He'll everyone and a warm welcome to edition 106. This is where we can share what we have been reading and read others recommendations. We can discover new authors and genres and share ours.So welcome to all our regulars and new members. Grigid does the early edition and I do the midmonth book club
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Thanks for the new edition Aginghippy
Hi everyone. I hope that I have done this correctly. Please invite others to join in the fun. So far this month I have read two books and finished a third but I have bought 3 others so not managing to decrease my mountain.My book club book The Legacy by Katherine Webb I didn't enjoy but the majority of the others loved it. I didn't like any of the characters which didn't help.
Next I finished Knife Edge by Simon Mayo which was well written and clever but I didn't like the subject. If you like thrillers you would probably enjoy.
Then The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths which I borrowed from the library. As always I really enjoyed it. I love the characters and enjoy her writing.
I'm currently reading one of my freebies about nurses during World War 1. It is really a couple of love stories and is a nice easy read after all the murders.
Happy reading everyone and do let me know what you all have been 📚 reading. X
It's good to have a break from murder and mayhem isn't it?
We discussed at our book group about the importance pf liking the characters. One new member thought there was no need to like them at all, but most of us felt that there needed to be at least one that you can warm to.
I've got rid of a whole load of physical books (what remains now fits, just, in my book cases), but am still secretly building up a virtual mountain range on kindle 🙄
It is but currently reading The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty and it is rather too bland , too nice , too polite - so quite unreal . A sort of toned down version of what I call a page turner so don’t regret putting it down . Depends what you like but I feel a good psychological thriller is hard to write nowadays to be punchy and different with so much TV drama .
Edition 106 open for replies 
Hi
Currently reading a James Patterson /James O Born crime thriller called Shattered . My friend brought it as bought it as an impulse easy read at the train station and calls it a quick read . Not read any of JP's books for a while but this is about the detective Michael Bennett who I became rather bored with a few years back .
Sadly these books still feel samey . Very American and would appeal to Americans more than me . Felt slightly more at home as this one is primarily set around New York / ish and I was lucky enough to visit this year but similar formula and plot so I almost feel I have exhausted them already . Acknowledge he is popular and any author that encourages reading I have total praise for however I feel his loyal audience appreciate them more than I do .
Thanks focused1. Sorry you were disappointed with your quick read but have to agree with you about J P books. I try to have an open mind but tend to avoid American books. X
Not saying I don't like some American books but like an author who can write a different story each time . Even a character / person has to evolve.
I agree and some of my favourites are American but generally prefer British murder mysteries to thrillers. X
I do too as places especially if I have been to them or see them on the news imagining I can almost feel the characters accents sometimes illustrated by the words and writers tone . Other countries and I don’t feel so much there . So there was a slightly better feeling when I read James Patterson having been to New York but still out of my depth with other places in the book and references to American culture, police , FBI etc , same with Nordic countries and culture. I agree you are totally in the place when you read books set in the UK and I love that familiarity.
I'm guessing that the reason he's so prolific is that he is formulaic?
I've never read any but wondered if the co-authors provided a difference, or would you be able to tell that the book is a James Patterson?
I feel any co author would have to have a detailed knowledge of the FBI and law in the states plus geographic areas to be able to blend into his extremely broad scope of America particularly New York , Washington- the North .
I read the Bill Clinton one and you could definitely tell his input. Too much detail of political hierarchy etc for me. The excitement must have been J P.
Ha -spot on .
I’m starting Chapter 28 today in “10th Anniversary”, by James Patterson. It’s very interesting so far and the case against Candace Martin for possibly murdering her husband, Dennis seems like the lawyer she has is just trying to use the children to help get sympathy from the jurors, but everything is (from my opinion) based on lies being said on the witness stand. Can’t wait to see what happens next.
Some are better than others . I find them easy to read . Hope you enjoy this one and that it has that twist.
It has a few twists already, but I think Lindsay and Conklin will have everything taken care of with the case.
Glad it is keeping you hooked. X
Thank you, Aginghippy . I enjoy the series.
We are all waiting to know whether she did kill her husband ?! X
It’s a 50/50 chance she had done it. Will see what happens soon today.
Let us know. X
Will do!
Yes, we need to know if she did it
No new information yet about guilty/not guilty verdict.
Hi everyone, and especially Aginghippy for hosting this edition.
In an improvement from the last edition, I’ve managed to finish 3 books this time, one of them which has been on the go for months! They were a real mix of genres:
Hilary Mantel – Beyond Black (Audible) – This was so different from the Wolf Hall trilogy that it would be quite understandable to believe it was written by a different author. Alison Hart is a psychic working in suburbia. There is no doubt that her powers are real, after all, she’s surrounded by, mostly unpleasant, spirits, including her main spirit guide, the foul mouthed Morris. She somehow manages to gain a “manager”, Colette, who is real and who she meets at one of her events. They move in together and soon everything becomes very boringly domestic, except the spirits that surround Alison are tangled up with her abusive past, which she can’t fully remember, but which, like the spirits, won’t leave her alone. Whilst it’s in essence a ghost story, it’s also full of dark humour, which grows as the characters develop. I enjoyed it.
Donna Tartt – The Secret History (paperback) This was our book group book and got a very mixed reception. The people who really didn’t like it were swayed to that opinion by the unlikeable characters which they thought were too pretentious, and those who did like it enjoyed how it drew you into their world. It’s basically the story of a small group of New England college students who are set apart from their fellow students by their choice of subject, Greek Classics. They end up “having” to kill one of their group, and the story hinges around the complexities of how they deal with the aftermath of this, and their complicated and manipulative relationships. Told from the perspective of Richard, who is from a different background to the others, it’s easy to see that he might well be an unreliable narrator, but the twists and turns kept me interested. I didn’t like it from the start, but definitely got into it part way through. At over 600 pages it was a bit long for a book club book, and I felt sorry for those who didn’t enjoy it but struggled though.
Makoto Shinkai – She and Her Cat (hardback) This is the book that I’ve been dipping in and out of for months, despite it being very short. I think I was worried the cat would die. Actually it’s a lovely book, based on four characters living in the outskirts of Tokyo, and the (talking) cats and an amazing dog, in their lives. It’s whimsical and feel good; the animals bring with them a wonderful philosophy of life, and it didn’t make me cry. One for cat lovers though.
Happy reading everyone 📚
I'm glad you enjoyed Beyond Black. We had it in our book club and everyone hated it except me. I think I was the only one who finished it which is a shame. So glad to find someone else who enjoyed it. Don't think that I would like the Donna Tart one, especially as its so long. X
I mentioned Beyond Black to my best friend and he read it a while back and thought it was a great read.
I don’t think I’d read another Donna Tartt.
Our next book group book is nice and short, and in January we’re just going to get together to tell about what our favourite read of 2023 was, cue more additions to the list! X
That's a good idea for our Jan meeting and on here too. Our next meeting is at a members house instead of the library and there might be alcohol involved!! We all take a plate of food and try to remember to discuss the book. 🥳
Sounds like you might have more trouble remembering what you all thought about the book 😂🍷🥴
This is an early gift for the holidays that came this morning.
Are you going to wait until Christmas to read it ?! X
We’ll see what happens soon.
I’ve just watched E2 of the latest series of Between the Covers and Sandi Toksvig shared something her father said about writing a book by way of explaining why she didn’t like Graham Swift - The Light of Day:
Her father compared writing a book to fishing. First you have to decide what sort of fish you want to catch, then you have to catch it, then you have to fillet it for your reader until you serve the finest portion of the fish. In other words, the skill is not in the writing, but in the rewriting.
It made me realise I’ve read a lot of un-filleted books in my time!
Oh the number of times I've said it would have been fine with a good edit !! 😃
All those trees!! 🌳
😄😄
Agree with all the sentiments mentioned. I gave the James Patterson Bill Clinton book back unread for this month's book club. I think they enjoyed it but didn't feel encouraged to read another by the same author. I'll post more about the new one when I get my laptop working properly again... It's a Muriel Spark book called The Only Problem... Grigid and Aginghippy
I haven't read any of hers but feel I should. X
It's only about 150 pages so I might finish this one. I'm almost finished All that remains. The "last" Ruth Galloway book it would seem. The library waiting list for the next Richard Osman book tells me I'm now at No. 24 of 87.... So might get hold of it by February if I am lucky. 🍀🍀🍀 Aginghippy
I am going to treat myself to the Richard Osman on kindle for Christmas. I'm still hoping it will be reduced. My daughter is lending me the latest Cormoran Strike book. Not sure when I'm going to read them all. 😱📚
I haven’t read any of hers either, but she sounds like I’d like her.
More for the list! I wonder if any are 99p😄
😂
This came today; in the morning. Can’t wait to read it soon.
Looks spooky. Enjoy !
Thank you! I will read it after I read Crazy House.😀👍📗📖📚
I’m guessing this one can’t be read out of order?
It sounds very intense from the synopsis!
No, they have to be in order so everyone knows who the characters are and what they do.
Thanks for hosting, Aginghippy Onwards to your December choices
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