Strange part memoir/part WW2 history/part biography book by The Pub Landlord. Not particularly amusing or revealing, desperately in need of a severe editing and the history bits read like they written by a sixth former. Disappointing.
Not sure about this one.
I do understand that many of the characters are coping with a horrific situation and it's aftermath but unfortunately I found the majority of them so unlikeable that reading it became a bit of a chore.
It's a clever idea though and a different way of addressing an unpleasant subject.
I'm still enjoying re-reading this series. Once I've done I'll go back to my TBR collection on the Kindle. I'm still checking my wish list on Amazon every day for price reductions too but at the moment it's nice to know I'm reading a good book without having to plod through like I have done recently with some of my books.
Not sure about this one.
I do understand that many of the characters are coping with a horrific situation and it's aftermath but unfortunately I found the majority of them so unlikeable that reading it became a bit of a chore.
It's a clever idea though and a different way of addressing an unpleasant subject.
I loved that book! There's a film of it coming out shortly.
(on a different note, I see they've moved the forum, I got into a panic when I thought it had been removed altogether!)
My first couple of books for this year were started well before Christmas and are taking ages to get through.
1. Touch by Claire North.
The idea behind this one is that some souls have the ability to jump from body to body by means of touch. Kepler is a "ghost" who has inhabited many "skins". When a former skin is murdered, Kepler is determined to discover why.
I found the book very disjointed to start with (a plot device) and didn't really get the ending. I didn't like Kepler at all and although the book was well written with some original ideas I can't say that I enjoyed it.
I'm hoping to complete book no. 2 within the next few days, an audiobook that has been on the go since November, I'll be really glad to get to the end of it.
Loved it, so much so I bought the sequel before I reached the end.
Scottish detective novel, the twist being that the (anti)hero studies tidal currents and tracks where items that have been washed up come from.
A really really enjoyable read with a good mixture of crime and history.
I did exactly the same, a really good series - I notice the 3rd one is due out in April but is currently £9.99 for pre-order
1. Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith
2, Big Time, the Life of Adam Faith by David & Caroline Stafford
3. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North
10/10 - I loved this! Harry is a kalachkra who lives his life over and over, but he is not unique - the Cronus Club has members all over the world. But in one of his lives he is told that the end of the world is getting nearer and nearer and he spends several lives trying to find out why and what he can do to stop it. I would love a sequel but I'm not sure what else the author could do with the story.
2. A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths.
Book 4 in the series and suffers a bit from the repetition of events in previous books. The storyline doesn't hold up to close scrutiny, but it's nice to meet up with an established set of characters again. A quick, easy and enjoyable read.
I'd better start by saying that a lot of the author's descriptions of the titular villain (and any other non-British character) are wildly racist.
You expect that to a degree in any book written at that time (1912) but it really is quite jaw-dropping here.
That aside it's a fairly fast-paced adventure story as the lead characters try to stop Fu-Manchu's various schemes. Unfortunately it is a bit repetitive in places mainly due to this novel being compiled of previously published short stories.
An interesting curiosity from a very different time.
1 - Absolute Pandemonium by Brian Blessed - some funny moments, does get a bit repetitive.
2 - Runaway by Peter May - just started this book, 5 old friends who formed a band in Glasgow in the 1960's & then ran away to London, must return to the city, 50 yrs later when a murder occurs.
I hope to read 2 or 3 books a month this year, so doing not too bad so far :-D
1. The Case of the Baited Hook (Perry Mason #16) by Erle Stanley Gardner – Perry Mason is hired to represent the interests of a masked woman. He has misgivings, but takes the case anyway, and spends the rest of the novel trying to figure out who is the client and how they’re connected to a dead body he discovers. I liked it because it was different from the usual Perry Mason books. Several of the characters try and fail miserably to manipulate Mason, but none of them are very nice people, so I can’t feel all that bad for their embarrassment.
This book was the most unbelievable load of rubbish. It has taken me almost a week to read it as it is so bad that I could only read a few pages before putting it down. I have this terrible ocd type of thing that makes me finish every book I read and so I felt I had to persevere. Really bad plot, storyline, characters etc - an early lead contender for worst book of the year
1. World War Z by Max Brooks
9/10 Story of how the world responded to the zombie plague. As someone who loves The Walking Dead I really enjoyed this
2. The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood
8/10 A dual timeline novel about a woman who looses her loved one in the San Fransisco earthquake and a mother who has an affair in 1960 at the time of JFK.
3. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. Audiobook narrated by Jill Tanner.
41 hours 36 minutes of my life over the past two months, I'm going to choose something much shorter for my next listen.
This is set in 1875 in Victorian London and centres around a 19 year old prostitute known as Sugar. There's a Dickensian feel and squalor abounds. Sex and bad language also abound. I suppose this is to be expected given Sugar's occupation but I found it to be quite uncomfortable listening in places and somewhat gratuitous.
I didn't think that Sugar herself was particularly likeable and some of her actions didn't ring true to me. Various characters in her orbit make for more interesting story lines and overall I thought that this was a good book and worth the time invested, despite a rather abrupt ending. I'll read The Apple: Crimson Petal Stories at some point.
Good narration on the whole but one or two very strange pronunciations.
11) Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
12) Cold Days by Jim Butcher
13) Skin Game by Jim Butcher
14) January by Audrey Carlan (only around 100 pages so hardly counts). Not really my thing so I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the Calendar books. And at £2 each for 100 pages they're pretty pricey too!
Comments
5/10
Strange part memoir/part WW2 history/part biography book by The Pub Landlord. Not particularly amusing or revealing, desperately in need of a severe editing and the history bits read like they written by a sixth former. Disappointing.
Not sure about this one.
I do understand that many of the characters are coping with a horrific situation and it's aftermath but unfortunately I found the majority of them so unlikeable that reading it became a bit of a chore.
It's a clever idea though and a different way of addressing an unpleasant subject.
I'm still enjoying re-reading this series. Once I've done I'll go back to my TBR collection on the Kindle. I'm still checking my wish list on Amazon every day for price reductions too but at the moment it's nice to know I'm reading a good book without having to plod through like I have done recently with some of my books.
10) 13.55 - Nick Alexander
11) Scarcity - Randall Wood
I loved that book! There's a film of it coming out shortly.
(on a different note, I see they've moved the forum, I got into a panic when I thought it had been removed altogether!)
1. Touch by Claire North.
The idea behind this one is that some souls have the ability to jump from body to body by means of touch. Kepler is a "ghost" who has inhabited many "skins". When a former skin is murdered, Kepler is determined to discover why.
I found the book very disjointed to start with (a plot device) and didn't really get the ending. I didn't like Kepler at all and although the book was well written with some original ideas I can't say that I enjoyed it.
I'm hoping to complete book no. 2 within the next few days, an audiobook that has been on the go since November, I'll be really glad to get to the end of it.
It was bad enough when the merged the newspaper bit with books, but when I thought they'd ditched it altogether I had a bit of a panic!:o
I don't post much in here, but I do enjoy reading it.
9.5/10
Loved it, so much so I bought the sequel before I reached the end.
Scottish detective novel, the twist being that the (anti)hero studies tidal currents and tracks where items that have been washed up come from.
A really really enjoyable read with a good mixture of crime and history.
I did exactly the same, a really good series - I notice the 3rd one is due out in April but is currently £9.99 for pre-order
3. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North
10/10 - I loved this! Harry is a kalachkra who lives his life over and over, but he is not unique - the Cronus Club has members all over the world. But in one of his lives he is told that the end of the world is getting nearer and nearer and he spends several lives trying to find out why and what he can do to stop it. I would love a sequel but I'm not sure what else the author could do with the story.
Book 4 in the series and suffers a bit from the repetition of events in previous books. The storyline doesn't hold up to close scrutiny, but it's nice to meet up with an established set of characters again. A quick, easy and enjoyable read.
2. 'Yes Please', by Amy Poehler
I'd better start by saying that a lot of the author's descriptions of the titular villain (and any other non-British character) are wildly racist.
You expect that to a degree in any book written at that time (1912) but it really is quite jaw-dropping here.
That aside it's a fairly fast-paced adventure story as the lead characters try to stop Fu-Manchu's various schemes. Unfortunately it is a bit repetitive in places mainly due to this novel being compiled of previously published short stories.
An interesting curiosity from a very different time.
2 - Runaway by Peter May - just started this book, 5 old friends who formed a band in Glasgow in the 1960's & then ran away to London, must return to the city, 50 yrs later when a murder occurs.
I hope to read 2 or 3 books a month this year, so doing not too bad so far :-D
8) Small Favour by Jim Butcher
9) Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
10) Changes by Jim Butcher
1) Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs
Spooky ghost story 7/10
1) I am pilgrim - Terry Hayes
Quite an enjoyable thriller by the screenwriter of Mad Max 2. Quite a long book but very easy to get through.
2) Alloy of Law - Brandon Sanderson
A reread ready for the newest book in the series. Always enjoy anything written by Brandon Sanderson. Wax and Wayne make this a very enjoyable read.
This book was the most unbelievable load of rubbish. It has taken me almost a week to read it as it is so bad that I could only read a few pages before putting it down. I have this terrible ocd type of thing that makes me finish every book I read and so I felt I had to persevere. Really bad plot, storyline, characters etc - an early lead contender for worst book of the year
9/10 Story of how the world responded to the zombie plague. As someone who loves The Walking Dead I really enjoyed this
2. The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood
8/10 A dual timeline novel about a woman who looses her loved one in the San Fransisco earthquake and a mother who has an affair in 1960 at the time of JFK.
7/10
41 hours 36 minutes of my life over the past two months, I'm going to choose something much shorter for my next listen.
This is set in 1875 in Victorian London and centres around a 19 year old prostitute known as Sugar. There's a Dickensian feel and squalor abounds. Sex and bad language also abound. I suppose this is to be expected given Sugar's occupation but I found it to be quite uncomfortable listening in places and somewhat gratuitous.
I didn't think that Sugar herself was particularly likeable and some of her actions didn't ring true to me. Various characters in her orbit make for more interesting story lines and overall I thought that this was a good book and worth the time invested, despite a rather abrupt ending. I'll read The Apple: Crimson Petal Stories at some point.
Good narration on the whole but one or two very strange pronunciations.
12) Cold Days by Jim Butcher
13) Skin Game by Jim Butcher
14) January by Audrey Carlan (only around 100 pages so hardly counts). Not really my thing so I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the Calendar books. And at £2 each for 100 pages they're pretty pricey too!