Autobiography covering the authors career in the pioneering days of aviation, WW2 and early commercial flight boom of the 50s.
Regarded as a classic in its field, there's a great story fighting to overcome the authors rather florid writing style and tendancy towards lengthy philosophising (the Fate of the title)
I was looking forward to reading this book (the cover proclaims it 'The Finest Book on Aviation Ever Written') but was sadly disappointed.
I was a big fan of this and really enjoyed it. My favourite Lionel Shriver book was So Much For That. I can appreciate that she is not everyone's cup of tea though
agreed, we cant all like the same eh? Booksellers would never sell anything lol!
100) Cathy Lamb - If You Could See What I See
Set in Portland, Oregon, story of a woman who founded a lingerie company, her daughter and three granddaughters. Business is struggling and one of the granddaughters comes back to turn it round. Took a while to get going but I enjoyed it.
1. The Secret Place - Tana French
2. The Outcast Dead - Elly Griffths
3. False Impression - Jeffrey Archer
4. The Sweetest Hallelujah - Elaine Hussey
5. The Octopus Nest - Sophie Hannah
6. As the Crow Flies - Damien Boyd
7. The Sea Detective - Mark Douglas Home
8. The Woman who walked into the Sea - Mark Douglas Home
9. Wonder - the Julian chapter - RJ Palacio
10. Don't stand so close - Luana Lewis
11. Pictures or it didn't happen - Sophie Hannah
12. Only Time Will Tell - Jeffrey Archer
13. Stranded - Emily Barr
14. Broken Dolls - James Carol
15. Elizabeth is Missing - Emma Healey
16. The Sins of the Father - Jeffrey Archer
17. Penpal - Dathan Auerbach
18. The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths
19. The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths
20. The House at Sea's End - Elly Griffiths
21. A Room Full of Bones - Elly Griffiths
22. The Lord God Made Them All - James Herriott
23. Dying Fall - Elly Griffiths
24. The Ghost Fields - Elly Griffiths
25. The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
26. Best Kept Secret - Jeffrey Archer
27. The Ice Twins - S.K. Tremayne
28. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion
29. The Accidental Adventurer - Ben Fogle
8/10 - I rarely read autobiographies but this was recommended to me and I really enjoyed it although I felt it skimmed over some aspects of his life which would have been interesting (e.g.Castaway)
Third part of a four book series for young adults. Premise is that Luce is in love with Daniel who is an angel. She discovers that this life isn't the only one they have been in love, they have been for many centuries but she always dies around her 17th birthday. This book deals with Luce travelling through 'announcers' which are kind of portals into different stages of time where she and Daniel were together to try to discover if she can lift her curse so they can always be together.
I really enjoyed book 1, liked book 2 but feel book 3 is just stretching out a story. I didnt find all the different Luce and Daniels very interesting as I didnt think they were well rounded. I will probably read book 4 just to finish the series off but really disappointed. Its a shame as Im quite a fan of YA fiction,
The story of an Afghan refugee as we follow him from childhood to adulthood, ending with him trying to make up for an event from his past. Good story, well written. Obviously not the most cheerful book.
18. Cards on The Table by Agatha Christie 7/10
Poirot investigates the murder of a man at a party he is throwing for 8 people, 4 who he knows have commited murder and got away with it in the past and 4 sleuths (both amateur and professional).
102) Midnight in Malmo - Torquil MacLeod
This is the 4th book in the series of stories about Detective Anita Sundstrom. Not as dark as other Scandinavian crime novels and most enjoyable
103) Lettice and Victoria - Susanna Johnson
Think I have read this before. Set in 1950s and story of a woman and her mother-in-law. Not my cup of tea
19. The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths
20. The House at Sea's End - Elly Griffiths
21. A Room Full of Bones - Elly Griffiths
22. The Lord God Made Them All - James Herriott
23. Dying Fall - Elly Griffiths
24. The Ghost Fields - Elly Griffiths
25. The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
26. Best Kept Secret - Jeffrey Archer
27. The Ice Twins - S.K. Tremayne
28. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion
29. The Accidental Adventurer - Ben Fogle
30. The Zig Zag Girl - Elly Griffiths
7/10 - this was very different from the Ruth Galloway series and is set in the early 1950s when one by one members of the The Magic Men, a group of magicians who worked together during the war, get murdered. It had a reasonable twist at the end but isn't as good as the Ruth Galloway series.
26. The Mangle Street Murders by M.R.C. Kasasian.
A Sherlock Holmes style whodunnit featuring a celebrated personal detective, his female ward and a police inspector. Ok, but not enjoyable enough to make me want to read the next one in the series.
21. Black Swan Green - David Mitchell (7.5/10)
I enjoyed this. First book of Mitchells that I have read and will probably give his others a go. Set in the 80s and follows a young lad, Jason Taylor and how he copes with having a stutter and the ridicule it brings at school. It's quite a humorous book and had me laughing out loud a few times.
The first in the Matthew Shardlake series (the 6th, Lamentation has just been released in paperback).
A murder mystery set during the dissolution of the English Monasteries in Oliver Cromwell's time.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Not my usual cup of tea and I was a bit unsure of the subject and setting but was totally hooked after the first couple of chapters.
The first in the Matthew Shardlake series (the 6th, Lamentation has just been released in paperback).
A murder mystery set during the dissolution of the English Monasteries in Oliver Cromwell's time.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Not my usual cup of tea and I was a bit unsure of the subject and setting but was totally hooked after the first couple of chapters.
I loved these books. They are not my usual type of books but for some reason I was hooked. Sansom's non Shardlake books are also very good stories.
I read that a new Shardlake is out at the end of the year and hope thats true. Mr Sansom has sadly been very ill.
I loved these books. They are not my usual type of books but for some reason I was hooked. Sansom's non Shardlake books are also very good stories.
I read that a new Shardlake is out at the end of the year and hope thats true. Mr Sansom has sadly been very ill.
We seem to have similar tastes Oxford Girl, I think it was you that recommended Charles Cumming IIRC?
I notice you're partial to an Agatha Christie, that's who I reach for if I want a quick comfortable pick me up read.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Dissolution be was hooked from chapter 3, I've already got 2 and 3 on the (ever increasing) to read pile.
107) The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
A long read! Read this for my book club and very much enjoyed it. Main character is caught up in a bomb blast as a child, loses his mother and steals a painting. This has a major effect on the next 15 years of his life. It seems to me like a modern day Dickens
108) Speak Swahili Dammit - James Penhaligon
A story of an English boy growing up in post war East Africa. Didn't like this very much.
9. The Whole Enchilada (Goldy Schulz Culinary Mystery #17) by Diane Mott-Davidson – Goldy’s old friend Holly is killed – probably poisoned by some of Goldy’s own food – and Goldy is on the prowl to figure out who killed her. Along the way, Goldy reflects a lot on their friendship and discovers that there was a lot she didn’t know about Holly, even when they were close friends. This book wasn’t quite as good as the older Goldy books, but it was still miles better than some of the other books I’ve read lately. If it was the final book for the series, then it was a great way to round it out.
Comments
Autobiography covering the authors career in the pioneering days of aviation, WW2 and early commercial flight boom of the 50s.
Regarded as a classic in its field, there's a great story fighting to overcome the authors rather florid writing style and tendancy towards lengthy philosophising (the Fate of the title)
I was looking forward to reading this book (the cover proclaims it 'The Finest Book on Aviation Ever Written') but was sadly disappointed.
Maybe my expectations were too high.
agreed, we cant all like the same eh? Booksellers would never sell anything lol!
Set in Portland, Oregon, story of a woman who founded a lingerie company, her daughter and three granddaughters. Business is struggling and one of the granddaughters comes back to turn it round. Took a while to get going but I enjoyed it.
2. The Outcast Dead - Elly Griffths
3. False Impression - Jeffrey Archer
4. The Sweetest Hallelujah - Elaine Hussey
5. The Octopus Nest - Sophie Hannah
6. As the Crow Flies - Damien Boyd
7. The Sea Detective - Mark Douglas Home
8. The Woman who walked into the Sea - Mark Douglas Home
9. Wonder - the Julian chapter - RJ Palacio
10. Don't stand so close - Luana Lewis
11. Pictures or it didn't happen - Sophie Hannah
12. Only Time Will Tell - Jeffrey Archer
13. Stranded - Emily Barr
14. Broken Dolls - James Carol
15. Elizabeth is Missing - Emma Healey
16. The Sins of the Father - Jeffrey Archer
17. Penpal - Dathan Auerbach
18. The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths
19. The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths
20. The House at Sea's End - Elly Griffiths
21. A Room Full of Bones - Elly Griffiths
22. The Lord God Made Them All - James Herriott
23. Dying Fall - Elly Griffiths
24. The Ghost Fields - Elly Griffiths
25. The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
26. Best Kept Secret - Jeffrey Archer
27. The Ice Twins - S.K. Tremayne
28. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion
29. The Accidental Adventurer - Ben Fogle
8/10 - I rarely read autobiographies but this was recommended to me and I really enjoyed it although I felt it skimmed over some aspects of his life which would have been interesting (e.g.Castaway)
The first case for Hercule Poirot.
Reading a Poirot is like slipping on an old comfortable pair of slippers.
Must read more Poirot.
Third part of a four book series for young adults. Premise is that Luce is in love with Daniel who is an angel. She discovers that this life isn't the only one they have been in love, they have been for many centuries but she always dies around her 17th birthday. This book deals with Luce travelling through 'announcers' which are kind of portals into different stages of time where she and Daniel were together to try to discover if she can lift her curse so they can always be together.
I really enjoyed book 1, liked book 2 but feel book 3 is just stretching out a story. I didnt find all the different Luce and Daniels very interesting as I didnt think they were well rounded. I will probably read book 4 just to finish the series off but really disappointed. Its a shame as Im quite a fan of YA fiction,
Thought this was chick lit of a girl in her 20s being a bit wild then discover it's true ! I am getting old
18. Cards on The Table by Agatha Christie 7/10
Poirot investigates the murder of a man at a party he is throwing for 8 people, 4 who he knows have commited murder and got away with it in the past and 4 sleuths (both amateur and professional).
Typical Christie, good story, fast read
This is the 4th book in the series of stories about Detective Anita Sundstrom. Not as dark as other Scandinavian crime novels and most enjoyable
103) Lettice and Victoria - Susanna Johnson
Think I have read this before. Set in 1950s and story of a woman and her mother-in-law. Not my cup of tea
Poirot's last case. Didn't enjoy this one as much as other Christie books
20. The House at Sea's End - Elly Griffiths
21. A Room Full of Bones - Elly Griffiths
22. The Lord God Made Them All - James Herriott
23. Dying Fall - Elly Griffiths
24. The Ghost Fields - Elly Griffiths
25. The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
26. Best Kept Secret - Jeffrey Archer
27. The Ice Twins - S.K. Tremayne
28. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion
29. The Accidental Adventurer - Ben Fogle
30. The Zig Zag Girl - Elly Griffiths
7/10 - this was very different from the Ruth Galloway series and is set in the early 1950s when one by one members of the The Magic Men, a group of magicians who worked together during the war, get murdered. It had a reasonable twist at the end but isn't as good as the Ruth Galloway series.
106) Shirley Wells - Dead Simple
Two more in the Dylan Scott series. Not as good as the earlier stories
A Sherlock Holmes style whodunnit featuring a celebrated personal detective, his female ward and a police inspector. Ok, but not enjoyable enough to make me want to read the next one in the series.
I enjoyed this. First book of Mitchells that I have read and will probably give his others a go. Set in the 80s and follows a young lad, Jason Taylor and how he copes with having a stutter and the ridicule it brings at school. It's quite a humorous book and had me laughing out loud a few times.
The first in the Matthew Shardlake series (the 6th, Lamentation has just been released in paperback).
A murder mystery set during the dissolution of the English Monasteries in Oliver Cromwell's time.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Not my usual cup of tea and I was a bit unsure of the subject and setting but was totally hooked after the first couple of chapters.
I loved these books. They are not my usual type of books but for some reason I was hooked. Sansom's non Shardlake books are also very good stories.
I read that a new Shardlake is out at the end of the year and hope thats true. Mr Sansom has sadly been very ill.
We seem to have similar tastes Oxford Girl, I think it was you that recommended Charles Cumming IIRC?
I notice you're partial to an Agatha Christie, that's who I reach for if I want a quick comfortable pick me up read.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Dissolution be was hooked from chapter 3, I've already got 2 and 3 on the (ever increasing) to read pile.
Hi CLM
Yes I think it was me that recommended Charles Cumming
I'll watch what your reading more carefully now for ideas!!
Oops got this wrong
106) was Dead End not Dead Simple
A long read! Read this for my book club and very much enjoyed it. Main character is caught up in a bomb blast as a child, loses his mother and steals a painting. This has a major effect on the next 15 years of his life. It seems to me like a modern day Dickens
108) Speak Swahili Dammit - James Penhaligon
A story of an English boy growing up in post war East Africa. Didn't like this very much.