indigo
Escaped through the hedge
Posts: 127
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Post by indigo on Jan 9, 2020 18:39:50 GMT
I hope this thread will go down better than my Outlander one in here  so here goes: I'm always interested in what others are reading so that I can pick up recommendations etc. so if you don´t mind sharing below, that´d be great. I´m currently reading Once upon a River by Diane Setterfield which I´m very much enjoying. I read her first book, The Thirteenth Tale, a good few years ago now, which I also recommend. Over to you...
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Post by welshteddy on Jan 9, 2020 21:18:19 GMT
Last night I finished Woman on the Edge of time - Marge Piercy. Strange book and certainly not an easy one to read. I found it quite compelling in some ways but also confusing at times and rather long winded in parts. Not a ringing endorsement but worth a read if you like a bit of feminist dystopia!!
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indigo
Escaped through the hedge
Posts: 127
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Post by indigo on Jan 10, 2020 9:50:27 GMT
I do like a bit of a feminist dystopia as it happens, welshteddy  I´m a big fan of Margaret Atwood and Angela Carter so I´ll add Woman on the Edge of Time to my list.
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judithl
So much post - Susan out of stamps
 
Posts: 1,455
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Post by judithl on Jan 12, 2020 21:44:36 GMT
I'm rereading Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym, and reading for the first time A Knife to the Heart by Barbara Nadel. I'm a big fan of both very different writers. Pym is inciteful but amusing; Nadel is gory at times, but her observation of Istanbul is spot on.
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steve
So much post - Susan out of stamps
 
Posts: 1,209
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Post by steve on Jan 13, 2020 14:14:11 GMT
Now you've done it you've started me on books.
I enjoy a variety of book genre although mostly sci fi involving space travel.
I've recently read a book called children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
It's set in the distant future where humans have gone into space and terraformed other planets obviously it goes wrong.
For those who enjoy crime novels I've recently read one called I am the Walker by J Robson.
It's not the usual who done it type crime thriller it's written from the point of view of the serial killer.
And is a book that makes you think long after you've finished it.
It involves loneliness bullying unloved childhood and has a twist at the end that really comes as a shock as you don't see it coming.
Definitely one of the best books I've read
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indigo
Escaped through the hedge
Posts: 127
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Post by indigo on Mar 6, 2020 10:03:11 GMT
Steve, "I am the walker" sounds like an interesting book. I´m not usually into reading crime thrillers although I like watching Netflix series of that genre.
I´m currently reading "Where the crawdads sing" which has me hooked. It´s beautifully written, also about loneliness and belonging, and I love that the marsh and the nature within it is a character in itself.
What are you all reading at the moment?
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Anna Key
Slithering in the slurry

Feeding the Birds
Posts: 528
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Post by Anna Key on Mar 7, 2020 17:28:09 GMT
Just noticed this thread. I haven’t been here too long and not explored enough. Anyway, I won’t repeat my thread about Anita Shreve on The Village Pump other than to say I am enjoying her work. I am not a Romantic Fan, or particularly Crime novels. I do like thoughtful human stories such as Carol Shields ‘Unless’ about a women’s younger daughter who suffers from a breakdown and the eventual reason behind it.
I love humorous books, This is going to Hurt by Adam Kaye about his time as a Doctor in obstetrics. Trust me, it’s both laugh out loud and sad at the same time.
Another genre I have come to enjoy is the Discworld series of books by Terry Pratchett. Both funny and extremely clever.
I do find I will reread books simply because when faced with shelves of fiction in a Library I just don’t know where to go so this seems like a great place for recommendations
ETA. A friend gave me Anne Tyler’s The Clockwinder today after I mentioned her work had been recommended to me, so that’s something to look forward to 👍🏼
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judithl
So much post - Susan out of stamps
 
Posts: 1,455
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Post by judithl on Mar 19, 2020 17:28:43 GMT
I'm now rereading Susanna Gregory's A Plague on Both your Houses, set in Cambridge in 1342. It's the first in a series featuring Matthew Bartholomew, who teaches medicine at the university, and seemed appropriate for the present time.
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steve
So much post - Susan out of stamps
 
Posts: 1,209
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Post by steve on Mar 22, 2020 14:06:07 GMT
I'm reading a book call6Cyber Seed by Craig Falconer.
Set in the near future where a company has developed a computer device that can be planted in your hand along with special contact lenses that act as a screen.
Which replaces phones TV computers even cash as everything is digital.
And how all this is being used to control the general public.
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indigo
Escaped through the hedge
Posts: 127
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Post by indigo on Mar 22, 2020 21:12:06 GMT
That actually sounds like it could be our reality in the not too distant future, Steve...
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steve
So much post - Susan out of stamps
 
Posts: 1,209
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Post by steve on Mar 23, 2020 6:50:41 GMT
That's what makes it so good
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Anna Key
Slithering in the slurry

Feeding the Birds
Posts: 528
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Post by Anna Key on Mar 26, 2020 14:36:32 GMT
I am enjoying The Clockwinder. 🙂🙂
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judithl
So much post - Susan out of stamps
 
Posts: 1,455
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Post by judithl on Mar 31, 2020 20:08:28 GMT
I've finished the Matt Bartholemew story and I'm back to Barbara Pym. A Few Green Leaves. One of her later novels.
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indigo
Escaped through the hedge
Posts: 127
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Post by indigo on Apr 2, 2020 23:48:43 GMT
I just read The Well of Loneliness. I´ve had the book for a long time, maybe 20 years or so, but not got round to reading it. I enjoyed it but more for its descriptions of where I grew up, Worcestershire, than the main theme. Of course, the taboo of being lesbian or "invert" some 100 years ago was fascinating and upsetting to read, particularly in terms of the mother/daughter relationship and I found the account of the First World War and the women's war ambulance service really interesting.
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Post by welshteddy on Apr 3, 2020 0:22:19 GMT
I've just finished reading Call of the Wild. I read it before donkeys years ago, and though I can't remember how old I was at the time I was certainly a child. Rereading it now I am astonished at how grown up and complicated both the writing and some of the concepts are for a children's book. I also found this when I reread The little Wooden Horse recently. I was amazed that I was reading such a 'difficult' text, in the sense of unusual or long words, aged 8! Not to mention how sad it was, though I do remember crying as a child when the horse loses his money through his broken leg. Back to Call of the Wild - it is also really very violent at times- something I certainly don't remember from when I read it before. Certainly no sugar coating and political correctness in those days!
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