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HpprKM

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Self absorbed and rude people! Motorists who are oblivious to the rest of the world, and really don't give a ****!
As a fairly avid reader I sometimes have difficulty in finding good books, or new writers (at least new to me). I have just read a book that I feel is excellent - it is called 'The return of Captain John Emmett' - by Elizabeth Speller. It is set just after the first world war, and is an excellent combination of an insight into what it was like for men in the trenches, both before and after the Great War. Now if you feel that is very depressing, let me say that it is far from that, sad at times - yes, but the story is so well written, the research must have been meticulous and this is also a story of mystery and intrigue, above all it is very skilfully written. I have been to library to research other books by same author, it seems she is fairly new to writing and there is another (possibly sequel) coming out this summer, and she has also written some historical/biographical type books.

I thought it might be nice to share this with other users, likewise, if they come across what they perceive to be 'remarkable' books they might share them with users also. I would share the website with you, but not sure that would be within the forum protocol but you are welcome to PM me if you wish. Also, you can google or check out on Amazon. :D
 
I'm quite a bookworm myself.

I have a big stash of books that i have read over and over. When i find an author i like i tend to demolish all the books they have written before i move onto something else!!

My favourite author at the minute has got to be Jodi Picoult. I really can say if i were to pick up ANY of her books i would enjoy them all without being hooked in by 'my sister's keeper'

I also enjoy Tess Gerritsen books too.

I have yet to find a historical book that has gripped me like Fictional books do though..

Amazon is amazing for getting books :)
 
An opportune moment to add to this thread as I’m now rereading Gary Jennings’ novel The Journeyer. I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve read this book but it turned me into a devoted reader of Gary Jennings. I first picked up the book in the staff room of a nearby school where the staff would leave their old books for anybody else to read. I liked the cover, picked up the book and was hooked within a couple of pages. I also went further and read his other books – Aztec, Aztec Autumn, Spangle and Raptor. Raptor, by the way, is the only book I’ve ever heard of where the principal protagonist is a hermaphrodite.
The Journeyer tells the tale of Marco Polo, using the conceit that Polo was dissatisfied with the original version of his travels as it was transcribed by a priest called Rustichello of Pisa, who was extremely circumspect when it came to the more bawdy side of his adventures. This version describes the journeys but with the naughty bits included.
The reader is introduced to Marco Polo while he is still a young lad in Venice, the son of Nicolo Polo who runs a mercantile company with his brother Maffio. Descriptions of life in Venice are vivid and well researched and cover some of the madcap scrapes the young Polo got himself into, and takes us into the lives of the homeless street urchins he befriends.
Soon Marco is off on his travels in the company of his father and his Uncle Maffio who are keen to return to the court of Kublai Khan (grandson of the fearsome Genghis), mainly for business reasons.
Their journey along the Silk Road, the adventures that befell them, the often strange characters they meet along the way, the deserts and mountain ranges they cross are all recounted with nail-biting suspense.
Arrival at the court leads to more intrigue and more travels as an emissary of the great Khan. Marco’s encounters with techniques and artefacts that are totally new to him are sometimes hilarious and sometimes tragic, as in his experiments with gunpowder, or his use of it to fight a battle in the mountains.
Eventually Marco makes his way home via a long sea voyage via India and Ceylon.
Sadly Gary Jennings died in 1999 at a comparatively young age. His first book, Aztec and its sequel, Aztec Autumn were his first published novels and were a runaway success. Unfortunately, his publisher has had two further sequels produced by a ghost writer who shows none of the verve or the intellectual curiosity that stamps Jennings’ own work. These ghost-written faragoes are shoddily and ungrammatically written with climaxes that the reader can see coming after the first few pages. Avoid like the plague, but try Spangle (the story of an American sharpshooter in a travelling circus) and Raptor (the fall of the Roman Empire).
But be warned – The Journeyer is a big book and once you pick it up you will find it next to impossible to put down.
 
Nice to hear other people's thoughts and reviews on favourite books, BillB - this book looks deeply engrossing, and I hope other readers find these reviews helpful. Keep them coming folks.
 
I've just finished reading all 6 books written by Sophie Hannah which I greatly enjoyed. They're crime novels featuring the same set of characters. I'm normally not much of a crime novel person but these were really good with some brilliant twists at the end. The firs tone in the series is called Little Face should anyone be interested, but I really recommend them!
 
I was interested in reading about the books that you have been reading. As an avid reader myself, i pretty much read anything that sounds interesting, from " The art of war " by sun tzu to Peter Kaye's biographies.

So far this year i have read around 30 books, several by favorite authors such as Eric Lustbader, Jeffery Deaver and James Pattersen, but i have also been introduced to a few new authors ( to me at least )

One of these authors is M.S.Scott , who's book " Rome, The emperors spy " was bought for me by one of my daughters, it is the first in a series. As the title suggests it is set in Rome, during the reign of Nero. I can highly recommend this book, and i look forward to buying the next in the series.
This author also wrote a series of books about Boudica, and also, writing as Manda Scott " 2012, The crystal skull " is another good read.

I'm reading 2 Bill Bryson books at the moment, " A short history of nearly everything" and " At home ". These are the first Bryson books i've read, but they won't be the last.
 
My favourite book is Tolkien's 'The Silmarillion'.

I'm currently reading 'Brothers' by David Talbot about the relationship between Jack and Bobby Kennedy.

Other books I've recently read are 'The House on the Strand' and 'The King's General' by Daphne du Maurier.

Anyone else here have a Kindle?
 
It is really interesting to learn about the books that other forum users find. I have read the posts and may try some of the recommended reading (time permitting - there are so many great books to read).

I do hope other forum users can keep their comments coming ..... I am sure that others (like myself) will find them of interest and use. If you have read any of the books mentioned you could perhaps add your review of same. :D .

Myself, I have just finished a family biography by Elizabeth Speller, author of the aforementioned book, and although it is not a book about someone famous, it is a most intriguing (if a little sad at times) and quite terrifying, portrayal of one family spanning several generations, and it shows huge complexities that can probably be found in most family history, through two world wars right up to the author's own life, she was born in 1950 - and I am sure many people can associate some aspects of their own life with hers. The title is 'The Sunlight on the Garden' (Subtitle ' A family in Love, War and Madness) which is a very apt discription :!:

Now eagerly awaiting notification from my library that her next novel is available.
 
didie » Yes, I have a Kindle, I thought it would be a hard transition from a book - being a book lover, but I am delighted with it, I am now alternating slightly, as I go take my 1 year old grandson to the library for his books and am lured by the exciting array of books, at present Kindle users cannot get library books delivered directly to their Kindle (my daughter has Sony e-reader and which permits her to do so), however, the library assistant recently told me that Kindle gaining library use is in the imminent future - I do hope so!

Can I assume you have a Kindle? If so, what are your opinions on it?
 
Yes, I do have a Kindle and I love it. It goes everywhere with me. I use a programme called Calibre which converts lots of different formats such as PDF and word documents to a format suitable for the Kindle which is great.

If I read a book which I really love, then I'll buy a print copy to keep.

My only vague gripe about it is that Amazon have the purchase of Kindle books set to one click buying and sometimes it is just a little too easy to buy a book :) (especially if like me you have little willpower when it comes to buying books).
 
Yes, I inadvertently (in fact unknowingly) purchased a book that I merely wished to place on my wish list - however, they are really good and refunded the money. I know what you mean though, so many tempting books, so easy to spend money! I also love my Kindle, I took it to the hospital appointment, it caused quite a stir! Can't wait to fly and take it away with me, so much lighter than a book.
 
I took mine to Australia with me and didn't bother to watch any films on any of the numerous flights. I read my Kindle instead.
 
:-) Just wondering about the Calibre programme you mention, is it downloadable on the internet?
 
Are we allowed to put links in?

Here it is. Brilliant little programme.

http://calibre-ebook.com/about

If you want to convert a word document, you need to save it as rich text so it will convert.
 
Thanks for that, I hope you don't get into trouble for it :D . I am sure I will make good use of it once I get my head round it. Continue enjoy reading on Kindle and thanks again.
 
Interesting to read that so many of you have started to use a Kindle, i'll have to put one on my christmas wish list, using one might stop the missus moaning about the space my books take up, i've not long got rid of 300 books to a second hand book shop but still have a few hundred knocking around.

If you like biographies, i can recommend Stephen Fry's, he is very frank and honest in it, also, " The Palin Diaries" by Michael Palin, he reveals what went on behind the scenes during his time with Monty Python.
 
I really do recommend the Kindle, mine was a present last Christmas from my husband, I had been mentioning my interest in one and he, like your wife, had been complaining about my books taking up so much room, even have boxes full in the loft! I was really unsure if I would enjoy a Kindle in the same way as a proper book, but it proved such a delight and was not a problem. There are many free ones and low price ones in Amazon, and it has so many other features that I have not even got around to trying yet. You can go on the internet with it, you can buy a book by 3G via phone line in seconds, it is amazing! Maybe Santa Claus will be kind to you and bring you one this year :-) you will have to let us know, and what you think of it.
 
Like the other Kindle owners here, I love my Kindle. And as I was formerly a printer I suppose I shouldn’t be saying that. My wife bought mine for my birthday last year and was so taken with it that I had to buy her one as an advance Christmas gift.
The advantages I find are the same as the other people on this forum – ease of buying books (can be a disadvantage if you’re on a strict budget), its capacity (up to 3000 books at a time), being able to take it when travelling thus, saving yourself the bother of filling up a suitcase with books. Don’t forget, either, that the typeface can be set smaller or larger, for anyone who doesn’t have 20/20 vision.
There are lots of free books at Amazon or other web sites, and I have gleefully downloaded a fair number, in keeping with my pastime of catching up on the classics I missed out on during my working life. I’ve downloaded the entire Sherlock Holmes canon, all the short stories of Guy de Maupassant, works by H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. de Vere Stacpoole’s The Blue Lagoon, 27 novels by Jules Verne, Gibbons’ Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (all 6 volumes) and Conrad’s Lord Jim. That’s not to say that I’ve ignored modern writers – I also have the latest books by Wilbur Smith, Tom Clancy, Jonathan Kellerman and Frederick Forsyth.
Of course, anything so handy and convenient must have its drawbacks, and Kindle does have a few. My biggest gripe is in the non-fiction field, where it’s not easy to move about inside a book to check on references or footnotes – a very fiddly business involving inserting bookmarks all over the place. Maps or illustrations are also frequently difficult to read.
I don’t think Kindle or any other type of electronic reader will totally replace books, especially not large format atlases or works covering fine art subjects, but for the average reader who loves to get lost in a novel or thriller it’s an absolute Godsend.
 
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