Reading Challenge 2021

[RobMCFC]

1. The Stand - Stephen King - 10/10
2. Red Snow - Will Dean - 7/10
3. The Seventh Perfection – Daniel Polansky - 6/10
4. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig - 6/10
5. Crowfall - Ed McDonald - 7/10
6. Force of Nature - Jane Harper - 8/10

Second book I’ve read by this Australian author (although she was born in Manchester), but first I should write a bit about her debut novel for some context.


I read The Dry last year, and it is superb piece of writing that introduces Aaron Falk, a policeman with the Melbourne financial crimes unit. The story unfolds in two timelines – in the present, Falk goes back to his hometown for the funeral of a friend who apparently committed suicide after killing his family. Tension is high because of the killings and also because the farming community is suffering a terrible drought (hence the title of the book). Falk is not well liked in the town, the reasons for which we see in the past timeline. This book is 9/10 stuff, some great twists and red herrings and a real sense of time and place. Can’t wait to see the highly rated film adaptation starring Eric Bana, which is already out in Australia but doesn’t yet have a UK release date.


Anyway, on to the latest book, Force of Nature, which doesn’t quite hit the heights of The Dry.



Five women go on a team building exercise in the Australian bush but only four come back out. As search teams are scrambled to find the missing woman, Aaron Falk also arrives on the scene because the missing woman was an informant in his latest financial investigation. It’s a decent book that doesn’t hit the heights of The Dry.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

1. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrel
2. Don't Believe a Word by David Shariatmadari
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
5. The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
6. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
7. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

I'd already seen the film of this so I knew what happened, but it was still enjoyable. A bit of a slow burn in the first part, but in the second two parts it builds into something great.

 

[mackenzie]

1. The Stand - Stephen King - 10/10
2. Red Snow - Will Dean - 7/10
3. The Seventh Perfection – Daniel Polansky - 6/10
4. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig - 6/10
5. Crowfall - Ed McDonald - 7/10
6. Force of Nature - Jane Harper - 8/10

Second book I’ve read by this Australian author (although she was born in Manchester), but first I should write a bit about her debut novel for some context.
View attachment 12534

I read The Dry last year, and it is superb piece of writing that introduces Aaron Falk, a policeman with the Melbourne financial crimes unit. The story unfolds in two timelines – in the present, Falk goes back to his hometown for the funeral of a friend who apparently committed suicide after killing his family. Tension is high because of the killings and also because the farming community is suffering a terrible drought (hence the title of the book). Falk is not well liked in the town, the reasons for which we see in the past timeline. This book is 9/10 stuff, some great twists and red herrings and a real sense of time and place. Can’t wait to see the highly rated film adaptation starring Eric Bana, which is already out in Australia but doesn’t yet have a UK release date.


Anyway, on to the latest book, Force of Nature, which doesn’t quite hit the heights of The Dry.

View attachment 12533

Five women go on a team building exercise in the Australian bush but only four come back out. As search teams are scrambled to find the missing woman, Aaron Falk also arrives on the scene because the missing woman was an informant in his latest financial investigation. It’s a decent book that doesn’t hit the heights of The Dry.

I've read Force of Nature and enjoyed it, so I'll look for The Dry now. Cheers.

 

[RobMCFC]

No worries. Maybe it was because I read The Dry first, but I enjoyed it a lot more. I'll definitely be reading her next book at some point.

 

[RobMCFC]

1. The Stand - Stephen King - 10/10
2. Red Snow - Will Dean - 7/10
3. The Seventh Perfection – Daniel Polansky - 6/10
4. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig - 6/10
5. Crowfall - Ed McDonald - 7/10
6. Force of Nature - Jane Harper - 8/10
7. The Wolf's Call: Book One of Raven's Blade - 7/10



Anthony Ryan wrote Blood Song, one of my favourite fantasy books of recent years. Unfortunately, the second and third books in the series were a massive disappointment compared to what had come before. However, The Wolf’s Call, which is the first of a new two-book series, received favourable reviews, so I decided to give it a go. Vaelin Al Sorna, the main character from the earlier trilogy is the main focus of the story, which is no bad thing as he is a well-constructed character. Vaelin travels to a kingdom that is clearly based on China with the intention of confronting the Darkblade, a God-like leader who commands a rampaging horde. Whilst Vaelin in the main point-of-view character, there are a few sections written in the voice of the Darkblade’s sister, which works well to build his character so that he is not just some faceless monster. The new setting is nicely described and there’s a good mix of battles and more conversational pieces. In addition to Vaelin, a few other familiar characters return, including Sherin, the healer who he once loved but exiled in an earlier book. The books ends on a cliffhanger, so it doesn’t work if you’re looking for a standalone, but that’s no problem as I enjoyed it and will certainly pick up the second part in the next couple of months.

 

[ob]

1. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrel
2. Don't Believe a Word by David Shariatmadari
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
5. The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
6. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

I think this might be my favourite one so far this year. I can't remember given a shit about the characters in a book more than this. I actually threw the book on the sofa and told the author to fuck off at one point. A working class story written by someone who's actually lived it, which seems to be something of a novelty these days.

Just finished this on your recommendation. Great book, so emotional. Cheers

 

[RobMCFC]

1. The Stand - Stephen King - 10/10
2. Red Snow - Will Dean - 7/10
3. The Seventh Perfection – Daniel Polansky - 6/10
4. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig - 6/10
5. Crowfall - Ed McDonald - 7/10
6. Force of Nature - Jane Harper - 8/10
7. The Wolf's Call: Book One of Raven's Blade - 7/10
8. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman - 6/10



TV’s Richard Osman seems to be getting glowing reviews for his first novel from lots of well-known writers. You'd think they’d know what they were talking about, right? To be fair, he has come up with a very good idea for a book and I did enjoy the mechanics of the plot. There’s a murder or two at an old folks home in Kent, and some of the residents have skills from their careers that will help them solve the mystery, which is a good job because the police are useless. But at times it’s like reading a Mr Men book. Character A went to the reading room. Then he tied his shoelaces. Then he went for a cup of tea. Isn’t it nice weather today? Yes. It is nice weather today. Short sentences with a full stop every 10 words or so with no attempt to make it sound interesting. I can’t believe an editor has looked at this and not told him to go back and rewrite large sections of the book. There is no skill in the writing for large sections of this book, although I did spot the odd nice turn of phrase a few times later on. You’d find more grit in your Angel Delight, although I accept that this is a “cozy crime” novel and most of the characters are two-dimensonal. I like Richard Osman on TV, but I think he should stick to his day job. Still, nevermind, it’ll sell a millions because he’s famous.

 

[RobMCFC]

Don't think many are playing this reading challenge thing. Still, I'll plow on regardless so I have a record of my reading year.

1. The Stand - Stephen King - 10/10
2. Red Snow - Will Dean - 7/10
3. The Seventh Perfection – Daniel Polansky - 6/10
4. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig - 6/10
5. Crowfall - Ed McDonald - 7/10
6. Force of Nature - Jane Harper - 8/10
7. The Wolf's Call: Book One of Raven's Blade - 7/10
8. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman - 6/10
9. Tornado Down - John Peters and John Nichol - 9/10




The authors are probably familiar to most on here – if you’re old enough, you’ll remember them being paraded on TV after they were shot down and captured by Iraqi forces in the early days of the Gulf War. I’ve been meaning to read this for a while and when there was a 30th anniversary article on the Gulf War on the BBC website earlier this year, I added it to my list. The book covers the two authors as they were preparing for the war, what happened on their first fateful mission, their brutal treatment at the hands of their captors and their eventual release (a mercifully “short” seven weeks later). As you’d expect, it’s an absorbing read, and the two pilots come across as incredibly humble. Their descriptions of what happened are vivid and at some points you are dreading what will happen next. One thing I took from this is a reinforcement of what lowlifes some of the British media are. After everything you’ve read in the preceding pages, it’s somewhat jaw-dropping to read John Nichol say that he can forgive his captors for what they did to him, but that he’d never forgive the media for what they subjected his parents to whilst he was imprisoned. If you like war stories, you’ll probably love this.

 

[Paladin]

Don't think many are playing this reading challenge thing. Still, I'll plow on regardless so I have a record of my reading year.

I'm following the thread with keen interest. I intended to join in, but just didn't get around to it. I suppose now is as good a time as any!

I run a lot, and this gives me plenty of time to listen to audio books, downloaded from Audible and other sources. This is a record of my reading and listening so far this year.

1. The Willows in Winter - William Horwood. A nice easy Christmassy tale, to prolong the festive mood into the New Year. Took me back to my childhood.
2. The Willows and Beyond - William Horwood. Two short books to start off the year.
3. A Brief History of the Cold War - John Hughes-Wilson. From its beginnings to the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the USSR. Interesting insight to the period. It paints a picture of how close we came to nuclear war on numerous occasions, but no superpower wanted that because of the inevitable mutual destruction it would bring. Would the religious fundamentalists show the same restraint if they acquired WMD?
4. Prophecy - S. J. Parris. Catholic supporters of Scottish Queen Mary plot to overthrow Elizabeth and install Mary as Queen of England. I really enjoyed this book - a good historical thriller.
5. The Long Night - Ernst Israel Bornstein. His autobiography detailing his years of captivity by the Nazis, and how he survived the horrors of passing through seven concentration camps. A harrowing reminder of the atrocities of Nazi Germany.
6. Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne. Something light-hearted after the previous one.
7. SAS Great Escapes - Damien Lewis. Seven tales of escape and evasion by SAS soldiers during WWII. All fascinating feats of daring and endurance. A good book, but you would expect such an accomplished writer to know the correct application of the word "superlative".

Currently reading Dominion by C. J. Sansom. I occasionally dip into a Sherlock Holmes short mystery, and also the Bible. I started The Lies of Loche Lamora by Scott Lynch last year (recommended by Rob in another thread), and intend to finish it soon. I got confused by a shift in the chronology in the narrative, and I thought my recording had got mixed up. I left the book at that point, not wanting to miss anything out. I was enjoying it, so I'll probably start the book again.

My favourite books are about Cold War spying and espionage, classics from the Victorian era (Dickens, Brontës etc.), history, and I like to occasionally re-read some of my childhood favourites. Many years ago I read Les Miserables from cover to cover, including the very long diversion into the antics of the Thernardiers, which I thought was not essential to the overall story. One of my favourite books. I also enjoyed The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, again many years ago.

Stick with it @RobMCFC. I enjoy your summaries, and have a few books in my future reading list thanks to you.

 

[RobMCFC]

Stick with it @RobMCFC. I enjoy your summaries, and have a few books in my future reading list thanks to you.

Cheers Paladin, that's nice of you to say so. When I find something that I think people might like (books, films, TV, music etc.) I do tend to go to town on it on these and other forums, so it's nice when somebody takes an interest.

Definitely worth sticking with "The Lies of Lock Lamora" - one of the things I love about it is the structure and the shift in chronology you mention. Lynch uses this to brilliant effect on a couple of occasions, so don't worry, I'm sure your audio is not messed up.

I've got "Winter in Madrid" by C.J.Sansom lined up for later in the year - downloaded it when it was 0.99p, but i want to read it when I might be in and around Madrid a few times later this year (restrictions allowing) whilst my eldest daughter is studying there.