Samantha_kathy's Club Read

After hearing about this group on various other groups, I decided to join in. My reading has become very divers since I started hanging out at LT and I joined several different groups, most of them with their own special theme. Which has left me without a place to really ramble about whatever I’m reading at that time and talk about it with others who love books just as much as me. Which is why I’m here now. So don’t expect neat lists, just talk about books I’m currently reading and themes that go along with it. Feel free to jump in and discuss whatever I bring up!

I figure a short introduction to myself wouldn’t be amiss, so here goes. I’m Samantha, somewhere in my twenties (let’s just keep it at that, shall we?) and a biologist. Well, if you want to be exact I am an ecologist. I live in the Netherlands near Leiden. Besides reading I love writing, quilting, scrapbook making, cooking, and gardening. I read a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, but fiction definitely wins when it comes down to numbers. With my non-fiction I am very eclectic, although history and off course biology books are always in the mix. Fiction wise I am expanding my horizons, but my absolute favorite genre is and will remain mysteries – cozy mysteries and historical mysteries mostly, but this year I’m slowly going towards the more gritty ones, although I do tend to stay away from the really gritty one (I leave those to my mother). Pure historical fiction is also something I enjoy, as well as thrillers, particularly those with a scientific focus. If my brains need a break I read fluffy romance novels, historical or contemporary. But I am open to other genres and types of fiction books, whatever catches my eye really.

So, currently I’m reading Atlantis by David Gibbins. It’s about Jack Howard, an underwater archeologist, who’s on the trail to find the lost city of Atlantis. It’s written by David Gibbins who’s an underwater archeologist himself, so you all know what that means: factually very correct information! *cheers* I love information that’s, you know, correct. Sure, the actual discoveries in the book are false, but everything else, so real! He even has a couple of pages at the end with author’s notes about things in the book that were true.

One thing I am noticing is that there’s a fairly dense amount of historical information, especially in the beginning of the book, which might confuse readers who know nothing about the periods in history that are being discussed. I love history and know enough to easily follow things, although some things did surprise me. Did you know that the Atlantis myth comes from just one source? Everything ever written, every tale ever told about Atlantis is based on that one source. Which source, you ask? Why, Plato!

Anyway, I’m loving this book, not only for the fact that it’s a gripping story, but also because of all the historical data. A book written by a history lover, and it shines through.

While I haven't finished Atlantis yet, I picked up Wolf Hall from the library today and started reading that. I'm loving it, there's just something about the writing that drew me in from the very first sentence. I can see why it was so well received.

Wolf Hall is also my very first dip into Tudor historicals, and I have to admit to kind of liking it that I'll be experiencing the Tudors for the first time through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell instead of the often used mistresses of Henry VII.

Hi Samantha welcome to club read. I read Wolf Hall last year and thought it excellent. Some people think that it is a bit confusing as much of the book is written in dialogue format and you are not always sure who is speaking. I think you soon get used to that and Mantel more than compensates with her excellent feel for the period in history. Enjoy.

4> Thank you. I'm enjoying Wolf Hall quite a bit (though not at present, I had to leave it at home). I haven't been confused yet, but I do see where others might be.

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I'm currently in a hotel, so I had to leave my books I was reading behind. (Face it, Wolf Hall is just to big to stuff in a small suitcase, no matter how hard I tried). On the other hand, I've got my Kindle with me, so I've finally been able to get back to State of the Onion, which I put aside for several more pressing books.

I like State of the Onion but I do think the beginning of the book is fairly slow-paced. I'm not on chapter 10 and finally things are beginning to get interesting (mystery wise). But I loved the look inside the White House the first part of the book gave me, so I'm not complaining. And perhaps the books of the rest of the series jumps into the story sooner because readers are already more familiar with things?

Back home again. I finished State of the Onion. I still have to write a full review, but let's just say that despite the slow beginning, I do liked the book. When the mystery (or thriller part, to be more accurate) really gets going, you start to suspect a lot of people. I picked the wrong suspect, but hey, at least the actual assasin was on my list of suspicious people. :).

And, I'm back to where I started this thread, reading Atlantis. Why did I put this book down again? Oh, right, because it was in my suitcase I still haven't unpacked yet. But I did grab Atlantis and started reading the last 1/3 of the book. It's good, really good, and I'm probably going to finish it today.

Finished Atlantis yesterday and breezed through London: A Brief History today. On to the the next book!

7 - glad to know I'm not the only one averse to packing and unpacking. :)

#9: It's really, really bad. My suitcase is still not unpacked. The only things I took out were my toiletry bag, my book, and the cable for my kindle. Says a lot about my priorities, right :)

Currently reading my ER book I got this month: Slave by Sherri Hayes. I'm absolutely loving it, which is refreshing after two ER books I didn't like at all.

Slave by Sherri Hayes (sorry, touchstone isn't working)



Stephan has lived the lifestyle of a Dominant for five years. After several rebellious teenage years, it gave him the stability and control he had been seeking after his parent’s death. As president of a not-for-profit foundation, he knows what his future holds and what he wants out of life. All that changes when a simple lunch with his college friend and Mentor, Darren, leads him to buying a slave.

Thrust into a situation he never thought he’d be in, Stephan can’t walk away. He is compelled to help this girl in the only way he knows how. But Brianna knows only one thing, she is a slave. She has nothing. She is nothing. Can Stephan help Brianna realize that she is much more than just a Slave?

I started this book with equal amounts of anticipation and trepidation. This kind of storyline can make for a really good book, or one riddled with clichés and bad writing. But this book was even better than I had anticipated. I couldn’t put it away and the story pulled me in completely.

What I liked most about this book was how the author never went for the easy solutions. There was no magical cure for Brianna, Stephan made mistakes – some which he realized and some which he didn’t (want to) see. The secondary characters were well rounded, none were completely vilified, something that could have easily happened with Richard’s character. He doesn’t approve of Stephan’s lifestyle, but loves his nephew enough to keep trying, and he does have a valid point about Brianna, even though Stephan refuses to hear it.

What I also really liked in this book was the way the lifestyle was depicted. No hard-core BDSM just for the sake of it, no BDSM fairy tale where everything is always candies and roses and nothing ever goes wrong, but no vilifying it either. But I was most impressed by the fact that the author never drew a line in the sand between submission and voluntary slavery where submission was the ‘right’ choice and slavery the ‘wrong’ choice. Considering this was a book about a girl rescued from forced slavery, such a distinction could have easily been made but never was. In fact, the author showed that neither submission nor slavery is wrong, as long as all parties agree to it.

So, all in all, I was very impressed with this book and I liked it very much. I was very sad to see the end of it. The ending itself is very open ended and after some checking on the author’s blog, it appears that this was the first book in a series about Stephan and Brianna. Now that I can get behind! I highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

I've spent a weekend in Prague, and despite all the sightseeing I managed to read a fair bit:

1. Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs - 3.5 stars
2. Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo - 4 stars
3. Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler - 5 stars
4. Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle - 4.5 stars
5. Simon Said by Sarah Shaber - 4 stars (despite the abysmal editing my Kindle edition suffered from)

Currently reading Death at Daisy's Folly by Robin Paige.

I am determined to work through some of my backlist of books I 'should' have read all ready, but at the same time the new books are calling me as well. So I'm hoping to find the happy middle this month.

Nice to catch up. I read your thread before, and remember being stunned by the thought you breezed through London. A brief History till I realized that I had confused it with London. A biography by Peter Ackroyd, which is an 800-page doorstopper one of the other members was reading in early August, and which has been on my TBR for almost 10 years.

Apparently, I hadn't read your introduction very carefully, and missed out on your bio. Yes, that explains the Heukels. Don't worry, I'm just an amateur ;-) I suppose you are not very fond of Maarten ' Hart? Earlier this year I read De ortolaan, felt it was a bit tacky. Not having read that much by 't Hart, I feel Laatste zomernacht is kind of authentic, you might like it.

I am not so extremely fond of SF, but I especially like Science Fiction that has something to do with ecological disaster or botany, there's not much, but there are a few titles in that genre, notably The Death of Grass which I really liked earlier this year.

Thanks for visiting!

London: The Biography is a very, different book from London: A Brief History indeed. I breezed through the last one, and am now reading the one by Peter Ackroyd. It's a very good book, but by no means small :).

Yes, a lot of the biology books in my library are professional - or at the very least bought for a course I was taking. I know who Maarten 't Hart is, but I have never read anything from him; quite honestly, I don't really want to.

Science fiction is not my cup of tea either, well, not when it comes to books. Tv-shows are a different story! My literary tastes run towards mysteries and thriller of the not-so-gritty variety mostly. While there's usually a lot of science in my thrillers, almost none of it is biology. I think that's probably because of an overdose of non-fiction literature in the form of articles during the day.

I finished Death at Daisy's Folly and have moved on to Crusader Gold by David Gibbins. I liked the first book Atlantis and the sequel is shaping up to be better than the first one.

There was a lot of information dumping in the first book, although I didn't mind too much as most of it was about history. But I felt like the story flowed better towards the end where the action started, really when they started diving the story got better. But I know a lot of people don't like David Gibbins writing because of the huge amounts of information that - truth be told - could be left out, especially the weapons specs. So far, the information flow is woven better into the story in Crusader Gold, so it seems he is improving his craft. Which makes me very happy.

On another note, I've still not finished Wolf Hall. There are so many books that are taking priority right now, that I'm tempted to return it to the library and try again in January during Orange January. I like the book, don't get me wrong, but life is hectic right now and I find myself grabbing lighter, easier reads from my TBR stack.

It's also the same with the 2nd quarter theme of the Reading Globally group, which was War & Regions in Conflict. I read The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett for that - and loved it - but I was actually planning on reading something from every side of the war. I still plan on doing that, but think that maybe I need to make that a goal for 2012, a sort of personal theme read? Maybe even make a theme thread about WW2 in one of the groups, perhaps here or over in 75 books challenge, to keep me in line. I just can't find the time/concentration for the rather more serious books I have on my list, and they do deserve my full attention.

And, as you've all surmised, my life is a bit hectic right now. After almost a year of being ill with one thing or another, I'm finally better. Which means I have the gigantic task in front of me of getting my life back on track. There's like mountains of dust all over my house because cleaning was not high on the agenda, I've got a report to finish, a course to follow, and hopefully still have an internship.... So yeah, when I'm home I'm going for the light and fluffy cozy mysteries, or the page-turning thrillers that don't require a lot of attention. So sue me ;).

I read Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann, 1st in the Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series. Also read Baby Bling by Elle James, 3rd book in the Diamonds and Daddies series. The overall plotline of the 4 books in this series is coming to a close, and the tension is mounting. So I'm off to read the last book!

I've been on a reading binge lately: a Susan Brockmann reading binge that is. After finishing Priceless Newborn Prince by Ann Voss Peterson, the last of the Diamonds and Daddies series, I read every other book in her Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series. I've now started her Troubleshooter, Inc. series; although that one is a little more suspense than romance, and thus a bit more plotty, I like it.

Finishing up Prehistoric Cookery today, and also reading Hoe schrijg je een familiegeschiedenis (How to write a family history) by Marijke Hilhorst and Hoe schrijf ik een biografie (How to write a biography by Dik van der Meulen and Monica Soeting. I really want to have them all finished before November starts. Ideally, I also want to finish The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann, but I'm being realistic here.

Basically, this month has yet again proved that I read in fits and starts. One month I read more than 10 books, the next I struggle to even finish one. Really, I need to find a way to be more consistent. It's the same with all my hobbies, I do something a lot then turn around and not touch it for months. If only there was like 48 hours a day or so...

Managed to finish Prehistoric Cookery and Hoe schrijf ik een biografie (How to write a biography). Haven't finished The Unsung Hero yet, but did read The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax and am currently working on Term Limits by Vince Flynn - my new favorite author!