Episode 146…
The Big Drop has begun! The TBR has fallen by a massive two this week, to 214. Told you! You just wait… you’re going to be stunned at how fast it comes down…
Here are a few more that have their skis on…
Nature
This has been on my TBR since September 2013, so it’s probably time to get around to reading it! It comes highly recommended by my oldest* blog buddy, Lady Fancifull.
(*oldest in the sense of going furthest back – like myself, she’s eternally youthful…)
The Blurb says: For many years Andrew Greig saw the poet Norman MacCaig as a father figure. Months before his death, MacCaig’s enigmatic final request to Greig was that he fish for him at the Loch of the Green Corrie; the location, even the real name of his destination was more mysterious still. His search took in days of outdoor living, meetings, and fishing with friends in the remote hill lochs of far North-West Scotland. It led, finally, to the waters of the Green Corrie, which would come to reflect Greig’s own life, his thoughts on poetry, geology and land ownership in the Highlands and the ambiguous roles of whisky, love and male friendship.
At the Loch of the Green Corrie is a richly atmospheric narrative, a celebration of losing and recovering oneself in a unique landscape, the consideration of a particular culture, and a homage to a remarkable poet and his world.
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Crime
Who knew actor Robert Daws writes books? Certainly not me, till I read about it on The Quiet Geordie’s excellent blog. Since I love his acting, I was intrigued, so entered The Quiet Geordie’s giveaway – and won! The prize was two of his books, of which this is the first…
The Blurb says: The Rock. Gibraltar. 1966. In a fading colonial house the dead body of a beautiful woman lays dripping in blood. The Rock. Present day. Detective Sergeant Tamara Sullivan arrives on The Rock on a three-month secondment from the London Metropolitan Police Service. Her reasons for being here are not happy ones, and she braces herself for a tedious 12 weeks in the sun. After all, murders are rare on the small, prosperous and sun-kissed Rock of Gibraltar and catching murderers is what Sullivan does best. It is a talent Sullivan shares with her new boss, Chief Inspector Gus Broderick of the Royal Gibraltar Police Force. He’s an old-fashioned cop who regards his new colleague with mild disdain. But when a young police constable is found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment, Sullivan and Broderick begin to unravel a dark and dangerous secret that will test their skills and working relationship to the limit.
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Crime
Courtesy of Endeavour Press via MidasPR. No little story behind this one – I just thought the blurb sounded intriguing…
The Blurb says: Chris Peters loves his work in a multi-national bank: the excitement of the trading floor, the impossible deadlines and the constant challenge of the superfast computers in his care. And he loves his beautiful wife, Olivia. But over time, the dream turns sour. His systems crash, the traders turn on him, and Olivia becomes angry and disillusioned. So much bad luck.
Or is it? A natural detective, Chris finds evidence of something sinister in the mysterious meltdown of a US datacentre. A new kind of terrorist. But can he get anyone to believe him? His obsessive search leads him to a jihadist website, filled with violent images; a man beaten to a pulp in a Dubai carpark; and a woman in a gold sari dancing in the flames of her own destruction. Slowly, a tragic story from decades ago in Yemen emerges.
Too late, Chris understands the nature of the treachery, so close to him. His adversary knows every move and is ready to strike. Even his boss agrees: if this program is run, it will destroy this bank as surely as a neutron bomb. And Chris Peters has 48 hours to figure it out…
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Mythology on Audio
I picked this up as one of Audible’s Daily Deals. (In case anyone doesn’t already know, each day they reduce the price of one of their titles to a pound or two, and you don’t need a membership to buy them. I’ve snaffled some great sounding books over the last few months, including this.) I’m not so sure about the reading outside on a freezing night – I’m more of a comfy sofa, blanket and hot chocolate kind of girl…
The Blurb says: Norse mythology forms the delicate backbone of countless modern stories. Fascinating, dramatic and deliberate, with a gripping tension and vitality, the best-selling author of American Gods brings these Norse tales to life.
The great Norse myths are woven into the fabric of our storytelling – from Tolkien, Alan Garner and Rosemary Sutcliff to Game of Thrones and Marvel Comics. They are also an inspiration for Neil Gaiman’s own award-bedecked, best-selling fiction. Now he reaches back through time to the original source stories in a thrilling and vivid rendition of the great Norse tales. Gaiman’s gods are thoroughly alive – irascible, visceral, playful and passionate – and the tales carry us from the beginning of everything to Ragnarök and the twilight of the gods. Galvanised by Gaiman’s prose, Thor, Loki, Odin and Freya are irresistible forces for modern listeners, and the crackling, brilliant writing demands to be heard around an open fire on a freezing, starlit night.
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NB All blurbs taken from Goodreads or Audible.
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So…what do you think? Do any of these tempt you?
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Aah, thank you my dear (and for the compliment – I think it must be the chocolates, don’t you?) I re-read my post, and thinking about Greig’s book made me sob again, it is so charged with so much meaning. Mind you, my present read, The Toymakers, has had me gulping for the tissues, alternately breaking and making my heart, for days, so I’m clearly in such a soft centred place that it must be runny caramel, surely! And I haven’t even mentioned the non-fiction book about animals (non – human) and their emotional lives. I really think I need to read something dry and bracing, before I quite puddle away…..
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Definitely the chocolates! I must double my intake – four days of Aus Open watching and I’m feeling rather older than I’d like! The Greig and a couple of other non-fictions have been in my list for ages, constantly usurped by review books, so I’ve determinedly been creating a hole in my schedule to finally get to them. Ha! I’m listening to Endurance – the story of Shackleton and his crew – and haven’t got through a day in the last two weeks without sobbing. They are breaking my heart – I so want them all to be safe. The cats think I’m nuts – total silence as I listen through headphones and then suddenly for no apparent reason I’m sobbing brokenly and clutching the nearest furry body for comfort…
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Greig’s book sounds rather special. I’m more tempted though by the Audible daily deals – I was a member for five years but that promotion completely skipped my attention!
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Certainly Lady Fancifull thought so and he has an excellent reputation – fingers crossed! I think the Daily Deals might be quite new – I only spotted them two or three months ago, but have picked up some great books since then.
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the only ones I see today are 4 non fiction. Maybe it will be better tomorrow
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Worth keeping an eye on it. They show it on the Home page every day.
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Will do – thanks for the tip 🙂
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Down 2!! You’re a genius!! A very stable genius. 😉
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Hahaha! Thanks bigly! My TBR reduction is the biggest TBR reduction ever!
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Well done! If this continues your TBR will be down to nothing sometime soon! None tempt me, so my list is safe 😊
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I know! (*doesn’t mention the four books currently in the post*) I’ll probably run out by mid-February! What???? Oh, this will never do! I must try harder! 😉
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Norse mythology does sound tempting!
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It does, doesn’t it? And he’s a great narrator of his own stuff, so I have high hopes…
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All praise and congratulations to you, FictionFan! Wow! That drop in the TBR is amazing! You deserve some chocolate. At any rate, these all sound interesting. I’d like to try that book about Norse mythology. And I know what you mean about being intrigued by a blurb; I’ve had that happen, too. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
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Hahaha! My sarcasmometer just went off the scale – I must get it recalibrated… 😉 I’ve heard good things about the Norse mythology book and he’s a great narrator of his own stuff, so fingers crossed! Yes, I’m so full of challenges these days it’s not often I pick a book purely on its blurb so it’s a nice change… 🙂
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:lol; I’ll pay for the recalibration… 😉
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🤣
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Oh, you’ve got me today! The Grieg has been circling around the blogs I read and the Gaiman is definitely on my wishlist – I bought a different book of Norse myths the other day but that doesn’t matter where that kind of thing is concerned!
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Hurrah! Always delighted to add to other people’s TBR! 😉 Lady Fancifull loved the Greig so I have high hopes. And the Norse mythology appeals – a subject about which I know shamefully little…
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Neil Gaiman always does! Wait. That came out wrong.
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Hahaha! That’s how I feel about Rafa! 😉 But the Gaiman does sound good, and he’s great at narrating his own stuff… fingers crossed!
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Yes, they do tempt me – maybe especially the Norse mythology book. I had forgotten about that one. I’ll say again – your TBR of 214 is hilarious! Mine might be 200,214! Ha!
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Yes, I was tempted by the Norse mythology book when it came out and then kinda forgot about it, till it reappeared as a Daily Deal and I couldn’t resist – fingers crossed! Hahaha! I feel I need an extra head to get through mine – you’d need a thousand heads! Or an army of clones… 😉
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Both of the crime choices appeal to me – so unless they are available from the library, I shall have to stay strong & avoid buying. Got to watch that TBR !!
Do you think the process of reducing your TBR is anything like weight loss dieting – whereby a loss of 2 books will be instantly followed by a rebound effect of acquiring at least several more 🙂
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I’m most intrigued by the Robert Daws book – more and more actors appear to be turning their hand to writing at the moment. Hahaha – well, you force me to admit that I had no sooner posted this than I found myself requesting FOUR books from a publisher! Might as well give up and have a couple of donuts too, I suppose… 😉
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I’ve read (but not heard) the Gaiman, and anything by Andrew Grieg is worth reading.
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I still haven’t read much Gaiman so this looked like too good a deal to turn down. And audiobooks don’t count on the TBR. (Look! My TBR, my rules, OK? 😉 )
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I thought the Norse Mythology audio book was great.
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Ooh, that’s good to hear! I knew I’d seen a few glowing reviews – yours was doubtless one of them. I still haven’t read much Gaiman so this seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up… 🙂
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This was actually my first Gaiman but I hope not my last.
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I have a couple of them on my Kindle but never seem to get to them. Maybe this one will encourage me…
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😊
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I’m not sure, but it seems like you’re reading more Scottish fiction just lately. I’m so glad I have the opportunity to hear a Scottish person’s opinions about Scottish literature, because in the United States we sit around in classrooms and talk about these books without consideration for the actual readers in the author’s country.
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Well spotted! I am indeed! A couple of things made me realise how under-read I am in my own culture – making up the Scottish section of my Classics Club list, and taking part in the longlisting for the McIvanney award for Scottish crime writing. Also I’ve kinda developed a relationship with a couple of publishing houses that specialise in good Scottish writing. I’m currently trying to think of a way to highlight it a bit, preferably without involving myself in another massive challenge. I’m thinking maybe a second blog, just for the Scottish books (though I’d still post them here too), but that might feel a bit parochial. Or maybe having a semi-regular feature on this one – Scottish Saturday or something. Suggestions welcome!
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I think the rest of us simply read the books that are published in our own country, and we have to make an effort to read elsewhere. Therefore, if a Scottish woman happens to read more Scottish writers, I think it would be a natural transition that you wouldn’t even have to make a big deal about. I’m very interested because many Americans are only introduced to Irvine Welsh (who doesn’t even spend most of his time in Scotland anymore) as THE Scottish writer to watch, and I know how you feel about him. I’m learning from your book reviews, which makes me feel cool.
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Ah, there speaks someone who’s part of their nation’s dominant culture! Scots reading primarily Scottish authors is not at all natural in the UK where England dominates culturally. It’s more like an African American choosing to seek out African American authors (or dare I say, women seeking to promote women authors). It’s English cultural domination that is the cause of me not having read widely in Scottish literature – in my day at least, we were taught English Lit in school and college…
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I’m most tempted by the Norse Mythology but as you know I’m determined to keep the TBR below the magic 200 😉
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It’s SO not going to happen, what with the Classics Club and the vintage crime books… *cackles*
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Down two, up five — when it comes to TBR, I’m usually in the Goofy moment.
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Hahaha! Me too! But this year I’m determined… 😉
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Wait, Audible has daily deals? (What have you done to me and my TBR??)
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Hahaha! Sorry! I get round it by just not including audiobooks on my TBR… 😉 But the Daily Deals are great – they even include newish releases quite often.
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The Andrew Greig book-I’ll admit that one looks painfully dull to me. You’ll have to report on whether or not that’s the case!
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Hahaha – it might well be! But I’m told the writing is beautiful and that it’s a hugely emotional read. We’ll see!
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Down two in a week? Congrats on that! I don’t know what I’d do if I was able to manage that feat. 😉 Thankfully I am safe from your wiles this week. Although the Gaiman sounds good – does he read it himself? I listened to him narrate his own Graveyard Book and it was amazing. But I know you’ll redouble your efforts again next time.
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Hahaha! Oh, you’re all so sarcastic! 😋 You just wait! As soon as I get rid of the four books I’ve acquired since Thursday, I’ll be right back on track!
Yes, I’m sure it said he’s the narrator. I listened to him narrate a collection of his short stories and he was excellent, so that was half the appeal. Haha – I’m sure to get you next week… 😉
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I had no idea Robert Daws wrote books! You are a mine of information.
The Greig sounds excellent. But I am trying to follow your strong-willed example and get that TBR down 😉
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The joys of the internet! This of course is why my TBR is out of control – I’d never have discovered it without the blogosphere. Hope they’re good!
Haha – I hope you’re being more successful than me. By the time Thursday was over another FOUR books were winging their way towards me… I give up! 😉
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Well, I’m a Gaiman fan, for at least some of his work, so I’d most likely succumb to that one first.
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I have high hopes of that one – I’ve seen some fairly glowing reviews…
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