Just finished/Just started (what book are you reading now?) 2015

[Michael]

Kath wrote: "I enjoyed Necropolis, Michael."

I think it was your review that prompted me to buy it.

[Kath]

I should be on commission! ;)

[Suze]

Nabse wrote: "Hi Suze,
Yes, I am enjoying it although I am struggling a little bit with the tone occasionally. I'll post a review once I've finished but it's definitely worth it at 99p!
Have a great weekend,
Na..."

Thanks Nabse. I've not a clue when I'll be starting it as my To Be Read list is now in the hundreds.

[Linda]

Finished . The Scarlet Tessera by Julian Lorr. A good read and quite scary.

Finished . The Killing of Emma Gross by Damien Seaman. A good gripping read.

Started . On Charlotte's Shoulders by Julie Monahan.

[Jonathan]

T4bsF wrote: "Currently reading

FAG by Jonathan Hill"

I'm scared...

[Linda]

Haha Jonathan. :-0

[Linda]

Finished . On Charlotte's Shoulders by Julie Monahan. Great story and I would love to read more about this family.

Just started . Mouse by D M Mitchell

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

Just finished FAG by Jonathan Hill

and gave it 5* - my review:- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Just started Fuel to the Fire by David Staniforth

[Michael]

Linda wrote: "Finished . The Scarlet Tessera by Julian Lorr. A good read and quite scary.


I enjoyed that as well.

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

Gave up on Fuel to the Fire.... I hasten to add that it was not because it wasn't any good. The bit that I did read was very descriptive and well written, it was just that I couldn't stick with it long enough to find out. I don't usually read fantasy books, but thought I would give it a try. However, savage cruelty, blood and guts just doesn't do it for me..... Sorry David!

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

Different strokes for different folks. If we all liked the same thing half the authors in the world would starve. I don't do violence or "gritty, dark" stuff either.

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

Now Reading
The Moment Keeper by Buffy Andrews

[Linda]

Just finished . Fantastik by C A McGroarty
And I would highly recommend it. I thought it was so good that I even tried to write a little review lol. Not brilliant but at least I tried :-/

Just started . Guilty Innocence by Maggie James

[David]

T4bsF wrote: "Gave up on Fuel to the Fire.... I hasten to add that it was not because it wasn't any good. The bit that I did read was very descriptive and well written, it was just that I couldn't stick with it..."

Never mind Flo. I'll not take it personally. I'm chuffed you gave it a go and your reason for not wanting to continue will only encourage others to try it :~)

If you fancy giving fantasy another try Alloria is much gentler. No blood and guts in that one, in fact it's been described as being suitable for ages ranging from 9 to 91. It'll be on a countdown deal from the 16th July at 99p/99c. You heard it here first :D

[Kath]

Just finished Magnificent Britain by Michael Murray. Absolute belter. I've reviewed it with five stars.
Just started The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry which is our village book group's choice for this month.

[Emma]

Just finished re-reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I reviewed it with 5 stars because I love it so much.
About to start The Ocean at the End of the Lane now, with every confidence!

[Michael]

Neverwhere is excellent, I must re-read it sometime. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a good dark fantasy. I re-read American Gods recently and that was fantastic - his best in my opinion.

[Emma]

I have to admit Stardust is still my co-favourite with Neverwhere; the imagery is excellent (but then I re-read it so often it can't count). I have to put American Gods on my re-read list, but must try to get some new books lined up too!

[Michael]

I've posted my review for Guy Portman's excellent dark novel 'Necropolis'.

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

It's a deliciously dark read!

I'm now onto AI Apocalypse by William Hertling which is off to a cracking start.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

Nabse wrote: "I found something more cheerful! (thanks to the people who sent recommendations....) and am now reading Baking Cakes in Kigali. More when I've finished it!

"

Have read it...and reviewed it. I'm sorry to say I was underwhelmed, as at first it looked good. She tried to cover far too much and ended up merely superficial.

[Anastasia]

I´m readingg by Eoin Colfer

[Kath]

Finished Magnificent Britain which is a brilliant book, and now I'm on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry which is our village book group's choice this month. About a third in and I'm really loving it.

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

David wrote: "T4bsF wrote: "Gave up on Fuel to the Fire.... I hasten to add that it was not because it wasn't any good. The bit that I did read was very descriptive and well written, it was just that I couldn't..."

Please don't misunderstand me - blood and guts doesn't make me feel queasy or upset me - I've picked up and wiped up enough of it throughout my nursing career, but it just doesn't grab my interest for reading matter.

[David]

That's fair enough, Flo. Though I'd like to point out that beyond the first chapter there isn't so much of that, and the story turns towards the protagonist's journey into an unfamiliar world and her emotional turmoil over whether she can trust the people she encounters. The first chapter was really to throw the reader bang into her world to then appreciate the contrast of her new found reality.

Funnily enough, some readers, ones that are into high fantasy, have mentioned that they would have liked the story to continue as the first chapter starts.

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

I have tried to rationalise why I don't like future/fantasy stories and can't come up with anything. I guess it's mainly because my biggest interest area is the past, I usually go for historical novels. I can't fault your style and descriptive talent, but just couldn't get past the "future" aspect. Who knows, maybe I'll give it another try at another time and get into it.

[Nabse]

Just started All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu. Totally hooked.

[mrbooks]

Try the way of Kings it is a Fantasy with a more ancient feel to it, or George R.R. Martin's game of thrones again fantasy with a Med evil feel...

[mrbooks]

Just started Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

T4bsF wrote: "I have tried to rationalise why I don't like future/fantasy stories and can't come up with anything. I guess it's mainly because my biggest interest area is the past, I usually go for historical n..."
So true, Flo...there are times I'm not in the mood for a certain book or film, and yet another day I can go back to it and think, "Hey this is good, why didn't I like it?"

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

Currently reading Quiet as a Nun. Don't think I've read any Antonia Fraser before. So far the main character isn't terribly sympathetic, being a serial adultress, always with married men in power who can further her TV career. For an investigative reporter, she certainly thinks in stereotypes. I know that's common today, but in the early 70s?

One thing she mentions and I had forgotten, that people on TV "talking heads" shows used to smoke on set. Indeed they did. Now, not only is smoking not socially acceptable (here, when Spanish TV shows old films they pixilate cigarrettes!) but they know it's a safety risk.

[Linda]

Just finished . Guilty Innocence by Maggie James. A very emotive read but I found that I could not put it down until I had it finished. 2.30am this morning. :-/

Started . Beware the Seventh Wave by Maureen Gregory.

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

Just started

The Moment Keeper by Buffy Andrews

[David]

T4bsF wrote: "I have tried to rationalise why I don't like future/fantasy stories and can't come up with anything. I guess it's mainly because my biggest interest area is the past, I usually go for historical n..."

I can't get along with most sci-fi books, Flo, although I love them as films. There are fantasy books I don't get along with too. Generally though, I can read any genre as long as I like the author's writing style and can engage with the characters. It certainly wouldn't do for us all to like the same thing; there'd be no reason for so many books if we did.

:~)

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

Thanks David :0)

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

Just finished Quiet as a Nun. Bleah. Boring. OK for a night of insomnia, but that's all. Not even entertaining. I finished it because I couldn't sleep and because I kept hoping it would get better. It didn't. Can I have my three hours back please?

[Michael]

I've posted my review for WIlliam Hertling's fascinating cyber-thriller 'A.I. Apocalypse':

http://thecultofme.blogspot.co.uk/201...

I'm now on to 'Justice 4.1' by Jim Webster and it's off to a good start.

[Linda]

I finished . Beware The Seventh Wave by Maureen Gregory. I really enjoyed this book.

Started . Schreiber's Secret by Roger Radford

[Emma]

I have to admit I love it when reviews are more fun than the books, and more opinionated too :) I got part way through but had to give up and most of that was skim reading. For things like that I'm more fond of Beth Kery books :)

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

This sort of spoof version is MUCH better - really funny.

My Granny Writes Erotica by Rosen Trevithick

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

Throwing it away says a great deal, doesn't it? I've had occasion to do that, very infrequently, but it means we don't want to inflict it on anyone else!

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

Trying to read Paprika
I enjoyed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time but there's so much about the Japanese corporate world in the first 50 pages that I'm struggling to get to the actual plot--if there is one. I feel like I'm sitting through a bizarre remake of that movie "Working Girls" or something.

This is one of those books, I don't want to read reviews first because I want to draw my own conclusions. But if I waste a few hours of my life and then end up hating the book, I'll be mad!!

Some people are just hard to please.

[Michael]

Frenchie wrote: "Oh, I have My Granny Writes Erotica
I'll try it soon :)"

It's a fun read :-)

[Nyghtengale]

Wow that sounds interesting I will have to get that.

[Michael]

Nyghtengale wrote: "Wow that sounds interesting I will have to get that."

It's very funny. The sequel is good as well.

[Suze]

Frenchie wrote: "Yes, yes, I said I would not buy/read it but curiosity got the better of me.

Fifty Shades of Grey

I gave up, I read painfully until 75% per cent. I have to say, I have read boring..."

You got further through I than I did. I didn't even finish the sample.

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

I just kept thinking of Batman and Robin every time she uttered the immortal phrase "Holy Shit"!!

I did a "kindle search" for the phrase and I think it was said 49 times in the book!!

[Suze]

Somebody must have liked it, millions of copies were sold.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

Or at least a lot of people bought it out of curiosity due to the hype. Three or four of my students got caught that way and were disgusted. Kind of like when I was in college and everyone was buying Lady Chatterly's Lover and saying, "How is this a dirty book?" Anais Nin, now....LOL

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

I think there were quite a lot of curiosity buys - mine included. I wasn't at all disgusted - not with the subject matter anyway! It was just so poorly written and old fashioned & Mills & Boonish, inasmuch as we still have the typical swooning woman whose clothes fall off at the mere sight of a handsome man!!

[Kath]

With 50 shades I never got beyond the sample. It was so dry. I believe it got more moist as it progressed! ;)