Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1256634
09/18/21 03:00 AM
09/18/21 03:00 AM
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Lex
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Frozen Ground is on our watch list, but reviews of the book put me off although we have no problem with gruesome violence and gore (and recently enjoyed The Bundy Tapes on Netflix). On the whole we prefer reading fictional accounts and watching some of the better true stories (which may or may not say something about twisted psyche on our part...) However, elsewhere in the spectrum, I have just started The Beekeeper's Apprentice recommended by copper earlier on this thread (the first of a series in which a young girl meets a retired Sherlock Holmes, and each recognises a comparable spirit and intellect): charming and most enjoyable!
Last edited by Lex; 09/24/21 12:55 AM.
Life is what happens while you're making other plans.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1257211
09/27/21 01:55 PM
09/27/21 01:55 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Reenie
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Just discovered this thread and did not read all the comments, but I am wondering, does anyone read non-fiction? That is what I read, mostly. I just finished reading, "The Road to Oxiana" by Robert Byron, all about his harrowing 11-month exploration of Central Asia: Iran (then still called Persia), Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq. Amazing adventures, narrow escapes, intriguing cultural contact, history, archaeology. Prior to that, I read "Desert Queen," by Janet Wallach, about the life of Gertrude Bell of England. She broke away from the Victorian Era constraints on women, taught herself Arabic and went off exploring alone in Egypt, Arabia and the surrounding regions. She was respected by those Arab cultures because she learned their language and customs. She became an ally of T. E. Lawrence during the war and served on the panel that set the boundaries for all the central Asian countries after WWII ended.
I also like reading about science of any kind, astronomy, history, archaeology, physics, the animal kingdom, etc. I love Richard Dawkins' and Jared Diamonds' work, as well as Brian Greene and anything by Harold Bloom.
I don't read a lot of fiction, but do enjoy some of the English and Swedish writers of mystery/police drama. I enjoy the Vera novels based in Scotland. I like the Elly Griffiths novels set in England that feature a strong woman character, but Griffith's novels are highly predictable. I like the writer Peter Robinson, whose oeuvre is huge.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1257276
09/28/21 12:48 PM
09/28/21 12:48 PM
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Lex
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Hello Reenie, and welcome to the thread! Most of the books mentioned in posts so far are fiction, but I have recently mentioned Horatio Clare, an interesting travel writer with a twist, and I have just embarked on Colin Thubron, another excellent travel writer who has just published the River Amur, and I see also wrote a foreword to the Penguin Classic edition of the Road to Oxiana (which is now on my list, so thank you for that suggestion). As you say Peter Robinson is prolific as well as enjoyable. There were a couple of writers of crime thrillers which I mentioned in an earlier post and which may be of interest to you, so I repeat below an extract from that: I have also found some quite interesting new British writers of detective fiction, in particular M W Craven writing about Washington Poe set mainly in the Lake District and Damien Boyd with D I Dixon in Somerset, also a couple of books by Allan Martin about Angus Blue set in Islay and Jura (with natural digressions into local history and of course the distilleries).
Last edited by Lex; 09/29/21 01:37 AM.
Life is what happens while you're making other plans.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1257645
10/03/21 01:20 PM
10/03/21 01:20 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 11,801 The Garden State
LadyKestrel
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Rabbits sounds like something I might like, Lex, but I woud probably miss many of the references, especially to newer movies. I may give it a try anyway.
Reenie, I read Desert Queen a while ago. Gertrude Bell was a neat lady. I also saw the excellent play A Museum in Bagdad performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Jan. of 2020. This is a description from the RSC website: "In 1926, the nation of Iraq is in its infancy, and British archaeologist Gertrude Bell is founding a museum in Baghdad. In 2006, Ghalia Hussein is attempting to reopen the museum after looting during the war. Decades apart, these two women share the same goals: to create a fresh sense of unity and nationhood, to make the world anew through the museum and its treasures. But in such unstable times, questions remain. Who is the museum for? Whose culture are we preserving? And why does it matter when people are dying?"
I read about one non-fiction book for every 8 or 9 fiction ones. In my to-read pile right now are World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Diagnosis: Solving the Most Baffling Medical Mysteries by Lisa Sanders, and 'Tis by Frank McCourt. I also read quite a few periodicals and especially enjoy Archaeology, Scientific American, Science News, and Lapham's Quarterly.
Right now I'm reading the Detective's Daughter mystery series by Lesley Thomson. Her main character is Stella Darnell, the owner of a successful cleaning business, who starts out solving cases that her father didn't manage to finish before he died. Thomson's strength is in her character development, which makes for some slow spots at times. However, I just finished The House with No Rooms, which has some real nail-biting moments, and I like the characters very much as the author reveals more about them in each book.
Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1257646
10/03/21 01:27 PM
10/03/21 01:27 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
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hagatha
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Reenie, one of the standout non-fiction books I've read is The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, by Samuel Bawlf. It posits, with lots of evidence, that Drake actually traveled all the way up up the West coast of North America on a Secret mission for the Queen.
Very much worth a read.
I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258029
10/08/21 10:12 AM
10/08/21 10:12 AM
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Lex
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Finished The Hail Mary Project - great fun SF - now trying Offspring by Jack Ketchum for some gory horror! Next up will probably be Andrew Mayne: I had previously read and enjoyed The Naturalist but he has written a couple of sequels and a couple of other short series which all look promising - all about offbeat investigators.
Life is what happens while you're making other plans.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258032
10/08/21 11:26 AM
10/08/21 11:26 AM
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hagatha
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Right now I'm in the middle of "Robert Galbraith's" fourth novel in the Cormoran Strike series. The plots move slowly, but JK sure can turn a phrase, and I fid the series very entertaining.
Last edited by hagatha; 10/08/21 11:26 AM.
I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258034
10/08/21 11:40 AM
10/08/21 11:40 AM
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copper
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I thought the TV show Strike based on the books was very very good, but to be honest I have not read the books.
It would be nice to have someones opinion, who has read the books and seen the show, to see which was better?
Copper
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258079
10/09/21 02:14 AM
10/09/21 02:14 AM
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Lex
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For what it's worth, on the whole I thought that the books were preferable, although I have not read the latest one.
Last edited by Lex; 10/12/21 04:22 AM.
Life is what happens while you're making other plans.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258135
10/09/21 11:03 PM
10/09/21 11:03 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
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LadyKestrel
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World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil is a lovely book. It's bits and pieces of stories of her family interwoven with the natural world and animal behavior. She has a wonderful way with words. It's not a long book but a very satisfying one.
Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258142
10/10/21 06:44 AM
10/10/21 06:44 AM
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Lex
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LadyK that book sounds lovely: I have just read the free kindle sample but it have then ordered it in hardback. Thanks for the recommendation!
Life is what happens while you're making other plans.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258285
10/11/21 04:14 PM
10/11/21 04:14 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
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LadyKestrel
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You're welcome, Lex. I hope you enjoy it.
Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258298
10/11/21 06:20 PM
10/11/21 06:20 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 6,678 Long Beach, Australia
flotsam
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Just finished Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk and thoroughly enjoyed it. It isn't nearly as grim as the title might suggest. It has an off-beat noir tone and some unusual characters.
Quantity has a quality all of its own
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: hagatha]
#1258305
10/11/21 08:03 PM
10/11/21 08:03 PM
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Marian
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Right now I'm in the middle of "Robert Galbraith's" fourth novel in the Cormoran Strike series. The plots move slowly, but JK sure can turn a phrase, and I fid the series very entertaining. I am glad to hear an opinion about this series of Rowling's. I wondered what the books are like. That book title certainly gets my attention, flotsam. Good to know about it.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258311
10/11/21 09:03 PM
10/11/21 09:03 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 6,678 Long Beach, Australia
flotsam
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It did me too Marian which is what piqued my initial interest. The main character is a fan of William Blake, which is where the title comes from.
Quantity has a quality all of its own
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1258342
10/12/21 11:57 AM
10/12/21 11:57 AM
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hagatha
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Marian, as I said, the books are very slow-moving, but well written -- all of that initial criticism about JK Rowling's writing abilities back in the 00's now seems like sour grapes, in retrospect -- and the two main characters are compelling. I'm thoroughly enjoying them.
I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.
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Re: What are you reading?
[Re: Lex]
#1259548
10/28/21 06:18 AM
10/28/21 06:18 AM
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Lex
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I have just been introduced by Amazon's marketing machine to Claire North, and in particular The End of the Day which seems to be a bit of a modern day take on Terry Pratchett characters such as Death and his apprentice (but none the worse for that) and Notes From The Burning Age, a potentially interesting science fiction/fantasy tale. So far I have only read the Kindle samples, which tempt me towards a purchase: has anyone else here read these, and if so what did you think of them?
Life is what happens while you're making other plans.
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