Literature What are you currently reading?

[Lou]

The Running Grave
A Cormoran Strike (And Robin Ellicot) Novel
By Robert Galbraith
(AKA JK Rowling)​

This is the seventh CB Strike novel. I've read every one, and loved them all. I've even seen all the TV shows that were made from the novels. Only the first five novels have been adapted. I read somewhere that they will start filming the sixth next year.

Kind of like the Harry Potter novels, each of these novels is thicker than the last. This one is almost 1000 pages. I kind of wish that just like the last HP novel - this one was split in two. I have trouble finding a comfortable position to read such a thick tome.

If you haven't ever read a Strike novel, don't start with this one. They really should be read in order. And if you have already read a Strike novel than you already know why you should (or shouldn't) read this one.

You know how at the end of a mystery novel the detective explains to someone (with the reader following along) the solution to the mystery. The explanation takes about 35 pages. And it contained nothing but surprises.

One thing I didn't like about the book was how long it was. and a lot of that had to do with how heavy the book ended up being. I would have waited till the e-book came out but it's been over a year since I finished reading the last one and didn't want to wait any longer.

I was actually somewhat fortunate that I got my library copy as soon as I did. I had seen a press release and put this book on hold before it got released. So I was one of the first library patrons to get a copy.

The other thing about the book length is that it might have been a little shorter. But that would have meant some plot threads and details would have been left out. And IMHO the book is better with all that stuff.

The will they/won't they nature of Strike's and Robin's relations gets tired by the beginning of the 4th book. Their relationship gets sidelined in the fifth. and it's with a certain amount of relief that it plays only a small (but significant) role in this book.

Rowling said in an interview that she plans on writing at least 10 of these.

BTW, the TV shows that I mentioned earlier - are all excellent. The one thing in my mind that really stood out is that I thought the casting of the actor and actress that play Robin and Strike was about as good as you can get. The older ones you might have to go to the library to borrow the DVD. They were all broadcasted on BBC One. although here in America it was either BBC America, or HBO or Prime.

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith review – a riveting race against time

JK Rowling’s will they/won’t they detective duo return in a hefty but immersive tale of an attempted rescue from a cult

www.theguardian.com

Cormoran Strike - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Chryssie]

I don't usually read horror though I did love Stephen King in the past, but the library had a display of scary books for Halloween so I picked up "The Hollows" by Daniel Church. It takes place in England so the UK people will probably recognize the locations. It is about an evil force which has been around forever living underground. The "monsters" have been held at bay for centuries by a family who are current day unsavory characters. Strange deaths and destruction of property lead the police officer, a woman, on a terrifying quest. Strange symbols are left at the scenes and old legends are learned. Not so scary to give nightmares, but a decent "good versus evil" story.

 

[Emma JC]

I read one hardcover book and have started another - Colleen Hoover's "Losing Hope" was too long a wait as an ebook so picked it up at the library - I don't have reading glasses and so it was challenging to read the small print without very bright light - I also have Dean Koontz's "The Big Dark Sky" which I have just started - I love Dean and the book isn't even available yet as an ebook.

I do love reading on my phone so much more than hard copies now.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Chryssie]

I read another Deborah Crombie book called "Where Memories Lie." It was another good murder mystery with some twists. As with all her novels, there is always some history and knowledge to be learned. This book concerned auction houses and fraud that occurs with them. There was also a lot about German Jew immigrants after WWII. Despite the horrors they had suffered, there was a lot of antisemitism. Sadly we are seeing that quite a lot lately.

 

[Emma JC]

Finished Dean Koontz's The Big Dark Sky and as I haven't read him for a couple of years I found myself not particularily enjoying this book. Such darkness in this book and very weird horrid happenings....

I am now reading The Cuckoo's Calling - thank you @Lou for the recommendation - not very far in yet and enjoying it so far.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Chryssie]

Finished Dean Koontz's The Big Dark Sky and as I haven't read him for a couple of years I found myself not particularily enjoying this book. Such darkness in this book and very weird horrid happenings....

I am now reading The Cuckoo's Calling - thank you @Lou for the recommendation - not very far in yet and enjoying it so far.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

I have read several of Dean Koontz's older books and some of them were really creepy. I seem to remember reading something more recent that I did enjoy as it wasn't as dark. Thanks for the info on this one!

 

[Emma JC]

The Cuckoo's Calling is good - about 3/4 the way through - too much description for my liking - I have not read any of JK Rowlings book so I don't know if this is typical for her.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Chryssie]

I read "Kindred" and I liked it. It is too bad the TV series got cancelled. They did change things quite a lot but I think it was working. The book was published in 1979 so quite dated but since most of it took place back in the 1800's, it wasn't too distracting. No computers or cell phones or internet made the character's lives harder even when they weren't back in the past. LOL

 

[Chryssie]

I just finished "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon" by Michael Lewis. This is a very new book about Sam Bankman-Fried who was just convicted of fraud and a bunch of other crimes. He was a cryptocurrency wheeler and dealer who became famous over the last few years. He made and lost billions. I had to skim over all the financial stuff because it was so complicated (and boring). I was interested in the person. SBF as the media calls him is only 31 years old and a mathematical genius. He is also very weird. The information the author managed to gather about him and his "inner circle" was really interesting. Interesting read and more so if you are into finances and crypto.

Sam Bankman-Fried sentence: Could be 100-plus years, or mere decades

www.cnbc.com

 

[PTree15]

I just finished "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon" by Michael Lewis. This is a very new book about Sam Bankman-Fried who was just convicted of fraud and a bunch of other crimes. He was a cryptocurrency wheeler and dealer who became famous over the last few years. He made and lost billions. I had to skim over all the financial stuff because it was so complicated (and boring). I was interested in the person. SBF as the media calls him is only 31 years old and a mathematical genius. He is also very weird. The information the author managed to gather about him and his "inner circle" was really interesting. Interesting read and more so if you are into finances and crypto.

Sam Bankman-Fried sentence: Could be 100-plus years, or mere decades

www.cnbc.com

That sounds good, minus all the financial stuff. I still don't understand how crypto currency works, lol.

 

[Chryssie]

That sounds good, minus all the financial stuff. I still don't understand how crypto currency works, lol.

I picked this book because I wanted to learn something about this mysterious thing but I really don't know that much more now! LOL It's like the stock market which I don't understand either! SBF is a fascinating character though. Seems like quite a few geniuses are a bit "off."

 

[PTree15]

I picked this book because I wanted to learn something about this mysterious thing but I really don't know that much more now! LOL It's like the stock market which I don't understand either! SBF is a fascinating character though. Seems like quite a few geniuses are a bit "off."

LOL, I hear you! I think I will put this one my list. Thanks for the info.

 

[Lou]

I have not read any of JK Rowlings book so I don't know if this is typical for her.

What? Wait! You didn't read Harry Potter?

 

[Andy_T]

„Night“ trilogy by Elie Wiesel.
Had this on my to-read-list for a long time.
Was not disappointed, important book.

 

[PTree15]

What? Wait! You didn't read Harry Potter?

I haven't read any of them, either. I'm just not interested in wizardry and the like.

 

[Lou]

I haven't read any of them, either. I'm just not interested in wizardry and the like.

 

[Raven]

I'm going to start a book I bought from a charity shop the other day for only £2. The Truth about Cancer - Ty M Bollinger. My husband had treatment for cancer for 10 years and still needs to have check-ups and I googled and saw this book had good reviews.

 

[Emma JC]

What? Wait! You didn't read Harry Potter?

no I haven't, strangely, it was busy time in my life when they came out and so I didn't read them and so then just hadn't bothered since then and that means I haven't seen any of the movies either

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Lou]

no I haven't, strangely, it was busy time in my life when they came out and so I didn't read them and so then just hadn't bothered since then and that means I haven't seen any of the movies either

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

I got swept up in Potter mania. I actually bought the books in hard cover as they came out. in at least one case waiting in line early in the morning with dozens of kids. after reading the books I donated them to the local library - who couldn't keep Potter on the shelves.
I remember one time when I got the book I didn't leave the bookstore but found a spot on the floor (all the chairs were taken) among a bunch of kids and read for an hour. I felt great camaraderie to be among so many readers with a book we all loved (even tho the average age was 12).

 

[Chryssie]

I just finished a really good book called "Perfectly Nice Neighbors" by Kia Abdullah. It takes place in London and was published this year. Salma and Bil Khatun and their teenage son Zain move to a house in the suburbs after Zain has some trouble and their restaurant fails because of the pandemic. They hope to start a new life away from the ethnic community they had lived in. They are Bangladeshi and the new neighborhood is white. From day one, they seem to have antagonized their next door neighbor and things escalate quickly. This book gives perspective to both families and as the tension grows, there is no one totally innocent. It is a tense thriller and speaks to how things can get out of hand.