Just finished - just started Showing 5,801-5,850 of 13,832

[Stuart]

Just finished For All Our Dreaming - a beautiful and gentle novella about love and penguins! Continuing to read Butterfly Winter which remains majestic!

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Finished 5 children and It today, you can tell it was written a while ago, and it was a bit annoying in places! Now started Natural Causes by James Oswald

[Kath]

Excellent blog post Simon. :)

[Patti (baconater)]

I only managed to read a few pages all week so I'm having an indulgent reading day instead of doing the stuff I should be doing.

[Penny]

Good for you Patti, indulgence is great now and again.

[A.L.]

I just finished I, the Sun which is fantastic.
Just started Kainanbut as I have only read a couple of pages is too early to comment on, but the synopsis looks ok. Also just about to start Marlowe and the Spacewoman

[Steven]

just finished Rivers of London by Ben aaronovitch which i quite enjoyed. now started Wsmith by Nick Spalding. it's the sequel to The cornerstone and i've really been looking forward to it!

[Lexie]

Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Finished 5 children and It today, you can tell it was written a while ago, and it was a bit annoying in places! Now started Natural Causes by James Oswald"

That's a bit of a contrast! I loved Natural Causes, though the title annoyed me until about the second last page. I thought it was one of those just imposed by a publisher and that it barely related to the book - till then.

[Kath]

Just finished Shadows in the Sand- great idea and meaty story but the style needs a bit of work. He's young - it'll come!

Now reading First Activation: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller by the Wearmouth brothers. Stonking story. I thought it was going to be a comma-fest for the first few pages but it settled down!

[Penny]

I have just finished Miss Chopsticks by Xinran http://www.amazon.co.uk/Miss-Chopstic...
A smashing little book about 3 sisters moving from rual China to the Town for work, a real cultural shock for them.
And I have just started The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Queen-Cou...

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Lexie wrote: "Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Finished 5 children and It today, you can tell it was written a while ago, and it was a bit annoying in places! Now started Natural Causes by James Oswald"

That's a b..."

Yeah, two different challenges, an A-Z, and reading 4 classics including one childrens

[Will]

Just finished one of Lindsey Davis' Falco novels (brilliant blend of historical/detective/romance) and am about to start Propellorhead by Anthony Woodward

[Karen]

I enjoyed the Falco novels - they serialised some on radio 4 so I bought the set. Anton Lesser plays Falco, and he's excellent.

[Lorraine]

Finished Absolution,was OK,now starting The Cleansing.

[Kath]

Just finished First Activation: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller by the Wearmouth Boys! Excellent - it's on the blog http://www.ignitebooks.blogspot.co.uk...

Just started Organized Murder by Lynda Wilcox. I'm a relatively late comer to the Verity Long stories but I'm really enjoying them.

[Jim]

Karen wrote: "I enjoyed the Falco novels - they serialised some on radio 4 so I bought the set. Anton Lesser plays Falco, and he's excellent."

Just to second that, they were excellent on the radio and I keep meaning to buy them

[Will]

Ha! I've got a 1/1 hardback of them all. The first four are a good investment. Iron Hand of mars is actually my favourite. The description of finding an abandoned legionary fortress in a forest is chilling.

[Kath]

Just finished Jonathan's Hill's 100 One Hundred Word Tales - a book of drabbles!

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

[Simon]

Ignite wrote: "Excellent blog post Simon. :)"

Thanks Ignite! I really appreciated Bo's efforts with the Colt & Kane interview. It was fun.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

3/4 of the way through The Dogs of riga, a Wallander novel, and a paperback. I do struggle with the swedish names. Also 10% into Natural Causes

[Karen]

Just finished Who Knew? A Kelly Shelby Mystery, which was entertaining, but in need of a good proofreader. Now started The Spy Game: A Novel, a bit slow so far, but I'm persevering.

[Lexie]

Jim wrote: "Karen wrote: "I enjoyed the Falco novels - they serialised some on radio 4 so I bought the set. Anton Lesser plays Falco, and he's excellent."

Just to second that, they were excellent on the radio..."

They're a great laugh. Lindsey Davis addressed the Classical Association some years ago and said her books were a prolonged resignation letter from the Civil Service!

[Will]

And, encouragingly for the rest of us, she didn't leave until her fourth book was coming out.

[Jim]

A wise lady

[Lexie]

Indeed. She also got a small business grant (no longer available, sadly) to buy a computer to type the books. Very sensible. The talk was hilarious, though.

[Penny]

I have at last finished Les Miserables, after 3 months! I really enjoyed the story, but the amount of pontificating the author did throughout the book was, I have to say hard to bear at times! But I persevered and got through it!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Les-Mis%C3%A9...

And I have started Behind Janes Austen's Door by Jennifer Forest
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behind-Jane-A...

[Karen]

Finished The Spy Game: A Novel, so glad I persevered. It was rather a slow starter, but the writing is beautiful. Now starting The Holy Thief

[Natasha]

Just finished The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. LOVED it.

Onto something rather heavier, a book I've been looking forward to reading for years: Man Made Language by Dale Spender, in which she demonstrates how language was formulated by men and how its structure maintains the patriarchy.

[Nigel]

I'll admit it - I've deliberately avoided reading The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde for years. I suppose it's entered folk-lore and spreads through thoughts and cultures still. It's revered by many and I was a little concerned that I'd be disappointed by the book. What a fool I've been.


When I was in the library a couple of weeks ago, it was there face out and calling to me. It seemed so slight and vulnerable among the weighty tomes that I just had to do it. Boy, am I glad I did.


Unfortunately, I forgot to write down my memorable quotes before returning it, but there's so much for you to find out about this one that my lack of input is hardly going to matter.


I was somewhat taken aback by the brilliance of this story.


First of all, there's the way the story is revealed in snapshots. The disquiet and the sinister aspects of the story bite straight away, but I was always hungry to unpeel another layer to get to the bottom of things, even with my prior knowledge of what I would eventually find (imagine reading a book like this with no sense of what it was about - how amazing that would have been).


The language is exquisite. A vocabulary that's at least a couple of pegs above my own is used to keep things tight and minimal. With very few words, Stevenson manages to offer a complete picture of a scene or an idea.


The characters are superb, from the upper strata of the social set to the butlers and servants of the world.


Extraneous story elements just don't exist. In one scene, the lawyer Utterson visits a doctor to find out information. The scene is set and time and place are perfectly fixed. In terms of the conversation, there's no fluff. All the preamble is missing and all that's offered is the meat that is necessary to feed the tale.

I'd love it if some of the craft and skill on show here were to seep into my words and wonder how much better I might be as a writer if I'd come to this a long time ago.


The book's brilliant. The horror and darkness are cold and clammy. The plight of Jekyll is terrible yet understandable (who wouldn't enjoy that liberation from the cerebral ways of the human for a while?) and absolutely tragic.

The only question I am left with related to the pronunciation of the author's name. A friend of mine tells me the middle name should be pronounce 'Lewis' and he generally knows. Maybe drop a comment if you concur.


All in all, it's a must read - don't hesitate and pop down to the library or load that kindle right away - either way, it's free.

[Rosemary (grooving with the Picts)]

I seem to remember hearing that RLS was christened Lewis but he changed the spelling, although not the pronunciation.
Quite agree with your assessment of his writing though, everything I have read of his is brilliantly written, as well as cracking stories :)

[Nigel]

Thanks Rosemary. That's interesting and slightly different to what I was told, which means I have to go and do some research.

I wonder if you'd recommend anything in particular - there's such a lot out there.

[B J]

Rosemary is right. He was baptised Lewis after his mother's father, and his family called him by that name. I've always assumed that he changed the spelling to reflect how it was pronounced - but I could easily be wrong.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Thanks Nigel, think I'll add it onto my list of classics to read.

[Nigel]

Desley, you should and thanks BJ.

:)

[Karen]

Have at last finished The Burning Air, as an audio book. It is a tribute to the quality of the writing that it has kept me enthralled even tho I only listen to about ten minutes at a time while driving back and for from mum's! So well plotted and nuanced.
Still reading The Holy Thief, which is going well.

[Sam]

Just finished World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. It's been a long time since I read a zombie book and wasn't sure what to expect. The format of the book (a series of 'interviews') is unusual, but it's superbly executed and a cracking read.
Going to start Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, which I've been meaning to read for years after falling in love with The Hitchhiker's Guide.

[B J]

You're right to urge everyone not to forget RLS, Nigel. He was a brilliant writer who led a fascinating life.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Finished The Dogs of Riga, now getting on with Natural Causes

[Michael]

I've just finished Death of Heaven, it's a good read, but the whole wasn't as good as the parts:

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

I'm now onto Auto

[Fiona (Titch)]

I have finished Claim Me - J. Kenner which I thought the characters are so intense now with the way Damien and Nikki are learning about each other. It's still in the style of 50 Shades. Now I am going to read Complete Me - J. Kenner and I am listening to .The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year - Sue Townsend on my phone.

[Elle]

finished the anthology Every Witch Way But Wicked which was very enjoyable.


started Peter Pan and Wendy. the writing style took a bit of getting used to but starting to enjoy it now.

[Will]

Jut got my copy of Marion Bradley's The Mists of Avalon.

I may be gone for some time...

[Lexie]

Missing in the Mists ...

[Simon]

Finished Vigilante - an excellent vigilante thriller with plenty of mystery.

[Lorraine]

I reall enjoyed vigilante as well simon.

Finished The Cleansing,i bought this book in 2011 and it's quite clearly never had an update,there is an error on nearly every page,i can only assume that the author doesn't give a monkeys as i was going to buy the 2nd book in the series, but the reviews say that it is also littered with errors.Started One By One.

[Jud]

I prefer the musical Jekyll and Hyde to the book it is based on :o)

[Natasha]

Just finished Man Made Language by Dale Spender, in which she shows how males constructed language by historically silencing women, how language is imbued with the male perspective, and how this preserves the sexist status quo. >> My review.

Just started The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley. This is his account of taking mescaline (the active ingredient of the Mexican peyote cactus).

[Will]

Anyone know when she changed from marion Bradley to marion Zimmer Bradley?
Or am I more confused than normal?

[Lorraine]

Just finished One By One,which was excellant,only problem is I've got to wait a year for the next one.Starting Children of the Revolution,I'm expecting this to be excellant as well.

[Joo]

I finished Ethan Justice: Origins by Simon R. Jenner He forced me to read his book which was good as I enjoyed it :)

Now I'm back cataloguing and have chosen Bullied: The Complete Series. I've read a few of his Fifth Avenue books and enjoyed them, but this is different.