April 2018 reading thread

[Paul_C]

I assume you are talking about And then there were none.
That is the third title of that book, the first two having become successively unacceptable. I have a copy of the original ( from my grandmother's comprehensive Christie collection) and like a lot of my early 20th century books which are now embarrassing I have kept it. I think acknowledgement and discussion rather than denial of the past is useful here, though I understand that this can be difficult.

I don't have an issue with that reasoning, but when your partner (now ex, sadly) and her family have had such language used against them, the argument for keeping it is a little harder to justify. I don't know if she was ever aware that I had it (TBH I'd forgotten about it, and my Agatha Christie books were on a high shelf with another row of books in front - not to hide them but due to lack of space, my bookcases are rammed full) but having had a couple of conversations about her childhood (and a daughter) I felt it best to dispose of it.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I don't have an issue with that reasoning, but when your partner (now ex, sadly) and her family have had such language used against them, the argument for keeping it is a little harder to justify. I don't know if she was ever aware that I had it (TBH I'd forgotten about it, and my Agatha Christie books were on a high shelf with another row of books in front - not to hide them but due to lack of space, my bookcases are rammed full) but having had a couple of conversations about her childhood (and a daughter) I felt it best to dispose of it.

I live in a divided country where things can hit deeper than people external to it can see. Make your own judgement on such matters (as you have) and know you’ve done your best xxx

 

[Parson]

I assume you are talking about And then there were none.

I had to look this book up and am flabbergasted to find that it's sold over 100 million copies, it's the best selling mystery of all time, and the seventh best selling book of all time. And Then There Were None - Wikipedia

______

I'm listening to Bones don't Lie by Melinda Leigh I've liked her stuff in the past but often they edge onto being a romance with a mystery involved which frustrates me. this one seems to be very much a mystery, with some good family stuff, and only a slight romance.... Very much in my sweet zone for mysteries.

I'm rolling through The Event by our own Nathan Hystad it's a book doing very well on Amazon and it's easy to see why as you read through it. Wonderful Science Fiction.

 

[Fedos]

I just finished reading Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan for the first time in my quest to read through The Wheel of Time series. I must say, it was very puzzling to get to the end of this book and come to comprehend that Jordan was very much yet capable even in these plodding books to create some truly fascinating sequences, but for whatever reason (probably because he knew he had a moneymaker) decided to bloat his series to the point of ridiculousness. I still hold that if this series had maintained that initial aura from the first two books until the end it would have been an amazing series. But I'm steadily powering through, mainly because as an aspiring fantasy author I feel like I have to have read Jordan. Now I'm on to Crossroads of Twilight.

 

[hitmouse]

I had to look this book up and am flabbergasted to find that it's sold over 100 million copies, it's the best selling mystery of all time, and the seventh best selling book of all time. And Then There Were None - Wikipedia

It is one of her best. There was an excellent TV adaptation in 2015, BBC I think, which is well worth watching.

 

[Hugh]

Me too.

I see you wrote:

Finished Deep South by Paul Theroux. This is a good book by the noted travel writer of his meandering road trips around some of the poorest parts of deep south USA. What I found interesting was his self consciousness at being a slightly curmudgeonly liberal from New England who was very well read in the history and politics and the literature of the region, but who, in all his worldly travels, had never been there.

What really surprised me (as someone who's pretty much outside the loop) were his frequent comments that these states experience greater poverty/deprivation than third world countries he knows well, his comparisons of US overseas aid with the minimal amounts given to these states, and his linking of the loss of much local industry with NAFTA. This is stuff I've only been reading since the election of the current president. However, as said before, I'm not well informed and... this is not a politics thread.

 

[Danny McG]

Tom Clancy Red Storm Rising (1986)

I would say it's more of a techno-thriller but it's about a war between the USA and Russia so it seems suddenly topical!

Edit: didn't mean to get political just now

 

[kythe]

I've been reading "Perks of Being A Wallflower", recommended by my daughter. It was her favorite required reading in high school this year.

It is a diary-style story about the life of a high schooler. He deals with life issues such as sexuality, drugs, and suicide in a realistic and insightful way.

This book appears frequently challenged and has sometimes been banned in schools due to the themes involved. I find this very sad because literature can be such a good avenue for discussion about serious topics, whether or not you agree with the characters' actions.

 

[AndrewT]

Is it just me who likes Tolkien’s faffidge?
Half of the stuff we read rips it off as a 25% homage, the world building is phenomenal and I still get the feeling that the shire still exists, can’t say the same for most other places, even Dune...
Also you need to remember these dudes have multiple breakfasts and long parties, even when they are interrupted by wizards.

Yes indeed, hobbits remind me of people I know in real life. Very believable. Tolkiens faffidge is better than most author's best penmanship. I am currently reading Waylander on my long voyage through Gemmell. I like it better than book 2 (TKBTG) so far.

 

[HareBrain]

Finished Uncle Silas by J Sheridan le Fanu: a good read, but lacking the supernatural element the book cover had led me to expect. Started Shogun by James Clavell.

 

[tobl]

Started Shogun by James Clavell.

great tv series

 

[Brian G Turner]

Good novel, too - the ending is better explained in the book.

 

[vanye]

Last week I finished Jeff Salyards Veil of the Deserters, book two in his Bloodsounder's Arc trilogy. After I liked book one (Scourge of the Betrayer), I hoped for an OK-read, but was very pleasantly surprised. Number two was actually even better than the first book, and - where Scourge of the Betrayer seemed scant at times and I wished for a better fleshed-out story and characters, Veil of the Deserters delivered on both counts and did a great job of building an interesting and engaging world. Of course, I immediately ordered the final book, Chains of the Heretic and have it waiting on my to-read shelf now.

It has to wait because I used the wait for the delivery to start another one that was sitting on my shelf, a-waiting its turn. To not disturb the Bloodsounder story in my mind, I chose an SF adventure, rather than another fantasy, The long Way to a small angry Planet by Becky Chambers. The Amazon reviews were kind of mixed, so I did not expect too much and thought this would be ideal as a quick, uninvolving read just to tide over the wait. Seems, I am experiencing a lucky streak. This book is just blowing me away. I am halfway through and I just about love every line of it.

While most modern books (especially fantasy) just can't seem to get into a story without spilling a few hundred pints of blood and gore on the first pages, The long Way to a small angry Planet is the exact opposite. Very character driven, but still a great, imaginative story told by a master storyteller. I'll tell y'all all about it when I've read the whole book, but for me it is already easily the best read in ages. All the more so since it is so unexpected.

 

[biodroid]

Carrie - Stephen King. I am missioning forth on my quest to read all of SK's novels, except the Dark Tower (might try it again, didn't like the way the second novel started panning out).

 

[Randy M.]

I had to look this book up and am flabbergasted to find that it's sold over 100 million copies, it's the best selling mystery of all time, and the seventh best selling book of all time. And Then There Were None - Wikipedia

It is one of her best. There was an excellent TV adaptation in 2015, BBC I think, which is well worth watching.

There's also a very good adaptation from 1945, directed by Rene Clair and starring Louis Hayward, Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston and Roland Young, among other familiar character actors.

I've heard in the past, even the recent past, that Agatha Christie is the top selling writer of all time. She was extremely clever with plots and I agree with Hitmouse that this is one of her best.


Speaking of mysteries, just finished Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky. It has some first novel issues -- perhaps trying to cram a bit too much into one novel, some awkward interplay between the main character and lover -- but Paretsky can write, plot intelligently, and offer up believable characters. I look forward to reading a few more in the series.


Randy M.

 

[Paul_C]

There's also a very good adaptation from 1945, directed by Rene Clair and starring Louis Hayward, Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston and Roland Young, among other familiar character actors.

I've heard in the past, even the recent past, that Agatha Christie is the top selling writer of all time. She was extremely clever with plots and I agree with Hitmouse that this is one of her best.

Randy M.

Can't recall if I read this or heard an interview, but apparently she usually wrote the story without deciding on the culprit beforehand. Once she had reached a conclusion - often those big reveal endings where the killer is unmasked - she would pick the least likely person and then go back and re-write with this knowledge so as to tidy things up and allow a few clues to be put in.

 

[Foxbat]

Just finished the second of David Weber's books in the Honor Harrington series (The Honor of the Queen) and whilst he still has a tendency to jump between characters between sentences, it's much rarer here than in the first book. That's my only gripe. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it and think that Weber's space battle descriptions are probably the best I've ever read. Good stuff!

Will follow on with book 3 soon but, for now, I'm reading a history of HMS Warspite - the ship name carrying the most battle honours in the Royal Navy and the sixth of her name carries more honours than any other individual ship in the RN. A grand old lady indeed

 

[Garfunkel]

Finished John Connolly's The Woman in the Woods. I liked it a lot, although I maybe should have read his latest short story collection first, as a novella from it seems relevant to the plot, although this didn't reduce my enjoyment.

Started Robin Hobb's Ship of Magic yesterday and it has been good so far.

 

[tobl]

Just finished the second of David Weber's books in the Honor Harrington series (The Honor of the Queen) and whilst he still has a tendency to jump between characters between sentences, it's much rarer here than in the first book. That's my only gripe. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it and think that Weber's space battle descriptions are probably the best I've ever read. Good stuff!

Will follow on with book 3 soon but, for now, I'm reading a history of HMS Warspite - the ship name carrying the most battle honours in the Royal Navy and the sixth of her name carries more honours than any other individual ship in the RN. A grand old lady indeed

weber is quite good. if you want another great Warspite just ask. there are some great space battles in the series lolo and it's all british

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I am about to start The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate -- Discoveries from a Secret World (2015) by Peter Wohlleben, translated from the German by Jane Billinghurst. It was recommended to me by my better half, which means it's scientific rather than mystical.