kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Mar 21, 2021 4:43:57 GMT
How did you go with Shuggie Bain? What a bleak tough read, but I’m pleased I finished it. Amazing writing and a worthy winner of the Booker.
I need something very light and easy going now
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joono
Posts: 5,480
Interests: Brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts
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Post by joono on Mar 21, 2021 8:45:00 GMT
I must admit I stopped reading for a while when they moved to the new place and Shuggie is still very young. I intend to go back, but it's so real to life. Now I understand my mother in law's life in Glasgow, even down to the fact that she also had her teeth removed.
Please give recommendations after I've got through this thing.
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Mar 21, 2021 9:26:04 GMT
Sorry to tell you but Agnes’ story gets better before it gets worse again.
Shuggie however does end on a slightly more positive note. Stick with it if you can
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Apr 22, 2021 0:13:26 GMT
I recently read Black & Blue by Veronica Gorrie. I saw her on The Drum and thought she sounded interesting. The story of an Aboriginal woman who worked as a police officer and fought for justice both within and beyond the Australian police force.scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/black-and-blueIt was really good, if a bit depressing, and well worth a read. |
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Apr 22, 2021 1:16:08 GMT
That’s weird. Gorrie is on Conversations on ABC radio now 😯
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joono
Posts: 5,480
Interests: Brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts
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Post by joono on Apr 22, 2021 10:23:51 GMT
I just started reading Shuggie Bain again Kay so I'll finish it. I admit it is a very good book but not exactly cheerful, is it. I'll have to read a Marian Keyes one after this.
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joono
Posts: 5,480
Interests: Brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts
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Post by joono on Apr 26, 2021 6:53:20 GMT
I finally finished Shuggie Bain. Was this the authors own life story that he told? That didn't occur to me until I read the acknowledgements. It was very good and very depressing.
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Apr 26, 2021 22:54:35 GMT
From what I’ve read about it Joono, I don’t think it is autobiographical but he does know the life he writes about. His single mother was an alcoholic who died when he was 16.
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Clarabelle
Posts: 1,019 
Interests: grass, buttercups, grass
Location: in the top paddock
Current Mood: Mooooody
Sex: Once a year
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Post by Clarabelle on Sept 6, 2021 13:08:02 GMT
The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter.
If you like mystery thriller type books this one is great. I find the ending or plot is predictable in most books but not this one.
I have also just finished The Lost Man by Jane Harper. I didn’t guess the ending until the very last pages. It was intriguing and I loved the outback setting.
The Wife’s Secret by Karen Wilkinson was a little bit more predictable but still a really good read.
I’d recommend all of these. They pique your curiosity, and keep you guessing.
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Post by maggiemay on Sept 7, 2021 0:38:28 GMT
thanks, Clarabelle, will look for those, my favourite books are crime/thrillers, there are so many good authors now..... i buy my books from a cystic fibrosis (second hand) bookshop, they have council library discards and donations, there are many thousands of books, and in the fiction area, they are in strict alphabetical order, so i can go straight to the author that i am looking for
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joono
Posts: 5,480
Interests: Brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts
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Post by joono on Sept 7, 2021 2:07:40 GMT
There used to be a really good 2nd hand bookshop close by but it's gone now. I have seen a couple of those books in Target and Kmart.
I just finished The Hope Flower by Joy Dettman. I loved it but if I had to describe it, it would be almost a cross between The Waltons and Misery. It would make a good movie.
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Post by poisonivyspen on Nov 7, 2021 7:47:36 GMT
The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter. If you like mystery thriller type books this one is great. I find the ending or plot is predictable in most books but not this one. I have also just finished The Lost Man by Jane Harper. I didn’t guess the ending until the very last pages. It was intriguing and I loved the outback setting. The Wife’s Secret by Karen Wilkinson was a little bit more predictable but still a really good read. I’d recommend all of these. They pique your curiosity, and keep you guessing.
Have you read any others of Karin Slaughter? I've read her Grant County Series, then the Will Trent Series. You have to read Grant County first before Will Trent as the latter has ties to the former. I don't mind her stand alone novels, I've read The Good Daughter and no you don't see that one coming the end of it that is. The first one of hers I read was Cop Town, she doesn't hold back.
I like she writes stories centred around her home state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta though her novel Pieces of Her was not based in Georgia. She's not afraid to write about the south warts and all.
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Nov 7, 2021 20:06:18 GMT
I recently finished Cloud Cuckoo Land, the new release by Anthony Doeer who also wrote All the Light We Cannot See.
I loved it. I had to ration myself or I would have devoured it in one sitting! Beautiful writing and a fascinating story line.
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joono
Posts: 5,480
Interests: Brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts
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Post by joono on Jan 13, 2022 7:54:28 GMT
Just finished The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth. I thought it would just be a bit of light reading like the last one I read by her, but it was actually intriguing and suspenseful.
One reviewer said "If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, you will find it hard to put down" And it was.
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Clarabelle
Posts: 1,019
Interests: grass, buttercups, grass
Location: in the top paddock
Current Mood: Mooooody
Sex: Once a year
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Post by Clarabelle on Mar 24, 2022 3:03:39 GMT
I’m way behind on my book a month reading goal.
I just finished this one
The Light Between Oceans, by M.L.Stedman
The opening pages were intriguing and sucked you in, but as the book progressed it seemed to suck the light out do the day and happiness from your soul.
It was a good storyline, and I suppose well written, but a bit too deep and meaningful and gloomy for my liking. I wouldn’t read it again.
It starts off with a baby in a dinghy washing up on a remote lighthouse island off W.A., in the 1920’s.
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Mar 24, 2022 3:43:46 GMT
I read that a couple of years ago and I’m pretty sure it was made into a movie or tv show. I enjoyed it.
I’m still wading through Van Badham’s new book about qanon. Let’s just call it “educational” 😐
I have a few novels in the queue but I’m determined to finish this first. I hate abandoning books part way through
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Clarabelle
Posts: 1,019
Interests: grass, buttercups, grass
Location: in the top paddock
Current Mood: Mooooody
Sex: Once a year
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Post by Clarabelle on Mar 24, 2022 5:04:52 GMT
It was a good story, but I found the underlying post war sadness to be……. Sad.
A movie might be less so, as it might not delve so deeply in to the psyche of the characters.
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Post by maggiemay on Mar 24, 2022 5:34:46 GMT
Clarabelle, that movie is still on Netflix, it is a beautiful movie, worth looking at....i generally don't like Australian productions, they are too amateurish for me, but that one is very good
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joono
Posts: 5,480
Interests: Brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts
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Post by joono on Mar 24, 2022 11:17:16 GMT
I'm much more lowbrow. I got a copy of Marian Keyes new book, 'Again, Rachel', so I dragged out my copy of 'Rachel's Holiday'. Possibly the funniest book I've ever read. Also it's quite sad at times.
Finished Rachel's holiday for the third time as a refresher and about to start on the new one. I hope I'm not disappointed.
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Post by pennybanger on Mar 25, 2022 2:53:55 GMT
I recently read (on Kindle) Rosemary Sullivan's book, The Betrayal Of Anne Frank. Now I see the publishers have recalled it because it has copped a lot of criticism and it's research and conclusions have been called into question.
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Apr 15, 2022 2:17:26 GMT
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. It’s one of Reece Witherspoon’s recommendations. I struggled a bit at the start but then got really caught up in it.
Don’t read it if you need nice tidy endings though. It has a very ambiguous conclusion
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joono
Posts: 5,480
Interests: Brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts
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Post by joono on Apr 15, 2022 3:12:13 GMT
My favourite ever chick lit book is Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes. Well she has just published a follow up called Again, Rachel. I've just finished that one and I loved it. It was not as hilarious in parts as the first one, in fact it was quite sad in a lot of places but it was a really good followup. I can recommend it, definitely. I'm not going to say it was just light reading because it was more than that. Oh, and I re-read the first one before I started it. That book cracks me up, even though it's a serious topic. Kay, I do like nice tidy endings  |
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Post by maggiemay on Oct 13, 2022 22:24:09 GMT
Clarabelle, you might be interested in Scrublands by Chris Hammer, an Australian political journalist.....set in Riversend, halfway between Bellington and Hay.....drought, bushfires, sex and murder, I am halfway through it, and it's pretty good...would make a good film
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kayoneuu1
Posts: 4,170
Interests: golf; grandkids; travel; food; sauvignon blanc; pinot gris ......
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Post by kayoneuu1 on Oct 14, 2022 0:46:20 GMT
That sounds good maggie, I’ll watch out for it.
I have just this morning finished Exiles by Jane Harper. It’s the 3rd in her Aaron Faulk series. I really enjoyed it, but I have liked all of her novels I’ve read. I’m about to start on The Survivors
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joono
Posts: 5,480
Interests: Brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts
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Post by joono on Oct 14, 2022 1:14:12 GMT
I've read a few books now by Taylor Jenkins Reid and I recently finished "Carrie Soto is Back". That was pretty good. Carrie is a tennis champion and decides to come out of retirement to try to reclaim her record as the winner of the most Grand Slam titles.
I enjoyed that one and I'm not even a huge tennis fan. It's about her life and relationship with her father too.
Now I'm on to another one which I've just started. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I'm sure someone mentioned that they really enjoyed it but I can't find the post now.
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Clarabelle
Posts: 1,019
Interests: grass, buttercups, grass
Location: in the top paddock
Current Mood: Mooooody
Sex: Once a year
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Post by Clarabelle on Oct 14, 2022 1:24:50 GMT
Thanks Maggie, I do like the aussie mysteries, particularly when they are in settings I am familiar with.
My sister-in-law had a box of books in her car at a recent gathering. I grabbed Survivors by Jane Harper. It was good but not as good as good as The Dry and Lost Man.
From my sisters box of books I read One Thousand Splendid Suns. It is set in Afghanistan. It is sad, with not much light at the end of the tunnel, but good reading and gives insight in to the lives of muslim women.
Back to aussie crime and mystery is Wake by Shelley Burr. A kid goes missing without a trace, from a remote property in the middle of the night . I really liked this one. Not an obvious plot.
Cutters End by Margaret Hickey, another good aussie mystery. Have I mentioned this one before? My short term memory is shot.
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