The Book Vipers discussion

Finished reading Midwives by Chris Bohjalian. I wasn't that impressed by it. Found it a bit slow & repetitve. Definitely not one of his better ones, imo.

Finished several books this week including Bradley Wiggins: My Hour, a great account of his successful attempt on cycling pinnacle event the hour record. My review is here
Also read Deep Sea and Foreign Going: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Brings You 90% of Everything which is an interesting account of the global shipping industry that brings all of us the things we consume. My review is here.

Also read The Man in the High Castle an interesting alternative future set in America where the Nazis and the Japanese now control a sizeable portion of the country. Not a bad read and it does make you wonder, what if? My review is here

Paul wrote: "Also read The Man in the High Castle an interesting alternative future set in America where the Nazis and the Japanese now control a sizeable portion of the country.."

The Man in the High Castle is being filmed in my neighbourhood right now. I'm looking forward to seeing it--your review makes it sound quite interesting.

It was worth reading Storyheart.

I've just come across a book I could not finish, which is my first in 3 years. It was Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension
It's billed as a book that makes maths fun. I beg to differ. Matt Parker did a really good job but apart from his jokey style which was humorous, maths still remained dry for me.

Paul, this was one of my book hunter challenge books, can it still count to my challenge tally or should I try to find another to read. It was supposed to be a book with 'make' in the title.

I got to chapter ten so I got halfway through.

Finished the The Orphan Master's Son and liked it. Part satire, part political thriller, the novel paints a devastating portrait of the dystopian world of North Korea:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Catherine wrote: "Paul, this was one of my book hunter challenge books, can it still count to my challenge tally or should I try to find another to read. It was supposed to be a book with 'make' in the title...."

If you have marked the finish date in then it will count. How are you doing with the challenge otherwise?

My book for make was Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, thought it was pretty good. Alex Bellos writes very good and readable maths books normally.

Yes, I marked in the finish date.
I'm enjoying the challenge, so far I have read 20 out of my 33. I like the fact that because this challenge doesn't have to have a great pile of books to wade through, I can get to read some others that are on my general tbr list!

Finished Restless by William Boyd. Thought it was really good - 4 stars. Don't you just love it when you find an author who's new to you, whose writing you like!

A couple finished in the last week or so. Grief Is the Thing with Feathers which I absolutely loved my rather gushing review is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Also finished So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish which I'm ashamed to confess I was rather disappointed by - a real shame because I loved the first three books. Feel as though I am missing something!

Jackie wrote: "Finished Restless by William Boyd. Thought it was really good - 4 stars. Don't you just love it when you find an author who's new to you, whose writing you like!"

Yes, it is brilliant discovering new favourite authors! Do try Any Human Heart next time you dip into Boyd's oeuvre, I can highly recommend!

Wendy wrote: "Also finished So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish which I'm ashamed to confess I was rather disappointed by - a real shame because I loved the first three books. Feel as though I am missing something!"

Long time since I read them but I seem to recall feeling the same. Also Dirk Gently doesn't really do it for me, although the TV version was ok. But Hitch-hikers and the two other sequels are just fantastic.

Just read The Rabbit Back Literature Society which is a very strange book. It's by a Finnish author and I suppose you'd call it magical realism. I found it engrossing as I was reading it, and galloped through it, but felt a bit frustrated at the end as there were so many unresolved mysteries. On the author's website he claims that readers can work out the puzzles and gives specific pages but even after rereading them I'm still at a loss.
Has anyone else read it?

No, but it sounds intriguing. If it is popular in his native country, I wonder if Tytti knows anything about it?

Just finished The Silkworm. It was ok, didn't enjoy it as much as the first one

Two terrific recent reads to recommend - neither perhaps plot-heavy but with some wonderful writing. Five stars for An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge - my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and five also for Tove Jansson's The Summer Book. Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lisa, I'm definitely aiming to get round to Any Human Heart soon. I think that's the one that Jo recommended to me as well.

I've finished An Ice-Cream War and found it very engaging. However reviews I've read talk about it being a black comedy and I didn't find it funny at all (view spoiler)[ I suppose the sergeant with the incomprehensible scots accent was intended to be comic but it didn't make me laugh. (hide spoiler)] I didn't mind not seeing the humour - I enjoyed it because the characters were convincing.

Finished Neil Gaiman's How to Talk to Girls at Parties – not actually the one linked but the new graphic novel. The images were great to my uneducated eye and it was quite fun but not really one of Gaiman's best/most memorable stories so a 3.5 star.

Also very nearly finished What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I've enjoyed it as a novice runner and a big Murakami fan but I think you'd have to be one or the other to get a lot from it. 3.5 again.

Joy wrote: "I've finished An Ice-Cream War and found it very engaging. However reviews I've read talk about it being a black comedy and I didn't find it funny at all [spoilers removed] I didn't mi..."

It sounds good, Joy. Boyd is a hit and miss author for me. I loved his Brazzaville Beach and liked a few others such as Any Human Heartbut have also tried and given up on several of his titles. I think I'll add An Ice Cream War to the TBR.

Finished Blue Monday by Nicci French. Enjoyed it - gave it 4 stars. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series and finding out a bit more about Freida Klein.

Whew. I just wrapped up Anna Karenina. I can mark it off of my literary bucket list. It was a long read, but I found it very enjoyable. There is nothing I could put review wise that probably hasn't been said 1000+ times. What I didn't see coming was Vader being Luke's father. Looking forward to War and Peace...eventually.

It was a long plane ride, so I was also able to finish Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this first book in the Red Rising trilogy. If it is not up next on your 'to read' list, you are doing yourself a grave disservice.

Kevin wrote: "It was a long plane ride, so I was also able to finish Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this first book in the Red Rising trilogy. If..."

It is on my TBR, just no where near the top!

Just in the process of writing my reviews up for the book I read whilst on holiday. Finished The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Very good fantasy book, but had the odd minor flaw. My review is here

Jackie wrote: "Finished Blue Monday by Nicci French. Enjoyed it - gave it 4 stars. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series and finding out a bit more about Freida Klein."

I love this series, and have now got to Saturday, just enjoy them as you come across them, but they are well worth looking for,

Just finished A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale. Very much enjoyed it. Great storytelling. Four star review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished The Countenance Divine. Wow. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished The Continent of Lies. The author is a satirist in the mode of Vonnegut and while this isn't his best book, it does have it's moments.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished The Last Days of Night. Fully deserving of the five stars which I have given to it. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished The Snow Child a week or so ago. Really enjoyed it, a very atmospheric and magical read based on a Russian Fairy Tale. A little disappointed by the ending as it all felt rather rushed, but a lovely read nonetheless.

Two recent reads. Five stars for my latest foray into Penelope Fitzgerald - At Freddie's. Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... Four stars for Joseph O'Connor's Ghost Light. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Wrapped up The Passage series by Justin Cronin with The City of Mirrors. A great trilogy with a satisfying ending. I'm not one for long reviews as I firmly believe that books are like wine, what is good to me may be sour to you, but I would recommend it heartily if you like a well told story with kinda vampires (without the romance or gore).

Wendy wrote: "Finished The Snow Child a week or so ago. Really enjoyed it, a very atmospheric and magical read based on a Russian Fairy Tale. A little disappointed by the ending as it all felt ra..."

I thought the same!

Stayed awake into the small hours to finish I Let You Go - a mystery thriller. At the beginning it was a bit slow but when it took off I was gripped and couldn't put it down.

Joy wrote: "Stayed awake into the small hours to finish I Let You Go - a mystery thriller. At the beginning it was a bit slow but when it took off I was gripped and couldn't put it down."

I'm looking forward to reading this one! Glad you enjoyed it.

Joy wrote: "Stayed awake into the small hours to finish I Let You Go - a mystery thriller. At the beginning it was a bit slow but when it took off I was gripped and couldn't put it down."

Just did the exact same with God Save The Village Green. Feeling a tad tired today!!!

Just polished off another Michael Lewis, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. It was okay, but as far as Michael Lewis' sports writing, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game was way better. However, his books dealing with Wall Street/Banking are still by far my favorites.

Finished An Unsafe Haven by Nada Awar Jarrar, set in contemporary Beirut. Four stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished the first of the six books shortlisted for the Royal Society prize that I am reading for Nudge The Invention of Nature: The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt a couple of days ago. Really good biography about a scientist that I had never heard of up until now. My review is here

Just finished The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August the ending was a bummer, but over all I loved this one and gave a 4 star, my review is here

Arefin wrote: "Just finished The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August the ending was a bummer, but over all I loved this one and gave a 4 star, my review is here"

Have you read Life After Life? It has a similar theme and, although I liked Harry August, I preferred Kate Atkinson's. Another good one is Replay.

Joy wrote: "Have you read Life After Life? It has a similar theme and, although I liked Harry August, I preferred Kate Atkinson's. "

I'm re-listening to Life After Life on audio and enjoying it even more the 2nd time, having just read the companion book A God in Ruins. I preferred LAL to Harry August as well.

I was the other way around. I lost the plot in LaL, whereas Harry August did a great job of messing with my head.

Joy wrote: "Have you read [boo..."

I haven't read Life after life yet. And Replay sounds intriguing. Thanks for the suggestions! I really like this kind of time bending books but as I have just finished TFFLHA, I think I will take some time before starting another one of them, just for changing the taste a bit.

The Human Web (A Bird's-eye view of World History. For a person who is not particularly well-versed in the subject (like me), it was interesting, but not extraordinary.

Storyheart wrote: "Joy wrote: "Have you read Life After Life? It has a similar theme and, although I liked Harry August, I preferred Kate Atkinson's. "

I'm re-listening to Life After Life on audio and enjoying it ev..."

I'm almost finished Life After Life, having read A God in Ruins, it has gripped me throughout, the clever way she retells stories and descriptions are wonderful. As a newcomer to the group I'll certainly give Harry August a go, if it's similar I'm sure I'll love it.

I've just finished Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story. I picked it up because the jacket says it's about a murder in Savannah. The murder felt like more of an aside than the actual subject of the book. Didn't like it.

Tara wrote: "Storyheart wrote: "Joy wrote: "Have you read Life After Life? It has a similar theme and, although I liked Harry August, I preferred Kate Atkinson's. "

I'm re-listening to Life After Life on audio..."

Another good 'alternate lives' novel is The Versions of Us.

I really enjoyed A God in Ruins too. For anyone who hasn't read it, you don't need to read Life After Life to enjoy this one. Kate Atkinson has taken a minor character from Life After Life and told their story through just one lifetime.

I recently finished The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad. It was decent. I got a different understanding of how Middle Eastern relationships work out, and not just romantic ones.

Finished The Penguin Lessons late last week. Not a bad little tale of how a young man inadvertently ended up saving and then adopting a penguin. My review is here