Books # 41

[Tofino]

I didn't mind Netflix's Frankenstein - I sort of subverted my expectations (I love the book) and sort of went with the whole vibe and cinematography. I think about it a lot

I've read quite a bit over the weekend as I've had a very quiet one:

Earthly Possessions by Anne Tyler (was OK)
The Nine by Gwen Strauss (heartbreaking and informative, but huge trigger warnings for genocide)
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr (read this as a teen but wanted to read it again, integral reading)
Dark Days by James Baldwin (I LOVE James Baldwin and wonder all the time what he would make of todays world)

Despite having an ungodly amount of TBR on my bookcases (I now have four massive ones) I'm rereading 1984 because I'm in that mood.

You mentioning 1984 reminded me I saw this meme again the other day

1984 is on my priority list for 2026 as I’ve not actually read it yet!!

 

[missbct]

i enjoyed the netflix frankenstein too - it was absolutely gorgeous to look it and i’m very invested in it getting the oscar for best costume design!

i too love james baldwin - giovanni’s room is solidly in my top twenty favourite books. i think he would be pretty horrified by today’s world but extremely eloquent in expressing so.

I keep having to save reels on IG which showcases the cinematography, it's so beautiful. The cinematography is pretty much the only reason I'm tempted to see Wuthering Heights because I'm not sure I'll like it's very liberal use of the text!

Giovanni's Room is also in my top 20! I've read most by Baldwin, I just absolutely love the way he expresses himself. Reading Dark Days was so profound as although it was a compliation of his work (last in the 80's) it's so sad that things are so deplorable 40 years on.

 

[missbct]

You mentioning 1984 reminded me I saw this meme again the other day

1984 is on my priority list for 2026 as I’ve not actually read it yet!!

View attachment 3884191

I frightened myself as a 16 year old reading it for the first time

 

[veronica71]

I frightened myself as a 16 year old reading it for the first time

I read it and animal farm both twice in my teens - think it explains a lot about my issues

 

[anniemouse]

I finished listening to the audiobook of I Who Have Never Known Men today. I loved this book. I thought I was going to cry at my desk at the end.

 

[Mamacita]

I re-read both 1984 and Animal Farm in the last couple of years or so (dunno exactly, all the years blend into one for me, lockdown could've been last year if you ask me).

I want to read Brave New World soon though! It seems quite relevant to current state of the world

 

[Katykatykaty]

I’ve just binged all 4 episodes of the new BBC adaptation of Lord of the Flies and loved it. It’s a book I studied for GCSEs too many years ago, and have reread a couple times since - I love it just as much each time. I can’t remember how true the adaptation was to plot points in the book (my memory is shocking) but it felt pretty reflective of the over arching themes.

I’ve now downloaded the kindle version of the book to do another reread when I finish the latest Frieda book which I’m devouring at a rapid pace. It’s so badly written but that doesn’t stop me being gripped.

In the last couple days I’ve also read the new John Marrs book Dead in the Water. I gave it a good 4 out of 5, maybe I’d stretch to 4.5 on a good day. Definitely better for me than his last one, You Killed Me First.

 

[chickhicks86]

I've just finished my The Will of the Many re-read. Loved it so much, second time around, possibly even more than the first time. The last time I re-read a book, I was probably about 15! There are so many books I want to read, I generally think that reading again is a waste of time, but I'm so glad I did. It was nice to be able to take in the story without having to concentrate so hard on the world building and how the Hierarchy worked. So much I had forgotten or didn't take in on the first read. Only 49 days until Borrowbox allows me The Strength of the Few!

 

[Mamacita]

I've just finished my The Will of the Many re-read. Loved it so much, second time around, possibly even more than the first time. The last time I re-read a book, I was probably about 15! There are so many books I want to read, I generally think that reading again is a waste of time, but I'm so glad I did. It was nice to be able to take in the story without having to concentrate so hard on the world building and how the Hierarchy worked. So much I had forgotten or didn't take in on the first read. Only 49 days until Borrowbox allows me The Strength of the Few!

I think you'll be very glad you re-read it when you get into the Strength of the Few! I was at least i really remembered way less than i thought!

 

[SaintLeo]

I had a strange book experience this week - an Agatha Christie that I didn’t enjoy! I picked up The Seven Dials Mystery as something I thought would be a quick easy read - a bit of a palate cleanser after trudging through The Diamond Eye - and it just didn’t do it for me! It felt all over the place - too many characters, plot lines that were bitty and a “twist” that was totally underwhelming. I know we’ve got lots of Christie fans on this thread so intrigued to know others thoughts on this one.

I was going to follow up the book with the Netflix adaptation but don’t think I’ll bother now!

 

[anniemouse]

I had a strange book experience this week - an Agatha Christie that I didn’t enjoy! I picked up The Seven Dials Mystery as something I thought would be a quick easy read - a bit of a palate cleanser after trudging through The Diamond Eye - and it just didn’t do it for me! It felt all over the place - too many characters, plot lines that were bitty and a “twist” that was totally underwhelming. I know we’ve got lots of Christie fans on this thread so intrigued to know others thoughts on this one.

I was going to follow up the book with the Netflix adaptation but don’t think I’ll bother now!

I’m about 60 pages from the end. It doesn’t help that they have real names and nicknames. So you’re like Pongo, which one is he?

 

[StephenTJackson]

I had a strange book experience this week - an Agatha Christie that I didn’t enjoy! I picked up The Seven Dials Mystery as something I thought would be a quick easy read - a bit of a palate cleanser after trudging through The Diamond Eye - and it just didn’t do it for me! It felt all over the place - too many characters, plot lines that were bitty and a “twist” that was totally underwhelming. I know we’ve got lots of Christie fans on this thread so intrigued to know others thoughts on this one.

I was going to follow up the book with the Netflix adaptation but don’t think I’ll bother now!

I must admit, I read it a few weeks ago, and I was rather underwhelmed by it.

 

[daisynoon]

I had a strange book experience this week - an Agatha Christie that I didn’t enjoy! I picked up The Seven Dials Mystery as something I thought would be a quick easy read - a bit of a palate cleanser after trudging through The Diamond Eye - and it just didn’t do it for me! It felt all over the place - too many characters, plot lines that were bitty and a “twist” that was totally underwhelming. I know we’ve got lots of Christie fans on this thread so intrigued to know others thoughts on this one.

I was going to follow up the book with the Netflix adaptation but don’t think I’ll bother now!

Yes, I also thought it was a mess, and I don't really care for Battle.

I did see that the showrunners for the Netflix series were positioning Bundle as a self-insert of sorts, which I absolutely did not pick up when I was reading! I think the general idea was independent woman (this being shortly after the end of her marriage) with an interest in sleuthing

 

[emmer_moans]

I did enjoy Seven Dials when I read it in I think 2024 but I must say the posts above do ring true too - I enjoyed it but it wasn't stellar. I watched the Netflix and it was a bit boring and I think they changed the culprits about.

 

[Penguin2022]

i enjoyed the netflix frankenstein too - it was absolutely gorgeous to look it and i’m very invested in it getting the oscar for best costume design!

i too love james baldwin - giovanni’s room is solidly in my top twenty favourite books. i think he would be pretty horrified by today’s world but extremely eloquent in expressing so.

I LOVE Giovanni’s Room. It is one of my all time favourite books and nobody I know IRL has ever read it. You are now my new friend

ETA on the Wuthering Heights talk, I seem to remember the ITV version with Tom Hardy was good and not that saccharine. But that may just have been Tom with long hair being all brooding…

 

[Merpedy]

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

if you’re into dystopian fiction and short interlinked stories I recommend this so much

This book kept me guessing and asking questions throughout and the explanations weren’t overly complicated like they may sometimes be. Unlike some reviews, I wasn’t at all disappointed and I think it gives some food for thought

It was just a very enjoyable and easy read

 

[Kerrie86]

I’m halfway through Wild Love by Elsie Silver and seriously considering DNF-ing. I’ve been reading it for four days and it’s just so dull, that it feels like a chore. I don’t care about any of the characters!

 

[wishiniwasskinny]

I had a strange book experience this week - an Agatha Christie that I didn’t enjoy! I picked up The Seven Dials Mystery as something I thought would be a quick easy read - a bit of a palate cleanser after trudging through The Diamond Eye - and it just didn’t do it for me! It felt all over the place - too many characters, plot lines that were bitty and a “twist” that was totally underwhelming. I know we’ve got lots of Christie fans on this thread so intrigued to know others thoughts on this one.

I was going to follow up the book with the Netflix adaptation but don’t think I’ll bother now!

I haven’t read it but did watch the adaptation on Netflix. I quite enjoyed it, but then the twist at the end re the vigilante group for the good of the world… or agents as they called themselves I thought was really odd and not really very… Christie?

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Talking of Agatha Christie I've heard Netflix will be streaming all the Marples.
Not sure if a release date has been announced as I heard weeks ago and I don't have Netflix.

 

[Brightlycolouredbowels]

Talking of Agatha Christie I've heard Netflix will be streaming all the Marples.
Not sure if a release date has been announced as I heard weeks ago and I don't have Netflix.

All the David Suchet Poirot are on there so I‘ guessing the Marples might be too.