What are you reading at the moment, part2

Just given up on 50 Shades of Grey. Wanted to find out what all the fuss was about and bought a copy in a charity shop. very badly written and no plot. It lurches from sex scene to sex scene and I can imagine every 14 year old in the country is reading it under the bed clothes or on their iPhone. Can't believe a friend who said she'd learnt a thing or two from it!

Hattie now you must read the next in the series.

I have just finished The Blackhouse by Peter May. An excellent read, set on the Isle of Lewis. Highly recommended. There is a murder, but it about the childhood memories of the detective who came from Lewis. It will make you want to visit the place and see it for yourself.

Agree about 'Headhunter' numberplease...think I'll try some different Scandinavian writers and give Nesbo a rest.

I`m a great Jo Nesbo fan, and have just finished Headhunter, but wasn`t overstruck by it. I`m used to his Harry Hole books, so maybe that`s why, but I just found it okay, no more. Am now reading Immortal, by Dean Crawford, but not too sure about it as yet.

Has anyone else read Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong? I read it in my teens. Thinking I need to read it again now. I wonder if I still have my copy?

Now reading ' the Kitchen God's Wife' by Amy Tan -- about Chinese women/ families in USA - some interesting historical bits about China and the Cultural Revolution etc - the other book by her that I have read is The Joy Luck Club - also about Chinese in America.

The Misremembered Man sounds lovely; we used to go to Ireland a lot a few years ago. I'm actually now getting stuck into The Help, having been in a reading doldrums for quite a long time; really enjoying it.

Yep, it's a goodie.

Whoever recommended The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, thank you! Am loving it

You're absolutely right Mishap - at the moment I have 5 other books on my Kindle from the "Daily Deals". Quite often they will have one that has been on my wish list for a while but then something comes along that I would have not usually considered and I think that it sounds worth reading. I have read several recently that are outside my usual pattern. Thoroughly enjoying the diversions.

I do admire you for sticking with a book that you don't like - I can't do that. I'll give up if it doesn't grab me in the first few chapters. There are just too many good books waiting to be read to waste time on garbage

Hello yogagran - I think you have been taking advantage of the kindle daily deals as we seem to have been reading the same books!

But for my book club I have just read a quarter of The Confessions of Edward Day by Valerie Martin, after which I put it down. What a load of pretentious navel-gazing garbage - do not waste one moment of your precious life on it!

I've just finished "The Misremembered Man" by Christina McKenna. Really enjoyed it.

As Amazon says:
"The Misremembered Man is a beautifully rendered portrait of life in rural Ireland which charms and delights with its authentic characters and gentle humor. This vivid portrayal of the universal search for love brings with it a darker tale, heartbreaking in its poignancy."

I loved the way that the Irish dialect was written phonetically. I never realised that the orphanages in Ireland were quite so brutal.

Well worth a read

number ! Glad you liked it!

Jacey, you`ve whetted my appetite for The Phantom, I love Harry Hole, and have read all the others.
I`ve just finished James Patterson`s Kill Alex Cross, loved it, as I usually do the Alex Cross stories. Overnight, I`ve read The Silent Miaow, by Paul Gallico, courtesy of a very good friend, it`s a must for cat lovers.
I`ve just started The Thread, by Victoria Hislop, not my usual sort of read, but I think I`m going to like it.s

I've just started The Thread and it has me hooked already. I loved The Island,a very easy read, The Return was slightly harder going but once I got into it I loved it too. I started reading the book Annobel mentioned Birds without Wings but I'm finding that hard to get into but it seems along the lines of The Thread. I'm am holidaying in Kayakoy in Sept which is what Birds Without Wings is about so hop I get it finished in time.

Just finished the latest Harry Hole ...The Phantom by Jo Nesbo.

Would suggest that all fans of this series do not read it , in bed last thing at night ...but sitting out in the sunshine! A dark, dismal and depressing story ...with too much focus on rats.

I really enjoyed 'Why be Happy' read it on holiday last month..covered all emotions: tears to laughter! Brilliant writing.

Just reading "Why be Happy when you could be Normal?" by Jeanette Winterson - what a writer. Her cryptic little throwaway lines about the role of the church in society are true gems - witty and compassionate and sometimes very funny.

Lovely book 'the Secret Life of Bees - much better than her next one - the Mermaids Chair - at the moment I m ploughing my wy through Atonement but have found parts of it hard going but I will finish it.

I am reading The secret lives of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd on my Kindle, I am really enjoying it, I had a shower and made the mistake of turning the Kindle on and 1 hr later still on the bed. I would recommend it as a good read so far, will report back when finished.

Someone on Gnet recommended Victoria Hislop's The Thread and said it was much better than The Return which, I'm pleased to say, it proved to be. Where the plot of The Return was highly improbable, although the background material of the Spanish Civil War was impeccably researched and informative, the plot of this novel deals with characters who are convincing and involve us in their fates. It's a bit strange how she manages to give away part of the conclusion in her very first chapter where we meet an elderly couple whose story is the thread of the novel. As good a plot as The Island and the style is less clichéed. Infinitely better than The Return.
If you've read The Thread and would like to read another novel about the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, I recommend Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres.

Sorry, this was a reply to a blog about 'How it all began' by Penelope Lively. I didn't realise my comment would stand alone. You must have wondered what on earth I was talking about!

I really didn't enjoy reading this novel. I found it a gentle tale, well told, but boring. I think it would have made a better short story, with less padding. Usually I love Ms Lively's work but this one was not a hit...sorry!

I've just read The Greenhouse by Audur Ava Olafsdottir, it was a freebie Kindle and I really enjoyed it. I get the daily list of free kindle books from E Reader IQ, and often find myself reading something a bit different from my usual choices.

this is not at all an action story, just peaceful and different - here is one of the reviews from Amazon - "beautiful, uplifting book with a golden glow. Stunning descriptions of Icelandic scenery and flora, and of the southern European village and monastery rose garden. If you are in to lava flows, botany, fatherhood, roses, monasteries, or even cookery, or are a bit of a film buff, there should be something here for you. The child, Flora Sol, is absolutely endearing. This is an unusual, but very readable book, and I think that the author is a genius. On a surface level it is very worth while reading, but there is a lot going on below the surface as well. Read it and see. "

I really recommend it.