What are you reading at the moment?

Tell us about the book which you're enjoying.  Why is it so enjoyable?  We all like different things so your impression of a book is helpful. 


 


I added many of the books, which were recommended on the previous thread, to my reading list, based on the poster's comments.


 


I've been having a crime-fest.  The most recent are ...


 


Scent of a Killer by Kevin Lewis - I don't really like Brit-cop books - too depressing - and this was no exception.  (What is it with British cops?)  However, apart from some mistakes which should never have got past a decent editor, it was very readable with a good, if meandery, storyline.


 


The HIdden Man by David Ellis - This author has been likened to John Grisham crossed with Harlen Coben.  Being a fan of both, I poo-pooed this idea.  That was, until I read the book.  How wrong I was!  It is a gripping, fast read and deserves the comparison.


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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Barren by Anna Hedley.

 

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

 

The thread title:  "What are you reading at the moment", seems slightly puzzling.

Because it implies that reading a book, is something to be done, over a long period of time.

 

The thread title was first posted in 2004 by Towery Flats.  When eBay wiped out most of our threads I thought that this one was worth reviving.   "What are you reading at the moment" does not imply that it is "something to be done, over a long period of time."  At the moment I am reading your post and my response.  What is meant by "at the moment".  This thread encourages booklovers to share their experiences of books which they are reading be they in their desk drawers, on their kitchen tables or wherever.

 

Do we need to neglect this thread and start a book review thread?

 

I want to hear about other peoples' experience of books which may have slipped my notice.  I have bought many books thanks to recommendations on this and its previousd thread.  Surely, how you read a book is irrelevant.

 

I've read some really enjoyable books in the last few weeks - I'll wait to review them.

 

 


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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Sometimes you can become so wrapped up in a book that you dont want to finish it, when this happens to me 🙂 I tend to do what the girl at your office did LOL read it a bit at a time 🙂  Love the Inspector Montelbano books and am just about to start "Gary Gibson's Extinction Game"  Love a good end of the world type book.

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Thanks Mrs Bee.  You comments, as always, are wise.  But I still think the phrase "What are you reading" isn't right.

Because it implies that reading a book takes a long time. Like it takes several days to read it.

 

But how can a book take several days to read?  This is what mystifies me. 

Surely, if a book is interesting, then one reads it straight through.  That doesn't take more than a few hours. And it enables the book to grasped as a whole, and appreciated as a single entity.  As a full artistic creation.  Not something which should cut into bits.

 

I mean, suppose someone asked: "What pictures are you looking at,  at the moment?"

 

And the reply was, "Well, I'm looking at Constable's "The Hay-Wain".  It seems quite good, at the top. But that's as far as I've got so far. However, I'm working my way down the picture, and hope to get to the bottom in a few days."

 

Would that be a sensible reply?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?


@steve-pushkin wrote:

Sometimes you can become so wrapped up in a book that you dont want to finish it, when this happens to me 🙂 I tend to do what the girl at your office did LOL read it a bit at a time 🙂  Love the Inspector Montelbano books and am just about to start "Gary Gibson's Extinction Game"  Love a good end of the world type book.


Yes, that's a true remark!  Or perhaps, to refine it slightly, "You don't want the book to finish".

 

This is when the book is good, that you earnestly don't want it to come to an end.  And start inspecting, and finger-feeling, how many pages are left at the back of the book, and regretting the thinness of the remaining contents

 

As regards the girl in the office, she was only reading, or appearing to read, "Jaws" because it was in fashion at the time.

 

I sussed that she wasn't a real reader of books.  You can always tell.

 

 

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?


malacandran wrote:

Thanks Mrs Bee.  You comments, as always, are wise.  But I still think the phrase "What are you reading" isn't right.

Because it implies that reading a book takes a long time. Like it takes several days to read it.

 

But how can a book take several days to read?  This is what mystifies me. 

Surely, if a book is interesting, then one reads it straight through.  That doesn't take more than a few hours. And it enables the book to grasped as a whole, and appreciated as a single entity.  As a full artistic creation.  Not something which should cut into bits.

 

I mean, suppose someone asked: "What pictures are you looking at,  at the moment?"

 

And the reply was, "Well, I'm looking at Constable's "The Hay-Wain".  It seems quite good, at the top. But that's as far as I've got so far. However, I'm working my way down the picture, and hope to get to the bottom in a few days."

 

Would that be a sensible reply?

 

 

Malacandran, of course it's a sensible reply but I disagree with your suggestion that an interesting book can be read 'straight through'.  If only that were true.  As a child I read straight through books but I don't think I've ever done that in adulthood, I do not have 5 or 6 uninterrupted hours of 'me-time'.  On average I read one page per minute.  I have several bookmarks which mark my place in books which I would love to have the time to read at one sitting but, even on holiday, I never manage that.

 

I would love to know how you manage to read an entire, 300 - 400 page book in one, uninterrupted sitting.

 

 

Back to the topic ...............

 

I have been enjpying Harlen Coben's, Myron Bolitar stories.  It is good to follow the development of a group of characters over a period of years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Currently reading Dead Simple by Peter James.

Brillaint book so far, I think I have a new favourite author.

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

im always reading something. what else would i do on the bus?

i usually read a modern then a classic thena  horror. mix things up a bit.

last book was a reginald hill book which was very good, then i read world war z which was slow going but got better, now im reading the translated tales by brothers grimm lol

nikki

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Thank you, jonnoian66 , for that recommendation.  I immediately went hunting for Peter James.  Fantastic fiction is a great site for outlining books and I liked what it said.

 

Now I'm whispering because I bought a Kindle edition of 'Dead Simple' for 59p!  I don't have a Kindle device but I downloaded the free Kindle for PC to my netbook several years ago.  On your recommendation I thought it was worth spending 59p. Smiley Happy

 

I'm not as comfortable reading from a screen as from a real book but, at 59p, I couldn't resist.

 

Like you,  I think I have a new favourite author.  I am about half way through and it is characterful and suspenseful and I think it's going to have a happy ending - I hope!

 

 

 

 


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"Longdon Green, Farewell"....

"Use Google's Picasa for a Kindle, e-book, cover picture." ... on Hub Pages


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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Sorry for the late reply 🙂 Peter James is a cracking crime writer, just finished Dead Simple myself and absolutely loved the book. My plan is to read them all in order and I've already managed to pick up a few more from my local charity shop. Hope you enjoy Dead Simple (I'm certain you will) and slightly off topic kinda, they're doing a tour of the play nationwide, might be worth checking out if you like that kinda thing 🙂

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Smiley LOL

 

Jon, you replied 8 minutes after I posted!  Hardly a late reply - bless your cotton socks.

 

I'm still reading the first Roy Grace book but have just bought the second.  Again it's the Kindle edition because I don't imagine getting it any cheaper elsewhere.  The next books are much dearer but, like you, I think I'll want to read through them in order so I'll be looking for penny offers on Amazon.

 

Seemingly, Peter James has been producing books for many, many years.  Why have you and I not heard of him before - he's a best seller!


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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

I never even noticed when you'd posted, just assumed I was late replying 😄

 

I've just started the 2nd book the other night, Looking Good Dead, only 50 ish pages in but I reckon it's going to be a belter.

I have seen many of his books in charity shops but not the Roy Grace ones and for some reason I've always dismissed them, I've no idea how we haven't discovered him before now though cos I've been into crime fiction for years,  I didn't realise he was a best seller though until I joined a book group on FB.

 

Anyway, I'm waffling now.

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Gasps in shock at Mrs Bee reading Kindle.Woman SurprisedWoman LOL

 

I've read nothing but Kindle for the last couple of years.

 

Staying in a caravan in the middle of nowhere a couple of weeks ago  I picked a book up and read it right through.

Next books were  over £8 0n kindle so i got them from the library.

I'm reading the 3rd one now.

 

The author is louise Millar.

The books.

 

Playdate.

Accidents happen.

The hidden girl.

 

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?


@marg*e wrote:

Gasps in shock at Mrs Bee reading Kindle.Woman SurprisedWoman LOL

 

I've read nothing but Kindle for the last couple of years.

 

Staying in a caravan in the middle of nowhere a couple of weeks ago  I picked a book up and read it right through.

Next books were  over £8 0n kindle so i got them from the library.

I'm reading the 3rd one now.

 

The author is louise Millar.

The books.

 

Playdate.

Accidents happen.

The hidden girl.

 


It seems to me, that some people like reading books, and others are not serious about it.

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Way hay, Margaret!  heart

 

A hidden advantage of Kindle books is being able to read in bed without having the light on. Smiley Wink

 

I looked up Louise Millar but couldn't work out what sort of books they are.  Are they thrillers?

 

I've bought 8 more Peter James books (real ones!), most from one of my favourite eBay traders.

 

Having read the first 2 Roy Grace (Peter James) books on my computer I decided to try some of the free Kindle books which I had downloaded.  I am reading/skimming 'Angel in Marble' by Elaine Coffman.  It is not at all my sort of book. I'm flicking through pages waiting for a bit of story.   I would definitely not recommend it.  Hopefully some of the other free Kindle books will be better.


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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

On this business about reading Kindle books. 

 

I've never tried it, because it invites these worries:

 

1.  Each page on the screen,  seems quite small.  You don't get much text on it.  Not like the full hi-res vista of a proper book.

 

2.  The Kindle relies on a battery to power it.  This battery must always be running down.  So  doesn't that make the reader anxious about how long the battery will last. And so disturb reading-pleasure?

 

 I mean, if you're reading a paperback book, a real one with paper pages and cardboard covers, you can do so luxuriously for a long time,  without concerns about battery-life.

 

 

 

 

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

I have the Kindle app on my tablet, so I get quite a large page.

 

Battery lasts a long time for books, if I'm playing games or anything else on it, I leave it plugged in.

 

As Mrs Bee said elsewhere, you can't read a bookin bed without the light on,thus disturbing whoever you're sharing aa bed with.

 

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?


malacandran wrote:

On this business about reading Kindle books. 

 

I've never tried it, because it invites these worries:

 

1.  Each page on the screen,  seems quite small.  You don't get much text on it.  Not like the full hi-res vista of a proper book.

 

2.  The Kindle relies on a battery to power it.  This battery must always be running down.  So  doesn't that make the reader anxious about how long the battery will last. And so disturb reading-pleasure?

 

 I mean, if you're reading a paperback book, a real one with paper pages and cardboard covers, you can do so luxuriously for a long time,  without concerns about battery-life.

 

 

Hi, Malacandran,

 

You don't need a Kindle thingummywotsit to access Kindle books.  Don't waste your money.  You can get all the Kindle books on your computer.  Get some free ones to try it out.

 

I had the same concerns as you but I downloaded, 'Kindle for PC', and a few free books.

 

 


1.  Each page on the screen,  seems quite small.  You don't get much text on it.  Not like the full hi-res vista of a proper book.

 

2.  The Kindle relies on a battery to power it.  This battery must always be running down.  So  doesn't that make the reader anxious about how long the battery will last. And so disturb reading-pleasure?

 

 I mean, if you're reading a paperback book, a real one with paper pages and cardboard covers, you can do so luxuriously for a long time,  without concerns about battery-life.

 

 

Kindle is a programme not a device.  Many people think that they have to buy a Kindle tablet to access Kindle books: this is not so.  Anyone who has a computer can access Kindle books - just download 'Kindle for PC'.

 

 

1.  You cannot compare reading a book on screen with the experience of a real book. On my netbook, the free, 'Kindle for PC' fers the option of font size.  The bigger the font the less on the page and vice-versa.  With a normal sized font you get exactly what you would see in a real book.

 

2.  I don't have a Kindle.  I downloaded 'Kindle for PC', absolutely free, for my computer.  Battery life isnot an issue, my netbook has a very long battery life.

 

 


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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Currently readin book 3 of Peter James 'Roy Grace' novels 'Not Dead Enough'. I'm on page 240 ish and another good read, only 7 or 8 books in the series to read. I'm considering reading The Girl In The Spiders Web after I've read what I'm reading now, the revival of Lisbeth Salander excites me but waiting to hear some reviews from people who have read it, has anyone here read it yet?

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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

I'm ahead of you, Jon.  Smiley Happy

 

I have now read 3, 4 and 5 of the Roy Grace series (Peter James) whilst on holiday.  They are consistently good with a background mystery emerging on a personal level.

 

At the moment I'm reading a sort of 'boy's own', dungeons and dragons-type trilogy which was free on Kindle.  If you like that sort of thing - all sorts of creatures: humans, elves, gnomes, goblins, trolls, dark elves, rock giants, wizards, healers ... etc, etc ... -then OK.  It is Robert J Crane's, Sanctuary Series.  It is very well written but there are are so many characters of different species that, even in book three, I don't know half of them and find it difficult to identify all but the main two people.


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"Write your Life Story and Publish it" .....

"Longdon Green, Farewell"....

"Use Google's Picasa for a Kindle, e-book, cover picture." ... on Hub Pages


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