Some bookish updates
I have been a reading machine this weekend! Hopefully I'll have time to write up all of these.
Book 26 of 2010 - The Red Dahlia - Lynda La Plante
25/03/10 - 26/03/10
I've really gotten into Lynda La Plante's books. As soon as I finished reading Above Suspicion I knew that I wanted to read The Red Dahlia but I held off getting it until I was all caught up on the other books I had to read. Clearly waiting made me hungry because I pretty much just devoured it!
I suppose it helped that I'd seen the TV adaptation at the beginning of the year, it meant that I knew who did it from the start, so that element of things wasn't really something to focus on. I have to admit, being the serial shipper that I am, I loved the 'will they, won't they' of Anna and Langton's relationship.
Someone on the book club board for Above Suspicion made a comment about how every few pages someone would walk through a door and let it swing back and almost hit Anna, which made the comment early in the book about how she was surprised when a journalist walked through a door and actually held it for her really funny, hehe.
These books are really opening me up to other crime writers. Before this the only crime writer I ever really read was Kathy Reichs. I'm pleased that I'm broadening my horizons a little.
The day after I got this one out from the library I went back to get the next one, Clean Cut, because I could see that I was about halfway through and I knew that it wouldn't last me until the Tuesday when I could next get to the library. The librarian laughed and asked if I'd finished The Red Dahlia already, I told her no, but I was worried about running out of reading material for the weekend, she laughed and said 'good girl'. Hehe.
And I'm soppy, but I like a healthy bit of romance in my crime novels...
Book 27 of 2010 - Clean Cut - Lynda La Plante
27/03/10 - 28/03/10
This one wasn't my favourite of the three Lynda La Plante's that I've read so far. I think I ended up only giving it three stars on GoodReads. Honestly, I found it a little bit tricky to keep track of who was who and what was going on. Perhaps because one of the characters had three different aliases at one point, plus there was a general collision of cases which were all connected by tenuous links. That coupled with the fact that although I read it in a relatively short space of time, it was pretty much stop-start-stop-start. So it wasn't all the book's fault that I struggled to digest it.
I was thrilled with the beginning, with Anna and Langton. I mean, finally! And I wasn't even too concerned about him getting better, albeit by overusing the painkillers, and leaving Anna. I like the conflict, the conflict is good. But I want answers about the ending. Did he really kill the guy?! Because I agree with Anna that it looks like it. And the next book, Deadly Intent, isn't due back in the local library until April the frigging NINTH!!!
Seriously, what am I meant to do until then?!
Book 28 of 2010 - Ox-Tales: Air - Alexander McCall Smith, Helen Simpson, DBC Pierre, AL Kennedy, Kamila Shamsie, Beryl Bainbridge, Louise Welsh, Diran Adebayo, Helen Fielding
29/03/10 - 30/03/10
I wouldn't say that I enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed Ox-Tales: Earth but I'm definitely getting a real taste for short stories. Thank goodness the HTV Short Story Tree will be starting soon!
I love the fact that the first two, Still Life by Alexander McCall Smith, and The Tipping Point by Helen Simpson, had a distinctly Scottish slant. The latter especially mentions Ballachulish twice, a lovely little village which I taught in for six weeks as part of my third year distant placement. That alone earns it brownie points from me.
I really liked DBC Pierre's story, Suddenly Doctor Cox. To begin with I wasn't sure what to think about it, but it gradually grew on me. I liked that it was set somewhere which is almost outside my imagination, it all sounded so exotic and reading it sitting in a car on a ferry in Scotland just added to that I think.
Goodnight Children, Everywhere by Beryl Bainbridge started out really well. It reminded me of an episode of Doctor Who. It had so much potential but it just sort of fizzled out. I wanted more explanation of the ending, how it all worked and why. I really wanted it to be my favourite because I loved the idea of a radio broadcasting reports from the past and the future but it needed something a bit more to actually complete it.
Phew! Did manage to have just enough time to post all these after all. I've just started on Ox-Tales: Fire, not far enough into it to have an opinion yet (I'm only about halfway through the first story right now), but I'm enjoying it.
At the moment my current reading plan is to finish reading this and the last Ox-Tales books, then I'd like to revisit the Harry Potter books. They're right at the top of my book boxes so I haven't got any excuse for putting them off, they're easier to get to than some of the others on my list.
Unless Deadly Intent comes into the library before then, in which case, y'know...
Book 26 of 2010 - The Red Dahlia - Lynda La Plante
25/03/10 - 26/03/10
I've really gotten into Lynda La Plante's books. As soon as I finished reading Above Suspicion I knew that I wanted to read The Red Dahlia but I held off getting it until I was all caught up on the other books I had to read. Clearly waiting made me hungry because I pretty much just devoured it!
I suppose it helped that I'd seen the TV adaptation at the beginning of the year, it meant that I knew who did it from the start, so that element of things wasn't really something to focus on. I have to admit, being the serial shipper that I am, I loved the 'will they, won't they' of Anna and Langton's relationship.
Someone on the book club board for Above Suspicion made a comment about how every few pages someone would walk through a door and let it swing back and almost hit Anna, which made the comment early in the book about how she was surprised when a journalist walked through a door and actually held it for her really funny, hehe.
These books are really opening me up to other crime writers. Before this the only crime writer I ever really read was Kathy Reichs. I'm pleased that I'm broadening my horizons a little.
The day after I got this one out from the library I went back to get the next one, Clean Cut, because I could see that I was about halfway through and I knew that it wouldn't last me until the Tuesday when I could next get to the library. The librarian laughed and asked if I'd finished The Red Dahlia already, I told her no, but I was worried about running out of reading material for the weekend, she laughed and said 'good girl'. Hehe.
And I'm soppy, but I like a healthy bit of romance in my crime novels...
Book 27 of 2010 - Clean Cut - Lynda La Plante
27/03/10 - 28/03/10
This one wasn't my favourite of the three Lynda La Plante's that I've read so far. I think I ended up only giving it three stars on GoodReads. Honestly, I found it a little bit tricky to keep track of who was who and what was going on. Perhaps because one of the characters had three different aliases at one point, plus there was a general collision of cases which were all connected by tenuous links. That coupled with the fact that although I read it in a relatively short space of time, it was pretty much stop-start-stop-start. So it wasn't all the book's fault that I struggled to digest it.
I was thrilled with the beginning, with Anna and Langton. I mean, finally! And I wasn't even too concerned about him getting better, albeit by overusing the painkillers, and leaving Anna. I like the conflict, the conflict is good. But I want answers about the ending. Did he really kill the guy?! Because I agree with Anna that it looks like it. And the next book, Deadly Intent, isn't due back in the local library until April the frigging NINTH!!!
Seriously, what am I meant to do until then?!
Book 28 of 2010 - Ox-Tales: Air - Alexander McCall Smith, Helen Simpson, DBC Pierre, AL Kennedy, Kamila Shamsie, Beryl Bainbridge, Louise Welsh, Diran Adebayo, Helen Fielding
29/03/10 - 30/03/10
I wouldn't say that I enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed Ox-Tales: Earth but I'm definitely getting a real taste for short stories. Thank goodness the HTV Short Story Tree will be starting soon!
I love the fact that the first two, Still Life by Alexander McCall Smith, and The Tipping Point by Helen Simpson, had a distinctly Scottish slant. The latter especially mentions Ballachulish twice, a lovely little village which I taught in for six weeks as part of my third year distant placement. That alone earns it brownie points from me.
I really liked DBC Pierre's story, Suddenly Doctor Cox. To begin with I wasn't sure what to think about it, but it gradually grew on me. I liked that it was set somewhere which is almost outside my imagination, it all sounded so exotic and reading it sitting in a car on a ferry in Scotland just added to that I think.
Goodnight Children, Everywhere by Beryl Bainbridge started out really well. It reminded me of an episode of Doctor Who. It had so much potential but it just sort of fizzled out. I wanted more explanation of the ending, how it all worked and why. I really wanted it to be my favourite because I loved the idea of a radio broadcasting reports from the past and the future but it needed something a bit more to actually complete it.
Phew! Did manage to have just enough time to post all these after all. I've just started on Ox-Tales: Fire, not far enough into it to have an opinion yet (I'm only about halfway through the first story right now), but I'm enjoying it.
At the moment my current reading plan is to finish reading this and the last Ox-Tales books, then I'd like to revisit the Harry Potter books. They're right at the top of my book boxes so I haven't got any excuse for putting them off, they're easier to get to than some of the others on my list.
Unless Deadly Intent comes into the library before then, in which case, y'know...