Bookworms 2020

LuckyLondonLucy

Well I have just finished The God of Small Things - a book most people seem to love or hate. I thought it was good, but just a bit wordy for my liking - I mean it won the Booker Prize and I think that is an essential quality to win that prize! I can understand why people love it, it’s very lyrical and poetic and she describe things so beautifully but it just wasn’t quite for me.

So now, on Audible I’m listening to a book called Rooftops which I bought because it had good reviews and was a daily deal at £1.99 but I probably wouldn’t have bought it if I’d realised it was a YA novel - however it is really sweet and a nice story. Am also about to start A tale etched in blood and hard black pencil which has been on my bookshelf FOREVER! No idea what it’s about but somebody must have recommenced it to me so let’s see how it goes...
By the way, do most people here hang on to their books? Most of my friends think I’m mad - I’m not really a re-reader so I give most away when I’m done (I live in a one bed flat so don’t have space to save every single book I read). I do keep the ones I really adore and will hope to read again one day - but I reckon that’s less than 5% of my books). Just wondered...

elsien

Finished listening to Lucy Barton. Several hours of my life I won’t get back.
For those into dystopian fiction, I’ve also just whizzed through Defender by GX Todd. Not exactly taxing but an enjoyable read about a future where the threat is from the voices people are hearing in their heads. First of a series. 

@LuckyLondonLucy I don’t buy many books and the ones I do tend to be non fiction which I hang onto for a bit. Just had a clear out and Fiction wise just kept the sentimental ones like my Lambs Tales from Shakespeare which I begged my parents to get sent out (we lived abroad) when I was a kid. I loved that book. 

ruby_eskimo

Thanks @Wednesday2000 I'll definitely check that out

@LuckyLondonLucy Most of the books I read come from the library so I don't keep them.  I'll buy and keep ones by authors that I love, some classics and the rest I have are gifts, which I do give away sometimes after I've read them.

Finished The Keeper of Lost Things on Saturday - a nice easy book to read which tried to create enough mystery to keep you hooked but kind of failed because I could tell what was happening / was going to happen.  Now onto The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett which I'm really enjoying so far.

LuckyLondonLucy

I listen to a really great book podcast - What Should I Read Next. If you love all things books, I'd really recommend it.  The presenter, an American lady called Anne Bogel, is really lovely and she has some very interesting guests.  The format is basically... Anne has one guest a week, they talk a little about their lives and their reading history and then Anne recommends some books.  The guest tells Anne three books they love, one book they hate and what they are reading now and then hey presto!  Book recommendations!  I have got so many books from this podcast (which is why my TBR pile is so high).  It makes me think all the time about these questions... If I was asked right now my answers would be:
3 books I love:
Count of Monte Cristo; The Heart's Invisible Furies; Rebecca (bonus book Bel Canto - she sometimes allows this!)
1 book I hate:
The Golden Notebook, Doris Lessing (the worst book I have ever read - honestly!  the worst!)
What I'm reading now:
Audible: Career of Evil, Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) - I've loved this series and I'm not normally a series person
Paper: A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil, Christopher Brookmyre - very sweary and written in Scottish dialect so hard going at the moment!
I'd really recommend the podcast - I enjoy it even if I sometimes roll my eyes at some of the books (it's out every Tuesday - today's the day hurrah!).  Would love to know your answers (to add to my goodreads pile!)
Lucy

ruby_eskimo

@LuckyLondonLucy I've been a long term listener of WSIRN and followed Anne's blog for a long time, again why my TBR pile and list on Goodreads is massive   I keep thinking about what my answers would be and currently I think I'd have to say:

3 Books I Love: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Berlin Noir and Looking for Alaska (bonus book would be Headhunters)
Book I Hate: Absurdistan
What I'm Reading Now: The Vanishing Half

I agree that sometimes I find myself thinking that her recommendations are a bit repetitive but at least that cuts my wish list down a bit

Wednesday2000

I finished Together. I had a whole afternoon reading today. I am going to start reading the number 12 Ruth Galloway mystery tomorrow. The Lantern Men.

Wednesday2000

Is nobody else reading at the moment? I saw a video by The Minimalists today and they were talking about buying books and not reading them. I thought about my bulging kindle!

I am going to read An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena this week.

A weekend retreat at a cozy mountain lodge is supposed to be the perfect getaway . . . but when the storm hits, no one is getting away

It's winter in the Catskills and Mitchell's Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing--maybe even romantic--weekend away. It boasts spacious old rooms with huge woodburning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a good murder mystery.

So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity--and all contact with the outside world--the guests settle in and try to make the best of it.

Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead--it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic.

Within the snowed-in paradise, something--or someone--is picking off the guests one by one. And there's nothing they can do but hunker down and hope they can survive the storm--and one another. 

ruby_eskimo

@Wednesday2000 I keep forgetting to come back here and update   your next books sounds perfect for a cosy weekend read.

So I finished The Vanishing Half and loved it, covered so many different themes and dealt with all of them perfectly.  Would definitely recommend, especially if you liked Where the Crawdads Sing as it was a little similar in parts to that.

After that I've read:
- The Exploits of Moomin Papa by Tove Jansson: another childhood favourite I'd neglected on my shelf and good for a quick bit of escapism
- The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah: wasn't too keen on this as it's her take on a Poirot novel and while the story was ok, it just wasn't the same as an original Agatha Christie for me
- The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen: told mostly in the first person by a Communist "spy" in the Vietnam war.  Took a while to get into but enjoyed it when I got used to the writing style and you realise why it's like that.
- Metamorphoses by Ovid: another on the list of 1001 books to read before you die and I found it really interesting to read about the Roman myths.  Made me wish I read in on the plane when I went to Rome a couple of years ago.
- Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy: I love Hardy and this has been sitting on the shelf for years and I don't know why.  Loved every bit of it even if one of the characters annoyed the hell out of it.  Just kept feeling really sorry for Jude as nothing ever really went his way.
- Expectation by Anna Hope: really enjoyed this tale of three female friends who had grown up together, lived together and find out that life doesn't always turn out how you expect it to when you're in your 20's.  I could really relate to them even though I'd not been through half of the issues they were experiencing, it all just felt very real.

I'm now on to the last book that was laying unread on my bookshelf at the beginning of March - The Hog's Back Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts which my mother bought me as I actually live just off the the Hog's Back so I know the area well.  It's what I would call a cosy mystery, perfect for this time of year.  After this I have a couple of library books that I've been saving for October as I like to read something mysterious or spooky around Halloween as Autumn is my favourite season.  Hope you're all enjoying your reading fellow bookworms.

Wednesday2000

ruby_eskimo said:

- The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah: wasn't too keen on this as it's her take on a Poirot novel and while the story was ok, it just wasn't the same as an original Agatha Christie for me

I like to read something mysterious or spooky around Halloween as Autumn is my favourite season.  Hope you're all enjoying your reading fellow bookworms.

I used to read Sophie Hannah books quite a lot but I went off them for some reason.

Ooh. What are the books you are saving for Halloween? I like to read spooky books too. Have you read the Susan Hill books? I thought Dark Matter by Michelle Paver was really scary!

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

ruby_eskimo

Wednesday2000 said:

ruby_eskimo said:

- The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah: wasn't too keen on this as it's her take on a Poirot novel and while the story was ok, it just wasn't the same as an original Agatha Christie for me

I like to read something mysterious or spooky around Halloween as Autumn is my favourite season.  Hope you're all enjoying your reading fellow bookworms.

I used to read Sophie Hannah books quite a lot but I went off them for some reason.

Ooh. What are the books you are saving for Halloween? I like to read spooky books too. Have you read the Susan Hill books? I thought Dark Matter by Michelle Paver was really scary!

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Yeah it just had too many Poirot-isms in it for me, like she was trying to prove a point that it was a Poirot novel and it felt over the top to me.  

First up are The Rules of Magic and Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman so not so spooky but all witches and magic so that fits, then The Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix which I know will be a little gory if it's anything like his other books and finally I might re-read Frankenstein if I can be bothered but I also want to dive into my new books too

I've read a couple by Susan Hill but nothing by Michelle Paver so might have to check that out.