What books are we reading at the moment ?

[Mr Larrington]

They didn’t have the latest from Mr Aaronovitch is Mr Sainsbury’s House of Toothy Comestibles chiz, so I'll either have to buy it online or launch An Expotition to travel the whole mile-and-a-bit to Waterstones in 'stow Central.  In any case it’s going to take a while to finish my b-i-l's tome as it’s too weighty to be comfortably read in bed.

Launched an Expotition to Waterstones only to discover that they ent got it in yet chiz.  But I did manage to score a bunch of the related graphic novels so perhaps I shall at last be able to find out what some of the Mysterious Stuffs in the books for e.g. the Haunted BMW are all about.

[fd3]

Local library had the graphic novels, though I don't like their referencing in the books - it's too much into the "you need to read these to know what's going on" and less a clin d'oeil.

Finished Kraken, it was as poor as has been suggested upthread - if anything it gets progressively worse as the book goes on (I thought it started well).  A shame as I did like City & the City and his short stories.

[Mr Larrington]

Sadly I have subsequently discovered that there are (at least) nine “Rivers Of London” graphic novels and Waterstones only had five.  Of them.  So the Haunted Pikey Old Beemer may yet have to wait chiz.

[graculus]

Sadly I have subsequently discovered that there are (at least) nine “Rivers Of London” graphic novels and Waterstones only had five.  Of them.  So the Haunted Pikey Old Beemer may yet have to wait chiz.

I have the first six.
The haunted BMW is in the first.
(IMHO No.s 1 & 3 are OK; 2 & 4 are excellent; 5 is a bit of a dud; 6 is so-so. I'm not sure I will buy any more)

[ian]

I think it was clear in the last one that he'd run out of stuff to write about.

[rafletcher]

Well, having mamaged not to finish the latest Donna Leon / Brunetti offering Give unto Others, about financial shennanigans at a charity, it just didn't hold my atrention, I'll be trying the latest Aaronovitch, Amongst our Weapons, myself.  I'm not holding out a great deal of hope for it TBH, I expect "more of the same" and the writing isn't enough in itself to keep me interested. We'll see.

[fd3]

Embassytown by Mieville, the focus on language brings to mind Babel 17 by Delaney.

[rafletcher]

Well, the Aaronovitch was actually 95% ok,  perhaps because it was a bit of a wait, and because there seems to be a bit of progression. Now onto Brian McGilloway’s The Empty Room about a missing teenager, set in his home town (as are most of his books) of Derry.

[Mr Larrington]

I really have to finish Count Zero so's I can attack my unread stack of Aaronovitch – 1.5 books and 9 graphic novels – but in spite of having been without the Big Computer for more than a week I've spent far too long poking random links in Wikinaccurate instead.

[andrewc]

I really have to finish Count Zero so's I can attack my unread stack of Aaronovitch – 1.5 books and 9 graphic novels – but in spite of having been without the Big Computer for more than a week I've spent far too long poking random links in Wikinaccurate instead.

You keep getting interrupted......

[Mr Larrington]

I see what you did there

[coops456]

Listened to the latest Aaronovitch on Audible - first time I've heard the book before reading it. As always, Kobna Holbrook-Smith does an excellent job of narration.

Really enjoyed Ned Boulting's How I Won the Yellow Jumper - written in the pre-Sky days but very entertaining.

Now coming to the end of Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez. Slightly above "meh".

[Mr Larrington]

Because going to Fort Larrington for a couple of days I decided to start the new Stuart MacBride on my Kindle for convenience's sake.  Books are heavy and it’s a long way* to where my motor-car is parked.  Five unsolved and bloody killin's in the backstory plus one more as it starts and only 20% through it so far.  This at least partially makes up for the lack of Ash Henderson and Mad Alice even though it’s set in “Oldcastle”.

* about 10 yards from the Grand Portico of Larrington Towers

[FifeingEejit]

Have picked up a book called the grand prix sabateurs about pre-wwii grand prix drivers who took up super secret intelligence service work to help establish the French resistance.

It obviously also talks about the betwixt war races.

Sent from my IV2201 using Tapatalk

[Mr Larrington]

Have picked up a book called the grand prix sabateurs about pre-wwii grand prix drivers who took up super secret intelligence service work to help establish the French resistance.

It obviously also talks about the betwixt war races.

Sent from my IV2201 using Tapatalk

Read that when it first came out, having been a reader of Joe Saward's blog for many a year.

[fd3]

Got from the library:
Pterry - Johnny and the dead
Colfer - Hitchhiker's guide part 6 of 3
Sheldon - 10,000 Ly from home
No idea whether any of them will be any good.

[Mr Larrington]

The Colfer is a Rubbish

[fd3]

The Colfer is a Rubbish

To be fair so were parts 4 and 5.

[Mr Larrington]

Troo, dat.

[Butterfly]

Listened to the latest Aaronovitch on Audible - first time I've heard the book before reading it. As always, Kobna Holbrook-Smith does an excellent job of narration.

K H-S is utterly brilliant. I love his narration.

I'm listening to the Dresden Files at the moment. I think I'm nearly at the end of the full length novels and I haven't read the short stories yet. James Marsters' narration improves a lot through the series - there was far too much sighing in the first 4 or 5 and he is much more convincing in the later books. The books themselves improved as well. The humour is much smoother in the later books and the constant sexualisation of every female character is toned down a bit. I'm finding other books a bit too much of a change of pace, so I'm going to finish these before going back to something a bit calmer.

[Mr Larrington]

Yay! Another gory killin' Albeit in flashback

[FifeingEejit]

Have picked up a book called the grand prix sabateurs about pre-wwii grand prix drivers who took up super secret intelligence service work to help establish the French resistance.

It obviously also talks about the betwixt war races.

Sent from my IV2201 using Tapatalk

Read that when it first came out, having been a reader of Joe Saward's blog for many a year.

It's all rather interesting, I read a fair bit about the inter-war years of racing after playing the much maligned Spirit of Speed 1937 for a bit which I actually quite enjoyed playing.
now getting into the SOE training, well actually right on the end of it.

[ElyDave]

Local library had the graphic novels, though I don't like their referencing in the books - it's too much into the "you need to read these to know what's going on" and less a clin d'oeil.

Finished Kraken, it was as poor as has been suggested upthread - if anything it gets progressively worse as the book goes on (I thought it started well).  A shame as I did like City & the City and his short stories.

I quite enjoyed Kraken, just an increasing need for suspension of disbelief.

I've just finished Imperial Mud, the Fight for the Fens by James Boyce, an aussie who spent some time in Norfolk. Fascinating to put the actions, resistance, and the people into the 3-400 year process. Driving back home across the fens from Hull last week was particularly interesting.

Also trying to read Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver and really struggling to engage with it.

[Mr Larrington]

Yay! Another gory killin' Albeit in flashback

Yay!  Another stiff

Edit: two, in fact, but one was an accident.  Although the victim did get partially et by kittehs.

[fd3]

I quite enjoyed Kraken, just an increasing need for suspension of disbelief.

I since read Embassytown which I thought was significantly better.  Kraken did feel like he rolled a dice every chapter for a new denoument and new factions/characters - there was too much and the story was very muddled.  Embassytown and The City & The City were both much better structured with a clearer narrative that actually built well together.