Just finished an amazing contemporary fiction novel, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (well, it's partly set in the 1930s).
Have started an HF novel, The Prisoner of Paradise by Romesh Gunesekera.
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What Are You Reading? April 2013
- sweetpotatoboy
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1641
- Joined: August 2008
- Location: London, UK
- Vanessa
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 4293
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
- Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
- Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
- Preferred HF: Any
- Location: North Yorkshire, UK
[quote=""fljustice""]Started The Song of Achilles for the simple reason it's short. I've read three 900+ page books this spring and am way behind on my goal of at least of book a week. Fifty pages in and enjoying it so far.[/quote]
I'll be interested to know what you think when you've finished it, Faith. I have this on my TBR pile.
[quote=""annis""]The Baghdad Railway Club, latest in Andrew Martin's Jim Stringer railway detective mysteries, set in Mesopotamia during WWI. There's something about this series - the hero is quite dour, the stories are full of trainspottery and should bore the pants off me, but I find them thoroughly absorbing.
[/quote]
I have a few of this series on my TBR pile, Annis. Glad you are enjoying them.
[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]Just finished an amazing contemporary fiction novel, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (well, it's partly set in the 1930s).
[/quote]
I loved Esme Lennox, SPB. I also loved The Hand That First Held Mine by the same author.
I'll be interested to know what you think when you've finished it, Faith. I have this on my TBR pile.
[quote=""annis""]The Baghdad Railway Club, latest in Andrew Martin's Jim Stringer railway detective mysteries, set in Mesopotamia during WWI. There's something about this series - the hero is quite dour, the stories are full of trainspottery and should bore the pants off me, but I find them thoroughly absorbing.
[/quote]
I have a few of this series on my TBR pile, Annis. Glad you are enjoying them.
[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]Just finished an amazing contemporary fiction novel, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (well, it's partly set in the 1930s).
[/quote]
I loved Esme Lennox, SPB. I also loved The Hand That First Held Mine by the same author.
Last edited by Vanessa on Wed May 8th, 2013, 5:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
- sweetpotatoboy
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1641
- Joined: August 2008
- Location: London, UK
[quote=""sweetpotatoboy""]Have started an HF novel, The Prisoner of Paradise by Romesh Gunesekera.[/quote]
I have done what I rarely do and abandoned this Gunesekera novel at page 80. Too many confusing characters and unengaging. I just picked it up on a whim in the library as I know nothing about the setting (Mauritius in 1825). I see one of his earlier novels was Booker-shortlisted so if anyone else has read him, I'd be interested to hear about it.
I have a nice window before I have to start reading my next book group reads, so will have to have a ponder and see what 's next for me.
I have done what I rarely do and abandoned this Gunesekera novel at page 80. Too many confusing characters and unengaging. I just picked it up on a whim in the library as I know nothing about the setting (Mauritius in 1825). I see one of his earlier novels was Booker-shortlisted so if anyone else has read him, I'd be interested to hear about it.
I have a nice window before I have to start reading my next book group reads, so will have to have a ponder and see what 's next for me.
- sweetpotatoboy
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1641
- Joined: August 2008
- Location: London, UK
- Nefret
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 2984
- Joined: February 2009
- Favourite HF book: Welsh Princes trilogy
- Preferred HF: The Middle Ages (England), New Kingdom Egypt, Medieval France
- Location: Temple of Isis
[quote=""lauragill""]That's an oldie but goodie.[/quote]
I'm finished, so I now have to get the next two books.
I'm finished, so I now have to get the next two books.
Into battle we ride with Gods by our side
We are strong and not afraid to die
We have an urge to kill and our lust for blood has to be fulfilled
WE´LL FIGHT TILL THE END! And send our enemies straight to Hell!
- "Into Battle"
{Ensiferum}
We are strong and not afraid to die
We have an urge to kill and our lust for blood has to be fulfilled
WE´LL FIGHT TILL THE END! And send our enemies straight to Hell!
- "Into Battle"
{Ensiferum}
- MLE (Emily Cotton)
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3564
- Joined: August 2008
- Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
- Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
- Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
- Location: California Bay Area
I'm chewing through Gaskell's North and South. I must say that the wordy, over-described style of the nineteenth century is not much to my taste.
Although that does not apply to all nineteenth-century writers. Having downloaded a bunch of classics on my kindle, I just read Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, and he is much more terse -- except when he's being tongue-in-cheek.
Although that does not apply to all nineteenth-century writers. Having downloaded a bunch of classics on my kindle, I just read Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, and he is much more terse -- except when he's being tongue-in-cheek.