The Bookworm's Thread 2019

Hobsons_Choice

Just finished Memoirs of a Wartime Interpreter (From the Battle for Moscow to Hitler's Bunker). By Yelena Rzherskaya.
A really interesting and informative read. She's with the Red Army in WW11 as an interpreter of German and follows the army through Poland and, finally, to Hitler's Bunker in Berlin. She was there when they found Hitler's remains (identified by his teeth) and various notes and diaries.

Difficult to put down and I would give this book 9.5/10.

Mr_Singleton

Just finished reading this, this afternoon.....



Shocking, profoundingly interesting & truly heartbreaking in places.

Needed something a bit more mellow next so this seemed appropriate....

[Deleted User]

Before I Die by Candy Chang.

klew356

Hi all,

I go through fits and bursts with books, and I like a whole different variety. At the moment I’m reading, barely started, Ruby Walsh’s autobiography. I’m not the biggest fan of autobiographies so I will see how I get on. I have Eleanor Oliphant on my list to look at to decide if it’s what I want to read. I have a couple of books waiting to be read and another autobiography from AP McCoy. For all I love technology I can’t get away with a kindle, or audio books. I like to hold a book plain and simple. Id like to read more this year but I don’t have a specific number in mind, id just like to spend some time, lost in a book!

klew356

Ps: also see mention of Kate Morton, I have enjoyed a couple of her books but have not tried the clockmakers daughter yet, I shall add to the list

pollypenny

Lollipop Shoes

Joanne Harris' sort of follow up to Chocolate. Fascinating and up-put-downable.

premkit

My Mums eye sight is failing, and i wondered about the Audible books or anything similar. Any i should stay clear from?

Blackcats

Premkit - I signed my dad up to Audible for the same reason as you are for your mum. He gets on well with it. There are so many good books, if you don't like one it is easy to return and get your credit back. I watch out for deals such as 2 for 1 too so that he maximises his membership. Many of them are narrated so well by great actors that it's more than a book and more like a radio play. I'm happy that he can still access books albeit in a different format.

PipneyJane

premkit wrote: »

My Mums eye sight is failing, and i wondered about the Audible books or anything similar. Any i should stay clear from?

Audible is great, particularly its ability to "whispersync" books with the associated Kindle. However, check out her local library services first - ours has an app where you can "borrow" audio books for 2 weeks at a time, for free.

Another site for free audiobooks is Librivox, where the books are recorded by volunteers not voice actors. The quality varies. (There's nothing funnier than hearing an American mispronounce Warwick at the exact point when you're driving past the Warwick turnoff on the M1.)

Also, re Kindles - it may be worth checking them out with her particularly if she is a voracious reader. The paperwhite version is meant to be easy on the eye and you can increase the size of the print to make it easier to read. There are millions of free and cheap Kindle books available, including many of the classics.

HTH

Pip

sugarbaby125

I have only read 3 books this year so far:

1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

This is a truly remarkable story of Henrietta Lacks born a black tobacco farmer. Her cancer cells (He-La) which were taken without her knowledge became a multi million dollar industry and one of the most important tools in medicine. Yet Henrietta's family did not learn of her 'immortality' until more than twenty years after her death with devastating consequences.

This book is impeccably researched and very well written and for it was a 10/10 read

2. Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi.

Celebrated writer Mr. Fox can't stop himself from killing off the heroines of his novels and neither can his wife, Daphne. It's not until Mary, his muse, comes to life and transforms him from author into subject that his story begins to unfold differently. Meanwhile, Daphne becomes convinced that her husband is having an affair and finds her way into Mary and Mr. Fox's game. And so Mr. Fox is offered a choice: Will it be a life with the girl of his dreams or a life with an all-too-real woman who delights him more than he cares to admit?

I only got about a third of the way through this book before realising that this book was not right for me. As I have limited time for my favourite hobby of reading, I moved onto my next book. For me this book was a 5/10 even though it is well written

3. The Playdate by Louise Millar

Single mother Callie has come to rely heavily on her best friend Suzy. But Callie suspects Suzy's life isn't as simple as it seems. It's time she pulled away - going back to work is just the first step towards rediscovering her old confidence. So why does she keep putting off telling Suzy about her new job?

Suzy and Callie live close to each other on a typical cramped, anonymous London street. Neighbours seem to move in, and move on, before you have even learned their names. Callie's increased sense of alienation leads her to try to befriend a new resident on her street, Debs. But Debs is anxious, odd. You wouldn't trust her with your child - especially not if you knew anything about her past.

A brilliant and chilling evocation of modern life, The Playdate is a real talking-point book for mothers everywhere.

This book was a real page turner for me. I would give this book 9/10