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Madeleine's 2010 Reads

What have you read in 2010? Post your list here and update it as you go along! (One thread per member, please.)
User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Madeleine's 2010 Reads

Post by Madeleine » Tue January 12th, 2010, 11:57 am

January

"When will there be good news?" by Kate Atkinson (non HF) - 7/10. Third book in a series, enjoyable read but not as good as the previous two.

"Raven Black" by Ann Cleeves (non HF) - first book in a quartet of crime novels set in the Shetlands - quite well-written and enjoyable, left things nicely set up for the next book. 8/10
Last edited by Madeleine on Mon February 1st, 2010, 5:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Mon April 5th, 2010, 4:24 pm

February

The Glass Painter's Daughter by Rachel Hore - sort of dual time frame; modern setting but where the heroine finds an old diary and letters, and the story told in them mirrors her own - quite a nice book, a bit predictable but an easy read and some interesting info about stained glass 7/10

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham - first in a series of 12 novels about a Cornish mining family - thoroughly enjoyed this and it sets things up nicely for the rest of the series 8/10
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Mon April 5th, 2010, 4:26 pm

March

Dark Fire by C J Sansom - second in the Matthew Shardlake series, this is shaping up nicely now, well-written but could perhaps have been just a teensy bit shorter? The historical background also ties in nicely with the most recent series of the Tudors - Henry's disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves, Cromwell's fall etc - along with the more human stories that Shardlake has to deal with. 8/10
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Sat May 1st, 2010, 8:26 pm

April

"New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer - second in the "Twilight" series and again, I enjoyed it a lot, I'd love to know how Bella manages to keep so many young men in thrall to her! Also saw the film recently and liked that, although not as good as the film version of the first book.
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Mon May 24th, 2010, 3:54 pm

May

"The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters - think this is my favourite of her books so far; quite creepy and atmospheric, although I felt it fizzled out a bit towards the end. However I felt some of her descriptions were wonderful - Rod's mirror seeming to walk across the table, his cufflinks descending from the ceiling like spiders - very evocative! Well-written too. 4/5

Currently reading "The Scarlet Lion" by Elizabeth Chadwick.
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Sat July 3rd, 2010, 6:47 pm

June

Just the one but it kept me busy: "The Scarlet Lion" by Elizabeth Chadwick 4/5.

Think I enjoyed this more that TGK which set things up really well, but I got a much stronger sense of William as a person in this book and there was so much to absorb, and it still felt as though it was only skimming the surface of his life. There were a few tears, inevitably, at the end!
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Sun August 1st, 2010, 10:37 am

July

Had a break from HF and read a couple of modern, British thrillers although one had archaeological references:

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths - set in Norfolk, England and featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway and detective Harry Nelson, who meet when the bones of a young girl are found in the eerie marsh near Ruth's home. However, although these bones are quickly discovered to be a couple of thousand years old, Ruth finds herself in demand again when the body of a newly missing girl is also found, and the new case seems to be connected with another girl who disappeared ten years previously and has still not been found. The cases seem to be linked and when Nelson begins receiving letters with archaeological references, he asks for Ruth's help. A bit predictable in places, but enjoyable and the first in a series which looks promising.

The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill - 4th novel in the series about Simon Serrailler, set in the fictional cathedral town of Lafferton. Simon has to contend with a sniper who's targeting young women, plus a family tragedy. An easy read, although the police were so slow to catch on to some aspects of the case that, if this had been a TV show, I'd have been shouting at the screen!
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Wed September 1st, 2010, 7:35 pm

August

Just the one book, "Into the Wilderness" by Sara Donati, which I'm still reading. Thoroughly enjoying it, likeable characters and well-written although slightly soapy at times. 8/10
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Mon November 1st, 2010, 5:34 pm

September

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer - 3rd in the Twilight series, and the will they/won't they relationship between Bella and Edward is becoming a bit repetitive....however the second half of the book was much better than the first, and overall I enjoyed it, although I think it's the weakest of the series so far. 7/10
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

User avatar
Madeleine
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5860
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Mon November 1st, 2010, 5:38 pm

October

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood - my Halloween read. A sort of ghost story with a young man investigating his mother's mysterious past; he finds manuscripts of ghost stories written by his maternal grandmother, and goes back to London (he's born and grows up in Australia) to find out about his mother's family, about whom she never spoke apart from the most basic details. He finds a creepy old house in Hampstead, and is also trying to finally meet up with the mysterious girl who has been his penpal since he was a young schoolboy. This book is very well-written and atmospheric, however I felt it all fell apart a bit at the end - everything was explained, but to be honest I found it a bit silly, a shame as he is a good writer, but I would read more by him - however I've read two of his books now and I think it's a case of "it's better to travel, than arrive". The ghost stories were especially good. 8/10
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

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