Reading Challenge 2024
- Thread starter RobMCFC
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Berts Neck
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- 2 Jan 2014
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Yes remember it..Hever is wonderful, smaller than Leeds..Got a bit pissed off when they started to do balloon rides which looked over my gardens !!!what you or may not know is that many Dickens books were serialised before becoming a full novel. Was surprised to learn this fact. My most favourite author. Now not being pretnentious.If you like Dickens Dostoyevsky is a close second. It is a hard read in many respects unless you understand the Russians revert to partronyms so the same person may have two names !!
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
stoneblue
Well-Known Member
22/23 On Wings of Eagles – Ken Follett
Have just finished this, like everyone else I really enjoyed it
Have just finished this, like everyone else I really enjoyed it
stoneblue
Well-Known Member
23/23 The Trial - Rob Rinder
After the Q3 read (On Wings of Eagles) I thought I’d go for something completely different.
Apart from The Satsuma Complex I tend to shy away from celebrity authors but I chose this because it was on offer (for 99p) and I was attracted by the storyline. This is the debut novel by Rob Rinder.
Adam Green is a trainee barrister and is assigned with his pupil-master to the defence of the accused in the murder of a hero detective. Adam is not convinced of the of the guilt of the accused whereas his senior barrister disagrees and resents the fact that this case is taking him away from the case of a lucrative client. Adam digs into the life of the accused and the deceased and unearths some intriguing facts about both.
Some of the characters come across as stereotypes, the lead character comes across as too good to be true at times and the reveal at the end comes across as rushed and a little contrived.
Nevertheless it is an entertaining read and I’ll probably give the next book in the series a go.
One further thing…I thought I’d share a couple of lines from the book that made me chuckle!
After the Q3 read (On Wings of Eagles) I thought I’d go for something completely different.
Apart from The Satsuma Complex I tend to shy away from celebrity authors but I chose this because it was on offer (for 99p) and I was attracted by the storyline. This is the debut novel by Rob Rinder.
Adam Green is a trainee barrister and is assigned with his pupil-master to the defence of the accused in the murder of a hero detective. Adam is not convinced of the of the guilt of the accused whereas his senior barrister disagrees and resents the fact that this case is taking him away from the case of a lucrative client. Adam digs into the life of the accused and the deceased and unearths some intriguing facts about both.
Some of the characters come across as stereotypes, the lead character comes across as too good to be true at times and the reveal at the end comes across as rushed and a little contrived.
Nevertheless it is an entertaining read and I’ll probably give the next book in the series a go.
One further thing…I thought I’d share a couple of lines from the book that made me chuckle!
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Looking at the style of the cover, the publishers are clearly going for the Richard Osman crowd.
A lot of people seem to be falling over themselves with praise for Osman, who I think comes across great on the TV, but they shouldn’t have let him near a book. I said at the time, I can’t believe that an editor didn’t pull him up on the writing in the first half of his debut. A few good ideas but tedious writing and child-like execution. Oh and too many TV luvvy in-jokes.
Anyway, no idea if Rob Rinder’s book is anything like this, but all of the above ramble is my way or saying I’m not supporting all these TV starts writing books! Judy Murray, Anton Du Beke etc, it’s just too much.
Apologies, rant over.
I'm with you on this. Stick to what you're good at and leave the real authors to write proper stories. There are enough books being written without celebs muscling in on the act (autobiographies apart). I've not been drawn to any of them so far, except for The Satsuma Complex, and I blame others for that!
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Whilst The Satsuma Complex was OK, it did smack of a TV star writing a book and therefore having license to go anywhere with the story (and not in a good way).
I get why publishers follow this model, by the way. It's an easy formula: get a well known celeb to write a book = an instant guarantee of sales. Job done. Doesn't matter whether it's any good or not.
1. Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch. 7/10.
2. The Racketeer - John Grisham. 5/10.
3. Orphan X - Gregg Hurwitz. 9/10.
4. The Longest Kill - Craig Harrison. 8/10.
5. Notes on an Execution - Danya Kukafka. 8/10.
6. The Satsuma Complex - Bob Mortimer. 7/10.
7. The Garderobe of Death - Howard of Warwick - 6/10.
8. A Village in the Third Reich - Julia Boyd, Angelina Patel - 9/10.
9. Three Days in June - James O'Connell - 9/10.
10. The Guv'nor - Lenny McLean - 10/10.
11. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - 7/10.
12. The Rescue - Andy McNab - 7/10.
McNab draws from his own knowledge and experiences, and interviews with those involved, to tell the story of the rescue of four aid workers, captured by insurgents in Afghanistan in 2012. I think it is heavily fictionalised, but McNab isn't a bad story writer, so the book remains interesting from start to finish.
British SAS and US Navy SEALs carry out the joint operation, which is a major success. There is no loss of life of the hostages, Brits or Yanks, and total obliteration of the enemy.
Not bad if you like this sort of thing, but it wouldn't be the first SF book on my recommended list.
2. The Racketeer - John Grisham. 5/10.
3. Orphan X - Gregg Hurwitz. 9/10.
4. The Longest Kill - Craig Harrison. 8/10.
5. Notes on an Execution - Danya Kukafka. 8/10.
6. The Satsuma Complex - Bob Mortimer. 7/10.
7. The Garderobe of Death - Howard of Warwick - 6/10.
8. A Village in the Third Reich - Julia Boyd, Angelina Patel - 9/10.
9. Three Days in June - James O'Connell - 9/10.
10. The Guv'nor - Lenny McLean - 10/10.
11. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - 7/10.
12. The Rescue - Andy McNab - 7/10.
McNab draws from his own knowledge and experiences, and interviews with those involved, to tell the story of the rescue of four aid workers, captured by insurgents in Afghanistan in 2012. I think it is heavily fictionalised, but McNab isn't a bad story writer, so the book remains interesting from start to finish.
British SAS and US Navy SEALs carry out the joint operation, which is a major success. There is no loss of life of the hostages, Brits or Yanks, and total obliteration of the enemy.
Not bad if you like this sort of thing, but it wouldn't be the first SF book on my recommended list.
