Just finished - just started Showing 6,451-6,500 of 13,832

[David]

Uncommon Reader was good, yes. And I did laugh - in places, but from the rave on Good Reads I expected more. To me it wasn't as good, great as Bennett at his best. I saw his 'People' in Brummagem recently and I found that much funnier than this book.

[Jonathan]

David, I saw 'People' too and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed 'The Uncommon Reader' but only mildly. I found his Smut a lot more fun - but it is a lot ruder too!

[David]

Jonathan wrote: "David, I saw 'People' too and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed 'The Uncommon Reader' but only mildly. I found his Smut a lot more fun - but it is a lot ruder too!"

I've got Smut somewhere - I think - I'll give that a go sometime.

[Michael]

I've just finished reading The Boy Who Kissed The Sky and it was a fantastic read, well worth checking out:

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

I'm now onto Haunted House.

[Sam]

Just finished The Long Earth. Very good.

Going to continue a number of short story collections I've been dipping in and out of, including Michael's An Odder Quintet

[Michael]

Sam wrote: "Just finished The Long Earth. Very good.

Going to continue a number of short story collections I've been dipping in and out of, including Michael's An Odder Quintet"

A wise choice :-) I hope you're enjoying it.

[Sam]

:-) Only read the first so far, but enjoyed it.

[Michael]

Excellent, thaty's always good to hear :-)

[Jamie]

Am within 100 pages of finishing Doctor Sleep. It's really good, but I've found it easier to "overlook" that it's the sequel to The Shining (see what I did there?). It was never going to be as good as the first book and I don't think King has tried too hard to link it to the first book. There's plenty of references to the hotel, to his dad etc, but if you'd never read The Shining you'd be no worse off.

[Karon]

I finished Burning For Revengewhich was a big improvement on the fourth book of the series. Looking forward to book 6 now.
I'm starting The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelfor a change of pace.

[Adele]

I've just finished the CSI Glasgow trilogy by Lin Anderson. Total time reading all three books was 10hrs over the last 3 days, could not put the book down until I had finished each section. Will be definitely searching out the other 4 books in the series

[Jud]

I finished The Clocks and started A Caribbean Mystery

[Elle]

along with other dipper books, i've been working my way through Frankenstein ! enjoying it! (its been so long since i read it that its like reading it for the first time again)

[Adele]

I have just finished Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart, I know she is a bit marmite, but I found it hilarious in some parts. Now reading A Prayer for Owen Meany that was recommended to me by the same person who recommended Stoner. I absolutely loved that book so have high hopes for APFOM

[Sam]

Owen Meany is one of my favourite Irving novels. The other's Garp

[Jud]

I finished A Caribbean Mystery and started At Bertram's Hotel

[Kath]

Just finished Maureen Gets Crafty by Jonathan Hill. It's free for the next few days too.

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

[Natasha]

Just finished Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (fiction about two anorexic girls vying to be thinner than each other. I didn't enjoy it, but it's enormously popular).

Just started Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan (I'm not sure what this is about, but there's a clue in the title).

[Michael]

I've just finished Haunted House, which was a fun horror but promised more:

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

I'm now onto Draculas, which is off to a good start.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Thanks to 7 hours travelling on Fri, I've done a bit of reading. Finally finished The Forsaken, didn't live up to the reviews. Then read Love Me If You Must, nice cosy mystery, which was what i needed to both catch up on numbers, and as I was rather tired, so couldn't have focused on anything heavy. Now started 21 Tales, about 20% in, as they are shorts, again, what I need at the moment. That is the last of my A-Z challenge, so now got to find something else to read.

[Stevo]

Just read Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit. Great stuff. :D

[Nigel]

just finished Northline- brutal and beautiful and so good i can't think about any next book just yet...

[[deleted user]]

Adele wrote: "I have just finished Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart, I know she is a bit marmite, but I found it hilarious in some parts. Now reading A Prayer for Owen Meany that was re..."

I loved that book too and giggled my way through it. I am a Miranda fan though.

[[deleted user]]

I've finally finished re-reading The Princess Bride. I was disappointed with it the first time that I read it as I loved the film so much. I thought that I might appreciate it more this time round, but although some places made me smile, I found it a bit frustrating with the interruptions about "Morgenstern". So I still prefer the film; about the only occasion ever that I prefer a film to a book!

I started A Carpet Ride To Khiva: Seven Years On The Silk Road yesterday and am enjoying it so much that I am already half way through. It's fascinating and very well written.

[Patti (baconater)]

I started reading Crow Road by Ian Banks yesterday. Yeah, I've got a few Indies to read but I'm waiting to read them on the paperwhite I've bought so I don't have to faff so much with marking any typos I may encounter.

Anyway, Crow Road.

Am a few chapters in and am not finding it gripping in the slightest.

[David]

Patti (baconater) wrote: "Anyway, Crow Road.

Am a few chapters in and am not finding it gripping in the slightest. "

Aw... I quite liked it - at the time.

Although, the repeat of the TV version was on a few months ago & I couldn't be arsed with watching it againbeyond the 1st episode, even though the first time around I liked it. So, maybe these days the book wouldn't get me the 2nd time around.

I do intend rereading all his books though at some point.

[David]

Patti (baconater) wrote: "I started reading Crow Road by Ian Banks yesterday. Yeah, I've got a few Indies to read but I'm waiting to read them on the paperwhite I've bought so I don't have to faff so much with marking any t..."

So you did get that paperwhite! Enjoy! I like mine.

[Patti (baconater)]

Yeah, I got myself a Christmas pressie. Had it delivered to a mate's and plan on collecting it today. Won't be able to do much with it til I can get to some wifi though. Didn't buy the 3G, which was probably silly.

I'm starting to enjoy Crow Road but not as much as I did by this far into the Wasp Factory.

[Marc]

Patti (baconater) wrote: "I started reading Crow Road by Ian Banks yesterday. Yeah, I've got a few Indies to read but I'm waiting to read them on the paperwhite I've bought so I don't have to faff so much with marking any t..."

I have no wish to speak ill of the very recently deceased, but I just didn't get Banks at all. Weird thing is my latest book 'customers who viewed your book also viewed...' is Iain Banks work so go figure

[Michael]

I preferred his sci-fi work to his other writing, Excession is still my favourite novel of all time.

[Patti (baconater)]

I think I've grabbed Excession as well.

I'll have to give it a go at some point.

[Patti (baconater)]

Maybe cuz we all looked at his books when he died, Marc?

Lord knows we all look at your stuff. :)

[Michael]

You might want to try Use of Weapons or one of the other culture novels first as Excession is hard going to start with, a great book though.

[Marc]

Patti (baconater) wrote: "Maybe cuz we all looked at his books when he died, Marc?

Lord knows we all look at your stuff. :)"

eh? That's not the reports I'm getting back from the front line :-) #lookbutdonttouchperhaps

[Patti (baconater)]

I didn't say BUY now did I, Marc? ;)

Ill read blurbs before I read another Banks, thanks Michael.

I expect I'll be on a run of indies after the holiday now I've got my new shiny.

It's so light and PURDY!!!!
I'm so NOT gonna get a cover for it.

It'll be like reading a book off a cream cracker.

[Stuart]

Adele wrote: "I have just finished Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart, I know she is a bit marmite, but I found it hilarious in some parts. Now reading A Prayer for Owen Meany that was re..."

A Prayer for Owen Meany is up there with my favourite books of all time!

[Elaine]

Just finished and just started . Both, so far, are brilliant paranormal romance stories. Impassioned is about angels and I'm not exactly sure what Deep Blue Secret is about yet, but it's intriguing.

[David]

Finished which, although feeling a bit dated in the tech, etc is a not too bad dystopian collective tale. Not as good as his best stuff like Rosemary's Baby, Stepford Wives and the Boys from Brazil, but good enough.

I've also been reading , I'm up to the bit on 'decision fatigue' which is... er... well, y'know.

Just started , which is Jack Reacher about whom little needs to be said.

[[deleted user]]

I've finished reading A Carpet Ride To Khiva: Seven Years On The Silk Road and loved it. Fascinating to read about the setting up of the carpet workshop, finding natural dyes and inspirations for patterns. It was sickening to read about the human rights abuses and awful corruption in the country. Well-written and very interesting, this is one that I can recommend.

Reading some more The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales now which I have been dipping in and out of for some time now.

[Michael]

I've just finished and it's a fun action horror:

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

I'm now onto

[Nigel]

Just finished a rather nice read in The Bank Manager and the Bum- it does have some violent scenes, but has a magical feel to it also. In spite of the violence, I thought it was rather festive. It was also made a little more poignant because we're close to someone who's suffering just now. I'll be moving on to Saints of the Shadow Bible (I would have got well into this in a waiting room today, but my eyesight just wouldn't let me, which is a little scary - I'm blaming the light).

[Kath]

Just finished Thrift by Phil Church. Gave it 3*. Narrator supposed to be an English teacher but the author's standard of English was iffy. Funny though. But you can be funny and correct.

[Karon]

I finished The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelwhich was OK but I think it was spoilt for me as I had seen and enjoyed the film.
I am now reading The Black Echo

[[deleted user]]

Karon wrote: "I finished The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelwhich was OK but I think it was spoilt for me as I had seen and enjoyed the film.
I am now reading The Black Echo"

I've got that book on my wish list but haven't seen the film. Do you think it would be more enjoyable without having seen the film?

[Natasha]

Just finished Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, which was beautiful ...

... and COMPLETES my 2013 52-book challenge (www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1448610-...). Hoorah.

Just started Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson, which is a fab laugh.

[Adele]

Just finished A Prayer For Owen Meaney. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would but still very glad I read it. Much less high brow book now, Jennifer Saunders autobiography, Bonkers

[Michael]

I've just finished Alice Parker's Metamorphosis which was a fun read:

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

I'm now onto Frostwalker

[Joo]

I finished today
I really enjoyed it. I've been missing the characters as I've been going about my business today.

[Lexie]

Just finished 'The Girl in the Ice' by Jason Vail, which was well paced but had a few more Americanisms than was comfortable in an English mediaeval thriller (dumbass and stoop to name two - the spelling is fine as it wasn't stable then anyway). I like his complex fight scenes. Also just finished Artists in Crime, Ngaio Marsh, a good one. Just started Secrets of the Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford, set in the Western Isles, a thriller with selkies. Can't be all bad!

[Patti (baconater)]

It's always interesting to read an author who has crossed the pond in either direction with their writing, Lexie.

It's easy to get the nuances not quite right, I think.

I enjoy helping out with that, when I can.