The Bookworm's Thread 2017

TravellingAbuela

I am currently engrossed in The Lake House (Kate Morton), so many possible endings and I am changing my mind every couple of pages!

(I am lucky in that my friend and I share the same taste in books and swap over our cs bought books when we have read them, before passing on to another friend!)

[Deleted User]

My New year list has started and so far I have read
There's Always Tomorrow by Pam Weaver set in the post war period ,not a bad book interesting for the social history context
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh, excellent psychological thriller with a good twist
Started last night
Touch and Go by Lisa Gardener,another thriller and quite good.

In between I am reading a chapter or two at a time of my beloved Alan Bennett's latest diary 'Keeping on Keeping on',it was one of my Christmas presents and I like to read his huge books at a chapter or so a day while I am having breakfast.

So halfway through January, and I am on my third book and plus one that I dip into daily I really do enjoy reading as much as I can, as you can see from my signature at the bottom of this post which roughly translates as 'too many books and not enough time' :):)

JackieO xx

Art_Deco

Just finished 2 books by Clare Donoghue, Never look back and No place to die , both very easy to read,set in London and featuring DI Lockyer, could get into the life of the main characters quite quickly , will look out for more of hers, i tried to put a photo up but ive no idea what im doing has any body got an easy way of doing this?:o

bettyboo71

I joined the thread quite late last year, and then was rubbish at coming back and posting anything. I shall try to do better this year.

Ann Cleeves - Cold Earth
It's part of the Shetland series, and I'd seen a couple of the TV programmes but never read the books before - my mum got it at a signing and thought I'd enjoy it. I did. It's one of those books where you keep changing your mind about what is really going on, and about who is guilty of what. I think I'll be keeping an eye out for her others in the charity shops now. Especially as the setting is so similar to where I live, so I can really imagine it vividly.

His Bloody Project - Graeme Macrae Burnet
Certainly not an easy read, there's quite a lot of violence, although not too graphic. I think what I enjoyed most was the very different style of 'presenting' the story, so you get slightly different views of the events. It is set in the 1860s in rural Scotland and, from my knowledge, seems to be fairly accurate at depicting living conditions at that time. So it has a little historical value too, as well as a great story.

All the Little Guns went Bang, Bang, Bang - Neil Mackay
I wanted to read this after reading his The Wolf Trial last year. Although this is a very different story, it is no less violent and disturbing. Certainly not one for the delicate reader, but a very well crafted story.

I've also read a couple of Dean Koontz novels, older ones that were on offer for the Kindle, because I used to read his stuff years ago. I won't go into detail here, because he is an acquired taste, but his stuff is at least well written.

The other one I've read this year is Britain turns to Crime - a collection of British writers. It was, and still is, on offer for 99p on Amazon. It is quite a varied mix of styles and subject matter , and there were a couple that I didn't finish. But there were also two which I intend to find other work by the authors, which is the main purpose of this book. If you like crime/mystery type stuff then this is a good way to maybe find a new author or two.

So, two weeks into the new year, I'm already on my fifth book, not including the one I've been dipping into - Bella Bathurst's The Lighthouse Stevensons. It's a very interesting account of the lives of the Stevenson family, apart from the one we already probably know best, R L Stevenson. I've learned a lot about the history and construction of lighthouses, and I never knew I'd find it so fascinating. Maybe a niche subject, but a good book.

I will try to come back and update you as I finish each book - I've got a couple of older James Patterson books next on my Kindle.

One tip for anyone who is new to kindle and e books - many books on Amazon offer you a sample to download. These are usually long enough to decide whether or not you might like a book, and they're free!

Happy reading :-)

VALM

Finished Girl Unknown by Karen Perry. For the most part I enjoyed this and the way it was written from different character perspective but one particular incident irked me and spoilt the rest of the book.

loocyloo

oooo, I've never noticed this thread before!


I LOVE reading, and always have a huge pile of books by the bed. This year though, I decided I wasn't going to buy ANY books at all, and just read from the library ( or free kindle ones plus I have rather a lot waiting to be read on kindle! )


I've just read books 1 & 2 of 'The Rivers of London' series by Ben Aaronvitch. ... It took me ages to pick it the first one up, then I couldn't put it down, and now I have the whole series on request at the library. Sort of Harry Potter ish, but different. 'see that homeless man under the bridge - it isn't, it's a troll' ... more or less sums it up, but they are sort of mystery/police stories too.


Also finished Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves from Shetland series ( read the rest of the series last year )


Also read 'the murder wall' and 'monument to murder' by Mari Hannah - crime books set in Northumberland.


I have a couple of Paul Magrs ( Brenda and Effie ) books to read, which are great fun - based in Whitby, with spooky going ons, but very easy reading.


as you can tell, I like crime/mystery books but am not averse to a bit of easy 'chick lit' reading! Jenny Colgan is my author of choice at the moment.


just remembered !!!! I have read ( and returned to the library today !) 'The Improbability of Love' by Hannah Rothschild. All about a painting, and its history and that and the loves of those surrounding it in the current day - and oddly enough, for some chapters the painting itself 'narrates' !!! it took me a while to read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.


I do look at the 'recommended reads' at the library, but rarely pick up anything that looks too heavy. I shall be reading peoples recommendations with interest.


I used to belong to a book club, which forced me to read different things, but I moved, and I can't find one at a time I can make ( all in the day time for retired folk! ) I'm not retired, and won't be for another 20 odd years! I have half thought about setting one up, but my friend who ran my old book club, used to have nightmares getting books/choosing/people choosing etc.

Syman

book 3 done

Blood lines by Angela Marsons. 5th in the DI Stone series, and the best so far.



is the next book

*Margaret*

I've just finished this book. It's about a young doctor's wife in the 1950's struggling to adapt to marriage, frequently left alone while her husband works long hours. Their house is very cold and one day she finds an old RAF greatcoat in the cupboard and begins to use it as a blanket - but then it's owner comes back to reclaim it. There is a romance element to this, but it's really more of a ghost story. It's eerie but not jumpy or shocking and some bits gave me pause for thought. It was beautifully written, which for me made up for any implausibility in the story. I'll definitely be looking for more by this author in the library.

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Winchelsea

Can anyone join? If so, please can you count me in?
I love reading, but have had a bit of a slow time recently. I usually aim for a book a week, but two a month is probably more realistic at the moment.
I belong to two book groups, so just keeping up with two monthly choices would keep me on course.
So far thus month I've read The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill (a Simon Seraillier mystery), and am making a start on A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding by Jackie Copleton, and, The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer.

Margaret, is the book you mentioned The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore?
II certainly sounds like it. (Not my favourite of hers!)

*Margaret*

Winchelsea - yes it is, can you not see the picture? I've probably messed it up as there is meant to be a picture of the cover so people would know the title and author, I didn't mean for it to be 'Guess the Book'! Which ones are your favourites? I liked her writing but I don't think ghosts are her usual genre.