What are you reading now?

I have read Cheating The Hangman by Judith Cutler in one day! This is the third in a series set in the early 1800s with a village priest and the local doctor as the "detectives". Instead of the paper-thin world of Georgette Heyer this is set in the midst of village poverty. As with all Judith Cutlers these are best read in order to get the development of the characters. Her other modern detectives are female and just as readable, Any other Judith Cutler fans out there? Our library has books free on a digital service and most of her books are available on that which helps the voracious reader!,

Just read Villette, Charlotte Bronte. Not my choice, I found it hard going but it made for good discussion at book club.
Starting to read The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley.

The Dandelion Years by Erica James one of those books with two stories running side by side.

The book is basically about the daughter of a bookshop owner and a young man who inherits an old house full of many first editions and other rare and valuable books.

The daughter is a book restorer and discovers a handwritten notebook mapping the life of another young person who worked at Bletchley Park during the war.

A good read so far

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. I was skipping through bits at first as there are long sections devoted to a folk tale that I didn't enjoy, but now I'm well into it, I understand how these are relevant to the story. The book mainly concerns a young American woman whose elderly, and well-respected, neighbour confesses to her that he was a Nazi death camp commandant during World War 2. This is interwoven with the memories of the woman's own Polish grandmother, who survived life in the Jewish ghetto, Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen. No punches are pulled and the descriptions are vivid and heartbreaking. I don't know whether there's going to be the usual Jodi Picoult twist in the tale - I rather hope not, as the story is too powerful to be subverted.

Just finished this months book club choice - The Miniaturist by Jessica Burton. Set in Amsterdam in the sixteen hundreds - tells the story if a young country girl who marries a successful merchant and goes to live in his household in Amsterdam. I found it fascinating and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Heard an Australian on radio yesterday called Kel Richards who writes books similar to Agatha Christie, so he said. Have any of you read his books please and are they worth looking for at the Library ?

I read, three quarters ! of " The one hundred year old man, who climbed out of a window and disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson. At first I was enjoying it, but as the story went on, it got more difficult to believe in. There was lots of his story from years ago, and it all seemed too neat , conveniently tidying up loose ends, so I gave up. Now I am reading a murder mystery, " Eeny Meeny" by MJ Arlidge, and am enjoying that. I hadn't heard of her before, but will look out for more.

At least I presume it's a 'she' .

Years ago I chain read Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series (Medieval monk in Shrewsbury Abbey who leaves his herb garden to solve mysteries). Then I retired so didn't have the bus journeys as reading time. Last week I picked up one of the later ones which I'd not read, 'The Summer of the Danes', and loved it.
Lovely language, full of historical detail and beautiful description of Gwynnedd, this one also has a love story and humour.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and shall read the subsequent books soon.

Both my wife and I read Mary Higgins Clark never read a bad one

60 pages into "The Teacher" by Katerina Diamond, crime, a debut novel I think, good so far.

The Stars Look Down by AJ Cronin. About coal mining in the thirties. I got interested after seeing Billy Elliot on stage.Apparently Elton John got the title of the song from this book. It's quite an eye opener. When the coal mines were privately owned.

I'm reading "Capital" by John Lanchester which about the residents of a road in London, some rich, some poor and of different ethnicities. It is very good and often very funny. It is also a BIG book - 576 pages, which I like as I am a fast reader and like something that I can get my teeth into.

jingl I read that in my twenties - I remember it being a very powerful read. I might give it another go. I have just finished reading the second book in the Game of Thrones series and I don't think I will read any more - all blood, gloom and misery. I have now started on Andrew Marr's 'Head of State'. It's a political satire, but I'm not all that impressed so far.

Gagagran I've just downloaded 'Capital' as it sounded my sort of book. The Amazon reviews were a bit mixed but if someone on Gransnet says its good I'll go with that. Actually several Grans recommended it. Just got to finish the book I'm on before I get to it though!

I`ve just finished Stalked, by Brian Freeman, enjoyed it. Am now reading War Babies, by Annie Murray, one of my favourite authors, it`s great so far.

I'm really enjoying 'The Summer Before the War' by Helen Simonson. I'm trying to read it slowly as I don't want it to finish. Her previous book was 'Major Pettigrew's last stand' which was good but quite different from this one.

I'm reading The Hunger Games trilogy - surprisingly good!

I`ve recently finished Lights Out Liverpool, by Maureen Lee, set in WW2, and loved it, but I`ve liked all books that I`ve read by Maureen Lee. I`m now reading Broken Angels, by Graham Masterton. It`s the second in a series set in Ireland, about a female police superintendant. The first one was White Bones, very gruesome, but believable, this one is equally gruesome, and equally believable, and I am really enjoying it. I have the next 2 in the series on my pile, waiting.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. About a family which falls apart, for various reasons, who are brought back together again by their dog - a talking dog who 'writes' the book. Loving it, so far.....

I've moved on to The Citadel by AJ Cronin after finishing The Stars Look Down, which was so good. This one is also about the mining community between the wars but its main character this time is a doctor. Set in South Wales.

Having finished The Storyteller, with its theme of the Holocaust, I moved onto A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding, by J Copleton, the story of a Japanese family torn apart by the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki. It's been really interesting, especially as I don't think I've ever read a book before based in Japan. This one moves between Japan and the USA, and it's very well written. Then I've started Ann Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread this week and can hardly put it down. She's been one of my favourite authors for a long time and her standards never slip.

The Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Monsarrat. Can't think why it has taken me so long to read it, but I'm enjoying it even though it is sad how poor little Malta and the Maltese were almost bombed to oblivion.

Telling Tales - by Anne Cleves the books are better than the Vera dramatisations on tv, imo.

Kate Atkinson "A god in ruins" not bad.

jing I amazoned the Cronin book paperback £18.99 The Kindle version £1.84. No brainier, although I have gone back to books.