Whats everyone reading now and/or read lately

[sea minor]

'Hypothermia' is well named. There’s something chilling about the investigations of Detective Erlendur that runs from the first page right through to the end.
This book was my introduction to Erlendur, and I found him to be rather engaging. To try and post reference points to the uninitiated, I feel that he combines elements of Maigret and Columbo; the thoughtful country-boy working tirelessly and skilfully in the big city combined with a terrier-like erosion of the people involved. Throw in the rational, obsessive mind with cold blood passing through the veins and you have a fictional detective of a very high calibre to enjoy.
Here's one of the skills he's learned over the years:
'The rule was always to accept coffee if it was offered...'
It's a tip he passes on to the younger detectives, a small measure as to their capacity to do the job:
'...Elinburg had been quick to learn this. Sigurdur Oli still hadn't grasped the concept.'
It's the kind of subtlety that helps to make a book worth reading.

'Hypothermia' opens with a suicide. It’s an open-and-shut conclusion as far as the police are concerned, yet Erlendur is uneasy with the case. He wants to know why the tragedy happened, needs to explore the story behind the death.
As he does unpeels layers, he uncovers ghosts. There are the ghosts in the mind of the victim, the haunting tones of a series of unsolved missing persons investigations from decades earlier and there’s the ever-present spectre of his dead brother.
Through visits trawling the stories of the past and the lakes of Iceland, after mystics are consulted and evidence unearthed, the plot-lines are sewn together skilfully so that they have a symbiotic relationship which offers a hugely satisfying read.
If I were to have a minor gripe, it would be to suggest that the translation does not always run smoothly. I can’t be sure on this as my Icelandic is non-existent, but I have a feeling that the translation requires one more light edit to present it at its best. It didn’t detract too much from the pleasure of my reading, but some paragraphs were a little wordy and slightly tangled when simpler language or use of a pronoun might just have streamlined things.
There's also a fair amount of one of my least favourite styles in the writing of speech, that of the ... to represent pauses or hesitancy. It's a small thing that possibly reflects natural conversation, but natural conversation and good written dialogue often bear little relation. Those three dots might have a place, but when they're overused they do irritate me.
Translation and dots aside, this is a tremendous read. The characters and plot are fully formed and each time I put the book down I started looking forward to the next instalment.
I'll definitely be getting to know Erlendur better in the future and I'm certainly recommending this to any fans of the police-procedural who enjoy a touch of class.


nigel

[Carolyn J. Rose]

Just finished Midnight Rising about John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry that lit the fuse for the Civil War. Excellent look at Brown's character and events. Now I'm into Michael Chabon's The Final Solution with Sherlock Holmes as a very old man in pursuit of a missing parrot with links to wartime espionage. I didn't want to put either of them down.

[crazypenguin23]

‎"Encircling Death, Empowering Love" by

Marshall Coleman

Check it out on Amazon. Or if you have a kindle or nook get it on there. It's only a dollar and all proceeds support a child in need. Its an outstanding novel, comprised of three short stories.

http://www.amazon.com/Encircling-Dea...8931459&sr=8-1

[hard boiled pat]

i just finished sunset and sawdust by joe r lansdale... what a great author

[mscott998t]

That sounds very interesting! I've been to Harper's Ferry, and the story about John Brown is fascinating. Who wrote that book?

I'm reading a YA book called Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It's very gripping, though a little adult for a YA book (imho).

[kelvecion]

Rereading H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Cracking little story that never fails to please me. I got Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars to read next.

[skottiesgerl]

Currently reading alex kava- maggie O'dell series

I recently read the hunger games trilogy!....loved it... outside of my normal genre but loved it..and that was the first time in my 37 years of life i read a book then watched the movie.... people said i would be disappointed i was not...i thought movie was true to the book. Cant wait for the next movie.

I also read Jc dugards memoire a stolen life. Enjoyed the book which put me in a true crime phase where i read several memoires.......of victims who survived their ordeal like 3096 days in captivity, my sister and i, popcicle toes, Why Me...... enjoyed all of them but was amazed at how they survived their ordeals.

I also read piper kerman's Orange is the new black her true story of being in prison and a book called Redempt
ion... a true story about girl who kills her father after many years of abuse and her life in prison. Great books

[DeCrescenzo]

I bowed to the hype and started reading Game of Thrones.

[mommaduck]

The Fox by Arlene Radasky (free at B&N) pg 118 and good thus far.

[sunshinejenn03]

I'm reading Red, White and Blood by Christopher Farnsworth (3rd in the President's Vampire Series). It's become one of my favorites.