Any bookworms out there?

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kingfisher68(2)
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Any bookworms out there?

Post by kingfisher68(2) »

Done quite a lot of reading last few weeks & wondered what others on here enjoy reading & where your favourite place is for reading? Latest authors I enjoyed are Alex Brown & Sheila Newberry.

I read a biography now & then & occasionally history books but mostly read family stories. Read Maeve Binchy books in the past, really enjoyed them. Am currently reading The Princess of Poor Street by Emma Blair.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by RosemaryH »

I am definitely a book worm. Read so many different types that it would be difficult for me to pinpoint one particular type. Historical novels, detective, family, social science, mysterious but never fantasy. As I read about three books a week in general I like to mix and match a little so will read a historical book then a detective style one and then something more obscure. So I am always open for suggestions on authors.

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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by Lulu22 »

I am a bookworm and read all sorts, I steer clear of romance novels and non fiction as I like to escape the real world for a while every day :)

My favourite place to read..well I have two, in the garden and in the bath I find reading in bed makes me too sleepy and often don't finish a page!
I am currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, I have been reading the author's Neil Gaiman and David Mitchell recently, they are quirky, but their books are outstandingly good.
The best book I've read so far this year is A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, its a book that makes you think about things and I love all that.
I also enjoy reading Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, Ursula Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, Jeffery Deaver, Robert Galbreith, I could go on and on but I'll stop there :lol:

What a great topic Izzi :)
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by kingfisher68(2) »

Thanks both for replies, seems I have a few more authors to look into. I did enjoy Daphne Du Maurier too Lulu.

You really are a very quick reader Rosemary.

I enjoy reading in the garden but fall asleep within a few minutes when I do that although I don't do so when indoors. Like to rad a bit before bedtime.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by isaacson72 »

I only read for about 30 minutes before bed, but I also have audiobooks in the car, since I have a long commute every day. Right now, I'm listening to The Year of Living Danishly, a non-fiction book by a woman who moved to Denmark for a year (so far, we'll see if she stays!). I can't say that's the type I love to read, but I did listen to a similar book about a woman who moved from Australia to France -- I thought it was a fiction novel, though, when I bought it! In the car I prefer chick lit, because it's easier to get lost in it, I don't have to concentrate. Kristin Hannah, Jill Mansell, Marian Keyes, that kind of thing. I once tried listening to Middlemarch, thinking I'd listen to the classics. Nearly crashed the car from boredom and had to re-listen to large chunks of it because I'd tune out.

I read about anything. I love Jeffrey Archer novels. I just finished The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass. I don't know... I read a lot of stuff! Alice Hoffman, Isabel Allende, Graham Greene, John Irving, Mark Helprin.... looking through my goodreads list now.... Ann Patchett, Fredrik Backman, Liane Moriarty (I've read all her books). I could go on & on. But those are some of my favorites. Starting Britt-Marie Was Here tonight, another Fredrik Backman book.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by Mabel Figworthy »

I usually read in bed before going to sleep, and definitely on holidays. Fairly eclectic mix, on the whole.

For non-fiction I love histories of cooking and food, and social history in general; linguistics and how language works, and the brain; and I read a lot of C S Lewis' theological writings as well as other theology.

Fiction - a lot of crime novels, my absolute favourite being Dorothy L Sayers; and I've read most of Anne Perry and am trying some Swedish crime novels now (in translation, I hasten to say). I'm finding it a bit difficult to find modern crime novels that haven't got a lot of sex and bad language in them :-(. Also P G Wodehouse and other humorous writers, and having studied English there's the usual smattering of Austen Oscar Wilde. Andanything that looks like it might be worth reading, really :D !
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by RosemaryH »

Kingfisher, I am not a quick reader really. It is just that I watch so little TV and at the moment I am not stitching very often so more time for reading.

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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by mauveme »

Last year between Jan and June I read 185 books, so yes I am a book worm. I like reading series of books. Fantasy are my genre of choice but like mysteries, & thrillers. Brotherhood of the Black Dagger, Cat and Bones, The Spider, October Day, Mercy Thomson, Tales of the Nightside, Alex Cross, Michael Bennet, Womens Murder Club, Jane Yellowrock, Ester Diamond ,Kitty Cat, Chicagoland Vampires, are just a few of the series I love. I can't read in bed but anywhere else is up for grabs. I take my reader everywhere I go just incase I get a few min to read.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by karen4bells »

Most definitely!! I don't know how many books I read in a year, but it is a lot!! Rarely do I not have all 20 spots on my library reserve maximum all used up---some are cds but nearly 95% are usually books! I love reading mostly mysteries, by Stephen King, Janet Evanovich, Nora Roberts, James Patterson, Kathy Reichs, Robin Cook--and that's just a few of the long list of my preferred authors!! I love getting lost in my reading!!
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by kingfisher68(2) »

Such a lot of authors I've not heard of so lots to check up on.

Wow mauverne, you do read a lot as well as having such a speedy needle. I remember you said you were retired but I'd never guess anyone could read so many books in 6 months. You certainly keep yourself well occupied. No cobwebs in your brain I shouldn't think as it gets a good workout every day :lol: My brain gets a bit clogged up some days even though I try to keep busy! :lol: I do word puzzles some days to keep my brain exercised. I have a Kindle as quite a few of the library books are hardbacks & heavy to hold nowadays. I do prefer the feel of paper though.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

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Another bookworm here. I read many different genres and at the moment I have four books going: The Fifties by David Halberstam; The Boy from Baby House 10 by Alan Philps and John Lahutsky; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith; and Congress in Context by John Haskell.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by richardandtracy »

Don't feel I'm a bookworm, just couldn't live without them.
My wife works in an academic library, where they have 1 mile of shelving covered in books directly accessible and a further 12 miles in storage where they can be retrieved on request. How big is an average book? 1.25" long? If so that means around 660,000 books.
We have 2400 books in our study (my eldest daughter counted once) and a further 1000 in other rooms in the house. My eldest daughter has 1800 books in her bedroom, and the younger daughter became an avid reader later so only has 1200.
Most evenings I read before bed, these days mostly on a tablet with books downloaded from the Internet Archive. I have upwards of 2250 on the tablet and in the 2 years since getting it I've read 600-ish of them. Mostly technical, covering machine shop methods, engineering, art & sculpture, fabric arts, architecture, furniture making, horology, gardening, archaeology & history, geography & travel, jewellery making, mining, military or nautical subjects. However I've also had the pleasure of being able to research Lady Harriet Cavendish, the First Lady Granville after being inspired by a Paula Marshall fictionalised account of Harriet & her to-be husband Granville's courting 'An Unexpected Passion'. Read all the published information about both of them and those of Henrietta Ponsonby (Lady Bessborough) who was Granville's mistress for 15 years before she suggested her niece would be his best choice of wife.

The 400 page book I finished last night was 'Condition Red, Destroyer Action in the South Pacific' published in 1943, a wonderful read, and have started on the equally long 'A Design Manual for Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastics' with particular emphasis on its use in yachts, dated 1960.

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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by kingfisher68(2) »

Thanks for more input. I'd be in heaven having your wife's job Richard. Can think of nothing better than being surrounded by books & finding what people want :D

Also thanks for mentioning Internet Archive. Will go on there & see what I can find. Always to good to hear about other books & other sources :) .
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

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My wife rather enjoys some parts of her job, like buying the books, sniffing new ones, sorting the un-needed ones & that sort of thing, but there are other bits she's less keen on - like the managers playing favourites & similar unprofessional childishness.

As for the Internet Archive. It is a phenomenal resource with over 5 million books. There is a problem with it in that copyright laws exist, so there are comparatively few in-copyright books there. It appears our ideas of good novels have changed over the years and many of the old novels seem like utter rubbish. Have you ever read Anne Radcliffe's 'Mysteries of Udolpho'? I suspect that it's unlikely, even though it's quoted in many hysterical (sorry, I meant 'historical', honest guv) romance books. If you try it, you're likely to come to the same conclusion as me, that it is utter, unmitigated drivel. But at the time, it was very popular - so taste must have changed.

There are also problems with the technical content of some of the books.
I have found a number of early books on aeroplanes, covering 'How to make your own' and that sort of thing on the site. The understanding of how aeroplanes fly did not come until some years after the Wright Brothers actually flew, so most of the early books are based on completely wrong assumptions as to how a wing works, and would be very dangerous to follow. One of the books I downloaded had an aerofoil shape that even to my (mechanical as opposed to aeronautical engineer) eyes was dangerous and likely to cause sudden loss of lift at certain angles of attack. Those books could kill someone without the knowledge to sift out the flaws.

Then there are also books on how to make guns, bombs and chemical or biological weapons. At home. These are likely to be lethal to someone if the recipes are followed - most likely the user, but who knows?

However, the majority are... wow. So useful. I have learnt heaps about things I never expected to be interested in.

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Re: Any bookworms out there?

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Yes, I do notice how book genres change in popularity. In 60s enjoyed Anya Seaton, Mary Stewart, Georgette Heyer & no doubt would have enjoyed Philippa Gregory in those days but I do not like them now. The King said this or that because how do they know it would have been just like that? When I saw a few minutes of one of Philippa Gregory's about Elizabeth Woodville on TV & heard her say 'Over my dead body' when they wanted to take her sons away, I decided that was enough. She would not have said those words & although I read historical novels & enjoyed them years ago, I seem to view them in a different light now.

Sorry your wife has to contend with people favouring some & not others, everyone should be equal.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

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I love to read but mostly listen to audiobooks now, especially in the car. I love science fiction and some fantasy novels. Classics like Isaac Asimov's Foundation (and almost anything he wrote), Anne McCaffrey's series like Pern, Acorna, The Ship Who..., and others. I also like Historical novels and especially Historical Mysteries. Medieval mysteries like Ellis Peters' Cadfael, Elizabeth Peters' Amanda Peabody, Shirley Tallman's Sara Woolson. Cozy mysteries which are easy reads and especially involve cats of all kinds (talking, writing and mystical) by Shirely Rousseau Murphy (Joe Gray mysteries), Rita Mae Brown (Sneaky Pie mysteries), Sofie Kelly (Magical Cats) and Clea Simon (several different series). I tend to avoid novels set in the present except for the cozy mysteries. One fun series is by Susan Wittig Albert. It is the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. If you are someone who loves Beatrix Potter, these are lovely. Main character is Beatrix and lots of fascinating animals that help and/or comment. Mostly take place in the Lake District where her farm is.

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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by Purple Patsy »

I used to read a lot more than I do now. I blame the easy access of TV and films now. I also find it interrupts my stitching. :D

Thanks for the link to the internet archive Richard I'm looking forwatd to hitting the audiobooks so I get the best of both worlds.

Another source for out of copyright books I've used for download is http://www.gutenberg.org" target="_blank but again it has some excesively obscure texts hidden amongst the classics. :D

Most recently I've been reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon but very slowly as I said. And there are rather a lot of them.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

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Thanks for putting another website on Purple Patsy, another added to my collection :)
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

Post by fiddler »

I read a lot. I like crime historical who done its and romance if I want an easy read. I love Harlan Coban and Linwood Barclay. I have read all Diana Gabaldon books. Carol if you like Brother Cadfael you should try Peter Tremaine books about an Irish nun called Sister Fidelma. They are set a the same time as Brother Cadfael.
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Re: Any bookworms out there?

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You reminded me my later MIL enjoyed Cadfael books but I never got into them at the time she read them. Perhaps 25 years later I should try again.

Am on Lucinda Riley book now. Enjoy her novels as well as Kate Morton & Santa Montefiore ones. So many to choose from. Jean Plaidy books were very popular in the 60s I seem to recall..
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