The Book Vipers discussion

Tell us about the books that you have finished reading in 2015

Happy New Year to all! I just finished We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, and I'm really glad I stuck with it. It takes a bit of settling in but becomes a funny, thoughtful and observant reflection on roles within a family and the nature of each person's memory. Recommend it. I'm thinking maybe Burial Rites next?

Moore, that is high on my list of forthcoming reads, so it's good to know it's worth sticking with it.

I am also onto Burial Rites as my next audiobook I think, should start it the beginning of next week.

I recently finished The Temptress: The Scandalous Life of Alice de Janze and the Mysterious Death of Lord Erroll and The House We Grew Up In both of which were good page turners.

Paying tribute to my home country most famous and respected criminal lawyer Mr. Subhas Anandan,who had passed away yesterday morning from heart failure, I just started reading a book written by him. The Best I Could

Finished Principles of Angels yesterday. Very good sci fi book, review here

Just finished The Return of the Native, found it fairly dull, despite the bare bones of the plot being pretty good. Not the best book to read whilst on a break from the luminaries, so may need to read something a bit more gripping before returning to the luminaries....thinking The shock of the fall :D

Finished The Bookshop Book yesterday. If you love bookshops you should read this. Now. Review here

Paul wrote: "Finished Principles of Angels yesterday. Very good sci fi book, review here"

It sounds my sort of book. I think I'll add it to my TBR list.

Thanks Paul may try the bookshop book

Just finished Scoop. Disappointing.

None in library Paul but "Wierd things people say in bookshops" is written by same person.

Pamela wrote: "Just finished Scoop. Disappointing."

That is what I thought too Pamela. I read Modern Baptists at the same time I read Scoop, and that one was much better.

It is Pat. It is very funny too!

Really enjoyed the Shock of the Fall...read the read along comments, seems some thought it a bit two dimensional...others enjoyed it....I thought it a very honest portrayal of how mental illness unravels peoples lives and the struggle to piece things back together again, having grown up with a similar problem present in my family. Now back to The Luminaries for a week!

The Shock of the Fall was one of my favourite books last year.

I have just finished Jerusalem, I found myself going through my "to read" list looking for my shortest book as a bit of light relief, instead I have dived straight in the The Luminaries

I've just read The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing which I enjoyed for the most part - a light mystery with a well-created sense of place (Delhi). However it did fall to bits somewhat during the last quarter of the story. Don't think I'd want to read another in the series.

Just finished Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery. Brilliant, loved it.

Finished Station Eleven a couple of days ago. really good dystopian novel. Review here

Finished Gin Glorious Gin: How Mother's Ruin Became the Spirit of London yesterday. An interesting books of the horrors and delight of this sprint. Review here

Received this lovely book in the post today, and have spent all afternoon lost in its pages. Mister Finch: Living in a Fairy Tale World, very happy girl. Review here www.goodreads.com/review/show/1161961781

I just finished the Miniaturist, fell for the dolls- housey cover and the great reviews but definitely feel a bit disappointed! Bit like I've read an early work in progress. It's not bad, it's just not the finished article. Right...what did I do with Burial Rites?

I have just finished reading The Picture of Dorian Gray which I loved, definitely one that I will read again and again.

About 1/3 of the way through of The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books (and Two Not-So-Great Ones) Saved My Life and as someone who has come back to reading and is trying to read more I am enjoying it, although I am finding some of the details about his family distracting, I am adding things to my to read list constantly.

Just finished A Clash of Kings which was a brutal read (in a thrilling, edge of your seat way). Can't wait to get onto the next one.
Now back to the Luminaries.

Just finished The Luminaries, which I found gripping and frustrating at the same time. A great read, but so complicated.
Going to start Jerusalem next.

Another finished the Luminaries, so onto Brighton Rock :)

Charlotte wrote: "Another finished the Luminaries, so onto Brighton Rock :)"
Brighton Rock is excellent!

Just finished Murakami's The Strange Library. A short story, really, but with the most stunning illustrations. Wonderful set-up, but very slight ending even by Murakami's standards.

On to Us by David Nicholls as I need an easy read to get me through work deadlines.

Finished Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies a couple of days ago. It was a thrilling tale of lies and deceit in WW2 that probably save thousands of live as the D Day operation was launched. Review here

Just read Cocktail Time as light relief in between The Luminaries. Another laugh-out-loud farce from P.G. Wodehouse, this one featuring Uncle Fred.

I recently read and enjoyed City of Masks: by new Aussie author, Ashley Capes - 3.5★s.

Here is my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished There's Something I've Been Dying to Tell You by Lynda Bellingham...a sad read but she interjected humour throughout, keeping her voice despite the heartache.

The Grapes of WrathJust finished

Finished Wall yesterday. Really good book on his installation at Storm King Art Centre Review here

Finished The Luminaries which I did enjoy but found slow going. Not a novel to be raced through by any means.

My review www.goodreads.com/review/show/838041251

Finished Stone by Andy Goldsworthy, my favourite artist. Brilliant book, review here

Finished The Picture of Dorian Gray . Really enjoyed the dialogue throughout AND the concept. :)

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart 4/5. Funny and raunchy, a dystopian satire that a smarter Judd Apatow might have written. In the book America is bankrupt, the Chinese are threatening to foreclose, and the nebbish main charater has fallen in love with a woman half his age. Shteyngart uses this to take satirical pot shots at a variety of things: the overreliance on technology, the dumbing down of our culture, the oversexualized marketing of products, and a consumer culture that has gotten out of control. There are some truly brilliant satirical scenes throughout the book and Shteyngart is able to skewer society without losing sight of the love story that is at the center of the novel.

Finished A Week in December over the weekend. Not bad, and my first by Sebastian Faulks. Review here

Completed the 1st Trilogy book Annihilation. On to the 2nd, Authority

After wanting for so many years to read Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, I was very disappointed with my experience of it when I read it recently. I don't know that I've ever come across a book before whose characters were ALL either repugnant or ridiculous in my eyes. I could in all honesty only give the book 3★s.

If you're game to read it, here is my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sally wrote: "After wanting for so many years to read Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, I was very disappointed with my experience of it when I read it recently. I don't know that I've..."

I bought a copy of Wuthering Heights way back when I was a freshman in high school and it's been sitting on my bookshelve unread ever since. I've picked it up now and then over the years and start it, but can never get beyond the 1st coupl of chapters. It's just never been able to capture my interest. It isn't the genre since one of my favorite books is Pride and Prejudice.

Waiting by Ha Jin. 4/5. At 1st I wasn't too impressed, but this book grew on me as I read it and, by the end, I was completely interested in where Ha Jin was taking the story. The plot is deceptively simple: during the Cultural Revolution in China, a young army doctor allows his parents to arrange a marriage for him. However, he's appalled when he finally meets his bride and discovers she is an illiterate country woman who looks far older than her actual years and, to his embarrassment, has bound feet. After the marriage, he returns to the medical complex where he is stationed and falls in love with a nurse. Thus begins an 18 year attempt to divorce his peasant wife and marry the nurse, but, eventually, he discovers that having is not the same as wanting and all those years of waiting might have been a mistake:

"Let me tell you what really happened, the voice said. All those years you waited torpidly, like a sleepwalker, pulled and pushed about by others' opinions, by external pressure, by your illusions, by the official rules you internalized. You were misled by your own frustration and passivity, believing that what you were not allowed to have was what your heart was destined to embrace".

The author was born and raised in China and spent some time in the People's Army before emigrating to America in the 80's and offers a fascinating look into Chinese society and cultural mores. It was interesting to see how puritanical the society was with illicit sexual behavior not only frowned upon but often punished.

Sounds fascinating Jon. I have been to China several times, and the culture is very different to ours. It is a fascinating country

Finished Consorts of Heaven by Jaine Fenn this morning. Though it was a good story, and looks at the interaction of high tech with low tech societies Review here

I recently read and loved The Vanishing Witch by Karen Maitland. It is unusual and fascinating in every way, from narration to subject matter. Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction and the feminist literary theorem of "the pit or the pedestal" (the stereotyping of women in literature as either evil or pure). 4★s.

Here is my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished my novellas yesterday Candide and The Turn of the Screw. I was so disappointed with both, I would say Candide was marginally better. The writing style of Henry James was torturous, I have to admit I was so irritated by the character and prose, I did speed read it.

Debbie wrote: "Finished my novellas yesterday Candide and The Turn of the Screw. I was so disappointed with both, I would say Candide was marginally better. The writing style of Henry J..."

I stopped and started The Turn of the Screw several times over the years for that reason.

Debbie wrote: "Finished my novellas yesterday Candide and The Turn of the Screw. I was so disappointed with both, I would say Candide was marginally better. The writing style of Henry J..."

I read both of those last year Debbie. I must say, although I did love Candide, it was like nails on a blackboard reading The Turn of the Screw. Won't be reading any more Henry James!!

Just finished The Bone Season, a book with a fair bit of hype surrounding it. Quite enjoyed it though did raise a bit of an eyebrow at times as it risked drifting into just being a bit daft. Quick paced and imaginative. Will move onto the second in the series after Instructions for a Heatwave as an interlude!

Charlotte wrote: "Just finished The Bone Season, a book with a fair bit of hype surrounding it. Quite enjoyed it though did raise a bit of an eyebrow at times as it risked drifting into just being a ..."

I'll let you know what I thought of it very soon Charlotte!

Finished this months non fiction read yesterday. Wasn't bad, and it is another of a dusty shelf too. Review here