What Are We Currently Reading?

[Black Knight]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

I'm still reading, & it's a struggle. Once I'm done with it, I'm done. I've never read Lovecraft, but just knowing it might be like this is enough to totally turn me off from it.

Oh, the writing style is hardly similar. I didn't have any difficulty with the few Lovecraft stories I've read, and I liked them quite well enough to get an edition of his complete works so I can read them all. You shouldn't let Stross turn you off.

But in a way it's the source material for Laundry Files. Stross had the idea to take these fantastical horror elements from Lovecraft's mythos and similar writings and transplant variants of them into this modern-day office bureaucracy/spy agency that uses computers as much as any classic magical element (wands, spells) to fight and contain the Cthulhu-inspired ancient powers. It's a fun concept on paper, but a very different feel. I think Stross's work would be much more readable for me if I better knew the material that inspired it and thus could catch the references and such. (Sort of like inside jokes.)

[surreysmum]

On 7/11/2019 at 5:27 PM, Rosenrot said:

Last night I started Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon. It's quite literally been ten years since I read the first volume of the Lord John series, so it's high time I continue! 

I hope you enjoy it - I remember being pleased with it. I am one of those strange people who cannot abide the main Outlander series (for various reasons), but pounce on and gobble up every Lord John novel that comes up.  

[surreysmum]

Here's my laundry list of books (fairly) recently finished that I should really write up in Goodreads before my appalling memory fails me completely:

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Part of my "thank you, Amazon/Kindle, catching up now on classics I inexplicably never read when I was younger" campaign.

Jack the Ripper: Case Closed (Gyles Brandreth). I'm a big fan of Brandreth's Oscar Wilde murder mysteries, so even though this one is out of chronological sequence and has the hallmarks of being a bit of a hobbyhorse book (it seems Brandreth believes he does indeed have the answer to the Ripper mystery, but would rather write a novel about it than try to persuade the historians) - yet, nonetheless I very much enjoyed it.

The Gown - fun bit of reasonably well-written historical froth centred around the making of Queen (then Princess) Elizabeth's wedding gown. I could actually have done without the 3rd character, a granddaughter, whose 2016 story didn't really add much to the main narrative of the 2 1947 women.

The Disowned (Bulwer Lytton). Bulwer's a guilty pleasure for me; he's nowhere near as good a writer as some of his Victorian contemporaries, but I love his silly, pompous coinages based on Latin and Greek roots, and if you just go with the flow when he goes off on some lengthy philosophical or moral tangent, sometimes what he has to say can be quite interesting (I mean, you can say exactly the same thing of George Eliot).  

Free Air (Sinclair Lewis).  The wealth-privileged "modern woman" of the '20s fighting her convertible through the bad roads and still rather wild west of the US, with sick father in tow, and trying to decide to do with her lower-class, but decidedly handy and rather intelligent and persistent suitor, became surprisingly sympathetic to me. I thought the novel dropped off a bit in the second half when the road trip was over and the focus shifted to the laughable pretentiousness of Seattle "good society".

The Hanging Stranger (Dick) - a short story, not a book, but it's become a bibliographical object in the strange new world of e-books.  Quite creepy, even 65 years after its first publication, although its twist ending is predictable to a modern reader because, of course, we have grown up knowing all the children and cousins (text, TV and movie) of this alien-invasion story even if we're not familiar with the original.

Girl on the Boat (Wodehouse). Silly, silly, silly - love me some Wodehouse. Not so keen on this particular male protagonist, but the general daft antics on an ocean liner passed a few tedious hours in highly acceptable fashion.

The Bishop's Man (Linden McIntyre). Solid, psychologically sound and surprisingly good fiction from an author who's made his name as a journalist, and who chose as his protagonist a senior Roman Catholic priest whose career has been the quiet "management" of priests committing various types of abuse. When I heard the premise, I was expecting something far more simplistic, but this main character has a whole past of his own to deal with as well as facing the implications of what he has done at the behest of his Bishop.  Far from getting its prize-winning status for any political correctness, I think in fact the nuance and ambiguity of this fiction may have worked against it with some readers who might be looking for more denunciation and less authorial empathy and understanding.

Sleeping in the Ground (Peter Robinson). This is novel #24 in the Banks series, and I'm not tired of them yet. At all. I also appreciate how Robinson continues to develop the only slightly secondary female police characters, and give them both clearly delineated lives and large chunks of the plot no longer available to Banks himself.

The Thirty-Nine Steps (John Buchan).  Another entry in the "classics I never read" category. I found this lighter than I had expected, and, not surprisingly, a little too macho for my tastes, though I enjoyed the rough-and-tumble journey (by foot and various appropriated vehicles) through the Scottish countryside. The grim shadow of the  WWI, well under way by the 1915 publication of the novel, hangs over the political events of the plot (no contemporary reader would have any trouble recognizing the assassination of a foreign leader as the trigger). Like the James Bond movies, half the fun of this book is that the events completely strain credulity; unlike the James Bond movies, so does the sterling character of the protagonist!

B Plus: Dancing for Mikhail Baryshnikov at American Ballet Theatre: a Memoir. I was a massive Baryshnikov fan back in the 70s and 80s, and therefore this memoir by corps de ballet dancer Michael Langlois was instantly of interest. As it turns out, he's also a reasonably interesting man himself. He's frank about both the perils of eating disorders, and the way he had to negotiate being a straight ballet dancer (like his hero Baryshnikov, incidentally), given both the outside world's stereotyping and the actuality of maintaining friendships and boundaries within the ballet world itself.  He's also likeably frank about the impact of realizing that his talent, though good, was not first-class (hence the book title), and how he resolved that by moving first to smaller companies where he could do better roles, and then eventually out of the ballet world altogether.

Hey, that looks like a good start for those missing GR reviews. Apologies for the wall-o'-text; hope some find some of it somewhat interesting.

[festivus]

2 hours ago, surreysmum said:

I hope you enjoy it - I remember being pleased with it. I am one of those strange people who cannot abide the main Outlander series (for various reasons), but pounce on and gobble up every Lord John novel that comes up.  

This is me kinda. I've made it through four books in the main Outlander series and I was basically like wanting to hurry up to read them to get to the Lord John parts. Meanwhile I pretty much ordered all the Lord John books in one day and read them in a couple of weeks.

I started these books in a weird way. I started watching the show back when I had cable, I didn't actually know it was based on a book. So about halfway through watching I got the book because I'm one of those people that prefers to read the book first. I've only seen the first season because I don't have cable anymore and I am intending to read the rest of the books but I haven't felt a pressing need. I think I finished the 4th one a couple of years ago. I read Voyager a couple of times though.

[catlover79]

[Rosenrot]

21 hours ago, surreysmum said:

I hope you enjoy it - I remember being pleased with it. I am one of those strange people who cannot abide the main Outlander series (for various reasons), but pounce on and gobble up every Lord John novel that comes up.

Oh, thanks! I certainly have enjoyed it thus far, even though I don't remember much about Lord John and the Private Matter. When I read it, I didn't even know it was affiliated with the Outlander series (which I've never read or watched, but know the main idea of it). I wonder if Claire is ever mentioned in the Lord John novels. 

[catlover79]

[catlover79]

[Crs97]

Uneasy Lies the Crown by Tasha Alexander.  It’s part of the Lady Emily Mystery series.  Some are better than others, but all in all each one is a very enjoyable summer read.  Start with the first one.

[GaT]

I'm reading Strange Practice by Vivian shaw, the first book in the Dr. Greta Helsing series. Dr Helsing is a human doctor whose patients are all paranormals (vampires, ghouls, werewolves, etc) & I'm enjoying the book. I have book 2 waiting to read, & I think book 3 just came out.

[AngelKitty]

5 hours ago, GaT said:

I'm reading Strange Practice by Vivian shaw, the first book in the Dr. Greta Helsing series. Dr Helsing is a human doctor whose patients are all paranormals (vampires, ghouls, werewolves, etc) & I'm enjoying the book.

That's good to know. I've been looking for a new urban fantasy. I started Some Girls Bite by Cloe Neill, but I just can't get into it. I also had All Systems Red by Martha Wells so started that and the Murderbot is interesting me more than the vampires.

[GaT]

7 hours ago, AngelKitty said:

That's good to know. I've been looking for a new urban fantasy. I started Some Girls Bite by Cloe Neill, but I just can't get into it. I also had All Systems Red by Martha Wells so started that and the Murderbot is interesting me more than the vampires.

It's only 3 books so far, so it's not a big series, but the books are a pretty good size, Strange Practice (paperback) is 400 pages. I've read the entire Chicagoland Vampire series, & it does have some problems. If I remember correctly, around book 3 or 4 there's a plot change that I found really stupid.

Edited July 23, 2019 by GaT

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, GaT said:

It's only 3 books so far, so it's not a big series, but the books are a pretty good size, Strange Practice (paperback) is 400 pages. I've read the entire Chicagoland Vampire series, & it does have some problems. If I remember correctly, around book 3 or 4 there's a plot change that I found really stupid.

Thanks for mentioning the Shaw series that sounds very promising.  I had to peace out of the Chicagoland series after book 2.  It just didn't feel like it was bringing anything fresh to an over-saturated genre.  Also, I just didn't like her writing voice.

ETA:  I just discovered a new series Bramble and Blood (first book) by Ashley Beasley.  Urban Fantasy with a touch of crime noir, with a necromancer heroine who is a woman of color.  There is also some really strong world building.  I like her take on necromancers and her magic systems.

Edited July 23, 2019 by DearEvette

[GaT]

14 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

ETA:  I just discovered a new series Bramble and Blood (first book) by Ashley Beasley.  Urban Fantasy with a touch of crime noir, with a necromancer heroine who is a woman of color.  There is also some really strong world building.  I like her take on necromancers and her magic systems.

Ooo, that sounds interesting.

EDITED: This is something I've been discussing in the Pet Peeves thread. I just went to Barnes and Noble to check out this book, & they don't have it. I have 2 20% off coupons @ B&N, & every book I try to buy using them isn't on B&N. It is so frustrating.

Edited July 23, 2019 by GaT

[catlover79]

[Minneapple]

Back on my YA kick, I read We Hunt the Flame by Hafsa Faizal. It's OK. Not bad. Hits a bunch of YA tropes. I think the author tried too hard to be, I don't know, poetic and lyrical. Mostly I'm annoyed that it's the beginning of yet another series. Why can't YA authors just write standalones anymore? 

Up next: The Priory of the Orange Tree (which actually appears to be a standalone) by Samantha Shannon. It was a Kindle deal a few days ago that I picked up for nothing because I chose the "no-rush shipping for a $1 digital reward" on Amazon for a bunch of things on Prime Day.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, Minneapple said:

Why can't YA authors just write standalones anymore? 

Twilight. Ever since that became the bonanza that it was which led to movies which were another bonanza, all YA authors write trilogies.

[dubbel zout]

Encyclopedia Brown was a series long before Twilight. It's all about money.

[ursula]

19 hours ago, GaT said:

Twilight. Ever since that became the bonanza that it was which led to movies which were another bonanza, all YA authors write trilogies.

Sweet Valley High - and all its derivations - and that's just off the top of my head.

At least Twilight kept its series to the trilogy+1 format, and not 100books and counting while the characters still stay sweet 16 in the middle of the summer. 

I just finished reading the entire Alyssa Cole's Reluctant Royals series: A Princess in Theory, A Duke by Default, A Prince on Paper, Once Ghosted Twice Shy and Can't Escape Love. What an amazing series of books. Vividly drawn characters, compelling narratives. Turns out after years of shunning romance novels because I thought I had "outgrown" them, I like them just fine when they're written splendidly. 

Edited July 25, 2019 by ursula

[peacheslatour]

20 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Encyclopedia Brown was a series long before Twilight. It's all about money.

Um, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys?   

[GaT]

20 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Encyclopedia Brown was a series long before Twilight. 

3 hours ago, ursula said:

Sweet Valley High - and all its derivations

51 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Um, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys?   

Yes, these are long running book series, but none of them became a movie franchise like Twilight did, & that's what created the YA trilogy trend. Authors weren't writing to have a long book series, they were writing to have a book series that could be turned into a movie series, the movies were the huge money makers. 

[ursula]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

Yes, these are long running book series, but none of them became a movie franchise like Twilight did, & that's what created the YA trilogy trend. Authors weren't writing to have a long book series, they were writing to have a book series that could be turned into a movie series, the movies were the huge money makers. 

Well the question was why YA authors didn't write standalones anymore. They never wrote standalones. The genre has always been geared towards long series. All this pre-dated the adaptation era. If anything Twilight showed that YA authors could be successful on just 3-4 books instead of never-ending series.

Edited July 25, 2019 by ursula

[peacheslatour]

13 minutes ago, ursula said:

Well the question was why YA authors didn't write standalones anymore. They never wrote standalones. The genre has always been geared towards long series. All this pre-dated the adaptation era. If anything Twilight showed that YA authors could be successful on just 3-4 books instead of never-ending series.

There have also been dozens of Nancy Drew/Hardy boys movies and tv shows.

[catlover79]

[GaT]

I am reading A Talent For Murder by Andrew Wilson, & I hate it.  This is part of the description:

Quote

In A Talent for Murder, Andrew Wilson ingeniously explores Agatha Christie’s odd ten-day disappearance in 1926 and weaves an utterly compelling and convincing story around this still unsolved mystery involving the world’s bestselling novelist.

"utterly compelling and convincing story"? NO, more like utterly stupid with a ridiculous villain. Unfortunately, I already have the sequel (it's supposed to be a series about Agatha Christie solving crimes), so I don't know what I'm going to do with it.

[ursula]

Just finished Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole. Another winner. Not as crazy-awesome as her later series, The Reluctant Royals, but still a great read with awesome characters and a toe-curling love story. 

I've started An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard which sounds a but like The Magicians's fan-fiction but so far (3 chapters in), is standing on its own with rich world-building and an intriguing plot that is slowly unfolding. 

[Haleth]

I just finished The City of Brass by S A Chokraborty.  It reminded me a lot of The Bear and the Nightingale, with a young woman having to navigate the world of creatures of folklore, accompanied by a somewhat surly supernatural being, this story taking place in the Middle East instead of Russia.  It is also part of a trilogy with the third book coming out next winter.  The city of the title is inhabited by djinn who are not so different from humans and the protagonist must deal with political and tribal/racial conflicts that she doesn't always understand.  It's well written and entertaining.  I'm starting the second book, The Kingdom of Copper, today.

[isalicat]

Anyone out there into English modern detective/mysteries? I have read the entire Deborah Crombie series as well as the Elizabeth George (Lynley novels - my favorite) and am up for further recommendations. Thanks!

[GaT]

14 hours ago, isalicat said:

Anyone out there into English modern detective/mysteries? I have read the entire Deborah Crombie series as well as the Elizabeth George (Lynley novels - my favorite) and am up for further recommendations. Thanks!

Peter Robinson

Reginald Hill

Martha Grimes

Jill McGown (died in 2007, but her books are good)

Ruth Rendell (died in 2015. She writes the Inspector Wexford series (which I love) & standalone psychological thrillers)

I used to read the Lynley novels, started to get kind of mad at them, got really mad from  "With No One as Witness" seriously hated "What Came Before He shot Her", & then read "Believing The Lie" & when 

Spoiler

Deborah is responsible for a woman's death & Lynley & Simon basically act like it's nothing at all.

I had enough. I used to love that series & by the time I stopped reading it, I hated it.

EDITED: Add Catherine Aird to the list.

Edited July 28, 2019 by GaT

[cherrypj]

On 7/27/2019 at 8:05 AM, Haleth said:

I just finished The City of Brass by S A Chokraborty.  It reminded me a lot of The Bear and the Nightingale, with a young woman having to navigate the world of creatures of folklore, accompanied by a somewhat surly supernatural being, this story taking place in the Middle East instead of Russia.  It is also part of a trilogy with the third book coming out next winter.  The city of the title is inhabited by djinn who are not so different from humans and the protagonist must deal with political and tribal/racial conflicts that she doesn't always understand.  It's well written and entertaining.  I'm starting the second book, The Kingdom of Copper, today.

I read The City of Brass, The Bear and the Nightingale, and Spinning Silver back-to-back-to-back. All wonderful.

You might like Spinning Silver, too: it's a standalone book. I do intend to read books #2 for both Brass and Bear.

Edited July 29, 2019 by cherrypj
Shoot, I meant Spinning Silver. Uprooted was good too.

[AngelKitty]

I just finished All Systems Red by Martha Wells, the first in the Murderbot Diaries. I found it great fun to read but I'm not sure I'll read any more of the series. Just because there are just too many other books to read.

Now I've started Strange Practice: A Greta Van Helsing novel.

[ALenore]

1 hour ago, AngelKitty said:

I found it great fun to read but I'm not sure I'll read any more of the series. Just because there are just too many other books to read.

I recommend reading them, they are all pretty short.  I listened to the audiobooks while I did other stuff.

[catlover79]

[catlover79]

On 7/15/2019 at 3:54 PM, rmcrae said:

I remember reading Patty Duke’s book “Call Me Anna” (highly recommend it if you haven’t read it before) and she had the same “girl next door” image, but was experiencing so much dysfunction behind closed doors. 

I concur. Patty Duke wrote an excellent memoir.

[catlover79]

[LBS]

On 7/28/2019 at 12:15 AM, GaT said:

I used to read the Lynley novels, started to get kind of mad at them, got really mad from  "With No One as Witness" seriously hated "What Came Before He shot Her", & then read "Believing The Lie" & when 

  Reveal spoiler

Deborah is responsible for a woman's death & Lynley & Simon basically act like it's nothing at all.

I had enough. I used to love that series & by the time I stopped reading it, I hated it.

The last two books she wrote aren't that bad.  She gets back on track.  But 100% agree about the the spoiler part. I stopped reading her books for years after that and only got back into the recently because of boredom.  

On 7/27/2019 at 9:52 PM, isalicat said:

Anyone out there into English modern detective/mysteries? I have read the entire Deborah Crombie series as well as the Elizabeth George (Lynley novels - my favorite) and am up for further recommendations. Thanks!

Ann Cleeves - The Shetland Island series

Kate Atkinson - The Jackson Brodie series 

Caz Frear - just two books out but promising start.  Marian Keyes recommended her on Twitter 

Angela Marsons - DI Kim Stone series. Shaky start but then she gets stronger with character development.  Plus if you have Kindle Prime they are really cheap!  🙂 

Edited July 29, 2019 by LBS
spelled Caz wrong

[dubbel zout]

If you can find the Penny Wanawake series by Susan Moody, they are fun, quick reads. The books are basically standalone, but sometimes a later book references an earlier one, and the romantic relationship is an overall arc in the books. 

(Fun aside: Susan Moody is the stepmother of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.)

[isalicat]

Thanks for all the recommendations! I have read almost all of the Martha Grimes novels - the latest was not very good though. I also read every Donna Leon book as it comes out so if any of you want a brilliant combination of mystery, politics, philosophy and family life (food!) in contemporary Venice, please find her novels. Just started with Peter Robinson (quite literally with the very first book and there are lots!) I also like the very dark Nordic stuff (especially Jo Nesbo) so am open to other authors in that genre. I have read all the Anne Perry books but her stuff is so repetitious that I doubt I will read any more. Going to the library tomorrow to find some more of the authors mentioned.

[Crs97]

Not set in modern times, but Kate Ross wrote four mysteries (the Julian Kestrel series) before dying of cancer.  I love those four books.

[helenamonster]

Just finished: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena. I was into it for most of the book. I like Agatha Christie-esque plots (a murder taking place in an isolated locale with a limited number of suspects, in this case a bed and breakfast in upstate New York in the middle of a snowstorm), and found the characters individually compelling in their own ways. But she completely botched the ending by committing the number one cardinal sin of murder-mystery writing: explaining everything behind the perpetrator's motive only after they get caught and not leaving enough evidence for the reader to piece things together along the way. The resolution therefore came out of nowhere and consequently made very little sense.

There was one final twist that, even though I saw it coming, still made logical sense with the rest of the book and therefore had emotional resonance.

Next up: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

[peacheslatour]

51 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

Just finished: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena. I was into it for most of the book. I like Agatha Christie-esque plots (a murder taking place in an isolated locale with a limited number of suspects, in this case a bed and breakfast in upstate New York in the middle of a snowstorm), and found the characters individually compelling in their own ways. But she completely botched the ending by committing the number one cardinal sin of murder-mystery writing: explaining everything behind the perpetrator's motive only after they get caught and not leaving enough evidence for the reader to piece things together along the way. The resolution therefore came out of nowhere and consequently made very little sense.

There was one final twist that, even though I saw it coming, still made logical sense with the rest of the book and therefore had emotional resonance.

Next up: Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

I read a Christie once *don't remember the title* Where the murderer is introduced in the last five pages of the book. Total letdown.

[Crs97]

I just finished The Marriage Clock by Zara Raheem.  It got great reviews somewhere, and for the life of me I don’t understand why.  Stereotypes for characters leading to a completely unearned ending.  So disappointing!

[BlackberryJam]

17 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Not set in modern times, but Kate Ross wrote four mysteries (the Julian Kestrel series) before dying of cancer.  I love those four books.

Those were fantastic. I wish someone could pick it up and finish the series.

[kathyk2]

I just finished Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty. I really liked it. I thought the characters were flawed yet interesting. My favorites were Frances Pete and Jessica and Moriarty family. I thought their backstories were interesting unlike The Corrections or the Immortalists which bored me. My only criticism was I thought Masha was a Karma Houdini who should have been in prison.

[catlover79]

[dubbel zout]

I'm reading Elvis Costello's doorstop of a memoir. I thought I'd want to dip in and out, given the lenghth (500+ pages), but it's surprisingly engrossing from the get-go.

[Pachengala]

I’m slowly making my way through The Book of Night Women by Marlon James. Has anyone here read it? It is about slaves on a sugar plantation in Jamaica and I am having a hard time with the subject matter and the language. I know, I know, what was I expecting? It’s just so incredibly and relentlessly horrific, and his use of pidgin just really immerses you in this horrible world. I’ll be glad to have read it and glad to move on to the next book. Whew.

[proserpina65]

On ‎06‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 1:25 AM, GaT said:

Currently reading The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths, it's the 2nd book in the Ruth Galloway series. I usually read the first 3 books in a series before I decide whether or not I like it enough to continue, & I already have book 3, which I will read, but I think that's it for this series. The books are written in present tense, which just annoys me, plus, I think there's a lot of unnecessary detail which makes for a bigger book (good), but not a more interesting (bad) one. 

I've read all of the Ruth Galloway series, and I can say that book 6, The Outcast Dead, is by far the best one of the series (it was actually the first one I read), and books 4, 5, 7 are quite good as well.  The Janus Stone was okay, but the next book is better, so it might be worth it to stick with them a little longer.  But, and this is a huge but, definitely stop before you get to books 10 and 11, which both suck for character reasons, plot reasons and lack of archaeology reasons.

[proserpina65]

On ‎07‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 5:23 PM, peacheslatour said:

There have also been dozens of Nancy Drew/Hardy boys movies and tv shows.

But not when the books were originally written.

On ‎07‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 10:03 AM, LBS said:

Ann Cleeves - The Shetland Island series

The Vera Stanhope books are really good too.

[proserpina65]

6 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

I'm reading Elvis Costello's doorstop of a memoir. I thought I'd want to dip in and out, given the lenghth (500+ pages), but it's surprisingly engrossing from the get-go.

It's a bit stream of consciousness, which took a little getting used to, but I loved it.  Made me look at his relationships with Cat O'Riordan and Diana Krall in an entirely different light.