Reading as a cheap hobby

Blackcats

I've just finished Killer Question by Janice Hallett. I've read a few of her books and would say that The Appeal and Killer Question are tge best.

Killer Question is about pub quizzes but it is much, much more complicated than that. It's written from multiple perspectives, some gentle humour but a good mystery unfolds. 9/10

PipneyJane

I was away on holiday last week, and had the pleasure to be able to sit and read for hours. Finished Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book 1929: Inside The Crash about the causes and effects of the Great Wall Street Crash. It was well written and quite an easy read, despite having a large cast of characters. At times, it read like a novel.

My current book is The Thirties: An Intimate History of Britain by Juliet Gardner, which was recommended to me be several people here on MSE. I’m nearly half way through - it’s 800-odd pages - despite finding it a bit hard going. The book is divided into several sections and each has a theme, which I hadn’t realised originally, so it isn’t totally chronological.

To me, the most interesting fact so far is how Britain struggled to pay for the First World War, with all the related debt held in short-term, expensive bonds. I wish the book had more information about that and the possible alternatives. (How did France pay for their War?)

• Pip

Floss

@PipneyJane I find Juliet Gardner's writing quite hard going, I imagine a themed order rather than chronological would be a challenge too much for me!

I'm slowly working my way through Michael Palin's diaries - am almost at the end of Volume 2 with another two to go.

DigForVictory

Some time ago, I heard Martin on a Good Read getting very keen on Dissolution, the first novel in the Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom. (So much so, he'd gone onto read the next in the series, which disconcerted Harriet Gilbert somewhat!) He & Tanita Tikaram got me aware of Slow Horses by Mick Heron (still haven't read any yet [soon!]) but I inadvertently got an armful of Zoë Boehm (different arc, same author) & cheerfully lost a weekend recently devouring those. Remaining intrigued that a bloke could write credibly about things that annoy women!

MrsCD

I'm very much a lightweight reader, but I'm enjoying reading The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn by Sue Reed. Sue's fairly 'local' to me, that is, within an hour's drive away and I like the way she includes local history and geography in her books. 😊

Blackcats

I really enjoyed watching The Book That Changed My Life on BBC2 last night. Very inspiring.

The Queen's Reading Room website has some good book choices too. (It is an initiative set up by Queen Camilla). Some fascinating research included on the site.

DigForVictory

"that special magic that can only be found in the leaves of a book" - no argument from here! The website is here and I admit to be a bit surprised to see Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier there. Leaves me wondering faintly if there is a Mrs.Danvers somewhere in one of the palaces.

Wednesday2000

I love Rebecca. I have read it so many times.

I'm getting back into reading at home now it is Autumn. I'm reading It's Not Her by Mary Kubica at the moment that I got out of the library. It is a real page turner.

findingthisdifficult

I don't know if I fit in here or not but I've read all 83 pages of the thread.

I was an avid reader as a child, always had my head in a book. A couple of my favourites from childhood would be Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree series, I could lose myself in them and imagine going up the tree. Also, this is a random one but Anita Feagles' Casey, The Utterly Impossible Horse, I don't know why but I really remember loving this book.

As an adult, I read lots of different genres, I've read a lot of Hannah Ellis, Liz Tomforde, Dani Atkins this year. I'm currently reading The Accidental Volunteer Society by Christopher James Hall but I'm not loving it, it's feeling like a chore but I'm 75% through so might as well finish it. I've also made a start on the Dungeon Crawler Carl series but the jury's still out on that for me. I've read 27 books so far this year, seems a small number compared to some of you.

Blackcats

@findingthisdifficult - we all belong here and you are very, very welcome. 27 books is a great total,

I think we all like different genres and authors but have a common love of reading.

I'm currently reading The Marriage Portrait by Maggie o'Farrell. It's set in Italy in the 1500's. It's not my usual choice but I'm quite enjoying it. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through but I'll persevere as it is becoming intriguing and is well written.