What Are You Reading? January 2013

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Mon January 28th, 2013, 8:14 pm

Those bits didn't bother me at all. I saw those parts like an aside, a little bit of theatre! The Night Circus was on my top ten for 2012.

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue January 29th, 2013, 1:23 am

I Hear the Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinley (#2 Sean Duffy trilogy) Loving this crime series set in 1980s Ulster during the "Troubles" -dark, twisty, evocative and laced with black Irish humour. And I've just discovered a new word- perse! According to the dictionary a dark blueish-grey with hints of indigo or even purple, perfect for describing the colour of looming storm clouds.

Enjoying the way McKinley juxtaposes the poetic and melodramatic with the banal for maximum effect.

"The day wore on. The grey snow clouds turned perse and black. The yellow clay-like sea waited torpidly, dreaming of wreck and carnage. "Can I go?" Crabbie asked. "If I miss the start of Dallas I'll never get caught up. The missus gets the Ewings and Barneses confused".

Amanda · Post by **Amanda** » Tue January 29th, 2013, 4:42 am

Just finished Jasmine Nights by Julia Gregson, which I loved!

Started Widow of the South by Robert Hicks.

emr · Post by **emr** » Tue January 29th, 2013, 8:52 am

[quote=""annis""]I Hear the Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinley (#2 Sean Duffy trilogy) Loving this crime series set in 1980s Ulster during the "Troubles" -dark, twisty, evocative and laced with black Irish humour. And I've just discovered a new word- perse! According to the dictionary a dark blueish-grey with hints of indigo or even purple, perfect for describing the colour of looming storm clouds.

Enjoying the way McKinley juxtaposes the poetic and melodramatic with the banal for maximum effect.

"The day wore on. The grey snow clouds turned perse and black. The yeloow clay-like sea waited torpidly, dreaming of wreck and carnage. "Can I go?" Crabbie asked. "If I miss the start of Dallas I'll never get caught up. The missus gets the Ewings and Barneses confused".[/quote]

Yup he is good. He is getting all serious with something and then he mentions Thatcher's hair or Magnum's moustache.

And you. are. fast

Silly me I have started yet another series: Orchestrated Death (Bill Slider #1) by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles.
Since my current approach to the mountain problem is alternating Historical Fiction - Fantasy/SF - Contemp. Mystery, I think I'll get to read a entire series by hm Xmas year 2020

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Tue January 29th, 2013, 1:09 pm

I rather liked those inserts within the Night Circus story. They gave the book an atmosphere, of actually being in this amazing place with so much sensory stimulation. I wanted to be there!

I think Tim Burton should direct it, he has the right visual flair.

I dunno, he blows hot and cold for me. I'd rather have Henry Selick, who directed Coraline - that was an amazing movie. And maybe have Neil Gaiman write the screenplya.

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue January 29th, 2013, 6:33 pm

Posted by emr

Yup he is good. He is getting all serious with something and then he mentions Thatcher's hair or Magnum's moustache

When McKinty talks about the alphabets (RUC, IRA etc) it reminds me of Ciaran Carson's wonderful poem Belfast Confetti

WilliamHowardStatecraft · Post by **WilliamHowardStatecraft** » Tue January 29th, 2013, 7:08 pm

I'm reading Rome's Last Citizen by Rob Goodman and Jimmy Soni. It's a biography of a Julius Caesar gadfly Marcus Porcius Cato. He was a stoic with a drinking problem -- quite an odd find.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Wed January 30th, 2013, 7:33 am

Finished rereading Mrs. Dalloway and posted a review yesterday. I was freshly impressed by the beauty and depth of Virginia Woolf's writing in this novel. It's on some lists of "difficult" reading, and I did need to read a little more slowly to savor the writing, but I found it very accessible - more so than some of her others (although my favorite is still Orlando).

I started N.G. Gautreau's Francesca Allegri, about a spunky young woman in 1650-1653 Italy. This is a self-published novel by a Canadian author who has published a number of novels through major publishing houses, and it does read much better than the usual self-published novel. After Virginia Woolf, though, the quality of the writing did not draw me in, so I've laid it aside for now.

I'm having better luck with Paula McLain's The Paris Wife. I've just read the Prologue so far, but I'm impressed and looking forward to reading on.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed January 30th, 2013, 4:45 pm

Just started Pastora by Joanna Barnes last night.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Sat February 2nd, 2013, 2:12 am

The Wedding Shroud by Elisabeth Storrs