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Reading Challenge 2016 (216 in 2016)


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Old 20-02-2016, 20:35
d0lphin
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7. The Woman in Blue - Elly Griffiths
9/10 - absolutely loved this. It was a bit different from the other books in the series in that the mystery didn't involve the discovery of bones. There was a more religious theme but the dynamics between the main characters were just as good. My only complaint is that it should have been about 100 pages longer!
8. A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson
8/10 - I loved the first book in the series (Life After Life) and really enjoyed the follow up about Ursula's brother Teddy, who in the first book died in WW2 - how can this be the case then that Teddy is alive and dies in a Nursing Home aged 93?
Spoiler

I also didn't understand the point of the last chapter about Augustus - if anyone reads it can they explain it to me?
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Old 21-02-2016, 10:14
OxfordGirl
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36) Matt Dunn - Home
37) Si Rosser - Tipping Point
38) Susan Lewis - Never Say Goodbye
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Old 21-02-2016, 17:17
clm2071
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10) Natural Causes by James Oswald

7/10

First book in a series of Scottish detective novels.

Intriguing with a not entirely convincing ending. I'll be reading the second and then deciding whether to continue with the rest of the series.
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Old 21-02-2016, 22:36
Katie-Jane
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7) Just the Way You Are by Lynsey James
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Old 22-02-2016, 09:59
Faggy
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16/ One Step Behind by Henning Mankell

Part of the Wallander series

Unlike many ongoing detective series the Wallander ones do seem to maintain their high standard.
Like the previous titles this is a police procedural which focuses on the day to day slog of working on an investigation - long hours, lots of conferences to exchange ideas.

Very enjoyable.
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Old 22-02-2016, 22:59
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8) The Red Headed League - Sherlock Holmes - A.C. Doyle
Strange story 7/10
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Old 23-02-2016, 07:07
cathy27
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28) The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths.
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Old 24-02-2016, 08:47
Faggy
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17/ Deadfall by Gary Russell

Part of the Bernice Summerfield series.

Bernice barely features in this story. Instead the focus is her ex-husband Jason and one of her students Emile (who featured in an earlier book - Beyond The Sun).
Using different characters works well and overall it's an enjoyable story. It does contain several references to previous novels in the series though so a first time reader may not get everything but they aren't intrusive enough to spoil the story.
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Old 24-02-2016, 20:15
OxfordGirl
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39) Claire Douglas - The Sisters
40) Debbie Macomber - The Christmas Basket
41) Ellie Campbell - When Good Friends Go Bad
42) Debbie Macomber - The Snow Bride
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Old 24-02-2016, 21:10
moonlily
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8. Behind Closed Doors by Elizabeth Haynes.

This book was fascinating and heartbreaking and pretty unputdownable. I usually love Elizabeth Haynes' work but wasn't keen on the first Louisa Smith novel, this one however, was excellent, I may even reread the last one to see if I have a different view on it.
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Old 26-02-2016, 18:15
cathy27
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29) White Wedding by Milly Johnson
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Old 27-02-2016, 18:53
OxfordGirl
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43) The Milliners Secret - Natalie Meg Evans
44) Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener - M C Beaton
45) The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning - Hallgrimur Helgason
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Old 27-02-2016, 23:22
moonlily
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9. A Killer Stitch by Maggie Sefton.

Quite a short novel/murder mystery at 260pp but I enjoy them, they are instalments of an ongoing story.
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Old 28-02-2016, 13:58
OxfordGirl
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46) Oranges for Christmas - Margarita Morris
47) Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet - M C Beaton
48) Promises to Keep _ Patricia Sands
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Old 28-02-2016, 19:03
d0lphin
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8. A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson
8/10 - I loved the first book in the series (Life After Life) and really enjoyed the follow up about Ursula's brother Teddy, who in the first book died in WW2 - how can this be the case then that Teddy is alive and dies in a Nursing Home aged 93?
9. The Case of the Missing Boyfriend - Nick Alexander
8/10 - a light read about CC who works for an advertising agency and her gay friends and colleagues, and her search to find a boyfriend. I really liked CC and have immediately started the next book in the series. I prefer some of Nick Alexander's other books though such as The Photographer's Wife.
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Old 28-02-2016, 20:37
moonlily
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46) Oranges for Christmas - Margarita Morris
47) Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet - M C Beaton
48) Promises to Keep _ Patricia Sands
I love Agatha Raisin
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Old 29-02-2016, 17:50
Sue_C
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13. Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey, read by Michael Tudor Barnes.
Peter Diamond has left Avon and Somerset Police under a cloud and has been working as a security officer in Harrods. When a small Japanese girl is found in the store overnight Diamond becomes determined to discover her identity and return her to her family.
I thought that the first book in the series got off to a slightly shaky start but the second book is up to the standard of the later books. It was first published in 1992 and I was struck by how much attitudes to autism have changed since then.
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Old 29-02-2016, 19:10
OxfordGirl
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I love Agatha Raisin
Me too, I am sure I have read some of these before but they are good fun and also quick reads
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Old 29-02-2016, 19:14
OxfordGirl
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49) Amanda Prowse - Imogen's baby
50) MC Beaton - Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
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Old 01-03-2016, 19:25
Katie-Jane
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8) The Italian Girl by Lucinda Riley
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Old 03-03-2016, 17:59
SWW (SWW)
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28. Needful Things - Stephen King 8/10
New English Library (Hodder & Stoughton), 790 pages
<Horror> Castle Rock a few years after the Dark Half, and Leland Gaunt comes into town opening his old curiosity shop, Needful Things… one by one, Gaunt gets the town folk seeking what they want and not what they need. What ensues… horror! Great read, wonderful wrapping up of the Castle Rock stories.
29 Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born & Long Road Home - Stephen King, Robin Furth, Peter David, Jae Lee, Richard Isanove etc. 8/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 401 pages <Graphic Novel> The Gunslinger Born #1-7 and The Long Road Home #1-5 retells the main story in Wizard & Glass... a superb reworking of the Dark Tower series by Marvel.
30. Dark Tower: Treachery & Fall Of Gilead - Stephen King, Robin Furth, Peter David, Jae Lee, Richard Isanove etc. 9/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 498 pages <Graphic Novel> Treachery #1-6, Sorcerer one-shot and The Fall Of Gilead #1-6.. Charting Roland and his tet's return to Gilead and the Fall of civilised Mid-World orchestrated by Farson. Fantastic series and a welcome broadening of the Dark Tower franchise... as we get set on the road that made young Roland the man he became.
31. Dark Tower: The Battle Of Jericho & The Journey Begins - Stephen King, Robin Furth, Peter David, Sean Phillips, Jae Lee, Richard Isanove etc. 9/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 365 pages <Graphic Novel> The Battle of Jericho Hill #1-5, and The Journey Begins #1-5.. Charts the final fall of the Gunslingers at Jericho Hill. The Journey Begins has Roland trailing Walter as he recounts his adventures after Jericho Hill and also the Hax tale from his youth. More amazingly dead-on Dark Tower lore by Robin Furth and co.

32. Secret Wars Doomstadt books - BM Bendis, Kierron Gillen, Charles Soule, Noelle Stevenson, Jason Aaron, Felipe Smith etc. 7/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 590 pages <Graphic Novel> Best book first, in descending order - Siege, Thors, Old Man Logan, Runaways, Inhumans - Attilan Rising and Ghost Racers.
33. Secret Wars 2015-2016 (primary books) - Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic and numerous creators. 7/10
Marvel Entertainment Group, 530 pages <Graphic Novel> Best book first, in descending order - Secret Wars(SW) Agents of Atlas, Secret Wars, SW Journal, SW Battleworld & SW Secret Love. Best event since Siege, but overall Hickman's helmship has been terrible, shame as he did soi magnificent with the Fantastic Four.

34. Skeleton Crew - Stephen King 5/10
Warner Books (Little Brown), 612 pages
<Short Stories> Lots of King shorts, best of bunch being The Mist, Mrs Todd's Shortcut, The Jaunt, The Wedding Gig, The Raft, Uncle Otto's Truck and The Ballad of The Flexible Bullet.
35. IT - Stephen King 9/10
New English Library (H & S), 1,116 pages
<Horror> A tremendous epic. Seven children then and 1957, and 1985. Two huge stories, intersped with terribele tales about Derry. Derry, every 27 years children go missing and really bad things happen. A remarkable mix of pure horror, pur friendship, pure youth and pure evil! Fourth time reading!
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Old 03-03-2016, 18:13
clm2071
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11) SPQR A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard - no rating. Adandoned.

I struggled through 12% before giving up. Not for the uninitiated, its a history that requires quite a bit of prior knowledge to fully appreciate.

So,

Lord Edgeware Died by Agatha Christie (Poirot) 6.5/10

Not the best Poirot I've read, not the worst. I found the plot a bit simplistic, its one of the only Poirots in which I've got the culprit and method right early on.
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Old 04-03-2016, 13:48
Faggy
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18/ Hour Game by David Baldacci

Highly readable - I whizzed through the 700 plus pages in 3 days.
BUT it suffers the same flaws as the previous Baldacci I've read (Split Second) of having various characters behaving in ridiculous ways purely to add extra twists to the plot. It also doesn't need to be anywhere near as long.

I won't be reading any more of his work

19/ Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Non-fiction

A few years ago I could guarantee seeing at least one person reading this on the tube on my way to work. I've finally caught up and, oh dear, it's awful.
A mixture of the glaringly obvious mixed with some rather tenuous reasoning with no real conclusion at the end.

20/ Tooth And Nail by Ian Rankin

Third novel in the Rebus series.

Basically Rebus travels south of the border and joins an odd mixture of The Bill and The Sweeney.
Straightforward police procedural. Enjoyable and undemanding.

21/ Love In A Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

Romantic comedy set in the 30s.
It's a sort of sequel to The Pursuit of Love which I much preferred as that did make me laugh. Unfortunately this didn't really amuse at all. I found most of the characters slightly irritating. I persevered as I hate giving up on a book but I was glad when it was over.

22/ Last Witness by Jilliane Hoffman

Sequel to Retribution (read earlier this year).

Another author who is fairly readable but as with Baldacci this suffers from the same flaws as her previous novel. The heroine behaves in a way that would probably get her sectioned if this was real life but here it's ignored by everyone who should care about her.

Another author I probably won't go back to - a shame as I think she can write but needs to have a much stronger editor to improve her structure and characterisation.
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Old 04-03-2016, 18:07
Sue_C
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14. The Princess Bride by William Goldman.
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Old 05-03-2016, 08:16
cathy27
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30) For Richer, For Poorer by Kerry Wilkinson
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