What are you reading now?

[QualityChimp]

Double Cross - James Patterson


Before I start one of the recommended ones I'm currently reading The 007 Diaries by a bloke called Roger Moore.

Don't think I'll bother with the Cross stories after the lacklustre TV show.
I think I'd enjoy the Moore book, though. The more I hear from him, the more I like him and he seemed like a decent human being.

Just in case you've not seen it, here's this amazing story about a chance encounter with a young fan when he saw him at the airport:

->Open Spoiler<-

I've started "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" by Gillian McAllister. Can't give too much away but the protagonist sees a murder, but the she then wakes up the day before, so she tries to start unravelling what happened as she goes back in her timeline.

Decent so far!

[wakka]

I just read City on Fire by Don Winslow.

I've read a few of his books. The brilliant Power of the Dog, an epic saga of the Mexican drug cartels, stands out, as does The Force, a story of corrupt NYPD cops.

This one, it's safe to say, is something of a lesser work. It focuses on a gang war in the 1980s between the Irish and Italian mobs in Providence, Rhode Island, and while it's a compulsive, easy read, it lacks depth. There are a few too many characters who go woefully undeveloped, and it ends up going back and forth, mob hit for mob hit, so much that it almost feels like a list of detailed descriptions of mafia assassinations after a while.

It does contain some well placed wrongfooting to keep you interested, and Winslow always does a great line in the banality of evil when it comes to organised crime, but it's much thinner than his other work.

I scanned the first page of the acknowledgements at the end, and the first people he thanks are the medical workers during COVID-19. Aha. That explains it. He smashed this one out for something to do over lockdown, basically. A look at the publication date - 2022 - confirms this.

It's fine enough if you have a long plane ride and there's not much in the airport WHSmiths, but I'd recommend pretty much any of his other books over this one. Especially Power of the Dog. That one's a banger.

[Anpanman]

Don't think I'll bother with the Cross stories after the lacklustre TV show.
I think I'd enjoy the Moore book, though. The more I hear from him, the more I like him and he seemed like a decent human being.

Lovely story, I've been a fan of Moore as long as I can remember, from The Saint and The Persuaders to Bond and his great work for UNICEF. I'm pacing myself with the book as there are only two hundred pages or so, but they are done by Moore in a diary style and bring a good sense of just what it was like to be alive at that time.

There was a really good program on over Christmas on the Beeb.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0026d20/from-roger-moore-with-love

I think the Cross films weren't that great either, so yes I can't really 'sell' them to you.

[QualityChimp]

Lovely story, I've been a fan of Moore as long as I can remember, from The Saint and The Persuaders to Bond and his great work for UNICEF. I'm pacing myself with the book as there are only two hundred pages or so, but they are done by Moore in a diary style and bring a good sense of just what it was like to be alive at that time.

There was a really good program on over Christmas on the Beeb.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0026d20/from-roger-moore-with-love

Ooh, I spotted that this weekend. I'll try to check that out now I know it's decent, cheers.

[Anpanman]

The 007 Diaries - Roger Moore
Almost goes without saying but it's probably better if you are either a Bond or Moore fan ...or preferably both. I didn't realise it was out of print and has been brought back to life.

Lots of nice anecdotes and stories of life being in the business, yes Moore does overplay it a bit when saying how brave Jane Seymour was during the filming, yes but she never had to hang onto a real job working in a supermarket for low wages in the seventies either.
That said, an actors life isn't for me what with all the re-takes doing the same thing over and over again for hours on end.

Some very nice name dropping in the book and some peeps into the life of the A-listers too, plus a bit of an insight into his charity work which he really gets into after Bond, you can tell it is something he cares about. Moore also reveals he has some very simple tastes as well.

I found it a really enjoyable book, just wish it had 'Moore' pages!

[QualityChimp]

I'm terrible at updating this thread.

I finished "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" and it was really good. It kept me guessing throughout with a really good ending.
Nice twist on a murder mystery.

Moved onto Bobiverse #1, "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)" by Dennis E. Taylor. This was read brilliantly by Ray Porter ("Project Hail Mary") and it's a fun sarcastic space adventure, but I didn't enjoy it as much as PHM, Old Man's War or Scond Life of Mr. Hunt, but they were exceptional.

Then onto "Killa City", John Milton #17, which is still one of my fave series and this was particularly good. I liked the previous book where he assembled a team, but this mixes it up with John going solo again. The stories can be read alone, but I'm particularly enjoying how the author, Mark Dawson, is weaving them all together. Top narrator, David Thorpe continues reading the audiobook.

Then, I've been caning Dungeon Crawler Carl #6, "Eye of the Bedlam Bride" by Matt Dinneman. Got a few chapters left to cane before starting book 7, "The Inevitable Ruin" which dropped TODAY!

I deffo think there's some people on here who'd enjoy a good LitRPG like DCC. It's like a book version of a videogame.
The current book features a card-battle system "like that Pokémon show you like and that other one with the boy with spiky blonde hair, you know - Yugoslavia"

[Anpanman]

I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom - Jason Pargin
One of the 'recommended by Chimpy' series and I have to say it's a cracker. Very funny look at anxiety and social media in the United States. The writing style is a bit sarky which I have no problem with as every character more or less has less than nice thoughts about the others. I found myself laughing at some of the true events mentioned in the book as well as events in the story itself.
There was a hilarious mention of Jack Reacher plus there is some similarity in 'Past Tense' one of the JR series...
Highly recommended

Currently reading Dopesick by Beth Macy which was mentioned in Mathew Perry's book I reviewed earlier, about Oxycontin a pain relief drug available in the US.

[Blobcat]

I've just finished The Catcher in the Rye for the first time in my life. It was certainly interesting, overall I liked it enough to grip me the few evenings I read chapters of it but also in many ways I hated it. I understand why its written the way it is and it truly gave me a headache at times. Sometimes relating to but mostly hating the main character in many ways, it hits you in the gut a few times. So overall I liked it and I hated it, I would recommend it but I also wouldn't want to read it again unless it was for studying.

As the daughter of English teachers I am surprised this was not forced on me as a kid to read but hey ho.

[charlesr]

Finished reading Project Hail Mary (after forgetting about it for ages). Really good. Enjoyed all the science stuff and teamwork from the 2 skillsets.

[QualityChimp]

I love how we're checking out each other's suggestions!

Project Hail Mary is one of the best books I've read in the last few years and heartily recommend it to anyone.

I'm on The Inevitable Ruin, but had to stop for our journey to Scotland, but that was perfect for an audiobook.

On the way up, we listened to Violet Brewster #1 Murder in Merrywell and absolutely loved it.
It's a cosy murder-mystery, so no swearing, but it didn't need it.

I thought Violet was a brilliant lead character. She's a women who has recently split from her husband and moved to Merrywell to start a small business recording people's memories like a living biography, and she's hired to interview the townsfolk. This leads to a few uncomfortable skeletons coming out of the closet and Violet is intrigued by a missing person from decades ago.

We loved it so much, that on the way back, we listened to #2 Murder at the Book Festival and we have about 20 minutes left, annoyingly!

But yeah, if you're after a light, but engaging murder-mystery, check these out!

[charlesr]

Next up is Fallen Dragon. I was looking for a standalone SciFi book. So many of them span multiple books without ending properly.

[QualityChimp]

This Inevitable Ruin (Dungeon Crawler Carl #7) is done.
Probably didn't enjoy it as much as the previous books, but still solid.

I think all the stuff about the gods is a bit confusing after a while.

Good finale section, though.

Shift (Wool #2).
Wool is the book that Apple TV show, Silo, is based on.
More of a prequel than direct sequel, it's fun to hear how the silo came about, but I often wonder if prequels are necessary.
I'm currently about 25% through it.

[Anpanman]

Dopesick - Beth Macy
Mainly about Purdue Pharmaceutical's drug OxyContin and how the company pushed for greater and greater prescribing leading to patients becoming addicted and some of them moving onto other drugs. Set in the rural Virginia.
The book breaks off into other directions, one about a major drug dealer in the Virginia area who was interviewed in prison and also the addicts and their families.
A good read but definitely not a happy book so be warned.

Nothing to Lose/Make-Me/Past Tense - Lee Child
Been on holiday this week to I've zipped through a hat-trick of Jack Reacher re-reads.
As good as ever, Past Tense shares a tiny bit of the plot with Black Box of Doom, in that there is a big box in it - though it may not be black.

[egparadigm]

Dopesick - Beth Macy
Mainly about Purdue Pharmaceutical's drug OxyContin and how the company pushed for greater and greater prescribing leading to patients becoming addicted and some of them moving onto other drugs. Set in the rural Virginia.
The book breaks off into other directions, one about a major drug dealer in the Virginia area who was interviewed in prison and also the addicts and their families.
A good read but definitely not a happy book so be warned.

I watched the (rather good) drama on iPlayer by the same name. At one point whilst watching I got ill and had to stop watching cos watching the characters go through withdrawal was a hard watch.