Books

‘THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY: THEY DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY there.’ 

I've never read L P Hartley's novel The Go Between but I am aware of the first line.
The line came into my head this morning over coffee
I've just started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. £3.99 from Tesco
How cheap are books?

The skies are blue today, 
A walk is the order of the day
Eurovision later, I've suggested beer and voting

What are you reading this Saturday btw ?

88 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:14 am

    The Corfu Trilogy, and I just don't want to put it down, I want to get to the end, but I hope it goes on forever. It is quite some time since I have laughed while reading a book, and there have been quite a few times while reading this book.

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  2. The Hush, John Hart . . .

    His latest . . .

    Read The Last Child . . . and you might read more of his . . .
    I have read all . . .

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  3. Just finished Lost for Words by Stephanie Butland. Really enjoyed it.

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  4. Just started 'The Travelling Cat Chronicles' by Hiro Arikawa - "It's not the journey that counts, but who is by your side"....given to my by my lovely daughter, Poppy.

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  5. Elena Ferrante,the last book out of the 4.And Eurovision tonight of course.

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  6. Anonymous10:05 am

    Rogue Male (Geoffrey Household). Filmed twice, once with Peter O'Toole...

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  7. Finished Tolstoy's Biography by A N Wilson last night and about to start Claire Tomalin's Samuel Pepys, The Unequaled Self which is the story of Pepys' youth, before his started the diary. I picked this up at a charity stall for £1 yesterday afternoon in Boots. Tolstoy was a library book.

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  8. I just sarted "Alton Brown:EveryDayCook", I finished two books this week, lot of airport waiting time.

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  9. just finished "infinite tuesday", michael nesmith's bio (monkees fame). mike was always my fave monkee.

    now back to "eleanor & franklin", joseph lash's bio about the roosevelts. it's 1926 and...

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  10. Anonymous10:43 am

    Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and I'm finding it hard going. Prefer thrillers and murder mysteries, but decided I should read more classics as I am fairly ignorant with these,(going by quiz programmes I watch) My next book will definitely be a thriller!

    Joan (Devon)

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    1. Tess of the D is not one to get your teeth into. The Mayor of Casterbridge is much more gripping and a better story. Don't be put off Hardy by Tess.

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    2. Joan i also make myself read a classic now and then and by far the best classic i have read Is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.. I like thrillers too so we may have the same tastes and you might enjoy Frankenstein too.. It amazed me how different it was from all the movies.. Hugs! deb

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    3. Anonymous5:30 pm

      Thanks for the advice Rachel and jinxxxgirl. I started Tess a couple of weeks ago and have only read a few chapters. Not like me, as I can read a thriller or who-dun-it in a couple of days. I have a couple of thrillers lined up, but am determined to finish Tess.
      I'll make a note of The Mayor and Frankenstein as the next classics to be read. Many thanks again.

      Joan (Devon)

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    4. I really, really disliked Tess. I thought the symbolism was overdone and clumsy. If a classic doesn't speak to you, move on. There are plenty more.

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    5. Personally I think Tess is Hardy's worst book, very little story, no meat to it.

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    6. Anonymous11:12 am

      Ok, I'm only too happy to take advice, so I'll give it up as a bad job.

      Joan (Devon)

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  11. Thought I'd join in as I haven't ever posted here before and love reading your blog...also an animal lover. I am reading Insidious Intent by Val McDermid a crime thriller which I am enjoying. Have a great weekend, sue x

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  12. John Aubrey, My Life. Ruth Scurr

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  13. The Alienist by Caleb Carr

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  14. I'm reading blogs and the Times newspaper.

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  15. Books are cheaper than magazines now ... only until they find a way to get adverts into books I guess.

    I'm currently reading Paul O'Grady's Country Life and L'art de la Simplicite ... halfway through both ☺

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  16. I'm 2/3 of the way through The Romanovs by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Alexander II has just died so the dynasty is starting to head down the gurgler.

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  17. When we moved to Argentina, the pleasure of book stores and getting something to read were restricted ... there was nothing in English .. and while we both could read some Spanish, it wasn't enough to enjoy a novel.
    So my husband did research and discovered Kindle.
    He ordered two and since then, I download books into my Kindle and always have something to read .. if it is a lousy book, you just delete it and they have sales with free or 99 cent books ..
    I like mysteries so right now I am reading 'Hold Tight' by Harlan Coben.

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  18. I'm on the 3rd book of the Lord of the Rings series... I read the series starting with The Hobbit about every 5 years.. Its like revisiting old friends.. I always only buy hardcover books and have quite the library.....Hugs! deb

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  19. Anonymous12:06 pm

    I'm reading a book by Jane Harper - called Force of Nature - its set in Australia and is a mystery. This is her second book, her first called The Dry was excellent and became a No. 1 International best seller. I am really looking forward to reading her second book this weekend. Jean/Winnipeg

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  20. 'The Go-Between' is a darned good novel, as was the quite different 1971 film (but with screenplay by Harold Pinter, could one ask for better?) - and with Julie Christie looking more ravishing than she's EVER looked!

    Currently reading 'The Diaries of Kenneth Tynan' (as edited by John Lahr). Hugely entertaining.

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  21. Ive just finished a Brighton based book called Dead like You by Peter James.It was brilliant and I didnt want it to end!Got it for £1 in a charity shop,xx

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    1. I've read a couple of James' novels and don't quite understand why so many go for him so much. I believe he's a resident of Brighton, just next door from me - well, 12 miles away. I haven't given up on him just yet and will try to remember your recommendation.

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  22. Debi-I am going to find it and read it !!

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  23. "The Agony and the Ecstasy” by Irving Stone. I'm reading it in English. I found it at a second-hand book stall.
    Greetings Maria x

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  24. Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. It's a bit unsettling...and for some reason I keep thinking of the TV show "Lost" as I read. I hope it doesn't end quite as pointlessly as the show did!

    I NEED to be reading The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman, as it's my book club selection this month and the discussion group is next Wednesday. Since I'm trying to save money, a trip by the library is in my immediate future!

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  25. Not reading but just watched the first series of 'The Rain' on Netflix. I noticed a lot of the reviews were not good, but thoroughly enjoyed it.

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  26. For some reason I picked up Gone with the Wind at the library. I read it years ago, in my 20s but dexidec to give it another go when I just could not find interest in anything else as I wondered through the stacks of books. Also plan to finish up Grace and Frankie on Netflix.

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    1. I must have read GWTW at least 6 times by now. Never tire of it.

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    2. I am hooked on Grace and Frankie. Lily Tomlin is fantastic as Frankie. So long to wait for the new series. Enjoy. xx

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  27. I am reading Christodora by Tim Murphy.
    I read The Go- Between many years ago for either O Level or A level.....all a bit of a blur now.

    Love your blog....

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  28. For my hardcover enjoyment I'm currently reading Unsung Genius. It's a biography of choreographer Jack Cole. For my reading before going to sleep escapist kindle book, it's Robby Riverton, Mail Order Bride by Eli Easton. Yes I enjoy m/m for relaxing.

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  29. The Autobiography of Henry VIII. So many programmes and biographies about him, I thought it would be interesting and educational to read it in his 'own words'

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    1. Or even in Margaret George's words, considering it's a fiction book, and she's the author!

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  30. I am re-reading Mollie Weir's trilogy ' Shoes were for Sunday ' and the two follow ons. Love Biographies and autobiography. Love Andie xxx

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    1. Read this trilogy years ago and loved it. Have you read Tuppence to Cross the Mersey?, that's another good read.

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  31. I am reading "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw for the second time. I read it when it first came out but am reading it again while hunting for something of interest. I usually have a couple books going at the same time but have been busy with projects.












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  32. 'Brain Tumor Immunotherapy'by Becker et al, 2000

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  33. Anonymous3:20 pm

    I have just finished Denise Mina's- Blood Salt Water- Glasgow detective series. It was good,but probably a bit close to the truth in this imperfect world!Just started The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry- so far I am loving it!Wendy

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  34. I've just finished Wainwright - the biography. X

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  35. Howard's end by E. M. Forster.

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  36. I'm reading blogs; I'm behind.

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  37. The Fear by C.L.Taylor

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  38. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. A brilliant book about a group of male friends who used to be very close but are now drifting apart. One of them is disabled and a cutter, which sounds grim but he's described with such sensitivity and sympathy it's a wonderful read. Like Franzen only better.

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  39. Das Glasperlenspiel by Hesse. It's a difficult read so I said to the nice lady in the shop this morning that I need an English version. She smiled and said it'll be here on Tuesday.

    Wow! That's quicker than Amazon. And no carriage to pay! Support your local bookshop!

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  40. Two books. The first - which I am having to read for my book club (and hating it) is Terry Pratchett's 'Mort'. The other one i am really enjoying - 'The Lost Camels of Tartary' by John Hare - marvellous travel book.

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  41. Josephine Tey 'The daughter of time', a short book 200 pages of a fictional detective who solves the mystery of the 'Princes in the Tower'. Then will pick up Ian Mortimer's 'A time traveller's guide to restoration Britain'.

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  42. "Duet for Three" by Joan Barfoot (about an elderly woman in failing health, her daughter, and her granddaughter), and "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel (historical novel about Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII at the time the king was trying to acquire Anne Boleyn). Two completely different books but I'm enjoying them both.

    Books are expensive here, at least new ones are. So I go to the second-hand book fair each year and buy a lot. We also have two used-book stores for the rest of the year. My husband and I have tastes that overla,p which is convenient.

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    1. 99% of the time i buy from second hand stores... i love hardcovers and have quite the library of my favorites that i often revisit.

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  43. God is an Englishman by R F Delderfield.

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  44. I'm reading Fall Guy (Rachel Alexander & Dash)
    by Carol Lea Benjamin. It's set in America about a Private investigator who has a Pit Bull as a sidekick. It's one of a series of 7 books.

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  45. Just finished Never Mind by Edward St Aubyn. Bracing myself for the next one in the series.

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  46. Downstairs I’m reading Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. Upstairs, it’s The Making of The British Landscape by Francis Pryor.

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  47. Well, I just finished it last night, but had to make myself. I was going to stop half way through it, but since I had paid over $20.00 for it, I thought I should finish it and maybe it would get better. It didn't. The Great Alone. Boring.

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  48. Anonymous7:20 pm

    Number9Dream by David Mitchell. Really enjoying it, but not to the extent of Cloud Atlas, which I absolutely loved. Kim

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    1. Anonymous11:19 am

      Thoroughly enjoyed the sweep of Cloud Atlas; Black Swan Green is also very good. Haven't got around to Number9Dream - yet.

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  49. City of Night by John Rechy. About halfway through it.

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    1. Maybe not, John, but would a novel about a female prostitute and her male clients be any happier? Especially as there's no prejudice against heterosexuality that you could blame the whole thing on?

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  50. Just finished The Big Burn by Timothy Egan.
    Reading Still Life by Louise Penny and The Warrior Queen by Joanna Arman

    cheers, parsnip

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  51. I am rereading Terry Pratchett. And have a heap of books on my to-be-read towers.

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  52. Still Lives by Maria Hummel

    We Need To Talk, How to have conversations that matter by Celeste Headlee

    and blogs, of course! xoxox

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  53. I loved that book you're reading John. I just went to Amazon.com and almost ordered... but more expensive than yours. Flying to the UK next week. I'll go to Tesco and look for it! Ruth in Oxnard Ca. USA

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  54. A God in ruins by Kate Atkinson. It's brilliant, witty and compassionate.

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    1. Will have to try this, love Kate Atkinson

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  55. Thank you all for some good recommendations! I ordered samples sent to my Kindle. I am reading a light, mindless, and not very good mystery series because I had nothing good to read instead. Good post!

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  56. About my 4th reread of World War Z by Max Brooks. Words cannot explain how disappointed I was with the film, which had NOTHING to do with the book! They could so easily have made a brilliant documentary style film that could have been so much better than the dross they came up with. Just another Brad Pitt adventure movie. Ugh.

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    1. OMGosh LOVED that movie!!!! But ofcourse i haven't read the book..

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  57. Can You Die Of a Broken Heart by Nikki Stamp. I'm enjoying a run of medical books at the moment and she is a cardiothoracic surgeon writing about hearts and some of the patients she has met.

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  58. The Quest by Wilbur Smith. It's the last of a series of 4 books. I don't feel that it's as as good as the other 3 but I have to see how it ends.
    Carolx

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  59. All I read yesterday were blog posts... and the depressing world news, briefly.

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  60. Not reading anything apart from some obscure blog by an eccentric Welsh rarebit muncher.

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  61. I'm reading Daughters of Britannia, The Lives and Times of Diplomatic Wives by Katie Hickman.

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  62. The Year of Living Danishly.

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  63. Black Teeth & A Dangerous Smile (about Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar. So far, so good.

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  64. My sister just saw the film. She rates it highly. I'm reading Orkney Twilight - in between hospital visiting.

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  65. A book on Handbags.

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  66. I've been slowly getting through "The Brothers Karamazov" by Dosoevsky. It's taking forever, but it's so good, I'm going to keep going.

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  67. Cheap books... Oh how I wish. Just seen that movie and loved it. The same book here in New Zealand is nearly $30 (about 15.00 GBP)

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  68. My husband has been having some health problems lately so I'm reading a book by Dr Gundry called The Plant Paradox. All about how veggies are attacking us! Very dangerous and full of intrigue...not.

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