I was going to write up a little bit about each of my current reads but I just got home from being out with a friend all day. We had one of those long talk sessions where we wear ourselves out and we laughed until we cried and it was good, but now I’m kind of tired so I’ll make this quick.
I’m currently shuttling between Alabama, Rome and High School:
I’ve had Gods in Alabama on my shelves forever but thanks to the Southern Reading challenge I got motivated to start it. So far I’m liking it. The Silver Pigs has some great descriptions of Rome and what it must have been like in 70 A.D. but I don’t know that I like the main character too much. That can be a problem when reading a series book. Finally, Speak is wonderful and it’s the book I’m reaching out for first. I get the feeling I’m going to finish it tonight.
Have you read any of these? What did you think?
I just purchase Speak at the bookstore tonight. I am really looking forward to reading it. I’ll be interested to see what you think about it as it sounds like you will finish it long before I do.
I’ve Speak in my TBR pile! I’ve read a lot of great reviews about this book and I can’t wait to hear what you think of it. 🙂
I really liked Speak. My daughter had to read it for a summer reading assignment, and I picked it up out of curiosity. I have gods in Alabama on my nightstand, too. I got to hear Joshilyn Jackson speak at an English teacher’s conference, and she’s hilarious. She was so nice when I got my book signed. She has a blog, too. Did you know? http://joshilynjackson.com/mt/
all of them look good. I m reading Persuasion!
Yay! I love gods in Alabama! I hope you like it.
The only one of these that I’ve read is ‘The Silver Pigs’ and I have to admit to being a real Falco fan. The author is local and I’ve been following her work ever since the series started, which must be about twenty years ago now. If you don’t like Falco then you will have a problem with the others as well because he’s consistent in character all the way through. You might want to try ‘The Course of Honour’, which is set in the same period, but is about Vespasian’s mistress or if you specifically want crime fiction, then Steven Saylor has a series set in a slightly different period. Another way into the Falco series might be to et hold of some of the BBC radio dramatisations which I think are excellent and are available on CD.
I’ve read Speak which was really good. It’s one of those books you can’t put down. There is another book by her called Catalyst which is set in the same school but isn’t really a sequel if you like Speak.
It took me a while to warm to Falco but once I was used to his voice and the way he was written I loved him!
I read Speak this past weekend in a single sitting – it really is as good as everyone always told me it was!
Haven’t read it, but I’ve heard both good and bad things about Gods in Alabama. Will be curious to see what you think!
I read Gods in Alabama earlier this summer and then listed to The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by the same author (she also was the reader of this audio book). I really enjoyed both reads.
I love long talk sessions like the one you describe! I haven’t read any of those books, but I look forward to hearing about them.
I read Speak out loud to my daughters when they were 13 and 15. We all immensely enjoyed it!! The author came to our local library and we went and saw her speak – she was very funny. She lived in (I think) Holland as a foreign exchange student!! She was great!!
Kathleen – I did finish it last night and just loved it. I will have a review up one of these days 😉
Melody – Move it up on your list! haha… No, it was really good and I think you’d like it!
Dana Huff – I know I’ve visited her blog once or twice but I get the feeling that once I finish her book I may become a regular!
Veens – Are you enjoying it? I plan to read it this summer so I’m looking forward to it.
aka Nik – I thought about you when I picked up that book because I remember you said you really liked it. I got a bit sidetracked by Speak but will get back into it today.
Table Talk – So good to see you blogging again Ann. I think I’m just a bit bugged by all the “romantic” stuff which is odd. I don’t mind mysteries with a bit of romance. I’m not giving up on it though and maybe the further I get into it the more I’ll like it!
Rhinoa – Oh I didn’t know that. I’ll have to check it out. I sort of wish there was a sequel to this as there’s so much to wonder about what happened next you know.
Marg – Ok, I’m glad to hear that. Maybe I just need a bit more time with him. I do like the setting a lot though so I’m still keeping my fingers crossed.
Nymeth – Have you reviewed it yet? I hope I didn’t miss your review. But, yes, it was almost a read in one sitting type book for me too. I probably would have but I got together with my friend and had to put the book on hold 🙂
Tiffany – I’ve only heard good things about it so I’m actually going into it with very high expectations. A dangerous thing as it’s hard for books to live up to that but I’ll keep you posted on what I think!
Juliann – Is the Girl Who Stopped Swimming a sequel? I know I’ve heard about it but because I was just about to start Gods in Alabama I sort of didn’t want to know more – don’t want to be spoiled 🙂
Dorothy W. – Aren’t they the best? I wish I could do that more often with my friends.
Elizabeth – Oh how cool. I bet your daughters enjoyed that! I need to see about getting another of her books!
Like Marg, I think Falco takes some getting used to, but I’ve enjoyed the series. Speak is on my TBR list!
Of those, the only one I’ve read (heard of before now even) is Speak. It was utterly amazing as a read. I agree with everyone who’s said that you can’t put that book down. It’s a book that I think needs to be read twice for a reader to gain the full impact of the story. (Well, unless you go into it already knowing what it’s about.)
I’m currently in the middle of Feathered, which the Nerds Heart YA tournament pointed me towards. I’m feeling a bit ambivalent about it at the moment, so we’ll see how I feel about the ending. I do want to finish it. It’s intruiging.
Glad to hear you’re enjoying your books!
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming is not a sequal but I heard the author talk at the end of the audio book and she said she is working on a book about one of the characters in Gods in Alabama.
I spotted Gods in Alabama when I undertook to read a lot of Southern and African American literature back in February. The book has been sitting on my shelf the whole time waiting for its moment, which might be soon since you recommend it. 🙂
I havent read those, but I happy reading 🙂 The Silver Pigs sounds very good.
I look forward to your review of The Silver Pigs. It looks interesting, but I won’t bother if you don’t like it in the end. 🙂
jenclair – I’m getting more into it so it’s getting a bit better. So of course now I’m curious to see how it will end!
Shanra – Despite this being a popular book I actually didn’t know too much about it. I had read some reviews but probably a while back so a lot of it was “new” to me. I really like it and definitely want to read more by her. I haven’t heard of Feathered so I need to look into that one!
Juliann – Ah, I wonder which one. I’m not very far into the book so right now I can’t say there’s one character standing out but we’ll see!
Matthew – I had it on my shelf for years! So far I like it. Some funny stuff has happened but I get the feeling there are some dark secrets waiting.
bookworm – I just love reading about the architecture and daily life in ancient Rome. Sounds so fascinating 🙂
Kailana – It’s getting better so I promise to keep you posted! 🙂
I really hope you come to like Falco a bit more because Lindsey Davis writes the best historical mystery series ever! As I remember it Julia Justinia (our heros soon to be true love) transforms Falco, without destroying his irrepressible character so perhaps you just need to meet her.
I’ve read and enjoyed Gods In Alabama. It was such a good read that I just checked out The Girl Who Stopped Swimming from the library. I also read Speak a few months ago and although I haven’t had a chance to review it, I consider it one of my top reads of this year. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on both of these when you finish!
I haven’t read any of these, but I love the colors on those covers…very pleasing.
I’ll be curious to hear what you think of the Davis book when you finish. A mystery set in Rome appeals, but I’m not sure I would want to go so far back in time historically. Maybe I’ll stick to Donna Leon and Venice.