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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 7, 2016 2:31:01 GMT -5
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 7, 2016 2:38:01 GMT -5
My latest read is #53. Mayhem at the Orient Express, by Kylie Logan. I found this book a little silly. The premise was good, a group of people discussing an Agatha Christie novel, caught up in a murder that paralleled the book. But for me, somehow the threads never came together coherently.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 7, 2016 5:36:44 GMT -5
Thank you! No rhyming necessary, I like blank verse.
Bookmarking: just began Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad," which I can already tell is quite deserving of all the accolades it's been receiving.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Dec 7, 2016 6:07:25 GMT -5
Clipper read that and found it good. Sadly he reads too slowly for me to be able to get to it before it was due back at the library.
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Post by scrubb on Dec 7, 2016 18:02:15 GMT -5
Just finished Mario Varga Llosa's "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter" which I loved. Every second chapter is the narrator's love story as he falls for his divorced aunt in law; the others are chaptrs or radio serial programs. He meets their author and the stories all intermingle.
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Post by Bastet on Dec 8, 2016 2:10:54 GMT -5
Most recent read:
The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin. It's an excellent fantasy book, well written, good pace and plot and the world building is great. Highly recommend.
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. Excellent book.
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn - Alloy Era #1) by Brandon Sanderson - even though it's named #1, it's the 4th in the Mistborn series but set a long time after the first 3. This guy writing is amazing and his world building is great.
Magic Binds (Kate Daniels #9) by Ilona Andrews. Love this series, the female lead kicks arse and I love the setting and magic. I'm so annoyed I'm caught up - no idea how long before the next one is out.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 9, 2016 19:10:48 GMT -5
Just finished #41, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad
Hal, Clipper's right - it is good; best book I read this year, I think!
A gripping story with great, strong characters. The story centers on Cora, a slave in the 19th-century American south. It's a little counterfactual - in this book the Underground Railroad is an actual railroad, for example. But he weaves so much real history into Cora's story that the counterfactual aspects fade into the background. It's very sad in parts (it's a sad, miserable history), but Cora keeps you going through it.
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Post by sophie on Dec 9, 2016 23:43:53 GMT -5
Martin Cruz Smith: The Girl From Venice. Okay. I think I have read better with the mix of war, Venice, beautiful woman, poor fisherman, dire times.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 13, 2016 5:13:51 GMT -5
54. Turbo Twenty-three, Janet Evanovich. I love reading this series, as I enjoy a little lighthearted fun. Love the characters and their improbable antics.
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Post by scrubb on Dec 13, 2016 19:19:50 GMT -5
Salma Abdelnaor - Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut. A woman whose family left Beirut when she was 9 decides to leave her life in NYC and go back for a year to see if it still feels like home. She has lots of family still there, and speaks ARabic, and it (spoiler) all turns out fine although she moves back to NYC at the end of her year.
There's lots of navel gazing about what "home" is, but she's an ok writer and she talks about food a lot, which I like. Also, she wrote this in 2011 during the Arab Spring so it's got some poignancy.
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Post by scrubb on Dec 14, 2016 14:11:14 GMT -5
Just finished #88 "Journey to Munich" by Jacqueline Winspear. I bought it because it was cheap and looked vaguely interesting (woman going into Nazi Germany to try to get someone out). It turned out to be the 12th book in a series with the main character, Maisie Dobbs. There was a LOT of reminiscing about her background - sounds like the series has taken her from the start of WWI to just before WWII. It's easy reading schlock, but it's reasonably well done, and it kept me reading. I'll possibly try to find the first ones in the series and giving them a shot as my enjoyable reads for when I don't have the focus for anything very serious.
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Post by sophie on Dec 15, 2016 10:54:43 GMT -5
Scrubb, I read many of these.. Easy but decent read. I enjoyed them.
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Post by scrubb on Dec 15, 2016 12:06:42 GMT -5
That's good to know, sophie - reinforces my impression. I might want to wait until they go on sale, though - I see that the kindle editions of all of them are $10 - $12 and they seem more like paperbacks I'd be willing to pay $8 for... or maybe I should check if they're in the library.
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Post by scrubb on Dec 15, 2016 22:18:59 GMT -5
I'm on holidays for ~3 weeks so I just put in requests at the library for:
- Stoner, by John Williams, about which I have heard great things
- The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - think it's a Pulitzer winner? Or Nobel?
- The Nightengale by Kirsten Hanna - seems to have been popular in the last couple years
- Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michael - well known Canadian book, think it won something national
- the first 3 Maisie Dobbs books.
In the meantime I'm reading what looks like the first dud of the cheap kindle books I've been buying lately. I don't buy ones that started cheap, just ones on sale. This one is called Appetite: A Novel (Sheila Grinell) and so far it's pretty mediocre.
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 15, 2016 22:38:30 GMT -5
I loved The Inheritance of Loss... forget which prize it won. I often go by her shelf in the library to see if there's anything else by her there, but there never is... should look into this.
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Post by lillielangtry on Dec 16, 2016 0:23:06 GMT -5
Yes, the Inheritance of Loss is beautiful, but sad! (I don't think that's a spoiler, the title is also a hint!)
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Post by lillielangtry on Dec 16, 2016 0:30:00 GMT -5
I read Lisa McInerney's The Glorious Heresies. I think it won a prize - the Baileys maybe?
It's very good indeed, although not the most cheerful. It follows the intertwined lives of several different people in Ireland. There's a lot about drugs and alcohol and violence but the really key thing about it is the internal monologue of the characters themselves. Just beautifully done. Recommended.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 16, 2016 6:06:02 GMT -5
My lovely work colleagues gave me a $100 book token as a farewell gift.
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Post by lillielangtry on Dec 16, 2016 8:57:03 GMT -5
My lovely work colleagues gave me a $100 book token as a farewell gift. Lucky you!  Book shopping is the best! |
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Post by Liiisa on Dec 17, 2016 7:59:20 GMT -5
wow, ozzie! That's a perfect gift. |
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Post by scrubb on Dec 18, 2016 20:12:15 GMT -5
Wow. Stoner, by John Williams. I wonder why it's not better known? It's really, really good. A quiet book, wonderfully written. Tells the story of William Stoner, a farm kid whose family sends him to university (agriculture college) just before WWI. In his second year he falls in love with literature. There is nothing remarkable about his life, but the telling of it is remarkable.
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Post by scrubb on Dec 19, 2016 14:54:00 GMT -5
Unfortunately, Appetite: A Novel (by Sheila Grinell) did not improve as it went along. Not recommended.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 23, 2016 4:19:16 GMT -5
55. Curiosity Killed the Cat-Sitter, by Blaize Clement. The title is not completely accurate, but It was a good start to what may be an interesting series. I suspect some readers may be uncomfortable with some of the issues dealt with in the book, but for me, it makes it more complex and interesting than the average cozy.
I managed to find a second-hand copy of Antarctica, a Different Adventure, at my favourite online second-hand charity bookshop, so plan to finish it before the end of the year.
Incidentally, if they can deliver free to regional NSW from Melbourne in less than 48 hours the week before Christmas, what is wrong with everyone else?
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Post by sprite on Dec 23, 2016 17:26:15 GMT -5
Another book in the Mortal Instruments series.already forget name But I read it in two nights.  Really tight writing, female and minority friendly, looking at human themes as well as supernatural. |
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 23, 2016 19:32:59 GMT -5
56. Candy for Christmas. A 100 page Christmas-themed mystery by Joanne Fluke. A fun Christmas read. Recommended for the middle of the silly season, when we don't have time for long books. Although it is a cozy mystery, this time there is no murder, so perfect for a holiday read.
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Post by scrubb on Dec 24, 2016 16:03:14 GMT -5
Just finished Kristin Hannah's "The Nightengale". Great idea but not that well executed. Two sisters who are polar opposites living through WWII in France, and their activities to resist Nazi rule. Tragic past (mother died, father pushed them away), blah blah blah... it had such rave reviews that maybe my hopes were too high, but I just didn't think the writing was all that good. Example below but it contains spoilers. Also, there were a few scenes that should have been written, but were just alluded to instead. Overall, there are much better war novels which I'd recommend way before this one.
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER:
Ok, bad writing example: so this young woman is a great resistance asset, leading downed airmen over the Pyrenees to the British consulate in Spain. She's had to act innocent and naive and flirty with German soldiers and guards, and be a tower of strength to frightened pilots even when she's frightened herself. So, she's having coffee with one of her contacts (a woman) who realizes that she (the main character) is in love with one of the men in their resistance group, and when she asks how she knows, the woman says "Oh, don't you realize that your face is a book? You show every feeling in your eyes!". Yeah, no. If that was the case she wouldn't be a very good agent, would she? It's just stupid.
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Post by sprite on Dec 25, 2016 7:32:28 GMT -5
Just finished Mario Varga Llosa's "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter" which I loved. Every second chapter is the narrator's love story as he falls for his divorced aunt in law; the others are chaptrs or radio serial programs. He meets their author and the stories all intermingle. i loved this book. i read quite a bit of his stuff when we were in peru, and i liked how each book is different, but his style is still distinctive. long live great translators! |
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Post by mei on Dec 25, 2016 17:52:35 GMT -5
#27 - Selma by Dutch writer Carolijn Visser. It tells the (real) story of Selma, a Dutch Jewish woman who survived WW2 and then married a Chinese man and moved with him to China in the 50s. Pretty fascinating insight into what China was like for a foreigner at that time, including the Cultural Revolution.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Dec 26, 2016 4:48:19 GMT -5
I have now finished #49 properly. (Antarctica, a Different Adventure, by Jason Kimberly) I found a copy at my favourite online second-hand bookshop. The added bonus: my copy is autographed!
I think I will keep this on the coffee table in my new office, as the photos are so beautiful.
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Post by sprite on Dec 26, 2016 5:17:40 GMT -5
Northanger abbey, Jane Austen.
This is a re-read, but bbc is serialising it on radio, and I remembered how funny it was.
The only thing I dislike is that after a very slow build, it all resolves too quickly.
I also like the snippets of life and morality: the 17 yr old heroine shouldn't ride alone with a man in a carriage, but she can go off for 5 wks with a family her parents have never met.
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Book shopping is the best! 
