Book Notes

[Lily]

I am currently on A History of the Bible by John Barton which is absolutely fascinating. It's very readable and explains why the Bible came from, who they think wrote it, and so forth. It sounds a bit dry but I can't put it down.

I also read The Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight, which is a true story based on people who had premonitions of tragedies such as Aberfan. Those bits were interesting and readable but he meanders all over the place like Rowley Birkin QC which got irritating. I also polished off Lucy Worsley's biography of Queen Victoria in 2 days - it was excellent.

[Annabella]

I have just finished Storm by Stephanie Merritt which I enjoyed even though I had worked out a key element halfway through https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stephanie-Merr ... 172&sr=8-4

[Flora Poste]

I've been working my way through a few of the Booker longlist:

Case Study - Graeme Macrae Burnet - this was very readable, but didn't quite work for me. It was clever enough, but I much preferred His Bloody Project.

Booth - Karen Joy Fowler - I enjoyed this - it's about the theatrical family of John Wilkes Booth (who assassinated Lincoln) from the perspective of his sibling.

Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan. I loved this book (more of a novella really at just over 100 pages) - it was so beautifully written and said so much more than its length would suggest.

[Little My]

I put Small Things Like These on hold, thanks Flora.

The last two books I read turned out, quite by coincidence, to be written in the style of someone writing a book with someone else suggesting edits.

The Woman In The Library by Sulari Gentill - Murder mystery, with bits of pandemic thrown in. A nice set of characters with an interesting spin. Unsatisfied by the ending though.

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay - A decent modern day vampire story.


I'm now starting The Last To Vanish by Megan Miranda, because my friend recommended it to me as a gripping read.

[Pippedydeadeye]

I just finished The Children of Jocasta. It was OK, and good in the way that it reimagined/interpreted bits of the story, but it was a bit bleak still. I didn’t like the two chapters on, one chapter off way of telling the story.

[Turtle Bean]

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier. I really enjoyed it, I do like her books.

[lazzbo]

I'm reading The Sun Does Shine, the first nonfiction book I've tackled since the pandemic (I think: real life tires me out enough). It's excellent, but I can't read it before bed - it's the account of a poor Black man from Alabama who was innocent but found guilty of murder and put on death row. I picked it up on a whim in a charity shop but it's very readable and he's an unbelievable man.

[sally maclennane]

I finished rereading Troubled Blood and I wish I hadn't bothered. I had forgotten how rambling and unwieldy it was, and all the bollocks about star signs

I'm not sure what to read next. I have a few that I want to read but I'm also trying to keep some for going on holiday. Maybe the new Christopher Brookmyre?

[Dutchie]

I am now over halfway into The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell and it's causing me sleep deprivation. It is so good!

[sally maclennane]

I really liked that, Dutchie.

I downloaded the latest Chris Brookmyre at lunchtime and now I'm annoyed that I have to work this afternoon

[Pippedydeadeye]

It’s really good Sal.

I’m reading Elektra by Jennifer Saint and when it’s done I’m going to swerve Greek mythology told from the women’s viewpoints for a bit.

[Rebel Pebble]

Is that The Cliff House? I really enjoyed it although not as much as The Cut.

For those who like a good Agatha Christie style country house murder mystery I can recommend The Three Dahlias by Katy Watson . Three strong female leads of different ages and a big nod to the Queen of crime, although set in the present day.

Also Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard, for a thriller/slightly horror. I enjoyed her lockdown psychological thriller 56 Days, and also The Nothing Man but Run Time is better I think.

[sally maclennane]

Yes, the Cliff House.

I like the sound of Three Dahlias, I might try that.

[sally maclennane]

I finished the Cliff House tonight. I liked it but I don't think it was one of his best.

[Pippedydeadeye]

It’s better when there are real bampots involved.

[sally maclennane]

I still thought it was good but there were some parts that I would have liked more explanation of - they were pretty big events yet he just dropped them in and then moved on.

I saw Marian Keyes recommend a series of crime novels by an Irish author Jane Casey so I might give them a whirl. I'm trying to save the new Val McDermid and Strike books for my holiday, also the new Taylor Jenkins Reid.

[Pippedydeadeye]

I finished Elektra this evening. I’m hopeful of something landing on my Kindle in the early hours tomorrow but I can’t remember when all of my pre-orders are getting released.

[Squirrel]

I’ve read Malibu Rising, which I enjoyed but not as much as Daisy Jones.

The Paper Palace, which was beautifully written and held my interest all the way through, but some of the dark storylines were painful to read. I also struggle with endings that are open to interpretation, even though I feel sure about what I think happened next.

Then French Braid by Anne Tyler. I read that it’s quite typical of her books but I haven’t read any before. I found it frustrating because although the scenes, characters and relationships are all written completely believably, it was somehow at the expense of the storyline. I would get into a character then it would skip forward 10 years and go “now Bob and Susan have got married and moved to XTown” and that was that. Two of the most interesting characters for me both got written out by simply going forward in time and saying that they both died .

Next is Still Life by Sarah Winman because I was looking for 99p Kindle deals.

[Ella77]

I thought the same thing about French Braid, Squirrel! You get quite attached to the characters and their storyline, and then bam, the focus shifts completely. I still really liked it, but it was quite destabilising.

[Squirrel]

Yes thank you, you’ve articulated it much more clearly!