All things books and reading thread - 2016

[stewball]

I'm reading a light book for a change. It's called The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan. It's about 4 women and one man going in for a posh baking competition plus their lives at home. Took me time to get into it but I'm enjoying it now.
My last book was about how the world was ruled by Rome. A young 15 year old of a good family is engaged to a.revolting older man so her brother and her nanny dress her up as a eunuch. Any case she goes to alexandria to study medicine. After some time she managed to get a job as the assistant to a Jewish doctor. This allows her to go to all the lectures and learn from her master. Well it carries on and she becomes a wonderful doctor of course and falls in love and gets married. Obviously there's tons of historical facts and I had trouble putting it down. I've forgotten the name but will write it in tomorrow if I don't forget which is highly likely.

 

[fyllis]

I just finished reading The Final Cut and it was really, really good! Especially, knowing the history of the Koh-i-noor diamond - it was a fascinating and fast-paced read. One of those books that when you get to the end of a chapter, you have to read 'just one more'. 

Tonight, I am going to move on to Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott. A thriller about a CIA agent stationed in London. The building he works in explodes (he is the lone survivor), his pregnant wife is kid-knapped, he is framed... and now he has to put all the pieces together and become a hero. 

 

[rubysmama]

It was a very sad book. Are you going to see the film?

Possibly.  Have you seen the movie?

 

[stewball]

Possibly.  Have you seen the movie?

No. I hardly go to the cinema. I wait for them to come to cable.

 

[stewball]

Finished my book and have just started Jeffrey Archer's third diary about the time he was in prison. Very readable.

 

[Winchester]

Once again, I had downloaded five books to my Nook. And once again, two weeks went by without me reading much of anything. The books were deleted and I didn't get a chance to read them. I need to do better than this.

 

[hatchytt]

Currently reading one of Rune's Star Trek novels. To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh. Any Trekkie knows why this book would be interesting.

 

[catspaw66]

Oooo, is this before the episode?

 

[hatchytt]

It's set both after Kirk first drops Khan and his superhumans on Ceti Alpha V and after Khan is destroyed.

 

[laura h]

The Cat who Knew a Cardinal by Lilian Braun

 

[catspaw66]

It's set both after Kirk first drops Khan and his superhumans on Ceti Alpha V and after Khan is destroyed.

And long before he shows up in the new Star Trek movie. Nice. I will have to find it (cheap).

 

[hatchytt]

The new Star Trek movies aren't canon. Abrams decided to pull the alternate universe thing. This book is set in the original universe.

 

[rubysmama]

 
The Cat who Knew a Cardinal by Lilian Braun

@Laura H - I just Googled the title and see it's the 12th book in a series.  Have you read the others? 

 

[catspaw66]

The new Star Trek movies aren't canon. Abrams decided to pull the alternate universe thing. This book is set in the original universe.

Yes, I knew that. However, they are better than 95% of the crap that comes out of Hollywood.

 

[sivyaleah]

Half way through "The Good, The Bad and The Furry" by Tom Cox.  I've been following him on Instagram and Twitter; he has several accounts (My Smug Cat, My Sweary Cat and My Sad Cat).  

He's an incredibly gifted writer.  Funny, introspective, intelligent, eloquent and sarcastic. Kind of reminds me of John Irving or Tom Robbins but non-fiction.  Serious cat guy with stories that transcend just the felines in his life.  Highly enjoyable book so now I'm going to have to read all of them.  He has a new one coming out in a couple of months which I'll pre-order. 

I follow his blog also and even his tales of walking the moors and hills of Great Britain are entrancing.  And, his dad is a hoot!

 

[stewball]

Although I'm enjoying it tremendously, I'm still reading the third diary by Jeffrey Archer.

 

[sivyaleah]

Just finished Padma Lakshmi's autobiography "Love, Loss and What We Ate, A Memoir".

Unbelievably good book. I was interested in her because of her time on Top Chef, but I didn't know much about her other than that. I totally had forgotten she is Salman Rushdie's ex wife.  

Beautifully written, I even shed tears at the end of the book as she related the passing of someone very dear to her and her daughter.  I had no idea of the things she's done with her life other than her TV work. She's an advocate/spokesperson for the Endometriosis Foundation-America, and various other charity work.  The book deals with her struggles with that disease and it's effects on her health, work and relationships.  You also get a glimpse into the life of growing up in India and subsequently trying to fit in when she arrived to the USA along with her personal growth through the years.

It was entertaining, informative, funny and truthful.  She didn't seem to hold back from talking about things which put her in a bad light, which I appreciated.  

 

[rubysmama]

I finished the 2nd book in the Outlander series -  Dragonfly in Amber

I'm now 2/3 through the 3rd book in the series - Voyager

And I just got notification from the library that the 4th book (e-book) is available - Drums of Autumn

I'm really enjoying the series and don't know why I didn't start reading these books years ago.  I think the "time travel" theme made me think "supernatural" which they really aren't.  At least now I'm getting to read the books one after the other without having to wait years for the next book to be published. 

@sivyaleah  I didn't realize Padma Lakshmi's was Salman Rushdie's ex wife.  Though I don't know much about her at all.  Her autobiography sounds as though it could be a good read, so I've marked it on my "wishlist" on my library account for when I'm in the mood for a break from fiction.

 

[sivyaleah]

 
<snip>

@sivyaleah  I didn't realize Padma Lakshmi's was Salman Rushdie's ex wife.  Though I don't know much about her at all.  Her autobiography sounds as though it could be a good read, so I've marked it on my "wishlist" on my library account for when I'm in the mood for a break from fiction.

I was very surprised at how well written it is. Apparently, she worked on the book with Nora Ephron prior to her passing.  I guess some of her writing ability combined with Rushdie's rubbed off on her

 

[catspaw66]

I was able to obtain a full set of Perry Rhodan for my Kindle. 130 books, and had to convert from e-pub to mobi myself. Vintage space opera, reads sorta like E.E. (Doc) Smith's Lensman series.