What are you reading and book reviews

[Will]

I've got several on the go at the moment.

The complete poems of John Keats - always loved some of his poems so thought why not be a bit more "classical" and go through them.

Also the last part of the Larsson trilogy - the girl who kicked the hornet's nest.

And, a book recommended by someone at work - A Week in December.

[Mohinder]

I'm reading The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon at the moment, having just finished his first one, Shadow Of The Wind.

Both excellent but quite similar - I'd be interested to see if all his novels follow the very similar path. It'd be a shame but I reckon they might. We shall see. Outstanding books though individually.

[Fayshun]

The Jigsaw Man - Paul Britton.

Paul Britton is a forensic psychologist who has been one of the foremost psychological profilers in the UK.

It was lying about at work, so I half-hinched it

[BBx]

I finished Breaking Dawn and it was probably the best one of the series.

Ending was a bit lame though but ok.

Next book is the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.

BB x

[Kitten]

Since the last update, I've read a few that I probably can't recall...that good, huh?

Recently I read:

Heat Man Diary!

Does what it says on the tin. Funny to see the rise of the non-celebrity-celebrity and see just how much HEAT magazine had to do with it, and the reasons they did it. Also interesting to see how people responded differently depending on the reasons that they featured in the magazine. Frith justifies his actions with some paper-thin arguments.

The Lancashire Witches

Originally Posted by AMAZON

This is a study of England's biggest and best-known witch trial which took place in 1612, when ten witches were arraigned and hung in the village of Pendle in Lancashire. The book has essays by experts in both history and English literature/Renaissance studies, and includes summaries to explain the key points of each essay. Material on modern Wicca and paganism, including present-day Lancashire witches, brings the subject up-to-date

Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years by Sue Townsend

Lifelong Mole fan, was made up to realise this was out in p/b. Is the usual stuff but with a much darker edge to it. Bittersweet. Will, there's a review of this on that link that refers to 'A week in December'.

Currently reading : A Place of Secrets by Rachel Hore

Originally Posted by AMAZON

The night before it all begins, Jude has the dream again ...Can dreams be passed down through families? As a child Jude suffered a recurrent nightmare: running through a dark forest, crying for her mother. Now her six-year-old niece, Summer, is having the same dream, and Jude is frightened for her. A successful auctioneer, Jude is struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband. When she's asked to value a collection of scientific instruments and manuscripts belonging to Anthony Wickham, a lonely 18th century astronomer, she leaps at the chance to escape London for the untamed beauty of Norfolk, where she grew up. As Jude untangles Wickham's tragic story, she discovers threatening links to the present. What have Summer's nightmares to do with Starbrough folly, the eerie crumbling tower in the forest from which Wickham and his adopted daughter Esther once viewed the night sky? With the help of Euan, a local naturalist, Jude searches for answers in the wild, haunting splendour of the Norfolk woods. Dare she leave behind the sadness in her own life, and learn to love again?

This would be good for fans of Kate Mosse, I'm really enjoying it.

[Stan_Lite]

Originally Posted by Gilly

The Unfinished Tales might be a better bet for you, the Silmarillion is more of a history tome than a storybook.

I found the Slimarillion tough going. It was interesting but not easy to read.

I'm currently rereading The Fionavar Tapestry - a fantasy trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay. I read this several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it and always intended reading it again.
Basically, 5 people from Earth are transported to another world by the good Mage and save the other world from the evil God (+ demi-God + evil Mage etc.). Most of it is fairly standard for the genre tbh but it's extremely well written and the plot is very engaging - as are the main characters.

I may well follow it up with Tigana by the same author. It's a deeper, more serious work and also extremely well written. It's no wonder Kay has won multiple awards in the genre.

[semi-pro waster]

I've now finished Fist Of God - quite entertaining in a "what if" kind of way, it was written after the first Gulf War but before the second so it's perhaps even more interesting now with the benefit of hindsight than it would have been contemporaneously.

After that was Cross Country by James Patterson, nothing particularly complex here but an easy to read thriller following Alex Cross who's a character that pops up in a number of his books.

Second last book was Tales Of 10 Worlds by Arthur C. Clarke - as well written as you'd expect with some intriguing ideas, unfortunately though they're all (very) short stories and I couldn't help wanting to find out a bit more about them as I don't much like stories that feel unfinished.

Today's book was How To Be An Alien by George Mikes, a rather funny little book which details how one particular foreigner finds the English (British) and their idiosyncracies. It's written with the right amount of love for the subject matter so that it doesn't appear churlish but instead is entertaining and that's sometimes a difficult line to walk. In an odd way I'm reminded of Paid Servant by E.R. Braithwaite which I think I forgot to mention reading before about the experiences of another man who immigrated to Britain and some of the problems that he faced as well as how he dealt with them (with dignity and no small amount of humour in case you were wondering).

[semi-pro waster]

A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is one I've finished a couple of days ago, took me longer than most books I've read recently. It's pretty damn good though, I've tried to read Nicholas Nickleby a couple of times and never made it beyond the first 50 pages or so but this book persuaded me that it might be worth making the attempt again - it's amazing to think that it was written a couple of centuries ago and yet a lot of the themes could still be valid today.

Now I'm reading Comeback by Dick Francis, not quite on the same level of brilliance but an entertaining enough read as expected, his novels tend to contain no real surprises - they're not any less pleasant for that though. It's like pulling on an old sweater - maybe not fashionable now but comfortable and strangely comforting.

[semi-pro waster]

I've recently finished All The Trouble In The World by P.J. O'Rourke - I always enjoy his writings, deeply sardonic and caustic, he may often be at the opposite end of the political spectrum to me but his opinions are fascinating for all that, indeed perhaps because of that. I also like that he's got a good line in self-deprecating humour and you get the feeling that he doesn't take himself or anything much else too seriously.

Today I finished off Not The End Of The World by Christopher Brookmyre - a fairly typical Brookmyre novel with dark humour, references to Scotland that many won't appreciate and you don't need to (but are usually funny if you do), rants against organised religion and a fair share of bloody violence.

Next up will be something by Carl Hiaasen, not sure what yet as I've just picked up 3 of his novels fairly cheaply.

I've got to say it feels awfully lonely in here, is there anybody out there? I'm scared of the dark and solitude...

[Kitten]

Yes! I'm currently reading 'the lovely bones'. Not sure why it's taken me so long to get to it. Recently finished Alan Davies' book (teenage dreams?) which was alright but unless you're into Arsenal or were a boy growing up in the 70s, was a bit hit & miss.