Finished 2nd volume of Paul O'Grady's autobiog "the devil rides out" .. Whatever you may think of him he's a very fluent writer .. jaw dropping anecdotes and unlike other autobiogs the stars of the book are not the celebs butthe individuals that are part and parcel of his early life eg his mother, some colourful queens on the gay scene and disabled kids in a home on the Wirral. His book only takes us to the early 80s so I take ith there will be a few more volumes from the Blonde Bombsite!
Not really thread worthy so I'll ask here. I got my first Jeffrey Deaver books yesterday not sure what to start with I've got The Broken Window and Garden of Beasts. What would you go for?!
A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth, it's a good read.
Annie moves into her new home bringing little else but her cat and a collection of cow-shaped milk jugs. She's hoping for a clean slate, but there's something familiar about her next door neighbour - she's convinced she's seen him somewhere before. Annie is morbidly obese, lonely and hopeful. She narrates her own increasingly bizarre attempts to ingratiate herself with her new neighbours, learn from past mistakes and achieve a 'certain kind of intimacy' with the boy next door. Undeterred by her target's hostile girlfriend, she searches for guidance by obsessively studying self-help literature and romance novels. Though Annie struggles to repress a murky history of violence, secrets and sexual mishaps her past is never too far behind her, finally shattering her denial in a compelling and bloody climax. A quirky, character driven and darkly comic debut in the tone of "Notes on A Scandal", "A Kind of Intimacy" is an offbeat and ironic study of misunderstandings. It traces the dark possibilities of best intentions going awry and gives an unsettling glimpse into a clumsy young woman who has too much in common with the rest of us to be written off as a monster.
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peak. I've read Titus Groan several times over the years, but always forgotten what happened by the time I started Gormenghast, so always packed it in quite early. This time I'm just going for it (listening to the first couple of episodes of the recent radio adaptation as a refresher helped). And it's ace. I'd largely remembered them for the characters, but had completely forgotten just how wonderfully written they are. A genuine masterpiece.
Not really thread worthy so I'll ask here. I got my first Jeffrey Deaver books yesterday not sure what to start with I've got The Broken Window and Garden of Beasts. What would you go for?!
I've read some Jeffrey Deaver but not these two. But I would say start with Garden of Beasts as it's a stand alone book. The Broken Window is the 8th in the 'Lincoln Rhyme' series, so you may want to start those from the beginning. If you're anything like me, that is!!
The Bone Collector is the first in the Lincoln Rhyme series.
I finished The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn last night. It had a similar style of cover to The Nanny Diaries and a similar kind of premise - a woman running a service for the wealthy Manhattanites to help them get their little darlings into posh kindergartens.
It was very disappointing. I don't really know why I slogged my way through 430 pages of it cause I knew by about page 30 that it was a really trashy book. The main character was very unlikeable but also badly written - she swung between being an all out biatch, all out for money, to suddenly crying cause somebody had accused her of being an all out biatch all out for money. The character development was virtually nil apart from a sudden turn around in the last 5 pages or so and the attempts at humour were shoe-horned and poor. The sex scenes were cringeworthy.
It seemed a good idea, but I can't help thinking it would have been better handled by someone like Sophie Kinsella, who at least makes you like the heroines in her stories even as the situations become increasingly more ridiculous.
I've read some Jeffrey Deaver but not these two. But I would say start with Garden of Beasts as it's a stand alone book. The Broken Window is the 8th in the 'Lincoln Rhyme' series, so you may want to start those from the beginning. If you're anything like me, that is!!
The Bone Collector is the first in the Lincoln Rhyme series.
I started with The Broken window because I heard an interview about it on the radio and thought it sounded good, and i've now read several of the Lincoln Rhyme books, not in the right order. i had seen the Bone Collector film though. Not sure it makes much difference. I am just stating the Burning Wire, which is the lastest one I think, and it does refer back the The Watchmaker so it's probably not a good one to read out of order.
Just finished ' Do No Harm ' by Carol Topolski. It was about a brilliant female gynaecologist with a dual personality and a liking for knives and self harm. Weirdly good read with a clever, unexpected finish.
I only recently joined the China fanclub - gutted that now I've already got some of his books they have all been re-issued in nice new matchy-matchy covers. It brings out my OCD collector - must buy new copies, must buy new copies that match
I'm reading 1984 at the moment it's good, I have a big stack of books waiting to be read though so I should hurry up a bit.
I am reading 1984 as well, started yesterday after finishing off Dark Fire by CJ Sansom I have to wait until payday before i can buy the next one of his books so I started 1984 as it seemed shorter than the other books I have. But like you I have a pile of books to read.
The story of new mum Rachel and her post natal depression brought on through severe sleep devpravation. It's actually based on Walsh's own experiences.
I only started it this last night, but already a third of the way through. I absolutely love the way Walsh writes and find it difficult to put the books down!
Comments
Took me a long time to get into that book but ended up loving it. Enjoy.
Just started a Stephen King book too, 'Desperation'. Only read a few chapters but enjoying it already.
I finished reading The Woman in Black late last night and didn't find it remotely scary.
Only 30 pages in at the moment. I also picked up a free sample of 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett when I bought PSS today. Can't wait
What an amazing book, i cant stop reading it, it has already made me cry and laugh.
Annie moves into her new home bringing little else but her cat and a collection of cow-shaped milk jugs. She's hoping for a clean slate, but there's something familiar about her next door neighbour - she's convinced she's seen him somewhere before. Annie is morbidly obese, lonely and hopeful. She narrates her own increasingly bizarre attempts to ingratiate herself with her new neighbours, learn from past mistakes and achieve a 'certain kind of intimacy' with the boy next door. Undeterred by her target's hostile girlfriend, she searches for guidance by obsessively studying self-help literature and romance novels. Though Annie struggles to repress a murky history of violence, secrets and sexual mishaps her past is never too far behind her, finally shattering her denial in a compelling and bloody climax. A quirky, character driven and darkly comic debut in the tone of "Notes on A Scandal", "A Kind of Intimacy" is an offbeat and ironic study of misunderstandings. It traces the dark possibilities of best intentions going awry and gives an unsettling glimpse into a clumsy young woman who has too much in common with the rest of us to be written off as a monster.
It's a long book but really good.
China's imagination is in my humble opinion unsurpassed. He thinks bigger than any other writer I know.
If you haven't read The City and The City read it next (unless you hate PSS - then don't bother
I've read some Jeffrey Deaver but not these two. But I would say start with Garden of Beasts as it's a stand alone book. The Broken Window is the 8th in the 'Lincoln Rhyme' series, so you may want to start those from the beginning. If you're anything like me, that is!!
The Bone Collector is the first in the Lincoln Rhyme series.
It was very disappointing. I don't really know why I slogged my way through 430 pages of it cause I knew by about page 30 that it was a really trashy book. The main character was very unlikeable but also badly written - she swung between being an all out biatch, all out for money, to suddenly crying cause somebody had accused her of being an all out biatch all out for money. The character development was virtually nil apart from a sudden turn around in the last 5 pages or so and the attempts at humour were shoe-horned and poor. The sex scenes were cringeworthy.
It seemed a good idea, but I can't help thinking it would have been better handled by someone like Sophie Kinsella, who at least makes you like the heroines in her stories even as the situations become increasingly more ridiculous.
I'm now reading Grace Williams says it loud.
I am totally gay for China Mieville.
Loved this book. It is really funny.
Nicci French- Complicit
LOL - gathered that from your location!
I only recently joined the China fanclub - gutted that now I've already got some of his books they have all been re-issued in nice new matchy-matchy covers. It brings out my OCD collector - must buy new copies, must buy new copies that match
I am reading 1984 as well, started yesterday after finishing off Dark Fire by CJ Sansom I have to wait until payday before i can buy the next one of his books so I started 1984 as it seemed shorter than the other books I have. But like you I have a pile of books to read.
The story of new mum Rachel and her post natal depression brought on through severe sleep devpravation. It's actually based on Walsh's own experiences.
I only started it this last night, but already a third of the way through. I absolutely love the way Walsh writes and find it difficult to put the books down!