What Are You Reading? October 2013

Amanda · Post by **Amanda** » Wed October 30th, 2013, 7:31 am

[quote=""annis""]Posted by EC

Don't blame you - Sylvia was a real dog and the worst thing Courtenay ever wrote! Dozens of copies ended up in charity shop book bins after Christmas when that one came out

[/quote]

I agree! April Fool's Day is without equal, and his Australia based novels are pretty good. But Sylvia was pretty poor.

Lisa · Post by **Lisa** » Wed October 30th, 2013, 10:14 am

[quote=""Madeleine""]Good luck Lady B - we did it for A Level and I absolutely loathed it.[/quote]

Still struggling through it (1984), was doing fine until it came to the part where you have to read "the book" along with the characters. I've fallen asleep twice now, it's just so repetitive. But apart from that it's been an easier read than I expected. And the line "Winston was gelatinous with fatigue" is just brilliant!

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Wed October 30th, 2013, 2:06 pm

I remember skipping quite a bit of 1984 around the middle section, which is probably why I only got a C grade in my A Level!

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed October 30th, 2013, 3:08 pm

Just starting Through the Smoke by Brenda Novak. It's been getting a lot of good reviews.

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Wed October 30th, 2013, 5:54 pm

[quote=""annis""]Posted by EC

Don't blame you - Sylvia was a real dog and the worst thing Courtenay ever wrote! Dozens of copies ended up in charity shop book bins after Christmas when that one came out

[/quote]

I feel a bit better now Annis. I thought perhaps I was being too picky, but obviously I'm in with the flow.

The scenes kept looping back to gross descriptions of naked overweight German ladies running around in public and the dialogue suddenly developed a rash of 'dosts' and 'thees' and 'thous'. Not to mention some rather lurid sex education moments! Perhaps I'll try a different one of his another time if that was an 'off the rails' moment. I thought the underlying writing itself was good. He can certainly paint pictures with words! #PassTheMentalFloss.

Brenna · Post by **Brenna** » Wed October 30th, 2013, 6:26 pm

Hugo Mager's Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia.

I haven't gotten very far, but it is good so far.

kodiakblair · Post by **kodiakblair** » Wed October 30th, 2013, 6:47 pm

Started The Arthuriad by Francis Hagan. It was reduced for Kindle on Amazon.
Not bad at all , a fantasy set in Britain as imagined by Robert E Howard for his Bran Mak Morn series later added to by Karl E Wagner. So no knights in shining armour or round tables but a mishmash of Celts, Huns, Saxons and Goths etc.
Basically the myriad of peoples who made up the Roman Army towards the end of the Western Empire. I expect some mystic elements to retain the flavour of REH. Think I need some " Tales of High Adventure " as Conan said before starting Cato book.

Cheers K.B

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Wed October 30th, 2013, 10:50 pm

The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien

annis · Post by **annis** » Thu October 31st, 2013, 12:44 am

Back on the steppes with R.F. Tapsell's Year of the Horsetails- liking it a lot (a bit reminiscent in style of Ronald Welch, though not a YA novel). Tapsell apparently also wrote a novel about the birth of the Persian Empire and Darius the Great called Shadow of Wings that I'd like to check out, but it's rare as hen's teeth. I might be able to interloan a copy with any luck, though. Not many novels around about the Persians from their own POV rather than the Greeks'.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Thu October 31st, 2013, 1:18 am

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent