Goodreads Ireland discussion
Genre Challenge 2017
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Group Challenge 2017
CJ Sansom new to me - adding TB - thanks
Paul wrote: "I'll stick with CJ Sansom Dissolution for this one.Its been recommended numerous times on Goodreads to me so time for a punt"
A very good choice, i'm upto Lamentation (book 6) on this series & love it!
For me Im going with Fin Gall about Vikings in Ireland so im sticking on theme again :D
Thomas wrote: "Can I read them out of order? The library had two others in the series."As Susan says.I too would recommend you read in order as there is a lot of character development through the series with both Shardlake & his companions/foils
Thanks Andy. Look8ng forward to it.Interesting choice as well :-)
Mod
Paul wrote: "Thanks Andy. Look8ng forward to it.Interesting choice as well :-)"
Unusually for me i didn't this series in order. I got Heartstone from the library which I enjoyed as a standalone and which prompted me to but Dissolution. I haven't read any others.
Margo wrote: "Paul wrote: "Thanks Andy. Look8ng forward to it.Interesting choice as well :-)"
Unusually for me i didn't this series in order. I got Heartstone from the library which I enjoyed as..."
Have to say Heartstone has been my favourite of the series so far, Sovereign perhaps the weakest (mind of a very good series) as its a little rambling & overlong for my like. Either ways its certainly an entertaining & cleverly crafted series full of h/f nuance
Lamentation is my very favorite. It's funny but on his Web site, Sansom says Sovereign is his personal favorite. He has two stand alones that are sitting on my shelf, undusted and unread. My friend, Allan, liked them very much so I'll have to get to them.
I am thinking of changing my selection for the historic fiction section to one inspired by my book read for the travel section of the challenge. So maybe I will read The Historian
instead. Though it's chiefly categorised as Historic Fiction its also mystery, fantasy and travel writing. The book traverses Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, the city of Istanbul - all covered by my selection of New Europe by Michael Palin for the Travel section. So maybe I will learn a little more about the countries I have just read about?
Interesting choice Maria. Funnily enough myself and Trelawn were talking about Kostova yesterday ( because I'm reading her newest book) and we were saying her works could easily fall into travel writing as she captures a sense of place so well. The Historian is a great book and hopefully you'll get a lot from it
Maria, The Historian is a great choice. A beautifully written book. That book is the reason I wanted to see Budapest and I wasn't disappointed. Happy reading
Paul wrote: "Interesting choice Maria. Funnily enough myself and Trelawn were talking about Kostova yesterday ( because I'm reading her newest book) and we were saying her works could easily fall into travel wr..."Thanks Paul, I think I will enjoy it and I am looking forward to starting.
Trelawn wrote: "Maria, The Historian is a great choice. A beautifully written book. That book is the reason I wanted to see Budapest and I wasn't disappointed. Happy reading"Great stuff. It may help me decide whether it's Budapest, Bucharest or London I visit in May then? I am as bad with wanting to go everywhere as I am with wanting to ready everything. :)
Budapest is a fascinating city. But I also love London, it's where we are going on our honeymoon
If you decide on Budapest you won't be dissapointed. We loved our visit and I think its the best value hotel we ever stayed in . Hotel was lovely , city was great and I enjoyed the food a lot
Yes, I have enjoyed London the last couple of times I was there - though expensive for accommodation. I was last there the Summer of 2015 on the way to Disneyland Paris - so didn't spend nearly enough time there. It'll be a great City for your honeymoon. What month is the wedding in? I have wanted to visit Budapest for a while. It was a choice between Berlin and Budapest last year and Berlin won out as I was learning German.
Wedding is in July. Its always a dilemma picking a city to visit.
Mod
Its always a dilemma picking a city to visit."
Best wishes for a happy wedding.
For the Historical Fiction genre coming up I chose Finding Rebecca, because I'm not upset enough over what is going on here (note sarcasm), so I have to drive myself more crazy by reading a book set during the holocaust. It was a free download on Amazon and came with the Audible recording, so I figured what the heck. The author, Eoin Dempsey, is from Dublin but living in the USA.
Sounds good Myra. I enjoy kindle books with the Audible recording. I haven't heard of Eoin Dempsey and would be interested in how you found him as a writer.
I have Finding Rebecca on my TBR list and might squeeze it for Historical Fiction but I think I will read Lilac Girls and then Mischling. The German Girl looks good . Myra I totally understand how you feel .It's like being a moth drawn to fire. I have a feeling pretty much my whole challenge will be related to the mess we are in :(
I'm keeping myself sane by getting actively involved. In 30 minutes I'm going to an "Indivisible" planning meeting. Reading has been a good escape.
The book sounds interesting, Myra. I can't wait to read your take on it. I really liked Lilac Girls, Colleen. We got a lot of WWII reading going on. I just finished one too.
Colleen wrote: "I have Finding Rebecca on my TBR list and might squeeze it for Historical Fiction but I think I will read Lilac Girls and then Mischling. [book:The G..."I will be interested to see how you like Mischling. I couldn't get into it. Lilac Girls is very good.
I'm not sure what historical fiction book I'll read yet. I finished The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain. I found out that travel books are not my favorite but I'm glad I tried something new. This is a good challenge.
second longest living entry on my TBR list, time to bite the bullethistorical fiction choice War and Peace
might start early if i get the chance
Andy wrote: "second longest living entry on my TBR list, time to bite the bullethistorical fiction choice War and Peace
might start early if i get the chance"
Good luck with that fellah! Id take a flyer if I were yous, might even eat into the following topic choice's time allocation :)
I'm also going with the trend and starting early. My library book came early and is due on 13th. I'm going to read an author I've never tried before, Barry Unsworth. The book is The Ruby In Her Navel.I'm also planning to read The Diary of Adam and Eve. I also want to read Vlad: The Last Confession which Paul recommended to me ages ago and it keeps pushed to the end of the list. I was originally going to read to read that for the challenge but since I am looking to it it really doesn't constitute much of a challenge ;-)
making reasonable progress on historical fiction choice, less turgid than I had feared,
enjoying so far, almost 1/3 ways through
I being "good" and will start my book on Monday as scheduled. But I think it would be fun to name four suggestions for this one and let people choose for me??? Would youse lot be willing?
Yes, Maria. I like being bossy. I have a lot of books that would suit this challenge but it's hard to know what I'm in the mood for.
Yes Maria I'm in that actually a good idea
Great stuff, thanks for that, because reducing this list to just four was hard enough.My selections are:
1.
An Almond for a Parrot
. This is only just released so has very few reviews. However those that have read ARCs use words such as Magic and Erotic. It's set in 18th century London and is about Tully Truegood a famous whore and spirit seer. 2. The Historian
. This ties nicely with my travel read as a lot of it is set in Romania etc. It is mainly classified by GR as Historic Fiction but is also Fantasy, Mystery and Horror. The book begins with an account of a young girl's discovery of some mysterious letters in her father's study, but it folds out into three different stories - that of her father's search for his missing university professor, the professor's own tale, and the girl's subsequent search for her father when he, too, vanishes under strange circumstances. It's also about Dracula. It takes place in different Eras I believe.
3. One that was read on a quarterly read a few years ago and seemingly loved (if that is the right word for the subject matter). A History of Loneliness
. By the way I now have two copies of this book - I bought the second one purely because I liked its cover and it was on €2.50. For those that don't know it follows the life of an Irish Priest from the 1970's onwards.4.
The Gallows Curse . Am I right in reading this is narrated by Mandrake Root? The Interdict of 1208 forms the background for the plot, which concerns two main characters. The first is Elena, a 15-year-old serving girl who becomes a runaway, and later finds herself tricked into prostitution. The second is Raffaelle, a tortured, revenge-hungry steward. Again it is mostly Historic Fiction with some mystery and fantasy - with one of those Maitland controversial endings!
Okay, these are the four I battled to reduce it down to. So what do you think I should read? What would you like to read/reread?
I vote for A History of Loneliness. I read it on our quarterly read and loved it. It was quite haunting.For my group challenge I am reading The Devil's Feast and loving it. It's set in 1842 with London's first celebrity chef (I picture Gordon Ramsey in my head). It's a lot of fun.
I'd say go with The Historian. Such an interesting and different book.
Oh, this is not clearcut! Personally I'd go for The Historian althougt I haven't read it myself (its too long to tackle on kindle and the only audio available is abridged). My second choice would be A History of Loneliness as it got such high praise from the group.The only one i have read is The Gallows Curse and, though I am a big Maitland fan, IMO it is not her best work - still good, but she can do better.
Maria, my vote is based solely on the descriptions that you have given here because I haven't read any of them. I would vote for either The Historian or secondly, The Gallows Curse. Hope this is ok!
Thanks all - there are no wrong answers to this - though the Gallows Curse is buried so deep into my TBR that it will be either a dangerous or slow process to abstract it. :)So far winning is The Historian, a History of Loneliness and then the Gallows Curse.
Following on from Maria's request to have people choose her historical fiction book, I would like to ask people's advice about my choice for the horror genre. I have a lot of Dean Koontz on Kindle and also some older Stephen King books. Instead of taking the easy way out and reading a gothic novel, I want to go for an out-and-out horror! Any recommendations for authors to look for?
I have read a lot of horror and it has never frightened me. However if you are talking classic Stephen King - the Shinning has that whole we are trapped here vibe, plus it's from a little kids perspective and reminded me of being afraid of the monsters under my bed.
Maria wrote: "I have read a lot of horror and it has never frightened me. However if you are talking classic Stephen King - the Shinning has that whole we are trapped here vibe, plus it's from a little kids pers..."That sounds quite terrifying, Maria! It might be quite too scary for me so it sounds just right!
It by Stephen King is amazing and it's one of my favorite books . It's pretty long but I couldn't put it down
'IT' sounds like a really good read but I think I would still be reading it this time next year! Over 1100 pages would be quite a challenge in 6 weeks but it may be worth IT!
Colleen wrote: "Lol but keep it in mind :)"On your recommendation I will put it on my TBR list, if not for the challenge but for my holidays perhaps?
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You can read them out of order but I think you would lose a lot of the flavor. He has relationships that mature and impact the action so for the most enjoyment, I would recommend you read them in order. Plus it's great to see Henry VIII evolve too.
Cphe, I would compare him to Ken Follett or Edward Rutherford but even better. The lead character is a hunchback lawyer in Henry VIII's time and very erudite. He has one book, I think Lamentation, that involves Katharine Paar that is extremely touching. Unfortunately the author has cancer of the prostrate and I don't know if we'll see more books.