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Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 22, 2017 6:06:53 GMT -5
17. Tracks, by Robyn Davidson. The story of a woman who did a lone camel trek halfway across Australia. This has been the audiobook I've listened to on my last few long distance drives. Finished today between Nyngan and Narromine. Well narrated on audible. It's hard to believe she made the trek in the 1970s. At first I wasn't sure I'd like her, but the story grew on me. Funny, poignant and inspiring. Recommended.
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Post by lillielangtry on Mar 22, 2017 15:12:31 GMT -5
Glad you liked it, Q!
#16 Evelyn Waugh, Vile Bodies - never read any Waugh. It's wittily written and amusing, and rather bitter.
#17 Patricio Pron, The Ghost of my Fathers is Climbing in the Rain - at least, I think this is the English title. I read it in German; the original is Spanish, from Argentina. A slow-moving, semi-autobiographical novel about the author's father and the people he knew who were disappeared during the military dictatorship. At first I wasn't gripped but I ended up really enjoying it.
#18 A. L. Kennedy, Day - about a man traumatised during WW2 and his life afterwards. Astonishingly well-written, some bits I almost had to skip because the description was just too painful. I'm not really big on war books but this was impressive; I had to keep comparing it to Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy which I remember as being somewhat similar (although they're about WWI).
#19 Doris Lessing, The Grass is Singing - Lessing's first novel. Again, absolutely beautifully written and such a stark portrayal of racism, solitude, etc.
I am having such a good reading year, there really have been some excellent books so far.
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Post by snowwhite on Mar 23, 2017 11:53:23 GMT -5
lillie, Vile Bodies was discussed on the latest edition of A Good Read (earlier this week) on Radio 4 if you're interested.
I read The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marion Keyes - I enjoyed it, and also Keyes was recently on Desert Island Discs. It's weird how she tackles quite serious issues (in this case depressive illness) in a romcom genre.
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Post by lillielangtry on Mar 23, 2017 12:12:05 GMT -5
Oh thanks for that, I will check it out.
I've never read any Marion Keyes but various people I like on Twitter seem to think she's fantastic, so even though I wouldn't say she was typically my genre, I'd quite like to try one of her books.
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Post by scrubb on Mar 24, 2017 18:39:05 GMT -5
Bookbub had a Mary McCarthy deal a few days ago. I remembered lillie's glowing review of "The Group" by her, so now I am part way through "Birds of America". And enjoying it.
I also started a memoir about events and people in Kenya in the 1930s by Elspeth Huxley. I loved her autobiography about her childhood there (The Flame Trees of Thika) but this one, "Out in the Midday Sun", is much less interesting. I think anyone who lived there then, or anytime really, would like it. But it's basically nostalgic snippets about various people, like governors and big name aristocrats, and although they can be entertaining, especially when I already know something about them (like Karen Blixon or Beryl Markham) it's just not that exciting.
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 24, 2017 20:57:32 GMT -5
7. Ali Smith, Autumn
Billed as "the first post-Brexit novel," though I didn't see that as the central theme or anything. Story of a young woman who befriended an elderly neighbor when she was little. The novel grows out of that relationship, and has some marvelous turns.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Mar 25, 2017 0:21:40 GMT -5
Hmmmph, just updated Goodreads and I'm two books behind schedule for my annual challenge. Might have to up the reading rate or find some short books I need to find you on Goodreads! I'm way ahead of schedule but I'm putting that down to hot nights and insomnia and loads of cozy mysteries on my kindle for night time reading.
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 25, 2017 6:30:08 GMT -5
I'm still reading WAY fewer books than I had been in previous years... I put it down to the political situation, and spending all my time reading news analysis instead of books, and staring at my phone on the bus rather than the book I'm carrying around. So I'm well informed, but anxious... must stop this.
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Post by tzarine on Mar 25, 2017 21:08:57 GMT -5
liisa, step away from the news
de profundis oscar wilde's prison letters to his lover bosie
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Post by tucano on Mar 26, 2017 7:35:21 GMT -5
Reading 'Walking the Americas' by Levison Wood. I haven't read his other books about walking the Nile and the Himalayas, but I love the TV shows.
It's a mix of history and account of his walk from Mexico to Colombia - I'm finding the walk parts far more engaging, but don't know if that's because I already recognise the character of his friend Alberto who he's walking with from the TV show.
(Needless to say, non-fiction)
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Post by sophie on Mar 26, 2017 10:48:13 GMT -5
The newest novel in the Maisie Dobbs series, In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear. Nice quick read, good characters and the writing tone is as if it was written 50 years back. Enjoyable.
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Post by sophie on Mar 28, 2017 17:38:32 GMT -5
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Much better than I thought it would be.. An excellent series of vignettes explaining not only his childhood but also South Africa's politics and daily life. Worth reading.
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Post by scrubb on Mar 29, 2017 12:27:30 GMT -5
17. Tracks, by Robyn Davidson. [snip] At first I wasn't sure I'd like her, but the story grew on me. Funny, poignant and inspiring. Recommended. That's exactly how I felt about it too. "Birds of America" by Mary McCarthy. Written from inside the head of a 19 year old boy who's spending a year studying in France during the '60s. I really enjoyed it. He overthinks everything and ends up sort of paralyzing himself some of the time because he worries so much about whether he's living up to his ethical standards. And he gets himself into ridiculous situations because he feels like he has to do the "right thing" according to those standards. The author hits the right point by making him likeable enough and smart enough that you don't just laugh at him for being an overly-sincere teenager. He has occasional glimpses of self-awareness and although he's adamant about his own definitions of right and wrong, he is open enough to question everything. And although it's not omni-present, the shadow of Vietnam is there throughout. There is some discussion about events there, and he's well aware that he'll be drafted when he's done university.
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Post by Liiisa on Mar 29, 2017 17:15:34 GMT -5
8) Tom Stoppard, Arcadia
Having seen this play twice I suppose this should count as a virtual re-read, but I'd never read it before. There are some speeches in this play that make me cry when I see it, and they predictably nearly made me cry on the bus. It's sort of about how learning and curiosity is about what makes life meaningful, and sort of about the wonders of disturbance, randomness, and chaos theory, and sort of about an early 19th century English country house, sort of. I think this is my Favorite Play.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Mar 30, 2017 4:39:07 GMT -5
24. Thrice the Brindled Cat Hath Mewed - Alan Bradley.
Flavia de Luce novel that was back on form and back in England after the last book was set in Canada. No real mention of the secret society in this one, which is a good idea.
25. Arsenic for Tea - Robin Stevens 26. First Class Murder - Robin Stevens
The next two books in the Murder Most Unladylike series. The first one was set in 1930's house party and the next one was set on the Orient Express and was a good introduction to a locked room mystery. Still loads of fun. It was interesting reading this after the Flavia de Luce books - there is more of a sense of joy about these books even if the subject is murder. (0f course, they are promoted as middle grade novels)
27.Wormwood Mire - Judith Rossell Another lovely children's book - the follow up to Withering-by-Sea. A touch of the supernatural and a bit of a mystery to solve. It was also a delight to read a book with some wonderful illustrations.
28.Leftovers - Chloe Kendrick 29.Dead Giveaway - Chloe Kendrick 30.The Real Gyro - Chloe Kendrick
More in the food truck mystery series. Getting far too predictible but fine for kindle reading at night when I can't sleep.
31. The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul - Deborah Rodriguez
A book club book - I enjoyed it more this time round and I think I also found more to make me angry with the treatment of women in Afghanistan.
32. The Housewife's Assassin's Handbook - Josie Brown
So book bub classed this as a cozy mystery. It is more sexed up spy book. Another insomniac read - I would have thrown the book away in daylight. Funny at times but there were parts that were just so obvious.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 30, 2017 5:19:26 GMT -5
. 28.Leftovers - Chloe Kendrick 29.Dead Giveaway - Chloe Kendrick 30.The Real Gyro - Chloe Kendrick More in the food truck mystery series. Getting far too predictible but fine for kindle reading at night when I can't sleep. 32. The Housewife's Assassin's Handbook - Josie Brown So book bub classed this as a cozy mystery. It is more sexed up spy book. Another insomniac read - I would have thrown the book away in daylight. Funny at times but there were parts that were just so obvious. I pretty much agreed. Got a couple of both series as eBooks through Book Bub, and read them as cozy mystery challenges on Good Reads, but won't be looking for more of either series.
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Post by Queen on Mar 30, 2017 10:40:13 GMT -5
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Much better than I thought it would be.. An excellent series of vignettes explaining not only his childhood but also South Africa's politics and daily life. Worth reading. I had a "free read" of this at the bookstore, it looks good. Putting it on my list.
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Post by Queen on Mar 30, 2017 10:47:12 GMT -5
#10 The Innocence of Father Brown
C K Chesterton
I've had this on my kindle for ages, I saw a couple of episodes of the series on TV and then decided to pick this up and have been reading the stories on an occasional basis. It's lovely gently very English humour and then mystery stories.
My only issue is the actor in the TV version doesn't match the very specific description of Father Brown in the book, so I have to keep adjusting.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Mar 31, 2017 21:52:37 GMT -5
18. Creation in Death, J.D. Robb. Another intriguing mystery from J.D. Robb. I thought at first it was similar to the last one in the series I read, but the plot development was quite different. Creative, and the speculative aspect, as the series is set a few decades in the future is always a welcome addition.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 2, 2017 19:55:16 GMT -5
Here's the April thread: April
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