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 Author | Topic: What is everyone here reading? (Read 30,540 times) |
tillystar
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|  | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #90 on Nov 23, 2009, 9:35am » | ![[Quote]](http://images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif "[Quote]") |
I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo over the weekend as it was just hard to stop, so addictive!
I had another book lined up which I thought wouldn't be so good after that, but it is also gripping and I am snatching any moment I can to read it. The Bolter is a biography of Idina Sackville, written by her great-grandaughter frances Osbourne. It is hard not to get caught up in the decadent London social scene before WWI and the Idina's scandalous life in Kenya's Happy Valley, 5 marriages and lots of love affairs. All this already and I am only on about page 40!
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casimira
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #91 on Nov 23, 2009, 11:06am » | |
"The Bolter" is on my list Tilly. There was some discussion of it in this section somewhere. It sounded fascinating. You Brits are pretty racy,eh?
That's the kind of book I know I would devour.
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #92 on Nov 23, 2009, 11:15am » | |
Tilly - have you read White Mischief? Set in Kenya in the Happy Valley days. By the time I got there in the 1970s only the remants of that lifestyle were left, however some of the original families still live in Naivasha (one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen). The Delamere family is firmly entrenched.
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tillystar
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spindrift
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bixaorellana
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #95 on Nov 23, 2009, 10:57pm » | |
Coincidentally, the book I had ready to read next is also about the British upper classes. I love the title, but the first few pages didn't grab me, so I'll try again later.
I finished the latest Lee Child with a feeling of mild disappointment. He writes so well, the suspense is so good, his main character is interesting, but ...........
I dunno, the plot was just too far-fetched somehow, plus he brought in torture, and I didn't have that feeling of satisfaction I usually have after one of his books.
After deciding I wasn't in the mood for Hunting Unicorns, I went after the blockbuster. Let me stop right here and say that if I hear a peep out of anyone on the order of, "I would never read a book by that model", I'll have to come over & smack you.
This is not "that model". The author's name is Kate Mosse. I read her book Labyrinth and greatly enjoyed it. Sure, it's all mystical hoo-ha, but hugely enjoyable.
She can write, but is falling into the romantic historical novel trap with the new book, Sepulchre. By that I mean the usual excessive crap writing: curls tumble, cheeks are flushed, and there is too much extraneous detail -- he doesn't put out the cigarette, he crushes it out in a cut glass ashtray on the windowsill. Still, it promises to be a good escapist romp, and she may calm down in a bit. (I haven't reached page 100 yet.)
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traveler63
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #96 on Nov 24, 2009, 3:25am » | |
I am just starting to read An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. It is the 7th in her Outlander series. It is a long book over 800 pages. If you haven't read any of her books, they are great. I would say that they are a combination of history-romance-adventure-sci fi. They are about Claire Beauchamp and Jamie Fraser and there is time travel backwards involved. I have been waiting patiently for the next one. I am amazed at the amount of research she does. She lives here in Arizona, Scottsdale I think. I would say to anyone, this is one series that you should read in the order that she wrote them.
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When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...
And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life.
Monty Python's Life of Brian
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #97 on Nov 26, 2009, 8:00am » | |
Believe it or not but last night I read the inflight magazines of Dragon Air and Thai Air before going to bed.
I'm getting desperate.
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tillystar
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #98 on Nov 26, 2009, 9:27am » | |
Bixa, I did exactly the same with Hunting Unicorns.
When I got round to reading the book it was very different from what I had initially thought - much lighter. I did enjoy it on the second start!
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casimira
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #99 on Nov 29, 2009, 12:05pm » | |
I am still savoring A.S. Byatt's,The Children's Book. I just finished a long section which describes the Grand Exposition in Paris in 1889-1900. The descriptions are just incredible. The recently christened Metro,Lalique,Rodin and all the various artists of the period from around the world.
Positively magnificent.
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bjd
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #100 on Nov 30, 2009, 10:19am » | |
Last night I finished Joseph Roth's The Radetzky March. He was a German-speaking writer/journalist in the early 20th century from the then Austro-Hungarian Empire. The book follows a family whose destruction mirrors that of Austria-Hungary just before WW1. It's a novel, but before it, I read his What I Saw, a series of essays from Germany, mostly Berlin, in the 1920s, before he left for France. Interesting stuff and I think I preferred it to the novel.
Now, I'll start Vol 3 of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles.
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casimira
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #101 on Nov 30, 2009, 3:21pm » | |
Have yet to get to Ms. Dunnett. I finally located her first. Am looking forward to.
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bixaorellana
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #102 on Nov 30, 2009, 5:55pm » | |
I dropped everything to start on "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest", the third in the Stieg Larsson trilogy.
It's extremely satisfying except for the necessary spying exposition part at the beginning. That's really only my problem, as spy stuff makes me instantly glaze over. However, this book absolutely could not be read without having read at least the second one. It's my feeling that Larsson intended them to all be released at the same time in order to be read in essence as one book.
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tillystar
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #103 on Dec 3, 2009, 2:14pm » | |
Ha ha I have been at lunchtime to buy the second one - The Girl who Played with Fire.
I am really looking forward to my train journey home!
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bixaorellana
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #104 on Dec 3, 2009, 4:28pm » | |
I read about Steig Larsson on the internet. He said that Salander is based on his vision of a grown up Pippi Longstocking!
I love Salander -- she has become one of my favorite characters in literature.
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casimira
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #105 on Dec 15, 2009, 2:10am » | |
I have at long last finished A.S. Byatt's new novel aforementioned,The Children's Book.Did not want for it to end,700 pages of sheer brilliance. I am a huge fan of hers. I would highly recommend,would make a lovely gift as well.
I am onto Dorothy Dunnett next,the first in the Niccolo series at BJD's recommendation a while back. Finally,located a copy.
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tillystar
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #106 on Dec 15, 2009, 8:51am » | |
Quote:| I have at long last finished A.S. Byatt's new novel aforementioned,The Children's Book.Did not want for it to end,700 pages of sheer brilliance. I am a huge fan of hers. I would highly recommend,would make a lovely gift as well. |
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Great idea Casimira, I am not a fan of Byatt but my Mum is. Its on the Christmas list!
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casimira
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #107 on Dec 15, 2009, 1:15pm » | |
Dec 15, 2009, 8:51am, tillystar wrote:
Quote:| I have at long last finished A.S. Byatt's new novel aforementioned,The Children's Book.Did not want for it to end,700 pages of sheer brilliance. I am a huge fan of hers. I would highly recommend,would make a lovely gift as well. |
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Great idea Casimira, I am not a fan of Byatt but my Mum is. Its on the Christmas list! |
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Yes,fans will love,and stay out of your hair for 700 pages! 
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bixaorellana
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #108 on Dec 15, 2009, 3:09pm » | |
I finally abandoned Sepulchre, even though I was fairly close to the end. Geez, she couldn't write anything without larding on the romantic novel catch-phrases. It's a library book, so I figured I'd better quite before I ripped it in two or set it on fire or something.
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tillystar
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #109 on Dec 15, 2009, 4:47pm » | |
Dec 15, 2009, 1:15pm, casimira wrote:
Dec 15, 2009, 8:51am, tillystar wrote:
Great idea Casimira, I am not a fan of Byatt but my Mum is. Its on the Christmas list! |
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Yes,fans will love,and stay out of your hair for 700 pages!
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Ha! I have just ordered her that and Wolf Hall. Looks like I am going to have a very peaceful January 
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tillystar
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casimira
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #111 on Jan 1, 2010, 8:47pm » | |
In anticipation of my trip to Miami in a couple of weeks I have begun reading Peter Matthiessen's "Killing Mr. Watson",part 1 of a trilogy about murder and intrigue in the Everglades. He's such a fabulous writer and his intimate knowledge of the environs is a real plus.
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bjd
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #112 on Jan 3, 2010, 1:28pm » | |
I just picked up some short stories by Paul Theroux. Not that great -- I think he is better as a travel writer. During my vacation, I read White Mischief about a murder in Kenya's Happy Valley crowd in the 1940s, a detective story by a French writer called Fred Vargas bought at the airport in Toulouse. I left the last two with my son who needed stuff to read. I also found a detective story on a shelf in a hotel in Cartagena -- the title and author escape me but it's a series about a foppish detective person in Miami (McNally?).
I had ordered the 3 last books of the Dorothy Dunnet Lymond books for my return, but they screwed up and vol 4 hasn't arrived yet.
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bixaorellana
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #113 on Jan 3, 2010, 5:35pm » | |
While visiting my mother I found a copy of World Without End on a bookshelf. Strangely, I'd never heard of it. My mother & stepfather had not read it either, nor did they realize they had it. This is the sequel (sort of -- it's 200 years later) to Pillars of the Earth, and it's great stuff. I was enthralled immediately and must find a copy in order to finish reading it. This review is for an abridged audio compact, but serves the book quite well.
Meanwhile I am reading a book that was lent to me, "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese. It takes place in Ethiopia in the mid 1950s. Verghese's prose doesn't really sing, but there is an element of sincerity that really pulls one into the plot and characters. The location and history are fascinating, although there is a great deal of medical detail  . I definitely recommend this book.
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casimira
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #114 on Jan 3, 2010, 10:57pm » | |
I have heard so much about "White Mischief",I need to get a hold of it. I received a couple of gift certificates to two different book stores and keep forgetting to put them in my bag, 
I also would like to get that new Ishiguro book "Nocturnes" mentioned on here.
I'm not doing real well with this Matthiessen book. I'm finding it too Hemingwayesque for me.
I really hate being in between books,particularly if I really loved the previous read.I can't do fluff like I used to.
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bjd
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #115 on Jan 4, 2010, 9:05am » | |
I was a bit disappointed with White Mischief. It was less about life in Kenya and more about the writer's search for the culprit. It's alright as a holiday read, but I would have preferred to get it from a library than to buy it -- even so I bought it second-hand on Amazon.
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tillystar
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casimira
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #117 on Jan 4, 2010, 11:00am » | |
I just got turned on to Sarah Waters recently and really enjoyed her quite a lot. Fill us in on this one Tilly,ok? I'm looking for a stock pile of new stuff to purchase with these gift certificates
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bixaorellana
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #118 on Jan 4, 2010, 5:02pm » | |
Oh, Tilly ~~ that was a coup on Mr.Star's part. He really is your handsome prince!
A question, Tilly (or anyone) ~~ you seem to buy most of your books. Do you not have easy access to a library, or is it just too much hassle with work, small child, etc.?
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| | Re: What is everyone here reading?
« Reply #119 on Jan 6, 2010, 9:31am » | |
Since it's a new year, I feel I should probably make an attempt to be literate again, and try to read a little every day ... so difficult!
Right now am (re)reading: The Voice - Gabriel Okara. I found this when I was home over Christmas and remember it from my post-colonial African lit course. I believe it was a good read, and it's a short easy read so I'm starting with this. Then maybe I can get back to reading my book about the evolution of human consciousness... or... *gasp* Atlas Shrugged, which I believe I'm having sent to me in Calgary so that it may continue to haunt me.
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