Reading Challenge 2024

[SCEtoAUX]

Good luck. I published a trilogy via Amazon. Really enjoyed writing and editing, which was a good job because I didn’t sell too many!

Thanks. I enjoyed the writing too, all done down the pub which meant it took a couple of years because of Covid.

If I never sell another copy it won't bother me, but I made a bit on the first print run and a golf buddy of mine has ordered 30 copies of the first edition.

What I do have in my favour is that there are no similar books out there (probably for good reason!), and the fact that there are a lot of golfers :-)

 

[threespires]

This is my suggestion...it fails one of the suggested criteria in that it is over 400 pages long and probably a selfish choice - it is a book I have had on my "to read" list since it was released and think it could be an interesting choice. I appreciate that historical fiction isn't everyone's cup of tea.

View attachment 66944

It is the latest release from Robert Harris who is probably better known for WW2 fiction and was well received on release.

"1660. Colonel Edward Whalley and his son-in-law, Colonel William Goffe, cross the Atlantic. They are on the run and wanted for the murder of Charles I. Under the provisions of the Act of Oblivion, they have been found guilty in absentia of high treason.

In London, Richard Nayler, secretary of the regicide committee of the Privy Council, is tasked with tracking down the fugitives. He'll stop at nothing until the two men are brought to justice. A reward hangs over their heads - for their capture, dead or alive."

It's available in hardback and kindle. I am happy to purchase a hardback copy to pass on (logistics to be determined!).

What does everyone think?

Be happy to read that. I read and enjoyed his first two books donkeys years ago, not sure why I haven't read any since

 

[bennyboy]

This is my suggestion...it fails one of the suggested criteria in that it is over 400 pages long and probably a selfish choice - it is a book I have had on my "to read" list since it was released and think it could be an interesting choice. I appreciate that historical fiction isn't everyone's cup of tea.

View attachment 66944

It is the latest release from Robert Harris who is probably better known for WW2 fiction and was well received on release.

"1660. Colonel Edward Whalley and his son-in-law, Colonel William Goffe, cross the Atlantic. They are on the run and wanted for the murder of Charles I. Under the provisions of the Act of Oblivion, they have been found guilty in absentia of high treason.

In London, Richard Nayler, secretary of the regicide committee of the Privy Council, is tasked with tracking down the fugitives. He'll stop at nothing until the two men are brought to justice. A reward hangs over their heads - for their capture, dead or alive."

It's available in hardback and kindle. I am happy to purchase a hardback copy to pass on (logistics to be determined!).

What does everyone think?

I have a file for this book off one of those sites.

 

[JRockBlues]

At the start of this thread, I mentioned the possibility of somebody nominating a book that we could all read and comment on. Quite a few people seemed keen on the idea, so let's start the ball rolling and see what we can come up with.

Thinking about the type of book we read (as a group), I think that the following genres come up often:-

- History (war and espionage)
- Police procedurals/crime investigation
- Espionage fiction
- Stephen King - technically not a genre, but he is popular in here!
- Fantasy (a few of us)

Anybody care to shout out a few suggestions as to what might make a good group read?
I think that a standalone book with 400 pages or less would make a good candidate.

Just to re-iterate, if we do decide to go ahead with this, I don't want anybody feel that they have to join in in order to continue posting on this thread! Committing to a book means a good chunk of hours (and maybe expense) so it's entirely optional, and I want people to continue to post freely on here whether they decide to join in with the communal book or not.

Count me out for group reads, I never join in. I don't know what I'm going to be reading next as it's very much a mood thing for me. It's not like I don't have enough to choose from already as I have 514 on the tbr shelves already waiting for me to get to. Not to mention any shiny and new ones that might arrive before I finish my current read.

 

[RobMCFC]

Given that there's only been one nomination, somebody is already reading it , and a few more seem keen, I think we can name Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris as our first group read.

We'll see how this goes, but maybe we should aim to nominate one read every quarter. I'll add this to the thread title so that people can see it easily.

 

[RobMCFC]

1. Cunning Folk – Adam L.G. Nevill - 8/10
2. Bad Apples – Will Dean – 7/10
3. The Winter Road – Adrian Selby – 6/10

Four years ago, I read Adrian Selby’s debut novel, Snakewood. It’s taken until now for me to pick up the prequel, The Winter Road.

Like his previous book, The Winter Road is a standalone fantasy novel. Teyr Amondsen has a dream of building a road that she hopes will unify the Circle – a vast wilderness of warring clans. People tell her she’ll fail, but it doesn’t put her off assembling a huge caravan of merchants and mercenaries to set off and review the parts of the route that she has managed to build so far, including roads, bridges and outposts, and complete her road. However, the rise of a brutal warlord threatens everything she aims to achieve.

The structure of this book is unusual: there are two timelines. In the first, we find Teyr fighting for her life, and although it isn’t yet explained, it’s clear that her caravan has suffered a huge catastrophe that only she survived. In the second, we follow the caravan’s journey and a convergence of the two timelines at a significant event. The last 10% or so of the book consists of a series of letters between Teyr and another major character.

This is one of those books where colloquial terms are used liberally – there is no husband or wife or spouse, instead a person has a keep. Kids are known as duts, and there are plenty of other terms that are initially unfamiliar, but you pick up the lingo as you read.

Like Snakewood, a major concept of this book is the brew system. Fighters drink fightbrews to give themselves the strength for battle and use other plants to sharpen their senses. However, like any drug, they have to deal with the comedown afterwards. This is handled very well in the writing and takes up a lot of the book.

What is less successful is that there are pages and pages of explanation and sometimes a character speaks for what feels an interminably long time. I found myself flagging for large portions of the book and being honest, it was a bit of a relief to finish. There is no snappy humour or devious plots that drive some of the best fantasy. Aside from the main character, Teyr, there’s not much in terms of character development and therefore despite the successes the book does score, I can only give The Winter Road 6/10.

 

[richardtheref]

No One Gets Out Alive - Adam Nevill.

Very very average. He gets good reviews but this is the 2nd book of his I have read & I don't get it. Have another 1 awaiting my attention but if it isn't any better I won't be bothering with any more

 

[RobMCFC]

No One Gets Out Alive - Adam Nevill.

Very very average. He gets good reviews but this is the 2nd book of his I have read & I don't get it. Have another 1 awaiting my attention but if it isn't any better I won't be bothering with any more

Not read that one but as noted in my earlier review, the two I have read are both excellent (Banquet of the Damned and Cunning Folk).

 

[blueish swede]

First book of the year - The riddle of the sands by Erskine Childers. I spent some time where it's set in Northern Germany - Southern Denmark. It's uncanny how it foretells the Great War. E.C was a bit if a bloke, ended up being executed by firing squad by the Irish Free State.
Next up was going to be The tin drum - Gunther Grass, but I'm tempted to join the challenge.

 

[stoneblue]

3. Harlem Shuffle - Colson Whitehead



I bought this book recently on the strength of the description on back cover. I have never heard of this author before and didn’t realise he was a double Pulitzer Prize winner.
It's a crime fiction novel - the story unfolds in three sections, set a few years apart between 1959 and 1964. And while they are entirely separate stories, they all tie together.
The central character is Ray Carney, a furniture store owner in Harlem. As well as running his store, he occasionally fences some goods. When his cousin Freddie gets him involved in a hotel robbery heist, he starts associating with some of the city’s more interesting characters
I found the book hard going at first but I’m glad I stuck with it. The author paints a compelling picture of the period and place with some interesting characters. Will probably re-read it sometime in the future.
One interesting aside....the main character partakes in the second sleep, referred to here as "dorvay". Interesting that I was completely unaware of this practice until it came up in the Robert Harris book I read recently, so I've encountered it twice in a matter of months!