Book Loving Kiwis discussion

Erica & I have had a little chat* & we want to change the direction of our book discussion threads.

We would like to see actual commentary - the reason you read the book, how you felt about it, even where you acquired the book from! Failing that, links to your Goodreads review are fine.

We are interested in our member's opinions. & this could be a useful resource for finding new books/authors.

Authors please note; The Authors Corner is still where you should promote your own books.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

*Haha, I'm such a bad typist - I originally had 'chant' rather than 'chat!' 😂

& I will get the ball rolling.

My reading has really slowed down - not because I've stopped enjoying reading, but because I'm a very slow non fiction reader.

Park: The Biography of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park by Vincent Orange I have just finished this & I am struggling with my review as it was such a wonderful biography of my little town's most famous son. I find a lot of non fiction very dry & unreadable, where the late Vincent Orange's style is warm & engaging.

I'm also reading my favourite (after Katherine Mansfield) NZ author's second memoir. Fishing in the Styx is after Ruth Park moved to Australia is also about some of the famous & infamous characters Park met. I had to put it aside to finish the book Park (quite a coincidence about the surnames), but will be getting back to it soon.

My reading had also slowed down. I think because I was reading books I felt I *should* read for challenges etc rather than just picking up what I was in the mood for. But I've recently picked up The Overstory by Richard Powers and I'm loving his writing style. Definitely right book, right time :)

I moderate two other groups. In Retro Reads, we used to read Christmas short stories, but the other moderator was finding it harder & harder to find free online stories from our time period.

So this year we are reading Hercule Poirot's Christmas I haven't read any Christie for a while & I am enjoying this one so far.

Am rereading Ben Aarronovicht's Rivers of London series. Starting with Rivers of London. I am cheering myself up with the clever funny plot but also reassuring myself that some of my library friends are wrong. They have been raving about the 'original' books published by the horrible woman who has coped his ideas and produced a book with the setting of London and the Met police force. I mean if she's going to copy, do a fan fiction, she might try to look original. Her agent and publisher keep raving about her originality!
It's like all those copyists who leap on the Jane Austen wagon and write psudo novels using her characters and settings. Grr!

P.D.R. wrote: "Am rereading Ben Aarronovicht's Rivers of London series. Starting with Rivers of London. I am cheering myself up with the clever funny plot but also reassuring myself that some of my library friend..."

Oh copyists are indeed awful. With Jane Austen I did enjoy The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet & Bridget Jones Diary though. They both just took a kernel of the original & then ran with it.

The library's bought a lot of new Aussie bks. A lot of them are family outback small town type stories but 'Salt River Road' is a bit different. It's an interesting part prose poetry, part straight narrative about a family of five kids coping with mother's slow death from cancer and their father's total collapse in grief.

It's very annoying as they don't help each other but just indulge in a lot of wallowing and wailing. Still I'll stick it to the end. It's an interesting way of writing a novel even if the characters need a bit less self indulgence.

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "P.D.R. wrote: "Am rereading Ben Aarronovicht's Rivers of London series. Starting with Rivers of London. I am cheering myself up with the clever funny plot but also reassuring myself that some of my..."

Yes, taking a sideways glance like 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead' and giving something new and special to the reader is original but these copyist drive me nuts.

I've been enjoying all the new books in the library and found a charmer, but it depends on whether you have some knowledge of Japanese food and the very particular way a dedicated chef would cook a meal and want you to eat it.. 'The Kamogawa Food Detectives' is a current best seller in Japan and no wonder. A father and daughter team will try to recreate a special recipe for people who are desperate to taste again the food that is so special because of the memories attached to it. Brought back memories for me of the wonderful traditional meals I enjoyed in Japan and the respect Japanese people have for food and they way it should be eaten.

P.D.R. wrote: "I've been enjoying all the new books in the library and found a charmer, but it depends on whether you have some knowledge of Japanese food and the very particular way a dedicated chef would cook a..."

That sounds an interesting read pdr - I've added it to my wishlist.

I've started Tender Is the Night by Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is a favourite of mine, & I think I attempted some other Fitzgerald's when I was younger, but couldn't get through them. Let's see how I go as a more mature reader.

I wish I could plot a book like Quentin Jardin. His Bob Skinner series just goes from strength to strength.
I remember reading the 1st novel with youngish Bob Skinner in the Scottish police as a stroppy detective and the plots are full of twists and clever turns. Now he's Sir Bob and still solving the almost unsolvable! Each novel is a stand alone without clunky explanations.
If you want a satisfying , the baddies get their comeuppance, give one of the novels ago.

I've just started reading Whisper Island: Psychological Thriller Suspense by Waikato author Nicky Webber. So far so good, one of the characters is called "Kirsten" which was a surprise, and quite jarring to start with!!! Hahahahahahaha

P.D.R. wrote: "Am rereading Ben Aarronovicht's Rivers of London series. Starting with Rivers of London. I am cheering myself up with the clever funny plot but also reassuring myself that some of my library friend..."

I enjoyed the book , which is the belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice. A well done version.

The Great Deceiver



'The Great Deceiver' by Elly Grifiths another Max Mephisto whodunnit

Great fun. The characters are developing nicely novel by novel and Max is still solving problems murder-wise as well as on stage.
A nice gentle humorous read which won't send you to bed to have nightmares.

The Good Liars


There was a real 1920s feel to this book, partly deliberate, caused by the way the book was written. Friends found this made the book a slow paced read, I found it added a real sense of the miserable unhappiness caused by coping with the loss of so many young men in WWI. 3 million deaths had a huge effect both nationally and of course personally. This book is a good mystery with a clever twist that I didn't spot until the villains did. Do give the book a go. It's an excellent historical mystery.

The House of Mirrors

Now I know why Erin Kelly is a best seller. Crime fiction at its best and keeping you guessing to the end. The characters are so 3D you're hooked from the start. And just when you think they've got away with it there's an epilogue to make you groan and worry. A must read for crime fiction fans.

Time I started getting more active again!

So I have just finished reading The Deal by Elle Kennedy through the Kindle app, I have a BUNCH of books that I got free because who doesn't spend the day constantly scrolling through Amazons free books for no reason than having more books. I have started going through what I've got on Kindle and trying to read through a few, I knew this book was kind of popular, same with the author.

I've been enjoying sports romances so thought why not, I needed something not so intense after getting through the book I was recommended for the Book Swap(it was a great suggestion). I was disappointed with it, which sucked. The last couple of sport romances I've read have ended up being pretty disappointing, I guess that's what happens when I stray from the good romance series I was reading.

But I read it, I can put it up on my read list and numbers for the year and hopefully I can try another book from Elle Kennedy and it won't be so bad at another time.

Any McAll Smith fans here? Do read his novella/story collection - my library calls it short stories but they are really connected. It's a delightful read. He is so good at 3D characters.
'The Perfect Passion Company'
The Perfect Passion Company


In his gentle fashion he puts social media in its place, looks at what makes a good relationship and makes apposite comments re world politics and the state of things. Lovely man! Not a hate speech or destructive thought in sight.

The Undying of Obedience Wellrest



The Undying of Obedience Wellrest' by Nicholas Bowling knocked me backwards. Talk about a brilliant without being cheesy gothic twist. Good tight writing, the author made it all seem quite possible.
The Winter List
'The Winter List' by S. G. Maclean
part of a series set in the 1680s - England after Charles returns. Not a bad read! Good characters, typical spy plot and I sometimes felt I should have started with the first book. Nice tight writing and no gadzookery!

Anyone wanting a pleasant read in the McCall Smith style give this book a try.

'What you are looking for is in the library'

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library


Very Japanese in philosophy but a charming collection of stories about people in need and an unusual librarian. Ties together cleverly at the end.

I’ve just started but really love this book already: Fight Night by Miriam Toews. It caught my eye at the library and I’m so happy it did.
I’m only up to page 51 but so far it’s a long unposted letter from a nine year old girl to her father. The girl, Swiv, lives with her pregnant volatile mother and her crusty old grandmother in a small Toronto apartment. I can’t really give you more detail yet, but I do like this quote from the dust jacket: “Fight Night is a love letter to mothers and grandmothers, and to all the women who are still fighting (…) for a way to live on their own terms.”

P.D.R. wrote: "Anyone wanting a pleasant read in the McCall Smith style give this book a try.

'What you are looking for is in the library'

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
[bookcover:W..."

Thanks P.D.R. It's in my "to read" already, just waiting for the right time to read it :)

I've just started reading the original Frankenstein: The 1818 Text. I thought it was about time!!!

P.D.R. wrote: "Anyone wanting a pleasant read in the McCall Smith style give this book a try.

'What you are looking for is in the library'

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
[bookcover:W..."

I've added it to my TBR. I love both the books the blurb refers to, so fingers crossed.

HI everyone, I don't think I've contributed to this discussion before, but I'm excited to be here!

As always, I'm reading a few things at the moment: When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach on audiobook, which is super interesting, Pet on Borrowbox, which is the only Ngaio Marsh long lister I've picked up so far, and An Indigenous Ocean: Pacific Essays which I bought at AWF and really have to read because it cost a bomb.

Have a great day, happy reading!

love Donna Leon's Venice series. 'A Refiner's Fire' is another thoughtful, deals with today's serious problems, novel. She's a philosopher like McCall Smith in her own style. And she can write!!!

Light Over Liskeard - loius de Bernier's new novel is clever and depressing. Set in a future I don't want to see.

Thank God for Ben Aaronvitch and his Rivers of London series. 'Winter's Gifts'. A cracking good read.

Was speaking to a lady from work and she suggested the Lovelight Farms series, as well as the Chestnut Springs series.
Was able to grab Lovelight Series first book was available so I've grabbed it, she said it's a more wholesome sort of romance book.

I just finished We're Never Getting Home by Tracy Badua which was a fine enough YA book about two best friends who end up in an argument days before they're meant to head off and see their favorite band, but everything that could go wrong does and we follow Jana as she tries desperately to get home. There's conflicts and a few mentions of love interest and drug/alcohol but nothing too crazy where you shouldn't recommend this to early teens.

'Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter' Nicci French
Now I know why French is so popular. Wow! Tight plot, interesting characters and empathetic writing. It's not often a writer chooses to look at murder from the victim's family PoV. Makes you think.

The Polish Detective' Hania Allen
A well plotted police procedural. Worth reading if you're a fan of police procedural set in the UK, Scotland actually.

Witch's Forest Kew Gardens book Sandra Lawrence
Non-fiction fascinating look at trees and how they have been used for medicinal and spiritual reasons. Some of which are quite funny.

I'm currently reading Remainders of the Day by Shaun Bythell -non-fiction about running a bookshop in the boomtown Wigtown of Scotland. I'm going there later this year so thought it was appropriate. Also reading O Pioneers! by Willa Cather. A great American classic. Loving the writing style which feels pared back but also really conjures up the old American West

So I finished up Lovelight Farms, it was a good wholesome and cute feeling type of book. It has a bit of spice but it isn't as heavy as some other romance books are. The only downside is that it is rather obvious with the plot regarding the romance, not in the sense of who is getting together but the in-between events, and that it seems a bit too perfect in some of the things.

I've started another suggestion from a different lady at work, who had this suggested to her by another lady from work (What I'm learning is that actually there's quite a few ladies that read from work!) I'm not quite sure if I'll like it yet but time will tell, mostly seems to be the consensus that it's liked by those around me.

Anyone seen the newest Scotland st tale from McCall-Smith not enough about Bertie for me but a hoot of a read with something philosophical to think about. 'How does he get the children's interaction so right and so nasty?

'The Stellar Debut of Galactica McFee'

The Stellar Debut of Galactica MacFee

I'm currently reading Long Island by Colm Toibin. The sequel to Brooklyn (made into a film several yrs ago). Really enjoying this follow up.

Erica wrote: "I'm currently reading Long Island by Colm Toibin. The sequel to Brooklyn (made into a film several yrs ago). Really enjoying this follow up."

Enjoyed too, Erin.

Just finished a Geronimo Stilton book that I grabbed from a local Free Little Library, mostly picked it as my sister in law used to love them when she was younger and I had never read anything from the many series before.
I may be well out of the age group for the book, and to be fair a lot of the books I have read this year but I feel like it's also good to venture out every once in awhile. Plus, if my nieces or nephews, or anyone else with kids now asks me for book recommendations at least I have options for them.

I'll join you, Zellian. YA/NA are usually slightly simpler in structure as well as having younger characters. Makes for lovely easy reading and usually a ripping good yarn too. I've always found them more soothing just before bed. So much adult fiction is depressing.

Doing research reading. Astounding information re settled villages, weaving , pottery etc at Pavlov 30,000 + years ago

Finished two books, one yesterday and one today.

One was Catalogue of the Universe by Margaret Mahy, unfortunately it didn't really gel with me which is a bit gutting to me as I would have loved to say I love all of her books being a NZ author. The first couple of chapters I couldn't get my head around the writing and what some of the characters were saying - more towards the back and forth teasing but later in the book I was more invested. It may be just due to the style of writing at the time but I enjoyed seeing how the characters dealt with the family dynamics and even the slight romance was okay.

The other book I finished was The Seven Sisters and I again felt that I wasn't gelling so well with it, but was glad for the recommendation from the lady from work. It's on my TBR but I don't think I would have made an effort to grab it, historical books I haven't really read much so I think that is the other reason I wouldn't have picked it. It's another book that focuses around family and the dynamics and though I wasn't too interested in the beginning of the historical background I later became more interested in the story. It's longer than I been reading this year and it did come across a bit stiff at times with the characters, a lot of people seem to have enjoyed this book but it wasn't really for me.

I've finally picked up Triple Cross by James Patterson which has been staring at me from my book pile since I'd been given it, I don't normally read thrillers but seeing as it's been calling me and I'm always surprised at how much I end up liking them I thought why not.
I also want to finish off Winning God's Way by Loren Cunningham, I was going to use this for a Book Event at church but I couldn't go. Some of the regular readers from church have said that his writing is quite good, so far it's reading more biography than the "self help" type of book I thought it was for Christians. I am enjoying it and seeing as it's short I will get through it as I've been trying to find a few more Christian reference books for myself and my own journey.

Long post woops, but a lot to catch up on I guess!

It's interesting what other people read.

With another group I've been reading the Mapp & Lucia series by E.H. Benson. I'm now up to the final offering by Benson himself Trouble for Lucia & so far I'm thinking that Benson was wise to finish with this one. Funny as these books are, there is only so much you can do in the village setting.

I needed an easy comfort read. I love Diane Wyn Jone's 'Dogsbody' It is such an original concept and the title is so apt. Her use of the old early view of the heavens as the crystal spheres and then putting it all in a 20thC setting with the Irish troubles and a discordant family is brilliant. She writes good characters and you can't help rooting for Kathleen and her 'dog'.

Dogsbody not much better cover. The original book cover was brilliant.

How to Kill a Mocking Bird.

Amelia wrote: "How to Kill a Mocking Bird."

Welcome Amelia!

For anyone worrying about how the USA got into its current state do read 'Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned books'. It's funny and thought provoking and written by a woman who can see clearly what can happen in communities if narrow minds and bigots aren't called out. Marion Keyes called it 'A roar of rage' but it's also warm and funny and hopeful.


Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books

Got through the James Patterson book Triple Cross and I can totally see why people read his books, it was an easy read and easy to follow. Not heavy with details, I don't usually read crime or thrillers so I found it enjoyable. A lady at work has a few others and has said she'll let me borrow them.

Also finished this satire myth book which was funny for about 50 pages before even I got a bit sick of the dick and sex jokes.

I've got a trashy mafia romance book from Libby now, still deciding what physical book to read.

That book about book banning sounds really good P.DR. I've added it to my to-read shelf :)

I'm almost finished The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Reminds me of Cluedo or Agatha Christie books. I haven't felt too invested in it or the outcomes tho so probably will just get a 3* from me.

P.D.R. wrote: "For anyone worrying about how the USA got into its current state do read 'Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned books'. It's funny and thought provoking and written by a woman who can see clearly wh..."

This one was already on one of my to-read lists. I think I got it from one of those Goodreads blog posts. Does anyone else read them? I do - quite often. I'm a shameless lover of a good book cover.

I'm not sure if I've read the blog posts but I definitely read the Goodreads "articles" every now and again to see what people are reading or excited about or new releases :)

It's all I can do to post here never mind read anything else on the site.
Smashing NZ book I've just finished note taking from. Research for new novel.
Foraging New Zealand by Peter Langlands

Foraging New Zealand

It's amazing just how much growing as plants, bushes, trees, or seaweeds and fungi, is actually edible. Get the book and you'll not starve when the disaster hits!