What are you reading?

[Mya26]

I'm reading three books right now:

Detour - James Siegal. I can't put this book down. It's really good so far.
The Summons - John Grisham. I just finished the first chapter.
The Innocent - Bertrice Small. I normally love her books but this one has been really boring so far.

[owlie]

Shopaholic Ties the Knot, by Sophie Kinsella.

Totally fluffy, but so funny. I can't remember the last time a book has made me laugh out loud.

[cablejockey]

I'm reading Cell by Stephen King. its so good that I can't put it down, yet I dont want it to end either.

[SnowflakeGirl]

I've been meaning to post something about the whole Historian thing, by the way, but I've been way too busy with uni to get a time to rack my brains. The truth is, while I found the first 100 or so pages absolutely intriguing and atmospheric, I have yet to finish it. Yes, I, Geek the Girl, who never gives up on a piece of fiction, has abandoned a novel.

Geek the Glorious abandoned a novel? Even temporarily, I am still shocked.

Tell me how you like Sugarmilk Falls when you read it, it sounds intriguing!

I myself did something out of the norm for me, which is read something completely random. I was given a copy of Michael Connelly's The Narrows, and although it's not something I would have chosen for myself if I had been perusing a bookstore, I am finding I'm really enjoying it. I guess it is the follow up to The Poet (and though it's a sequel, as a newcomer, I have no problem enjoying it), and it brings together characters from Connelly's successful mystery series, such as Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb (the protagonist of Blood Work, on which the Clint Eastwood film was based). Anyway, it's crackling good fun--and he won me over when I found out his detective is named after Hieronymous Bosch, one of my favorite artists!

Has anyone read any of Connelly's other works, and would they recommend any others to me? Or are there any similar mystery/crime writers you enjoy?

Next up, I'm trying to decide between The Shadow of the Wind, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell or starting on the Harry Potter books my friend gave me--yes, I am probably the last person in the world to to read these, I'd always intended to, and my friend got fed up with my stalling and just got the first two books for me.

[Critical]

Has anyone read any of Connelly's other works, and would they recommend any others to me? Or are there any similar mystery/crime writers you enjoy?

There are several Connelly fans around here, myself included! I think there's even a thread somewhere in the Books forum I'd definitely recommend going in order with the Bosch books. There are some plot points about Bosch's life that come out and it's nicer to read them as they happen instead of trying to figure out what the heck happened!

Next up, I'm trying to decide between The Shadow of the Wind, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell or starting on the Harry Potter books my friend gave me--yes, I am probably the last person in the world to to read these, I'd always intended to, and my friend got fed up with my stalling and just got the first two books for me.

The Shadow of the Wind was fabulous! I read it last summer/fall and loved it. I also highly recommend the Harry Potter series. They might look long, but they're some of the fastest reading out there. Jonathan Strange and M. Norrell are sitting on my "To Be Read" bookshelf, taunting me at this very moment! If you decide on that one, let me know how you like it!

[SnowflakeGirl]

Thanks, Critical. Look like I can't go wrong with any of my next selections.

I'm kind of leaning towards The Shadow of the Wind next, since my good friend has been talking me up about it for a while now, and now with your good review, I'm quite excited to read it.

Hey, is there any chance of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell being one of the book club selections? I might finally be able to participate in one!

[phat32]

Like Mya, I, too, have three books going at the moment:

Crisscross: A Repairman Jack Novel by F. Paul Wilson - I'm a longtime fan, but this installment is fair-to-middling, at best.

Just One Look by Harlan Coben - A good, but not great, effort by Harlan Coben. When it comes to mysteries, I love a very convoluted storyline, but I think the cardinal rule of writing a mystery, IMHO, is that the reader should be presented with enough facts to solve the mystery along with the detective. This book breaks that rule.

Finally:

Pompeii by Robert Harris - I love good historical fiction, and Harris writes some of the best (Fatherland--an "alternate history" that takes place in Hitler's Germany in a world where Hitler won WWII--springs instantly to mind). In fact, I think he's better at it now than Ken Follett, who, IMHO, has become a bit of a hack in recent years but wrote some of the best historical fiction, once upon a time (heh).

When it comes to historical fiction, I feel the stronger the grasp the author has on the time period about which he or she is writing, the better the results. Harris' research is exhaustive and, at the risk of sounding like a cliche, he makes the Roman Empire come alive for the reader. This is a first-class book!

[geek the girl]

Just One Look by Harlan Coben - A good, but not great, effort by Harlan Coben. When it comes to mysteries, I love a very convoluted storyline, but I think the cardinal rule of writing a mystery, IMHO, is that the reader should be presented with enough facts to solve the mystery along with the detective. This book breaks that rule.

When I saw the name Harlan Coben, I was keeping my fingers crossed that there was a new stand-alone out. But no such luck - I read Just One Look about a year ago and I'm in full agreement with you. A good, but not great effort. Still, I love the pace of it. Have you read his latest stand-alone mystery, The Innocent, yet? I really liked that one: along with Tell No One, it is my favourite Coben novel. Lots of intriguing plot lines, including a dead nun with silicone breasts (borderline tacky, but I thought it was pretty funny), taut writing, and good characters. Do pick it up if you haven't already. I'm eagerly awaiting a new Harlan Coben stand-alone, but there's no news on Amazon yet. I could opt for a Myron Bolitar mystery in the meantime, I suppose, but somehow I've never felt tempted to read the Bolitar series. Perhaps I should give it a go?

Still haven't started reading Sugarmilk Falls since I'm way too busy with required reading, but it's on my nightstand, looking all atmospheric and dreamy. Can't wait to start reading it. I love discovering new authors.

SnowflakeGirl: The Harry Bosch novels definitely make more sense if you read them in the right order. Michael Connelly is one of my favourite crime writers - I love the way he makes Los Angeles seem like an almost mythological place, and in doing so turning the city itself into a main character of his books. He's a bit like James Ellroy in that respect. I like my crime novels dark, gritty, and suspenseful, and Connelly usually delivers. Ooh, and go for The Shadow of the Wind. I read it last spring and lurved it. Atmospheric, beautifully written and intriguing, it reminded me a little bit of both Paul Auster and Umberto Ecco with a more obvious page turner appeal. Great stuff.

[Lucy]

Snowy, I would have thought you would have already read the Harry Potter books. Get started! I love them. I also really enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, although it took me a month to read the thing. It's very dense and wordy, sort of the way Dickens is, but worth it, I thought.

[giz]

Lucy, I'm reading Jonathan Strange too. Loving it, you just want to retreat to a manor house in a snowstorm and settle in with it. I"m also reading Self Made Man by Norah Vincent. It's about a woman who goes undercover as a man for 18 months, she joins a bowling team, stays at a monastery etc. It's fascinating and (for a woman) bizarre. They really think so differently than we do, it's another world. Their interaction with each other is so restrained. I remember my husband would come home from the pub and say "Oh, I saw Bob". I'd say "How is he? Did they adopt? How's it going with his wife, and the new baby?" He'd say, well I don't know, do I? We didn't talk about that. What did you talk about? The football game. ARGH!! I want details!! I'd really recommend Vincent's book.