I'm halfway through The Bottle Factory Outing by Beryl Bainbridge. Very dark but very funny.
I'm just getting near the halfway point. Would recommend it so far, very well-written. You feel sympathy for the main character, but you just know something bad is about to happen....
Arslan by M. J. Engh. A gripping, albeit very disturbing, take on the nature of tyranny,
as the titular villain invades the United States and makes a small Illnois town his
power base. The book follows the response of Franklin
Bond, the local headmaster and an archetypal
"Middle American", to the challenge Arslan poses. It's
very good, albeit quite shocking in places.
The Next Always - Nora Roberts
Always a guilty pleasure, having read soooh many of her books, but this was a cosy romance, not so different from her earlier stuff, which were fantastic. Familiar characters, in familiar situations in small town America. While this was OK, it was disappointing.
I'll think I should stick with her crime novels.
JK Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy", and hating it so far. Good story, appalling characterization. Just finished "Gone Girl", which I thought was brilliant.
"The Vacant Casualty" always sounded a better title from the parody.
Have decided Game of Thrones is not for me:o
It's brilliantly descriptive, the characters are really well drawn and it zips along, even though it's a very long tale.
It's just that there's an unrelenting air of depression about it and I feel it will only get darker as it progresses!
Maybe I'll dip into some more of it at a later date.
Have now moved onto Paul Doherty's The Nightingale Gallery.
JK Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy", and hating it so far. Good story, appalling characterization. Just finished "Gone Girl", which I thought was brilliant.
Not very likeable are they? It gets better. The last third of it is actually excellent. One of those books where I nearly gave up but was thrilled, by the end, that I hadn't. Not gonna cheer you up, but very moving in the end. I cried buckets.
I'm reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet about two 12 year olds - Chinese boy and Japanese girl - from Seattle during WW2. Brilliant, brilliant book. I find it all the more poignant as friends of mine are of Japanese descent and their families experienced the Japanese 'camps' in the US during the war years.
Highly recommend this book. Beautiful, clear prose and a fantastic story.
Just finished 15 Days Without A Head by Dave Cousins.
Don't know why it was described as a compelling thriller as it was nowhere close as one....it was OK. No more compelling than what are already heard or read in the news about family struggling and some on the verge of poverty or already living in poverty sometimes due to their dysfunctional and irresponsible parents which is the concept of the author's book.
Just started, this afternoon, 'The Umbrella' by Will Self. I am trying, as I did last year to read the 6 books shortlisted for the Booker Prize as I feel it opens up other genres and books that I probably wouldn't purchase otherwise.
I can see it is going to be a slog, but I will persevere.
Each to his/her own! I actually like Ray too! Got a couple of his books and I watched a series of his on Canada not too long ago, which was a great insight. He’s an interesting and inspiring chap too, but Bear is awesome and is definitely a hero of mine. Take a few things out and change some minor things about his autobiography and it’s like you’re reading my memoirs, lol. I can connect with a lot of the stuff Bear has experienced (doing stupid stuff for a dare, being cr@p and in trouble at school, suffering various injuries, almost killing yourself (not on purpose) and so on…) I’m also very active like Bear which is why I like his stuff.
Just finished 15 Days Without A Head by Dave Cousins.
Don't know why it was described as a compelling thriller as it was nowhere close as one....it was OK. No more compelling than what are already heard or read in the news about family struggling and some on the verge of poverty or already living in poverty sometimes due to their dysfunctional and irresponsible parents which is the concept of the author's book.
Just finished Stuart Macbride "Birthdays for the Dead", now I love Stuarts books but really not sure what i think about this one, it was stretching credibility just a little bit.....
Also just finished Simon Kernick's "Siege" - brilliant book, 9/10 for me.
Finished Peter James's "Not Dead Yet". Yet another satisfying outing for DS Roy Grace, Brighton's busiest detective .. This time dealing with a victim chopped to bits and a Hollywood diva returning to her home town for filming .. and who is the blonde woman with a German speaking kid who seems to be keeping her beady eyes on Grace and Chloe ?
Have you read any of the previous books in this series ? If so then you should know who the blonde woman and her kid is....
Just finished Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - wow what a headf**k! I couldn't put it down at all - I felt as manipulated as Nick whilst reading that story and I'm now exhausted having finished it! Great read and I'll definitely be reading some of her other stuff in the near future!
Not sure what to expect at the moment, about chapters in, it's either going to be a horror or a murder mystery, crossed with Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh.
Just finished Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - wow what a headf**k! I couldn't put it down at all - I felt as manipulated as Nick whilst reading that story and I'm now exhausted having finished it! Great read and I'll definitely be reading some of her other stuff in the near future!
I started reading Gone Girl just last night - looks like I made a good choice in buying it!
Comments
I love her books, and this is great so far:D
i've just read the synopsis for this book on amazon and it looks excellent!! i've put it on my reservations list at the library:D
I'm just getting near the halfway point. Would recommend it so far, very well-written. You feel sympathy for the main character, but you just know something bad is about to happen....
as the titular villain invades the United States and makes a small Illnois town his
power base. The book follows the response of Franklin
Bond, the local headmaster and an archetypal
"Middle American", to the challenge Arslan poses. It's
very good, albeit quite shocking in places.
That's a great read.
Always a guilty pleasure, having read soooh many of her books, but this was a cosy romance, not so different from her earlier stuff, which were fantastic. Familiar characters, in familiar situations in small town America. While this was OK, it was disappointing.
I'll think I should stick with her crime novels.
"The Vacant Casualty" always sounded a better title from the parody.
It's brilliantly descriptive, the characters are really well drawn and it zips along, even though it's a very long tale.
It's just that there's an unrelenting air of depression about it and I feel it will only get darker as it progresses!
Maybe I'll dip into some more of it at a later date.
Have now moved onto Paul Doherty's The Nightingale Gallery.
Not very likeable are they?
I'm reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet about two 12 year olds - Chinese boy and Japanese girl - from Seattle during WW2. Brilliant, brilliant book. I find it all the more poignant as friends of mine are of Japanese descent and their families experienced the Japanese 'camps' in the US during the war years.
Highly recommend this book. Beautiful, clear prose and a fantastic story.
Atmospheric and at times ambiguous ghost tale brought to life by vivid locations and a subtle, creeping sense of dread.
Not quite in the same league as her Woman in Black, but certainly worth it if you like the genre.
Don't know why it was described as a compelling thriller as it was nowhere close as one....it was OK. No more compelling than what are already heard or read in the news about family struggling and some on the verge of poverty or already living in poverty sometimes due to their dysfunctional and irresponsible parents which is the concept of the author's book.
I can see it is going to be a slog, but I will persevere.
Haha, seems I started a debate here
Each to his/her own! I actually like Ray too! Got a couple of his books and I watched a series of his on Canada not too long ago, which was a great insight. He’s an interesting and inspiring chap too, but Bear is awesome and is definitely a hero of mine. Take a few things out and change some minor things about his autobiography and it’s like you’re reading my memoirs, lol. I can connect with a lot of the stuff Bear has experienced (doing stupid stuff for a dare, being cr@p and in trouble at school, suffering various injuries, almost killing yourself (not on purpose) and so on…) I’m also very active like Bear which is why I like his stuff.
You know this is a young adult book, right?
Also just finished Simon Kernick's "Siege" - brilliant book, 9/10 for me.
Have you read any of the previous books in this series ? If so then you should know who the blonde woman and her kid is....
Not sure what to expect at the moment, about chapters in, it's either going to be a horror or a murder mystery, crossed with Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh.
I started reading Gone Girl just last night - looks like I made a good choice in buying it!
Not bad but not the best I've read.