Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

I love the TV show, Bones, so I decided to see what her books are like. I'm enjoying it, the character of 'Tempe' is fantastic.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I had to study it for AS English Literature so it's nice to be able to read it without tearing it apart.

Yes,it took me a while too,but it is worth it in the end,and subsequent books aren't nearly as tough to follow,I have read the whole series,and I am glad I persevered,but every dead thing really could've pushed me either way,it really is quite hard to follow!,but Charlie Parker is a great character(as is the travelling man in his own way!),and I love the characters of Angel and Louis in the rest of the series if you find yourself giving them a go!

A storm of swords.

The Penguin Book of Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland.

Have just started reading it but the book itself is very well structured with a nice intro detailing the Norse world, its cosmology, the pantheon of the Gods, and the various sources for the myths. There's also a 'Notes' section at the back giving more info about each myth. Have always wanted to read the Norse myths as our own literature draws from them, so I think I'll enjoy this collection. They're not in overly academic language either; Crossley-Holland has retold them in modern and easy to read language.

Audiobooks.
I've finished listening to to Skeleton Hill, written by Peter Lovesey and narrated by Michael Tudor Barnes. It was a very enjoyable story and well read. It wasn't obvious whodunnit until the end of the story and the loose ends were neatly tied. I've read a few of the books in the Peter Diamond series and will be looking out for more.

I'm now listening to the Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko (the English translation) narrated by Paul Michael. This is a fantasy story set in Moscow where "the Others" co-exist with, but are unknown to ordinary humans going about their normal lives. The Others have an allegiance to either "the Dark" or "the Light" and their is an uneasy truce policed by the Night Watch and the Day Watch. So far there have been vampires, a rookie member of the Night Watch, an owl and a boy who is unaware of his potential powers.

The narrator is reading the story in a down-at-heel private eye kind of tone. All quite interesting so far.

Many years ago I read Njals saga a brilliant book written in the 13th century but still very pertinent today. Very Norse.

Finished "Gillespie and I" by Jane Harris. 600 pages long, but ultimately I loved it - there were points where it irritated me, but then I began to enjoy it again. I'd highly recommend it.

Now reading "Hourglass" by Julie Parsons - enjoying it thus far

Another audiobook user!

'Skeleton Hill' sounds good - I'm pretty sure I've read/listened to at least one Peter Lovesy before.

I'm in the middle of 'Death of a Dancer' by Caro Peacock (read by Lucy Scott). It's a murder mystery set in the theatre world of Victorian London. It wasn't one from my 'recommended' list - just something I picked off the shelf at the library. It's not bad so far. The narrator is unobtrusive, and the story is getting going nicely: dancer who is popular with men has been poisoned, and another dancer seems to have been set up to take the blame...

I've got the latest Mark Billingham to pick up from the library on Monday. Might see if I can find some reviews on here..

We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver

interesting

Broken Harbour by Tana French

Yes the Icelandic sagas look intriguing. I saw the documentary series that Dr. Janina Ramirez did for BBC4 on the Laxdaela saga - that was very interesting.

Megan Crane- Name's my sister's call me

I've just finished PopCo by Scarlett Thomas and about to start Ash by James Herbert.

Enjoyed PopCo, probably not quite as much as the End of Mr Y but a very good read. Looking forward to reading some more from her once I've finished with the amazing Mr Herbert!!

Is it really bad? I kind of went off him when he wrote that awful piece of Islamophobic vitriol disguised as a Christmas story about time travel a few years back... reading the blurb for Flashback it doesn't really look like that was an isolated blip.

I still love the Hyperion Cantos and The Terror, though.

Studied some of them at university- great stuff. Just downloaded the prose and elder Eddas for the Kindle- think they were either free or dirt cheap...

What do you mean by 'Islamophobia'? That's one of those trendy buzzwords introduced by Blair's regime about 10 years ago that people use to try to silence debate; and when someone uses it, I sense an agenda. A phobia is an irrational fear:

'Definition of PHOBIA

: an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation'

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phobia

yet there are certainly quite a few logical reasons to be concerned about Islam - e.g. the fact that it doesn't believe in equal rights for women (a woman's word is worth half of a man's) or homosexuals. I don't really like any of the monotheistic religions but I do find that people who scream 'Islamophobia' usually don't have such a problem criticising the Catholic church.

Now I haven't read the work that you're talking about but what did that author write (or suggest) that has annoyed you so much? Do you believe in equal rights for women?

Emma Kennedy..The Tent, The Bucket and Me.

I have read this before but thought I'd read it again after Emma's win on MC!

The Autobiography --- Colin Jackson

Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne

50 shades darker

Some of that may well be true but Dan Simmons goes beyond genuine & legitimate concerns about Islam. There is a disturbingly racist tone throughout Flashback. It is full of hysterical fear-mongering about Arabs, Mexicans and Asians. In the end, the author's ultra right wing beliefs completely take over, getting in the way of the story, so that the book becomes nothing more than a nonsensical rant to satisfy Tea Baggers and Foxbots.

Anyway, moving on, I'm currently reading The Secrets Between Us by Louise Douglas. It's like a modern day version of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca - very dark and mysterious and haunting - the pages are turning themselves.

Finally finished Every dead thing. The final third (when Charlie goes to New Orleans) of the book was good. An enjoyable read. As a poster said, the rest of the books arent as longwinded or go of on tangents like this one. So will give the next book in the series a go.

However will start the next book in the eagle series next, The Eagles Prey by Simon Scarrow. Really enjoyed the previous 4 books in the series.

Well done for sticking with it,I think it pays off in the end,but I would imagine a few people give up on it way before it satrts to grip them!

Dont like not finishing a book...only happened once (Black list by Brad thor...his right wing views spoiled what seemed a good book). If you hadnt posted, to stick with it, I would have probably given up on it...so thanks for the encouragement.