The Bookworm's Thread 2017

Ames

I didn't see the TV series but I really enjoyed the book Apple Tree Yard.

*Margaret*

Ames wrote: »

I didn't see the TV series but I really enjoyed the book Apple Tree Yard.

I read the book, last year I think. Some bits in the book were a bit grim, so I definitely didn't want to watch the TV series. I am usually fine with reading violence but not so good with watching it.

*Margaret*

I've temporarily given up on ghosts, I just couldn't get into it so I've put it to the bottom of my library book pile. Over the weekend I read this one



I chose it because it's set in Edinburgh where I'm from originally and it gives a good sense of the city, at least as I remember it. The storyline was quite different from crime fiction books I'd ever read, it didn't have a neat ending the way lots of similar books do. The author puts a great deal of thought into even quite minor characters and their motivations which is interesting. I'd probably read more from this author if I came across them.

Ames

I finished First Among Sequels last night and I've just started Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard. I'm only about 40 pages in but I'm enjoying it, so much more than I did Crash.

sugarbaby125

I just finished reading Separate Lives by Kathryn Flett and it was a really easy read about contemporary relationships. It is a novel about couples, parenthood, being single and infidelity. I would give it 7.5 out of 10

VfM4meplse

Book 10
Yesterday I finished this:



7/10 - purely for subject matter and shining a light on corruption (I have no doubt this is happening in countries regulation is lax). It was pacey and interesting, but not my usual "thinking" reading matter and I didn't like the heroine whatsoever. It was just under 500 pages but still a relatively quick read.

Ames

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Book 10
Yesterday I finished this:



7/10 - purely for subject matter and shining a light on corruption (I have no doubt this is happening in countries regulation is lax). It was pacey and interesting, but not my usual "thinking" reading matter and I didn't like the heroine whatsoever. It was just under 500 pages but still a relatively quick read.

I loved all three of her books. By the heroine did you mean Simran Singh? I liked her, I thought she was a lot more ;real' than many protagonists.

Kishwar Desai deals with important issues in all of her books. It's shocking that problems like female infanticide are still relevant today. ETA: Sorry, that was the first in the series, which I think is the best.

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[Deleted User]

No. 10 .book was Dark Corners which was Ruth Rendell's last book and I enjoyed it, she was such a good writer of stories ,you know the sort with a beginning middle and end and everything tied up ,no loose threads I'd give it 10/10 but then she was one of my favourite authors.

No. 11 book was Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan, not bad but wasn't keen and the 'heorine was a bit drippy.

Finished my book club book yesterday which was No. 12 this year and it was Darwins Radio, by Greg Bear probably give it a 6/10 as a lot of it was technical jargon although the idea was good just went on about a hundred pages too long. not keen on stuff that has lots of initials in, especially in a slightly scientific/medical sort of thriller as I tend to forget what they stand for :):)

As I am out of library books and decided to read some of the paperback stuff have just started book No. 13 this year which is Ian Rankins 'The Flood' first Rankin book I have read and am finding it OK so far

Serendipitious

Hello.

I've read the thread quite often but never contributed, so I thought it was time. I don't actually buy books any more - I've donated almost all of my huge collection from the past - but I do go to the library regularly. This is what's being returned tomorrow:

The Faithful Couple by A.D.Miller. 7/10

Two young British men meet at a hostel in San Diego, strike up a friendship and decide to continue their travels together. However on a camping trip they lead each other to behave in ways they will desperately regret. The story follows the two men through two decades of their lives back in the UK and the full truth emerges.


Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson 8/10

16 year old Marina, living in London with her delicate mother and ancient Hungarian relatives, seeks to escape and goes to a traditional English public school, where she feels even more of an outsider. Very insightful and sometimes sad, especially as she tries to keep her two worlds apart.


Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton 9/10

Set in the Falkland Islands, a mother who has tragically lost her own children vows revenge on the friend she blames for the tragedy. When another child goes missing, emotions heighten even more.

I find Sharon Bolton (SJ Bolton) is excellent, especially her DC Lacey Flint novels, set in the UK, which are well worth reading in sequence order.

Little Black Lies however, is a stand-alone novel with completely different characters, and the settings are superbly described. Very tense.


Precious Thing by Colette McBeth 9/10

Best friends since school, diverging paths as one succeeds while the other spirals downwards, then one of them goes missing. Tense psychological thriller with twists and turns, a real page-turner.


The Greening by Margaret Coles 3/10

Joanna, a journalist having an affair with a married man stumbles upon the journal of Anna, also having an affair with a married man, who discloses in her story that she had a life-changing encounter with Julian of Norwich (the anchoress who in the 14th century risked death writing a secret manuscript.)

I thought I'd find this interesting as I've had Julian's well-known words in my signature for a very long time and was curious to find out more about her. However, I found this incredibly heavy going. Much of the dialogue seems contrived purely to relay huge chunks of factual or spiritual information, and as a reader, it felt tedious accompanying someone else on their own fictional revelatory experiences. Particularly when it goes through the levels - ie Joanna is writing about reading Anna, who in turn is writing about Julian...

To me, all they needed to do was give up the married men who were treating them so badly, and just get happy again, and all would indeed be well.

And I'll go direct to non-fiction next time I feel the urge to know more about Julian of Norwich.

*Margaret*

I've just finished this - After you Die by Eva Dolan



I think this book would be best read in series order, as things from the last book loomed large over the story. This was interesting and well written and the only thing I didn't like is that it was clear the writer wanted the story to encourage the reader to think through contemporary ethical issues. This is obviously fine, but for me whilst I do spend time considering ethical issues I read books more for entertainment than anything else. I suppose I mind less if it's more subtle, but this wasn't.

If you're after a crime series with that sort of dimension to it, then I'd recommend this one but maybe start with the first book which is called Long Way From Home.