Posts: 275 |
Kristy Posted Sun 03 Jan, 2010 8:24 PM |
I'm stuck for good authors at the moment so if anyone has any recommendations ...
Here's a few from me:
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Child 44 is a thriller set in the terror of 1950s Stalinist Russia, a brutal regime that executed anyone who disagreed with its dogma. It proclaimed to be a perfect society. So, when a series of brutal murders take place, no one is permitted to say that these are the work of a serial killer. In a perfect society there can be no crime.
One man, Leo Demidov, a State security agent, a man who has spent his entire career arresting innocent men and women, decides to redeem himself by catching this killer. To do so, he must buck the system, risking his life and the life of everyone he loves.
I didn't think I was going to like this, but I did. It doesn't feel like a debut novel, and it kept me entertained.
There's also a sequel: The Secret Speech
I can recommend anything by Simon Kernick, but Relentless is probably my favourite. Completely lives up to the title.
John Meron, a happily married father of two who's never been in trouble, receives a phone call that will change his life for ever: his friend Jack Calley, a high-flying City lawyer, is screaming down the phone for help. As Meron listens, Calley is murdered. His last words, spoken to his killer, are the first two lines of Meron's address. Confused and terrified, Meron scoops up his children and hurries out of the house. Just in time. Within minutes, a car pulls up outside, and three men get out. It's clear that they're coming for him. He's being hunted and has no idea why. And with his wife missing, an unidentified corpse in her office, and the police after him for murder, his life's about to get one hell of a lot worse.
Another good debut is Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham and it probably is best to read these in order (I think he's up to number 7).
The killer who Billingham's protagonist Tom Thorne is up against is a particularly creepy specimen: he has savagely killed three victims but his fourth, although alive, is perhaps not so fortunate. She has undergone a deliberately induced stroke and although all her senses are intact, she is totally unable to move or communicate. This hideous condition, called Locked-in Syndrome is, however, quite possibly the killer's first miscalculation ... or is it? Soon the dogged Thorne (given to distrusting his own abilities) is playing a cat-and-mouse game with a psychopathic killer. And the brilliant and sadistic killer is just as interested in leading Thorne a merry dance as he is in fulfilling his degraded obsessions.
If you're of a nervous disposition (my mum, she can't read 'scary' books!) then I suggest you give this a miss!
And for something that's not crime-related
Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
If anyone's seen the film, is it any good?
|
|
|
Posts: 789 |
Helen *the original* Posted Sun 04 Apr, 2010 6:45 PM |
*bump*
Seeing as i'm a library assistant you'd think that i would be able to reply to this but i'm terrible when it comes to adult books, i'm very much a children's expert. But i thought that Wendy might be able to help on this topic because i think it's a good idea - and it's not like we see Kristy's name on here very often!!
(By the way, hello again...can you tell that i haven't lurked for a while?!) |
|
|
Posts: 1608 |
dee Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 1:40 AM |
for my trashy light reading i am flying through the sookie stackhouse series.
for my serious informing myself reading i am reading Wild swans
for my job-related keeping up with children's literature reading i am rereading His Dark Materials
for my stabby stabby gritty crime reading i have lot's of ian rankin and christopher broomyre on my list |
|
|
Posts: 1892 |
deebee Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 1:08 PM |
Helen *the original* wrote: *bump*
Seeing as i'm a library assistant you'd think that i would be able to reply to this but i'm terrible when it comes to adult books, i'm very much a children's expert. But i thought that Wendy might be able to help on this topic because i think it's a good idea - and it's not like we see Kristy's name on here very often!!
(By the way, hello again...can you tell that i haven't lurked for a while?!)
Ok Helen, I'm calling on your expertise......
What can you recommend for an 11 yr old boy who has a reading age of 8 in English ? (it's his second language so he finds it harder than reading in French) I don't want to get him books which are too baby-ish for him and I'm at a loss as to what to buy! Any ideas????
|
|
|
Posts: 2850 |
Peewee Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 3:51 PM |
| Yikes - I am totally stuck on this as I haven't read adult fiction in AGES! A bit like yourself Helen, all I am reading these days are kids picture books for storytime! ha! |
|
|
Posts: 7404 |
Turtleneck Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 4:46 PM |
deebee wrote:
Ok Helen, I'm calling on your expertise......
What can you recommend for an 11 yr old boy who has a reading age of 8 in English ? (it's his second language so he finds it harder than reading in French) I don't want to get him books which are too baby-ish for him and I'm at a loss as to what to buy! Any ideas????
I'm not Helen, but I have a kid who's 8. Right now she's into mystery stories. Those would be good for a boy. The ones she likes now are the A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy. I doubt they're available where you are, but mystery stories are good for boys and not too baby-ish. (Though most of the mysteries at that reading level will be easily solved by a boy of 11!) |
|
|
Posts: 3258 |
mili Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 5:45 PM |
Just read "Birthday Present" by Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell). Pretty good.
And for laughs Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years. |
|
|
Posts: 7556 |
I Came in Through the Bathroom Window Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 6:06 PM |
| Now that I've finished uni I'm taking the opportunity and trying to empty my brain of all the sociological stuff by reading crime novels. I love crime novels. The other day I started reading "Men Who Hate Women" by Stieg Larsson. I don't have much to tell about it because I just started. |
|
|
Posts: 1892 |
deebee Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 6:17 PM |
| Thanks Kayte. It's really tricky with my son. He's already started "high school" so the thought of reading books for younger kids doesn't appeal but at the same time he can't cope with those for his age. He's often put off by the large print too! I'll have a look at the mystery stories - I can always order from Amazon :-) |
|
|
Posts: 7404 |
Turtleneck Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 6:36 PM |
deebee wrote: Thanks Kayte. It's really tricky with my son. He's already started "high school" so the thought of reading books for younger kids doesn't appeal but at the same time he can't cope with those for his age. He's often put off by the large print too! I'll have a look at the mystery stories - I can always order from Amazon :-)
As long as he knows it's just for English practice, he shouldn't feel awkward. If he can advance just a little bit, there are lots of great novels aimed at preteens that I'm sure he'd really enjoy. Here's the web site for A to Z Mysteries. http://www.ronroy.com/atoz/ The kids in the book are 3rd graders, but their parents let them roam around on their own and leave them home alone a lot, which is weird. I guess it's like the Charlie Brown characters who seem to have no parents.
Do you think he could read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or James & the Giant Peach? Those are about a 3rd grade reading level. |
|
|
Posts: 1892 |
deebee Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 7:40 PM |
Turtleneck wrote: deebee wrote: Thanks Kayte. It's really tricky with my son. He's already started "high school" so the thought of reading books for younger kids doesn't appeal but at the same time he can't cope with those for his age. He's often put off by the large print too! I'll have a look at the mystery stories - I can always order from Amazon :-)
As long as he knows it's just for English practice, he shouldn't feel awkward. If he can advance just a little bit, there are lots of great novels aimed at preteens that I'm sure he'd really enjoy. Here's the web site for A to Z Mysteries. http://www.ronroy.com/atoz/ The kids in the book are 3rd graders, but their parents let them roam around on their own and leave them home alone a lot, which is weird. I guess it's like the Charlie Brown characters who seem to have no parents.
Do you think he could read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or James & the Giant Peach? Those are about a 3rd grade reading level.
YAY !! It's the famous five all over again - they've even got a dog, lol ! He's read Charlie and James in French and loved the books - I just thought it might be a bit hard for him in English. Won't know until he's tried though!
Dumb question, what age is 3rd grade? |
|
|
Posts: 3258 |
mili Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 8:13 PM |
I Came in Through the Bathroom Window wrote: Now that I've finished uni I'm taking the opportunity and trying to empty my brain of all the sociological stuff by reading crime novels. I love crime novels. The other day I started reading "Men Who Hate Women" by Stieg Larsson. I don't have much to tell about it because I just started.
Which language are you reading it in? I've been told it's as its best in Swedish (naturally), and that the Finnish translation is supposed to be quite good. I read it in English, and didn't find it up to all the fuss, but then later heard that the English translation is not the best one (according to some people who've tried the original, too).
I should read the second book in Finnish, as unfortunately my Swedish is rubbish. |
|
|
Posts: 7556 |
I Came in Through the Bathroom Window Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 8:35 PM |
mili wrote: I Came in Through the Bathroom Window wrote: Now that I've finished uni I'm taking the opportunity and trying to empty my brain of all the sociological stuff by reading crime novels. I love crime novels. The other day I started reading "Men Who Hate Women" by Stieg Larsson. I don't have much to tell about it because I just started.
Which language are you reading it in? I've been told it's as its best in Swedish (naturally), and that the Finnish translation is supposed to be quite good. I read it in English, and didn't find it up to all the fuss, but then later heard that the English translation is not the best one (according to some people who've tried the original, too).
I should read the second book in Finnish, as unfortunately my Swedish is rubbish.
I'm reading it in Spanish. Getting it in English would be very expensive and I can't understand Swedish, so this is my only option. I'm not too happy with the translation because it is in Spanish from Spain, so some things sound weird to me and there are words and expressions I don't understand. I wonder why they don't make local translations, Spanish translations sound so unnatural...
Anyway, I hope this won't ruin the book for me. My sister loved it, so maybe this translation thing is not a big deal. I hope it's not... |
|
|
Posts: 7404 |
Turtleneck Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 8:36 PM |
deebee wrote:
Dumb question, what age is 3rd grade?
It's not a dumb question. In the U.S., most children in 3rd grade are 8 or 9 years old. My daughter is 8 all the way through because she has a summer birthday.
Most kids start Kindergarten at 5 (depending on how their birthday falls) and graduate high school (12th grade) at 17 or 18. |
|
|
Posts: 1608 |
dee Posted Wed 07 Apr, 2010 10:05 PM |
Turtleneck wrote: deebee wrote:
Ok Helen, I'm calling on your expertise......
What can you recommend for an 11 yr old boy who has a reading age of 8 in English ? (it's his second language so he finds it harder than reading in French) I don't want to get him books which are too baby-ish for him and I'm at a loss as to what to buy! Any ideas????
I'm not Helen, but I have a kid who's 8. Right now she's into mystery stories. Those would be good for a boy. The ones she likes now are the A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy. I doubt they're available where you are, but mystery stories are good for boys and not too baby-ish. (Though most of the mysteries at that reading level will be easily solved by a boy of 11!)
i teach kids of 8-10. they are all in love with Diary of a wimpy kid series which is very snappily written.even the weakest readers of the group are obsessed with the series
 |
|
|
