Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
MC Bodge said:
TheJimi said:
I really, really wanted to like Wolf Hall. I got into it, then when I read a full conversation for the first time, it screwed with my my head - kept trying, but I simply couldn't get on with how she writes conversations.
Horrible, imo, and very off-putting.
I understand what you are saying. They do sometimes require a little re-reading. I'm not sure why authors sometimes make dialogue so awkward to read, as it seems so unnecessary.Horrible, imo, and very off-putting.
-having recently read Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, though, the Wolf Hall conversations appear the epitome of clarity.
DRFC1879 said:
Finished it last night; I must say I got suspicious on the whodunnit around 60% but that didn't spoil my enjoyment. As I mentioned earlier, I know my way around linguistics (particularly socio-linguistics) so that helped me to suss it out! I'll leave a good review and definitely buy her next book.
On another note, I noticed a few little grammatical/structural errors as I read it which had sneaked through the proof-reading/editorial process, one of which was clearly where she'd written something then changed her mind slightly on the structure but left part of the original sentence intact. Very easily done, I notice it in my own writing fairly frequently! If she wants to add any proof readers for her next book feel free to drop me a DM.
Very kind of you, and I will pass on your helpful offer to Freya. I too had a few minor quibbles and ended up doing a mini review which she took in good heart - and it was well meant , if allowing my inner pedant some exercise . One thing which always grates - but is now almost universal - is the ghastly 'sat' (for 'sitting ' ) and 'outside of ' . I have met the ghastly Myfanwy in real life I am sure , invariably in HR and l have had at least one friend who is the awful Simon(but it isn't Freya's dad ) On another note, I noticed a few little grammatical/structural errors as I read it which had sneaked through the proof-reading/editorial process, one of which was clearly where she'd written something then changed her mind slightly on the structure but left part of the original sentence intact. Very easily done, I notice it in my own writing fairly frequently! If she wants to add any proof readers for her next book feel free to drop me a DM.
^ That kind of thing isn't unusual in books from big-name authors published by mainstream publishers either, which annoys me much more given that those authors and publishers should be absolutely tip-top, given their resources.
I've just finished "The bird that did not sing" by Alex Gray. Set in Glasgow in the run-up to the Commonwealth games, a few inter-linking tales feature human trafficking, murder and a terrorist plot against the games. A good read, I enjoyed it.
I've just finished "The bird that did not sing" by Alex Gray. Set in Glasgow in the run-up to the Commonwealth games, a few inter-linking tales feature human trafficking, murder and a terrorist plot against the games. A good read, I enjoyed it.
coppice said:
DRFC1879 said:
Finished it last night; I must say I got suspicious on the whodunnit around 60% but that didn't spoil my enjoyment. As I mentioned earlier, I know my way around linguistics (particularly socio-linguistics) so that helped me to suss it out! I'll leave a good review and definitely buy her next book.
On another note, I noticed a few little grammatical/structural errors as I read it which had sneaked through the proof-reading/editorial process, one of which was clearly where she'd written something then changed her mind slightly on the structure but left part of the original sentence intact. Very easily done, I notice it in my own writing fairly frequently! If she wants to add any proof readers for her next book feel free to drop me a DM.
Very kind of you, and I will pass on your helpful offer to Freya. I too had a few minor quibbles and ended up doing a mini review which she took in good heart - and it was well meant , if allowing my inner pedant some exercise . One thing which always grates - but is now almost universal - is the ghastly 'sat' (for 'sitting ' ) and 'outside of ' . I have met the ghastly Myfanwy in real life I am sure , invariably in HR and l have had at least one friend who is the awful Simon(but it isn't Freya's dad ) On another note, I noticed a few little grammatical/structural errors as I read it which had sneaked through the proof-reading/editorial process, one of which was clearly where she'd written something then changed her mind slightly on the structure but left part of the original sentence intact. Very easily done, I notice it in my own writing fairly frequently! If she wants to add any proof readers for her next book feel free to drop me a DM.
coppice said:
Argh ...the Law Society Gazette. Flashback to a former life .. Good luck with the book . I've written three now, and although the royalties didn't pay for the F458 , they covered my 250 GTO (Tipo Burago ) and with change to spare. I've ordered yours and will report back
That's exceeding kind and hope you enjoy!DRFC1879 said:
coppice said:
DRFC1879 said:
Finished it last night; I must say I got suspicious on the whodunnit around 60% but that didn't spoil my enjoyment. As I mentioned earlier, I know my way around linguistics (particularly socio-linguistics) so that helped me to suss it out! I'll leave a good review and definitely buy her next book.
On another note, I noticed a few little grammatical/structural errors as I read it which had sneaked through the proof-reading/editorial process, one of which was clearly where she'd written something then changed her mind slightly on the structure but left part of the original sentence intact. Very easily done, I notice it in my own writing fairly frequently! If she wants to add any proof readers for her next book feel free to drop me a DM.
Very kind of you, and I will pass on your helpful offer to Freya. I too had a few minor quibbles and ended up doing a mini review which she took in good heart - and it was well meant , if allowing my inner pedant some exercise . One thing which always grates - but is now almost universal - is the ghastly 'sat' (for 'sitting ' ) and 'outside of ' . I have met the ghastly Myfanwy in real life I am sure , invariably in HR and l have had at least one friend who is the awful Simon(but it isn't Freya's dad ) On another note, I noticed a few little grammatical/structural errors as I read it which had sneaked through the proof-reading/editorial process, one of which was clearly where she'd written something then changed her mind slightly on the structure but left part of the original sentence intact. Very easily done, I notice it in my own writing fairly frequently! If she wants to add any proof readers for her next book feel free to drop me a DM.
It does read like a first novel (author finding feet, finding their voice and all that) but enjoyable nonetheless. Please congratulate and thank her for me. I would be interested to read more about Vida and her work.I've just finished "Solomon Creed" by Simon Toyne. A stranger with no memory arrives in a town at the same time as a plane crashes, and tries to find out why he is there. An enjoyable read, a tale of small-town corruption. Turns out it's part of a series and, quite by chance, it's the first one. I'll be looking out for the rest, I think.
TheJimi said:
MC Bodge said:
TheJimi said:
I really, really wanted to like Wolf Hall. I got into it, then when I read a full conversation for the first time, it screwed with my my head - kept trying, but I simply couldn't get on with how she writes conversations.
Horrible, imo, and very off-putting.
I understand what you are saying. They do sometimes require a little re-reading. I'm not sure why authors sometimes make dialogue so awkward to read, as it seems so unnecessary.Horrible, imo, and very off-putting.
-having recently read Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, though, the Wolf Hall conversations appear the epitome of clarity.
On the subject of being drawn in, opened Bob Mortimer’s autobiography And Away, bought for me by my wife, only with the intention of stowing my new crocheted bookworm bookmark, made by my sister in law and accidentally ended up 20 pages in. He tells a wonderful story and it is extremely personal in detail.
Every once in a while you pick up a book and it grabs you from the off. "The Unwanted Dead" by Chris Lloyd happens to be one of these. Of course, it depends on what genre you like, and this is about Paris in June 1940 when the Nazis have just arrived, and a French police inspector finding four dead bodies. I haven't yet finished it, but I find it well-written and also informative. Did you know that when they arrived they made everyone advance their watches and clocks one hour to correspond with Berlin? It seems he wrote a series of books about Ellisènda Domenech, a Catalan police inspector, but this is the first of a new series completely. Whatever, I am really enjoying it.
Digga said:
really enjoyed it, but now people mention, I do remember having to re-read passages and cursing myself for being a bit thick/inattentive.
On the subject of being drawn in, opened Bob Mortimer’s autobiography And Away, bought for me by my wife, only with the intention of stowing my new crocheted bookworm bookmark, made by my sister in law and accidentally ended up 20 pages in. He tells a wonderful story and it is extremely personal in detail.
I've thought about reading this a couple of times. Absolutely love his appearances on 'Would I Lie To You?' and I believe he's had an interesting life.On the subject of being drawn in, opened Bob Mortimer’s autobiography And Away, bought for me by my wife, only with the intention of stowing my new crocheted bookworm bookmark, made by my sister in law and accidentally ended up 20 pages in. He tells a wonderful story and it is extremely personal in detail.
Sounds like it's worth giving it a go.
Digga said:
TheJimi said:
MC Bodge said:
TheJimi said:
I really, really wanted to like Wolf Hall. I got into it, then when I read a full conversation for the first time, it screwed with my my head - kept trying, but I simply couldn't get on with how she writes conversations.
Horrible, imo, and very off-putting.
I understand what you are saying. They do sometimes require a little re-reading. I'm not sure why authors sometimes make dialogue so awkward to read, as it seems so unnecessary.Horrible, imo, and very off-putting.
-having recently read Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, though, the Wolf Hall conversations appear the epitome of clarity.
On the subject of being drawn in, opened Bob Mortimer’s autobiography And Away, bought for me by my wife, only with the intention of stowing my new crocheted bookworm bookmark, made by my sister in law and accidentally ended up 20 pages in. He tells a wonderful story and it is extremely personal in detail.
te, they'd get slated - and rightly so.DRFC1879 said:
I've just finished I am Pilgrim which I thought I'd seen recommended in this thread but on a quick scroll back I can't find it.
The pace is quite high throughout and it's a thrilling read which I guess is the mark of a good thriller. A couple of threads are a touch unbelievable but you're always going to get that to make a good story.
I tried reading this a while back and just got bogged down with an immense amount of back story.The pace is quite high throughout and it's a thrilling read which I guess is the mark of a good thriller. A couple of threads are a touch unbelievable but you're always going to get that to make a good story.
It starts off at a cracking pace with an investigation into a girl's murder.
Then it went into a whole period of backstory including a WWII atrocity in France and I just had to give up.
Shame, as it seemed very highly regarded and I'm still on the lookout for a cracking good thriller/action book as I haven't read anything decent for a while
IanA2 said:
towser said:
Just finished "Never" by Ken Follet,..... Avoid if possible 1/5.
Agreed, it was grim.Absolutely brilliant.
If "Never" isn't any good, are there any other shorter thrillers from him that are worth reading?
droopsnoot said:
I've just finished "The bird that did not sing" by Alex Gray. Set in Glasgow in the run-up to the Commonwealth games, a few inter-linking tales feature human trafficking, murder and a terrorist plot against the games. A good read, I enjoyed it.
It sounds intriguing but looks to be part of a series. Do I need to have read the others if I want to get the maximum impact out of it?droopsnoot said:
I've just finished "Solomon Creed" by Simon Toyne. A stranger with no memory arrives in a town at the same time as a plane crashes, and tries to find out why he is there. An enjoyable read, a tale of small-town corruption. Turns out it's part of a series and, quite by chance, it's the first one. I'll be looking out for the rest, I think.
It looks pretty fantastic and the reviews from established authors (Peter James, Tom Rob-Smith, Mark Billingham) are pretty ecstatic.
The reviews say it's a lot like a "Jack Reacher" novel, would you say that is correct?
lowdrag said:
Every once in a while you pick up a book and it grabs you from the off. "The Unwanted Dead" by Chris Lloyd happens to be one of these. Of course, it depends on what genre you like, and this is about Paris in June 1940 when the Nazis have just arrived, and a French police inspector finding four dead bodies. I haven't yet finished it, but I find it well-written and also informative. Did you know that when they arrived they made everyone advance their watches and clocks one hour to correspond with Berlin? It seems he wrote a series of books about Ellisènda Domenech, a Catalan police inspector, but this is the first of a new series completely. Whatever, I am really enjoying it.
Would you class this as a thriller/mystery book, or is it written for a more "literary" audience?Certainly in the detective/thriller genre, but also by someone who has really researched his subject thoroughly. From what I have read he studied Spanish and lived there for 20 years, spent time researching the Resistance, and wrote three novels on a Spanish detective and has now switched to a new French inspector. His style is easy to read, with sentences (for me at least) the right length as are the chapters. That is purely my perspective, but I am impressed enough that today I have ordered the other three novels he has written.
Edited by lowdrag on Thursday 30th December 08:40
ATV said:
IanA2 said:
towser said:
Just finished "Never" by Ken Follet,..... Avoid if possible 1/5.
Agreed, it was grim.Absolutely brilliant.
If "Never" isn't any good, are there any other shorter thrillers from him that are worth reading?
So four books in all and not a short read but definitely worth looking at; his other novels I find hit and miss, some are a cracking read but then others leave me cold, Whiteout was one I remember enjoying.
ATV said:
It sounds intriguing but looks to be part of a series. Do I need to have read the others if I want to get the maximum impact out of it?
I don't think I've read any of the others, and I don't recall any large plot areas where I felt I was missing out because I didn't have the back story. I've read quite a few "series" books and because I'm always buying from car boots or similar I don't always get them in order, or get any of the others, and it's rarely a problem. But it did prompt me to look out for some of the others with the same detective, and it might be that reading some of those will make something I'd missed in this book look different. I probably won't remember, though.ATV said:
It looks pretty fantastic and the reviews from established authors (Peter James, Tom Rob-Smith, Mark Billingham) are pretty ecstatic.
The reviews say it's a lot like a "Jack Reacher" novel, would you say that is correct?
There's some similarity I guess, the title character does seem to be quite introspective and able to get himself out of dodgy situations, with the addition that because of his memory loss he can't remember why he knows how to do these things. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out in others in the series. Mine doesn't seem to have the title "The Searcher" as some web sites have, but it's definitely the same book.The reviews say it's a lot like a "Jack Reacher" novel, would you say that is correct?
I'm never sure about the comments from other authors on a book, I wonder whether they just have the same agent and do a bit of back-slapping for each other, or whether they've actually read the book.
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