What are you reading right now?

I loved Birthdays for the Dead, but it was a tad violent in places. Have just finished I, Michael Bennett, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, really good, now reading The Prophet, by Ethan Cross. I t was a bit confusing at the very start, but getting better as it goes along.

I'm reading, Smut, by Alan Bennett, very thoughtful and funny.

I'm reading, and enjoying:'Flight Behaviour' by Barbara Kingsolver but don't tell Bags as it involves (whisper) climate change.

Now reading Bring up the Bodies, Booker winner and sequel to Wolf Hall. I still find Mantell's narrative style annoying, but it sheds an interesting light on Henry VIII's reign.

Re-reading bits of Herodotus, after finding my Sixth Form copy in one of the last boxes in the garage. May have to find some chick lit to blance things out!

Good for you, Ariadne. I've managed to forget most of the Greek I learnt. I'd need a 'crib' version nowadays.

Just started 1356 by Bernard Cornwell.

I know it will be good. You can trust Bernard.

The Prophet was really good. Have just finished The Drop, by Michael Connelly, who never disappoints, and am now reading Yes Sister, No Sister, by Jennifer Craig, the story of her nurse`s training days in the 1950s.

anno No, not in the original - couldn't manage that these days! Found my Anglo Saxon primer too, and looked at it with sheer horror. I can still do bits of Latin with a dictionary nearby, but nowadays I can only read French with any ease.

One of my birthday books "Bertie" by Jane Ridley. You might think that another biography of Edward VII isn't necessary, but she has had access to a lot of archive material. He comes out of it as a much more complex character than you might have thought and the relationship with Victoria is very interesting.

I've just started Rubicon - the triumph and tragedy of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland. His narrative style makes ancient history very accessible - I thought Persian Fire was superb, so far this is looking good.

I've just finished reading the latest of Susan Hill's series of stories about a senior policeman called Serrailler. Although they are in some ways conventional murder stories, this latest addresses questions about assisted suicide posing the issues but leaving the ending open. Beautifully written.

And I've also just finished (always have three or four books on the go at any one time) Pure by Andrew Miller. This was an entralling account, set in Paris in 1785 of a young man from the provinces who is sent to clear the oldest cemetery in the city. It conjures up vividly the daily life of the people and of their experience of the Bourbons and the threats of the revolution. I even managed to overcome my dislike of the historic present.

I'm reading 'Mr Tibbits's Catholic School,' by Ysenda Maxtone Graham.

Lionheart by Sharon Penman. Long and detailed historical novel about the crusades. Well researched and fascinating insight into a very particular bit of European history.

How Far to Bethlehem? by Norah Lofts. It's an account of the people who are concerned in the Nativity story - Mary and Joseph (of course), the Magi, the shepherds, Herod, and so on. It's fictional, obviously, but very moving. I have read it many times, usually at this time of year.

Oh, Norah Lofts, I loved her trilogy about the Suffolk house, read them years and years ago. I'll try to get hold of your recommendation.

A friend who liked HFTB? says that she has enjoyed Esther by Norah Lofts, mice. Think I'll try and get that. Can't remember the Suffolk house one. what's it called? I have read Bless this House, but I think it's only one book. Have you read the massive Dynasty series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles? It follows a Yorkshire family from the Wars of the Roses onwards and I read it through this year. Normally I don't go for historical novels, but these are well written and (I assume) well-researched, and I enjoyed them very much.

I`ve just started Restless, by William Boyd, my free gift from Gransnet. Not very far into it yet, but think I`m going to like it.

Just starting Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less, by Jeffrey Archer.

I'm reading 'Pearls, Girls, and Monty Bodkin,' by P.G. Wodehouse.

I'm reading Wild Hares and Hummingbirds: The Natural History of an English Village by Stephen Moss. Lovely, gentle book minutely detailing the natural world around the village of Mark in Somerset.

Reading Memory of Bones, by Alex Connor. A bit slow at the start, but liking it now. It`s about the finding of the artist Goya`s skull, which has been missing for nearly 200 years, and the subsequent attempts of various people, including villains, to get hold of it.

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff about bigamy in Mormon Utah.

Inspired by Restless I am re-reading The Spy Who Came In From The Cold - Le Carre writes a good story!

The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall.
DiL to DS, in a shocked tone: 'your mother's reading the lesbians' bible!'

Re-reading the very first Robert Rankin that I found in a Sydney store back around 1980 - only this time Mr Rankin has provided a free Kindle copy!

The Antipope by Robert Rankin, first of the five novels in the Brentford trilogy!