first two books are yet to be translated into english, so unless my Nowegian improves, I'll have to wait anyway. I assume the first book deals with this serial killer he captures in Austrailia? Nah, my bad - I meant the first two books that have been translated to English - The Redbreast and Nemesis, both of which feature an ongoing plotline that concludes in The Devil's Star (you can probably guess which plot it is) The other two books you mention, which haven't been translated, are The Bat Man and The Cockroaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 It's Nemesis I need to read then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) Just to clarify, each book has its own stand-alone main plot, but there are sub-plots that start in The Redbreast, continue in Nemesis, and conclude in The Devil's Star I'm rubbish at explaining things In the grand scheme it's not that important, but I enjoyed following those plot threads through the books. Edited February 14, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I had loved Stephen King's books up until Misery, and after that didn't enjoy most of them much. I quite enjoyed Duma Key and Under the Dome, and I'm looking forward to 11/22/63 - another one for my wishlist! I have the first 5 Nesbo books published in the UK, but have only read The Redbreast so far. I will have to try and remember where I have put the rest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Just to clarify, each book has its own stand-alone main plot, but there are sub-plots that start in The Redbreast, continue in Nemesis, and conclude in The Devil's Star I'm rubbish at explaining things In the grand scheme it's not that important, but I enjoyed following those plot threads through the books. Karsa, I understood perfectly! So it's me that's not very good at explaining that your explanation was perfectly well explained! Now I am confused! I had loved Stephen King's books up until Misery, and after that didn't enjoy most of them much. I quite enjoyed Duma Key and Under the Dome, and I'm looking forward to 11/22/63 - another one for my wishlist! I have the first 5 Nesbo books published in the UK, but have only read The Redbreast so far. I will have to try and remember where I have put the rest! Have to agree Ooshie, he seriously went off the boil after Misery IMHO, with "Bag of Bones" being the low point I think. I haven't read a lot else from that period - including Duma Key (so perhaps I should give that a go), but I'd put 11/22/63 in my personal King top ten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I felt the same about King going off the boil after Misery. I'm glad I never read Bag of Bones! The worst ones for me were Insomnia and the appropriately named Desperation. Haven't read any others since, although I do want to read Duma Key and 11/22/63. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Karsa, I understood perfectly! So it's me that's not very good at explaining that your explanation was perfectly well explained! Now I am confused! Have to agree Ooshie, he seriously went off the boil after Misery IMHO, with "Bag of Bones" being the low point I think. I haven't read a lot else from that period - including Duma Key (so perhaps I should give that a go), but I'd put 11/22/63 in my personal King top ten I felt the same about King going off the boil after Misery. I'm glad I never read Bag of Bones! The worst ones for me were Insomnia and the appropriately named Desperation. Haven't read any others since, although I do want to read Duma Key and 11/22/63. Looking at Bag of Bones on wikipedia, I don't remember it at all so it must have been one that I didn't even bother buying. The only one I started and gave up on very, very quickly was Dreamcatcher. I rarely don't finish a book, but this was one of them! Maybe it improved later, but there was just too much flatulence for me to take it seriously! Edit: Just remembered, I also couldn't get into the first of the Dark Tower books, so missed out on that series completely. Edited February 16, 2012 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 Just finished reading "Sanctus" by Simon Toyne. This was given to me by a friend at work who had enjoyed it. I have to say I didn't. This is another in a long line of Dan Brown-a-like religious conspiracy thrillers. The problem here is that while Dan Brown uses real locations, artwork and organisations, this book is based around a fictional city in Turkey, and a fictional religious order. This takes away from any revelatory impact that the book may have. Plus, it falls into the Dan Brown writing style of very short chapters, so it feels very stop - start. A shame because this guy can write. There is detail and good characters here, they just aren't fleshed out enough so they become charicatures. This is the first book in a trilogy - I won't be bothering with the rest. 2 out of 5 Next book - "Endgame" by Andy Secombe Books read this year =5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Just finished reading "Sanctus" by Simon Toyne. This was given to me by a friend at work who had enjoyed it. I have to say I didn't. This is another in a long line of Dan Brown-a-like religious conspiracy thrillers. The problem here is that while Dan Brown uses real locations, artwork and organisations, this book is based around a fictional city in Turkey, and a fictional religious order. This takes away from any revelatory impact that the book may have. Plus, it falls into the Dan Brown writing style of very short chapters, so it feels very stop - start. A shame because this guy can write. There is detail and good characters here, they just aren't fleshed out enough so they become charicatures. This is the first book in a trilogy - I won't be bothering with the rest. 2 out of 5 Oh dear, I bought this at the charity shop this week, is there any hope that I'll have a different opinion of the book to my jif buddy?......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Oh absolutely! I didn't really like Dan Brown either, so if you did, you'll probably like this too. While it's very similar in style and format (short chapters, jumping from one action scene to another) even I could recognise that it IS better written than DB's stuff. I guess I'm just jaded with the whole religious conspiracy thriller scene! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Finished "Endgame" by Andy Secombe. "At a cocktail party to launch his latest creations, Adam & Eve, God is challanged to a bet by the Devil. The fallen angel, unimpressed by the boss's new toys, wagers that, far from becoming custodians of the Earth, humans will inevitably destroy themselves. God, alas, can't refuse such a wager in front of all his guests. If Satan wins, he gets his place back in Heaven and control of what little is left of Earth. If he loses, he will retire to the outer darkness and never bother his ex-boss further. Coming down to Earth, we meet Martin Grey, a simple dentist at the end of his tether, who finds himself assisting the angel Gabriel in a desperate attempt to stop the Devil laying waste to the Earth by a fiendishly cunning computer game." I think I really needed a book like this after the last one. Light, easy to read and completely irreverant, I couldn't help drawing comparisons to Douglas Adams. The humour is very, very English I'll give it 4 out of 5 Books read this year = 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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