Reading Challenge 2022

[kevin horlocks wand]

Just finished I looked away by Jane corry.

a really excellent read dealing with issues of mental health , family, ptsd and The homeless.

well written and good characterisation.

500 pages and ripped through it.

 

[mackenzie]

Just read about the killing of Bobby Kennedy. Sirhan was definitely involved but much more to it than just another "lone gunman nutjob" imho.
The ballistic and autopsy evidence shows there was something else going on too that night.

 

[RobMCFC]

Just finished Black Hearts Rising, thought it was great. Really enjoyed it. Taking a break before reading last one in the trilogy. Downloaded Doug Beattie book An ordinary soldier. Looking forward to this as I also come from Northern Ireland and been following Doug's political career for while

Cheers, glad you enjoyed it.

 

[JRockBlues]

The Cut by Chris Brookmyre

Film student Jerry needs out of the college digs and so responds to an advertisement to a place that maybe cheap enough but has a catch. You have to live with three old women but as Jerry was raised by his grandmother that really shouldn’t be a problem for him. Two of the old dears are just that but the third is who’s been driving all the other applicants away. Millicent has just been released from prison after 25 years for killing her lover, though she continues to proclaim her innocence, and is still a little rough around the edges. When the four go out for a getting to know you dinner at the restaurant of a local hotel Millie spots a picture of her dead lover in a photograph supposedly taken a couple of days after his death. Her subsequent investigations, with the aid of Jerry, sets off a chain of events that may end in the death of all four of them.

The story is told over two timelines with current day of Millicent & Jerry following a trail of breadcrumbs that lead them across Europe and back to just prior to the murder that Millie (as she was known then) got banged up for. The characters were well drawn but the plot was just a little too formulaic to make this a stand-out read. Especially as there wasn’t enough of the traditional Brookmyre dark humour the author is known for. Hopefully his next is back on track. 3★'s

 

[journolud]

For some reason I'm struggling to commit to a lot of books at the moment and have been hiding from this thread as a consequence. Any target I might have set myself I probably won't achieve.

I did recently read and complete the Third Man and have always enjoyed Graham Greene when I've dipped in and out.

I failed to complete Monkey Arkwright, sorry @RobMCFC I couldn't get into it. I think I found it a bit adjective heavy, maybe not even that. I may return to it.

On the recommendation of a friend I started reading catch 22. This started out quirky and amusing but then became relentlessly so and I got sort of annoyed with it.

I was looking through my kindle and remembered I had a Harlan Coben book that I had downloaded almost in desperation when it was available for a penny. I've never read any of his so maybe I'm being unfair but a reminder of the synopsis made me think I wouldn't enjoy it.

Salvation came from remembering that I have previously read the first four books in the Martin Beck series by Sjowall and Wahoo and these I have enjoyed. They also have a tendency to "quirkiness" but not relentlessly so. For fans of Ed Mcbain's 87th Precinct novels (which I am) the comparison made by critics and reviewers is a good one.

There are 10 Beck novels (I think) which I'll eventually get through in stages but probably with some gaps in-between.

 

[JRockBlues]

Salvation came from remembering that I have previously read the first four books in the Martin Beck series by Sjowall and Wahoo and these I have enjoyed. They also have a tendency to "quirkiness" but not relentlessly so. For fans of Ed Mcbain's 87th Precinct novels (which I am) the comparison made by critics and reviewers is a good one.

There are 10 Beck novels (I think) which I'll eventually get through in stages but probably with some gaps in-between.

Yup, 10 books. Give a good look into Swedish culture and political climate of the time as well as being decent police procedurals. I rated most of them at 4 out of 5★'s with only a couple dropping down a little.

 

[RobMCFC]

For some reason I'm struggling to commit to a lot of books at the moment and have been hiding from this thread as a consequence. Any target I might have set myself I probably won't achieve.

I did recently read and complete the Third Man and have always enjoyed Graham Greene when I've dipped in and out.

I failed to complete Monkey Arkwright, sorry @RobMCFC I couldn't get into it. I think I found it a bit adjective heavy, maybe not even that. I may return to it.

On the recommendation of a friend I started reading catch 22. This started out quirky and amusing but then became relentlessly so and I got sort of annoyed with it.

I was looking through my kindle and remembered I had a Harlan Coben book that I had downloaded almost in desperation when it was available for a penny. I've never read any of his so maybe I'm being unfair but a reminder of the synopsis made me think I wouldn't enjoy it.

Salvation came from remembering that I have previously read the first four books in the Martin Beck series by Sjowall and Wahoo and these I have enjoyed. They also have a tendency to "quirkiness" but not relentlessly so. For fans of Ed Mcbain's 87th Precinct novels (which I am) the comparison made by critics and reviewers is a good one.

There are 10 Beck novels (I think) which I'll eventually get through in stages but probably with some gaps in-between.

No problem. If it's not for you or the style doesn't work, that's fair enough.

I've been struggling through my latest book - it's a good one - but I had Covid recently, then didn't read much over the Easter holiday.

 

[Millo]

Reading's challenge is to stay in the Championship!

 

[Paladin]

1. Winter - Len Deighton - 7/10
2. The Last Great Mountain - Mick Conefrey - 6/10
3. Pegasus Bridge - Stephen E. Ambrose - 6/10
4. The Dead of Jericho - Colin Dexter - 7/10
5. Agent Sonya - Ben MacIntyre - 7/10
6. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak - 9/10
7. Macbeth - A. J. Hartley and David Hewson - 9/10

The authors have built upon the Shakespeare play to create a realistic retelling of the tragedy of Macbeth. All the original characters and themes are here. We have politics, intrigue, treachery, sedition, betrayal, regicide, infanticide, suicide, murder, subversion, valour, rumour, scheming, plotting, jealousy, suspicion, prophesy all as per the play, expanded into a full novel.

Knowledge of the play isn't necessary to enjoy this work, although it did bring back fond memories of studying this for O level English in 1975 or thereabouts, and watching it at The Rex Theatre in Wilmslow.

A very good book in my view, with a foreword by one of the co-authors, and an afterword by the other (an American professor of Shakespeare).

 

[richardtheref]

Just finished

The Boy On The Bridge - M R Carey
The Girl In The Woods - Camilla Lackberg

Both 4/5

Just started

The Things That Keep Us Here - Carla Buckley. Only read 100 pages so far. Printed in 2010. She appears to have predicted the recent pandemic. Only thing she got wrong was it starting in Korea