This is one Friday Five from RevGalBlogPals that is definitely right up my alley!
So tell us what you're reading, what you would and would not recommend--five books or authors! And if you don't want to do that freestyle, here are some questions:
1. What books have you recently read? Tell us your opinion of them.
I've read 4 books so far in 2011. I am an avid reader and I comment on just about every book I read at goodreads.com and in this blog. For the most recent comments, check out a post earlier today on Mary Roach's Packing for Mars. I've also reviewed a couple of mysteries earlier this month.
2. What books are awaiting your available time to be read?
I am currently reading three books: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny and Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass, and Zero, The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. In my physical books-to-read-soon stack I have a Martha Grimes from the library, Half-Broke Horses, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Confessions of a Knitting Heretic, Death of a Perfect Wife, and Left for Dead: A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis. I also have a number of books on my Kindle waiting to be read - Trollope's Barchester Chronicles, Five Little Peppers and How they Grew, Hospitality the Sacred Art, The Goddess of Fried Okra
3. Have any books been recently recommended?
Just about all of the books on my list are books that have been recommended by my blog and Ravelry friends, my in-person friends, and a few are titles from a Fred Wolff series of writing workshops I've attended.
4. What genre of books are your favorite, along with some titles and/or authors you like best?
I've been an eclectic reader most of my life, but lately I've taken to reading series that feature strong detectives and murder mysteries. Most of them are set in another time/place - The Inspector Rutledge books by Charles Todd, the Kate Shugak novels by Dana Stabenow, the Armand Gamache books by Louise Penny, the Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear, the Inspector Jury series by Martha Grimes, the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma Jones series to name a few. I also really enjoy historical fiction set in England. I DISLIKE books that glorify violence and gore or that dwell in darkness. I stopped reading Patricia Cornwell because I felt nothing but darkness when I read them. I also have never cottoned on to the James Patterson books, Sukie Stackhouse books or Dean Koontz which seem to be popular with some of my colleagues at work.
5. What have you read lately that you have a strong urge to recommend? (or to condemn?)
I definitely recommend Louise Penny's books, Stiff and Packing for Mars by Mary Roach, and At Home by Bill Bryson. I also highly recommend Sara Miles' book Take This Bread . It's one of the best books on communion I've ever read.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
I don't read vampire books--exception the Twilight series, read because I was teaching waaaay too many teenage girls. I stopped Cornwell for the same reasons you did, but I did listen to Scarpetta the other day, and it wasn't bad. I like some of the lighter series of mysteries--Monica Ferris, Earlene Fowler, Susan Wittig Albert. I like an occasional Stephen King, but not most, Stabenow, Louise Penny. I loved the Dorothy Sayers mysteries--not the one audiobook I've been able to find--that feature Lord Peter and his wife. I also like Elizabeth George and P.D. James. And, of course, Agatha Christie. I found that I liked her autobiographical Come Tell Me How You Live (Agatha Christie Mallowan) as much as her mystery stories. I also like Elizabeth Peters and her other incarnation as Barbara Michaels. Tony Hillerman. I even like the movies of Hillerman's books made for PBS. They are beautifully filmed, I think. Those are just mystery authors.
I have Miles' second book on my shelf, but haven't gotten to it yet. Thanks for the nudge!
Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire is one of the few books I've just stopped in the middle and never regretted quitting. It made me queasy. I don't care for books with too much darkness, either. I like the Cozy Mysteries.
I took some notes and am curious about Martha Grimes and I think I must have Take this Bread on my wish list. It may have gotten taken off for some reason...maybe I need to read it though. Thank you for your thorough recommendations and I agree with you about Cornwell. It went the same with me for J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts... excruciating instead of relief at the end.
Post a Comment