What are you reading in 2016?

[Paul]

Next up is The Northmen's Fury: A History of the Viking World

[Jackie]

Later today, I'm going to start The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander.

[Tytti]

Jackie wrote: "Later today, I'm going to start The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander."

I hope it's a better one than most of the books written set in that time. I mean how hard it is to get at least the names right? No male names to women and vice versa?

[Wendy]

Reading The Devil in Amber by Mark Gatiss It's the second in the Lucifer Box trilogy and I am hoping it is going to be as deliciously silly and debauched as first one!

[Marina]

Reading Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death - I needed a break after Villette!

[Paul]

I can imagine Marina!

[Tracey]

I'm reading Between shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys which is fab and The sense of an ending by Julian Barnes which I swear down is my last 'Anything Prize' book omy! grrrr

[Tytti]

Tracey wrote: "I'm reading Between shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys which is fab"

I took a look at that some time ago but thought the language was just too simple and the story too... I don't know, "childishly" written maybe? Some of the other stuff just doesn't ring true, either. I have a hard time believing that they would have constantly referred to the NKVD as "NKVD". I can think of a few better expressions... But anyway, the real Gulag memoirs can even be funny because they write about the absurdity of it all, so there is a different feel to it.

[Tracey]

It was intended as a YA novel. I am finding it a very quick to read and emotionally involving story. Maybe the authors new book Salt to the sea will be written in a more adult way, although it's not detracting from my enjoyment of the book, having said that I loved The Book Thief again a YA book but many many people have enjoyed that too.

[Pat]

We read the Julian Barnes for our book club. He does write some good books. sadly we all felt this was not one of them.

[Tracey]

Oh Pat you've cheered me up no end. I thought it was me being daft..

[Tytti]

Tracey wrote: "It was intended as a YA novel. I am finding it a very quick to read and emotionally involving story. Maybe the authors new book Salt to the sea will be written in a more adult way, although it's no..."

Yeah, I don't really read YA novels. Though for me it looked more like a children's novel but I wouldn't necessarily recommend a book about the subject to a 10-year-old, even though I was starting to read about it when I was that age. And over, let's say 12/13-year-olds are quite capable of reading "adult" novels if they are interested about it. I think we studied it in 8th grade.

And as far as I know, The Book Thief was written to "adults", it's just marketed as YA for some reason in some countries. Not that it sounds like something I would be interested in anyway.

[Pat]

We didn't have the YA marketing when younger. There was children and adult. We read both interchangeably at school and home. Never knew book thief was not meant to be for adults. We read it at our book club. We are all adults, only because no children attend. We didn't notice!

[Sophie]

I have just started The Ice Twins. Not that far into it yet but the general premise seems to be that one of a pair of seven year old identical twins dies in a tragic accident and then months later, the surviving twin starts claiming they identified the wrong twin. The family move to a remote Scottish island and suddenly things become a bit sinister as the surviving twin becomes more disturbed. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds!

[Paul]

Reading for the next couple of weeks will be:
Lamentation
The Debs of Bletchley Park and Other Stories
Future Crimes: A journey to the dark side of technology - and how to survive it
Eat, Sleep, Cycle: A Bike Ride Around the Coast of Britain
Mail Obsession: A Journey through Britain’s Postcodes from AB to ZE

[Jackie]

I'm going to start reading American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld today.

[Lisa]

Tracey wrote: "I'm reading Between shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys which is fab and The sense of an ending by Julian Barnes which I swear down is my last 'Anything Prize' book omy! grrrr"

That was a great book.

[Lisa]

Paul wrote: "Reading for the next couple of weeks will be:
Lamentation
The Debs of Bletchley Park and Other Stories
[book:Future Crimes: A journey to the dark side of technology ..."

Some good ones there…enjoy.

[Lisa]

I just finished Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl for a book challenge. It was very good about a horrible time in American history.
and
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America which was great. I love Erik Larson.

Now I am reading a story about Japanese internment camps called
When The Emperor Was Divine


Hmm…not a dazzling American history.



and a book I won, The Good Goodbye, and need to finish for a discussion tomorrow.

[Wendy]

Paul wrote: "Reading for the next couple of weeks will be:
Lamentation
The Debs of Bletchley Park and Other Stories
[book:Future Crimes: A journey to the dark side of technology ..."

The Debs of Bletchley Park now languishing on my to read list along with the rest of the gang.

[Paul]

I'll let you know what it is like soon

[Trine]

I am so impressed that you can actually plan out what you are reading.. I just borrow a HUGE stack at the library, and picking a little at random... xD

[Pat]

Me too Trine

[Paul]

I have an enormous stack from the library

[Bella]

Lisa wrote: "I just finished Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl for a book challenge. It was very good about a horrible time in American history.
and
The Devil in the White City: Murder, ..."</i>

If you're interested in a non-fiction book about the internment camps, [book:Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II by Richard Reeves is supposed to be good. It's on my TBR list. I should read Otsuka's book. My uncle's wife was in an internment camp in Utah, as a child, and in all the year's I've known her, she's never talked about it. Never even mentioned it.

[Lisa]

Bella wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I just finished Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl for a book challenge. It was very good about a horrible time in American history.
and
The Devil in the White C..."</i>




Thank you for that one. I also have [book:The Train to Crystal City: FDR's Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America's Only Family Internment Camp During World War II checked out from my library.

[Lisa]

I just finished The Good Goodbye which was very good:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I just started The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes

[Paul]

Managed to get through most of the pile so for the next two weeks. Just aiming to get through Lamentation by Monday.

[Tracey]

Started The Pool of the two moons by Kate Forsyth, book 2 of The witches of Eileanan fantasy series.

[Paul]

Half way through Landskipping: Painters, Ploughmen and Places at the moment. It's not bad, but not great so far

[Paul]

Just starting Abducting a General: The Kreipe Operation and SOE in Crete and More Than This and A Brief History of Seven Killings

[Jackie]

Going to start The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey, today.

[Gisela]

I'll be interested what you think of A Brief History of Seven Killings. I read it over Christmas and loved it, but it seems to be rather a "Marmite Book", you either love it or hate it. I learned lots from it and not only how to use Jamaican swear words! Looking forward to your review.

[Paul]

Jackie wrote: "Going to start The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey, today."

I really enjoyed that. Very different to what I thought it would be.

Gisela wrote: "I'll be interested what you think of A Brief History of Seven Killings. I read it over Christmas and loved it, but it seems to be rather a "Marmite Book", you either love it or hate it. I learned l..."

I'll let you know Gisela!

[Jo]

I am reading my Book Club choice, The Quality of Silence and listening to Three Wishes.

Jackie - hope you enjoy that, it was not what I was expecting at all, way out of my normal "zone" but actually I quite enjoyed it as normally sic-fi/zombieland turns me right off.

My reading choice for the next few weeks is dictated by what comes up at the library. I realised that I return far too many books unread, which I really do want to read, so this year I feel that if I borrow books, I need to make a concerted effort to read them.

[Toyah]

Currently reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini for my book group. And A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

[Tracey]

March looks like a great book month for me. I'm joining in with 2 group reads here Station eleven and The heart is a lonely hunter and also 2 in another group which were my nominations! Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and The Martian :) :)

[Joy]

Jo wrote: "I am reading my Book Club choice, The Quality of Silence and listening to Three Wishes.

Jackie - hope you enjoy that, it was not what I was expecting at all, way out..."

I found The Quality of Silence gripping.

[Jo]

I found The Quality of Silence gripping.

I was a bit stop/start with it at the beginning (my fault, not the book's), but did get well into it at the end of last week and should have more reading time from today as stuck home with sick child, so read I must!

[Jackie]

Hi Jo & Paul!

Unfortunately TGWATG wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be lol. I'm not a fan of zombiesque stuff either or dystopian in general really. Mind you, I did really enjoy the Wool series & a couple of other books in that genre. I thought this was a thriller, & feel a bit misled by the blurb on the cover.

Toyah - A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of my favourite books. Hope you like it.

I'm starting Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie today.

[Laurie]

Jackie wrote:

I'm starting Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie today

I read that this month and thought it was great. It's sad but so well-written. I really like her style of writing. I hope to read Americanah sometime this year.

[Paul]

Americanah is well worth reading Laurie

[Paul]

Just starting The Man Who Couldn't Stop today.

[Joy]

Laurie wrote: "Jackie wrote:

I'm starting Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie today

I read that this month and thought it was great. It's sad but so well-written. I really like her style of writing..."

I thought Half of a Yellow Sun was wonderful but wasn't so keen on Americanah.

[Paul]

I have got three ARC books to read this week:
Rain: Four walks in English weather
The Bloody Quarrel: Episode 1
Uprooted: On the Trail of the Green Man

after I have finished The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Mathematics, from One to Infinity

[Sooz888]

Paul wrote: "I have got three ARC books to read this week:
Rain: Four walks in English weather
The Bloody Quarrel: Episode 1
[book:Uprooted: On the Trail of the Green Man|2845629..."

I have great hopes of Rain and Uprooted, but I think X would be a step too far for me.

[Tracey]

Just about to start The Humans by Matt Haig. :)

[Paul]

It is a very simple overview Sooz, Not at all complicated with lots of pictures scattered through the text.

I have a copy of that Tracey, but a friend is borrowing it at the moment

[Sooz888]

Tracey wrote: "Just about to start The Humans by Matt Haig. :)"

My partner is reading that. I am next in the queue :)

[Tracey]

I'm really enjoying it :)