Finished this one, and read another book by the same author, named Call Me Princess. Bit naive, but good writing, and very good translating. One gets to know about Denmark and how Danes think, at least from a woman's perspective. It was Sara Blædel's 2nd book (2005). That book, Dissolved was published in December, 2023. Writing had matured.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Huntn
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
And Then There Were None - Wikipedia
Last edited:
Just finished Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life, by Patrick Van Horne and Shawn Coyne.
An interesting and in-depth presentation of what some members of the US military are being taught, in order to be more effective at spotting potential threats before they turn into actual attacks. It has practical application for civilians, particularly in urban environments.
Now in the process of rereading The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert, by Craig Childs.
An excellent book on water and its role in the western American deserts. If you enjoy the outdoors, particularly in the more extreme environments, you’ll probably enjoy this.
An interesting and in-depth presentation of what some members of the US military are being taught, in order to be more effective at spotting potential threats before they turn into actual attacks. It has practical application for civilians, particularly in urban environments.
Now in the process of rereading The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert, by Craig Childs.
An excellent book on water and its role in the western American deserts. If you enjoy the outdoors, particularly in the more extreme environments, you’ll probably enjoy this.
Frederick Forsyth!
currently half way through 'Avenger' - a great read.
he knows his onions does Fred …
currently half way through 'Avenger' - a great read.
he knows his onions does Fred …
Actually, I think that Forsyth can write a terrific thriller, - and he introduced the notion of serious research (his thrillers are always exceedingly well researched) to fiction and thriller writing - but that his characterisation (especially of his female characters) can be rather lacking.
Last edited:
A Dog of Flanders. It's possibly the saddest story I've read in a long, long time.
It's the story of a dog that only knew hardship and was left for dead after being overworked by his previous owner and a boy, the poorest of the poor, sharing an unbreakable bond. Patrasche's, the titilar dog, life improves after meeting Nello. But Nello never gets the better life. Every time things begin to look up for the boy, life beats him down again. The only good thing in the boy's life is his grandfather--who dies midway through the book--and Patrasche.
It's the story of a dog that only knew hardship and was left for dead after being overworked by his previous owner and a boy, the poorest of the poor, sharing an unbreakable bond. Patrasche's, the titilar dog, life improves after meeting Nello. But Nello never gets the better life. Every time things begin to look up for the boy, life beats him down again. The only good thing in the boy's life is his grandfather--who dies midway through the book--and Patrasche.
Now I am reading this book written by Jussi Adler-Olsen. This time the book would give a look at Danish life from the man's perspective. Even though it is a detective/crime book, the author always puts in his thoughts/worldview in to the book. It is also so hilarious in some places, you just can't stop laughing. Superb translation by Lisa Hartford. I'm around 20% at the moment, but I'm sure I would read every book by Jussi Adler-Olsen that I could get my hands on. 😊
Just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. An engaging novel with a well developed female main character in a light fantasy setting. Story concerns a woman at the moment of her death is transported to The Midnight Library. Here she is allowed to see her life if she made different choices during her life.
While it is a worthwhile read, but it is far from original. It is basically retelling It’s a Wonderful Life, with a female main character in a more current setting
While it is a worthwhile read, but it is far from original. It is basically retelling It’s a Wonderful Life, with a female main character in a more current setting
Edited to add --
Some, ok many, many, years ago I had read up on Piltdown Man, before the culprit had been identified.
The next year, I popped into a tiny branch of the City of Sydney Public Library. I was browsing the biology section (all 5 shelf-metres) and came across this little pamphlet. It was the original write-up of the Piltdown discovery. I was absolutely gobsmacked. I just sat down, cross-legged* on the floor and read it.
The list of possible culprits was amazing, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
*This was at a time when I could (a) still do that and (b), get back up gracefully...
Last edited:
Finished Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen and will start reading the next book by him,
Let's see how it goes. It's unbelievable, what the writers think of how to kill a person, and how to torture that person to death. That's what I found in that book Mercy. Even though the book was hilarious at times, it was horrible, the way the writer planned the torture, and how he described that, even though it was just words in a book. Half way through the book, I couldn't sleep well one night, feeling claustrophobic. I had to take a sleeping pill to get through the night. But the guy knows how to write and the translator is excellent.
I've a feeling that this book "Disgrace" might be even more dreadful, but hope it won't be. This one is translated by
K.E. Semmel, and American writer an a translator. Let's see how it goes.
Let's see how it goes. It's unbelievable, what the writers think of how to kill a person, and how to torture that person to death. That's what I found in that book Mercy. Even though the book was hilarious at times, it was horrible, the way the writer planned the torture, and how he described that, even though it was just words in a book. Half way through the book, I couldn't sleep well one night, feeling claustrophobic. I had to take a sleeping pill to get through the night. But the guy knows how to write and the translator is excellent.
I've a feeling that this book "Disgrace" might be even more dreadful, but hope it won't be. This one is translated by
K.E. Semmel, and American writer an a translator. Let's see how it goes.
I have not read Mercy, but am familiar with the turn horror movies took into torture, and I could not tolerate it, have zero interest in it as a subject I’d want to read about in a work of fiction.
I can't decide if I want to read this one or not. It's been on my list...
It isn't part of a series, is it?
I’m don’t think it is part of a series. The story in the novel is complete and is entirely resolved by the end of the book.
It’s good and engaging with an interesting main character and plot, The only drawback I found was it wasn’t very original (I could guess the ending well before the middle of the book)
After few weeks not reading book, started again with another book by the Danish author Sara Blædel.
Correction, Mr Einstein's Secretary, by Matthew Reilly.
Fiction
Not his normal genre, but very well written.
Finished it. Not a very big book.
Very interesting for its retelling of events in Germany up to 1945.
We covered the Versailles Agreement in High School, and how it was designed to punish Germany, and how it led to the rise of extremism. (Actually, Matthew Reilly is Australian, so he probably had the same European history lessons I did, but some decades later.)
At the end, I was reminded of Ayla, from Clan of the Cave Bear, a character who accomplished probably an unreal amount of things in her life.
Will start looking for some other of Mr Reilly's books.
2/3rds the way thru - excellent.
it's #4 in the Slough House series.
the series in order
a lot of the content is in the current TV season of Slow Horses
Last edited: