Currently about 10% of the way through Steven Erikson's Deadhouse Gates. Going to try again and get into this series.
What are you reading at the moment? (Part 4)
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Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes - the first book I have read on my new Kindle! I'm 63% through it and it's very good 
sword of honour trilogy by evelyn waugh. weird fantasy mixed with stark realism. and much comedy. prefer this to his brideshead revisited stuff ..... and - up to a point, Lord Copper -even to scoop !
Her Brilliant Career. Rachel Cooke. Very interesting read.
and
Britain Etc. Mark Easton
Quote:
“In her apron and rubber gloves, a smile lipsticked permanently across her face, the woman of the Fifties has become a cultural symbol of all that we are most grateful to have sloughed off.
But what if there was another side to the story?
In this book Rachel Cooke tells the story of ten extraordinary women whose pioneering professional lives - and complicated private lives - paved the way for future generations. Muriel Box, film director. Betty Box, film producer. Margery Fish, plantswoman. Patience Grey, cook. Alison Smithson, architect. Sheila van Damm, rally car driver and theatre owner. Nancy Spain, journalist and radio personality. Joan Werner Laurie, editor. Jacquetta Hawkes, archaeologist. Rose Heilbron, QC.”
“In her apron and rubber gloves, a smile lipsticked permanently across her face, the woman of the Fifties has become a cultural symbol of all that we are most grateful to have sloughed off.
But what if there was another side to the story?
In this book Rachel Cooke tells the story of ten extraordinary women whose pioneering professional lives - and complicated private lives - paved the way for future generations. Muriel Box, film director. Betty Box, film producer. Margery Fish, plantswoman. Patience Grey, cook. Alison Smithson, architect. Sheila van Damm, rally car driver and theatre owner. Nancy Spain, journalist and radio personality. Joan Werner Laurie, editor. Jacquetta Hawkes, archaeologist. Rose Heilbron, QC.”
and
Britain Etc. Mark Easton
Quote:
“This is a quiet bombshell of a book. From its pastel cover and serviceable title we are misdirected into expecting another Brysoneque tour of the nation replete with sketches of village cricket greens and extravagant hats at Ascot. (Sigh). Yet behind Mark Easton's calm, non-judgmental and no-nonsense A to Z tour of current Britain (A is for Alcohol; B is for Bobbie) is a more factual and edgier narrative.
His reporter's instinct for a story runs to the counter-intuitive leading to a series of fascinating revelations: alcohol's connection to violence is due to societal conditioning; families are happier now than any time in the last 50 years; there has been no knife crime epidemic; and, my favourite, the mighty dachshund is the most vicious dog of all, the pit bull way down the charts.
Easton charts eloquently how public hysteria (often fuelled by the media) forces politicians to act, whether the hysteria is justified or not. To not act immediately, to counsel caution, is to risk your political hide.
As a BBC reporter covering the false media circus of alleged crises in knife crime or vicious dogs or the Soham murders Easton has no doubt been forced to go with the news flow. So here is a strong sense of putting the record straight. His best chapter is Y is for Youth, an eloquent, almost incandescent look at how the country has failed its youth. E is for Edgier?”
“This is a quiet bombshell of a book. From its pastel cover and serviceable title we are misdirected into expecting another Brysoneque tour of the nation replete with sketches of village cricket greens and extravagant hats at Ascot. (Sigh). Yet behind Mark Easton's calm, non-judgmental and no-nonsense A to Z tour of current Britain (A is for Alcohol; B is for Bobbie) is a more factual and edgier narrative.
His reporter's instinct for a story runs to the counter-intuitive leading to a series of fascinating revelations: alcohol's connection to violence is due to societal conditioning; families are happier now than any time in the last 50 years; there has been no knife crime epidemic; and, my favourite, the mighty dachshund is the most vicious dog of all, the pit bull way down the charts.
Easton charts eloquently how public hysteria (often fuelled by the media) forces politicians to act, whether the hysteria is justified or not. To not act immediately, to counsel caution, is to risk your political hide.
As a BBC reporter covering the false media circus of alleged crises in knife crime or vicious dogs or the Soham murders Easton has no doubt been forced to go with the news flow. So here is a strong sense of putting the record straight. His best chapter is Y is for Youth, an eloquent, almost incandescent look at how the country has failed its youth. E is for Edgier?”
Originally Posted by d0lphin:
“Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes - the first book I have read on my new Kindle! I'm 63% through it and it's very good”
“Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes - the first book I have read on my new Kindle! I'm 63% through it and it's very good
”
Great first choice for your Kindle, I adored that book!
Currently reading book 4 in the Robert Hunter series by Chris Carter, The Death Sculptor. Not read much so far but hopefully it will be as good as the first 3.
I did just finish reading Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. Oh my god talk about getting under your skin. Absolutely fantastic book but very harrowing and my stomach was in knots for most of it. Not for the faint hearted but one of my favourites of 2013.
Stephen King-Pet Sematary. I can't put it down but have decided not to read it before bedtime as it gave me nightmares
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield ..in readiness for tonight's drama on BBC2 
Very good so far!!
Very good so far!!
Originally Posted by RyJa:
“Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy.
It's not grabbing me though, tbh.”
“Bridget Jones - Mad About the Boy.
It's not grabbing me though, tbh.”
I bought it for my Kindle, but haven't started it yet as I was terribly put out to discover that:
Spoiler
I've just finished reading All Change (the newest, and last, of the Cazalet Chronicles) and absolutely loved it. Have now started Cuckoo's Calling, which I am enjoying so far.
Finished Emile Zola's Germinal. I assume my free kindle version wasn't the best of translations and it was a hard slog for the first half, but rewarding with the vivid portrayal of how the strike affected the miners and their communities in late C19 France.
Finished Graham Johnson's "Hack". An insider's account of Brook's regime at The News of the World. Some astounding anecdotes and allegations re newsgathering tactics. Johnson's own downfall at the paper was caused by the pursit of The Beast of Bodmin .. that tale in itself just shows how far off the rails the Screws' pursuit of the truth had become.
Finished Stuart MacBride's "Close to the Bone". First time I'd read a Logan McRae book. Struggled to get a handle on all the recurring characters and the mystery was a bit wishy-washy. Good strong characters. Might have a crack at the series in chronological order one day.
Originally Posted by kate36:
“The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield ..in readiness for tonight's drama on BBC2
Very good so far!!”
“The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield ..in readiness for tonight's drama on BBC2
Very good so far!!”
Why did she never do another book though?
Originally Posted by Beautiful_Harv:
“Why did she never do another book though?”
“Why did she never do another book though?
”
She's written a new one, Bellman and Black, not sure if it's out yet but I've seen a few friends on Goodreads who have read it.
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