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Self Challenge - Pam's 2016 Read-a-100-books
Currently reading Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servantby Tracy Borman
I hope I've got that right as it's my first attempt at formatting an Amazon link with the group tag on the end - perhaps someone could check/verify for me please?
I've read a few reviews on the Internet which say that this book is flawed and has various factual clangers in it, which is a shame. I picked it up at the library because I had just read and enjoyed 'Wolf Hall'. I have read about Cromwell before, but in general history books about the Tudor period.
Apparently there is a keenly awaited biography from an historian - Diarmaid MacCulloch - that has been due out for some time.
I suspect that Wolf Hall might have spurred a number of 'serious' biographies about Cromwell. Certainly he seems to be an interesting figure
Indeed. Jim, would you mind checking that I've formatted the Amazon link correctly please, with the group tag on the end?
Well it does fetch me out at the right book but I thought the group tag was&tag=ethings-21
But I've been wrong before :-(
Good luck Pam, I'd love to read 100 books in a year, although not sure I'd like to just read hard copy books
Thanks Jim. Bit puzzled - isn't that what I put - &tag=ethings-21 ??Thanks Desley.
You did, and it might have worked but Amazon turned it into ref=x_gr_w_visstd_sin_t1_control_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_visstd_sin_t1_control_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&tag=ethings-21
But it still has the right bit at the end so is probably OK.
It's just they put so much gumph in I missed seeing the ending! :-)
Oh, OK. I just copied the link of the Amazon page and added the tag text on the end. If anyone knows of a better way I should do it, I'm all ears!
If you go to the Amazon page and go to the address bar at the top of your screen you'll seehttp://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/14...
then it'll be followed by all sorts of gumph. Delete all the gumph after the 6/ (get rid of ref onwards) and you'll find that that is the real address of the book.
Then add your tag to that.
It's shorter and tells Amazon less :-)
OK second attempt at doing the link - Thomas CromwellFunnily enough, copied on a tablet it loses all the junk on the end.
Have now finished the book and posted a review - TC review
Started Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler first in the Bryant and May series, about two eccentric WWII detectives.
Finished Full Dark House and posted a reviewNow on Stig of the Dump by Clive King, which I first read as a kid.
I remember reading that as a child and enjoyed it then :-)
It was a good read for boys in particular, though may be viewed as "old fashioned" by the current generation.
That's exactly what Dave said about it, Pam.He doesn't think he'd be able to get the kids in his class interested in it.
No, that's the problem. It's an old-time outdoors adventure story and children who are forbidden to climb around in trees and old quarries and spend a lot of time on tablets and phones aren't really going to relate to it!
OK, I have decided to read my James Blish omnibus edition of four novels - After Such Knowledge
. This contains 'Doctor Mirabilis', 'Black Easter', 'The Day after Judgement' and 'A Case of Conscience'. I'd already heard of the first, third and fourth, which are believe are among Blish's most famous/successful novels.
Tee hee. Well, you need to be a science fiction reader to have heard of them, and I guess of a certain era.Interestingly, or not, James Blish wrote all the Star Trek adaptations of the original series episodes that came out in paperback in the 70s and also produced a novel of his own, 'Spock Must Die'. So maybe those also are among Blish's claims to fame. These books went on to spawn the huge number of Star Trek spin off novels which became an industry.
I've read loads of sci-fi.Perhaps not British of his era, though.
I find most of the old sci-fi I've tried to read hasn't held up well.
Just for info, he was American - Wiki articleYes, I know what you mean. I've decided to discard most of the SF and fantasy books I've been reading for that reason.
Hmmm. Surprised I've not of him then. Was never into those Star Trek novels.If he did short stories I might have read him. I got those wonderful pulp magazines for years. Found a huge stash of my dad's in the basement when I was young and got hooked.
Pam wrote: "No, that's the problem. It's an old-time outdoors adventure story and children who are forbidden to climb around in trees and old quarries and spend a lot of time on tablets and phones aren't reall..."There is a major disconnect between generations
Pam wrote: "No, that's the problem. It's an old-time outdoors adventure story and children who are forbidden to climb around in trees and old quarries and spend a lot of time on tablets and phones aren't reall..."I found the same with Five Children and It unfortunately
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Pam wrote: "No, that's the problem. It's an old-time outdoors adventure story and children who are forbidden to climb around in trees and old quarries and spend a lot of time on tablets and phones ..."....I found the same with Five Children and It unfortunately
That's a shame Desley. As a kid, I loved all of E Nesbit's books and read the lot - and she wrote about 50.
And finished it ... a short volume of 12 stories targeted at young adults, one by DWJ, the rest by invitees, some of whom are Big Names such as Roger Zelazny. A mixed bag, and some were ho-hum/disappointments.Reviewed it anyway - see Hidden Turnings.
Pam wrote: "And finished it ... a short volume of 12 stories targeted at young adults, one by DWJ, the rest by invitees, some of whom are Big Names such as Roger Zelazny. A mixed bag, and some were ho-hum/disa..."fascinating. With regard to the spoiler (which I won't spoil) but I once did that in a roleplaying game where the other players were 'in' on it (because it was entirely one players experience.)
In a game the same thing worked really well but I think that was because it was 'real' and certainly 'lived' whereas on the page I suspect it would be a bit flat.
A bit convoluted because I'm trying to respect the spoiler :-)
That's interesting Jim. Thanks for preserving the spoiler!
When played it was remarkably effective. The 'victim' was so taken in by it that when he finally realised he went out and walked the dog for an hour :-)
Now back to reading the James Blish omnibus 'After Such Knowledge' volume of his four novels. So far, still on the first, 'Doctor Mirabilis', set in 13th century England and France, about Roger Bacon, the philosopher/clerical and early scientist. Quite an erudite book and has to be read carefully as there is a fair bit of Latin spoken (can't understand most of it and there's no translation - you have to work it out from the context) and they do speak with the word forms of English of that time, even if modern spelling is used luckily.
It's science fiction, Jim, but not as we know it ;-)
Pam wrote: "It's science fiction, Jim, but not as we know it ;-)"Yeah, Jim is known for that.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Pam wrote: "It's science fiction, Jim, but not as we know it ;-)"Yeah, Jim is known for that."
I also do fantasy, but not as we know it as well :-)
It's only been quiet here because it is taking me a while to read through the four novel omnibus, After Such Knowledge. As posted above, the first novel, 'Doctor Mirabilis' is a dense historical, but I found it interesting and also sad because of the fate Bacon endures due to his unwillingness to compromise his beliefs when faced with the church's dogmatism and tyranny.have now read the second, Black Easter, a rather disturbing tale of black magic and Armageddon and am now on The Day after Judgement, a sequel.
Sounds very cool.I admittedly log books in an omnibus separately on GR as all the ones I have read before are in a series and I would never read four in a row etc.
Do you think I should post separate reviews as well as the omnibus one? I did at least have a separate copy of the first book which I passed on when I realised it was included in the omnibus.Have finished number 3 and started the last, the only SF novel in the collection, A Case of Conscience. I have a feeling that I read it many years ago and that it has a downbeat ending, though I could be mixing it up with another book.
Had a look and no one has reviewed the omnibus - all the reviews are under the individual novels so maybe it's best to stick to that.
I think most people just do the single version just because no-one tends to read them all at once in one go so it affects your stats. Like if I read an entire book I wanna be able to add it to my GR and not wait until I finish 3 other books!It's totally up to you though. If you don't care about stats etc then stick with omnibus.
As it would be on its lonesome, I think I'll put in the single ones and just note that I've done that on the omnibus version. As I would give the first book four stars but the second and third only three, that simplifies things.
Took time out this afternoon to read a couple of Kindle books for a change. Frugal Minimalism and Kindle Marketing Ninja Guide.The reviews I posted are for Minimalism and the Marketing Guide.
Also started on another marketing guide which I think is better, but will post about that shortly.
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As before, the plan is to try to read 100 hard copy books, most of which are in my possession and need to go, to make space. A few are library copies that I couldn't resist borrowing (groan).