if you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this in Febraury 2010 and is part of my transfer of reading from the Now Reading plugin to Goodreads
This is the first in this series that I have read. Indeed it is the first novel by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø that I have read. I am a big fan of Scandinavian crime fiction. They seem to a different take on story telling or perhaps my Norwegian heritage is getting the better of me. Continue reading “The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbø”
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In Prague Fatale Phillip Kerr dips in and out of his protagonists’ life. There is not an obvious chronology to the novels. However this rather cleverly deals with the finite landscape that the novels occupy.
This book arrived literally as I had completed the previous instalment Field Gray. The setting, Prague, is more constrained than the previous and as such the range of characters is reduced.
This instalment has Bernie Gunther in the service of Reinhardt Heydrich, a feared member of the Nazi elite. Continue reading “Prague Fatale (Bernard Gunther, #8)”
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this in October 2011 and is part of my transfer of reading from the Now Reading plugin to Goodreads
Philip Kerr’s hero Bernie Gunther has been living a very nice life in Cuba. His adventures always have him beholden to someone. They are invariably unscrupulous or is some shady police officer. He has a knack for finding these people. Or he somehow comes to their attention. Continue reading “Field Gray (Bernard Gunther, #7)”
The One from the Other by Philip Kerr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this in November 2011 and is part of my transfer of reading from the Now Reading plugin to Goodreads
I am a huge fan of the Bernie Gunther Novels and this one is no exception. Like the predecessors there is great attention to the historical circumstances that surround the central character Bernie Gunther.
Another enjoyable instalment in the Bernie Gunther saga.Thankfully there are more to come.
Berlin Noir: March Violets; The Pale Criminal; A German Requiem by Philip Kerr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another Transfer from Now Reading plugin to Goodreads. This volume was read in 2009
This book, in fact three books together follow the career of Bernie Gunther a sometime cop but mostly a private eye. They are well written and certainly make you feel as though you are there. These stories are set in Germany before WWII and just after. If you are a student of the period then it makes the books all that more enjoyable. There is a lot of commentary on the transition from the Weimar republic with its failings to the new Nazi regime. The attention to detail is not surprising as the author Philip Kerr has published academic papers on the period. Continue reading “Berlin Noir: March Violets; The Pale Criminal; A German Requiem (Bernie Gunther #1-3)”
Dexter Is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Another transfer from the Now Reading plugin to Goodreads. I read this in October 2011
The fifth book in the series sees a mellower Dexter. He has become a father and fears that he might be taking on more human traits. Is he becoming more sentimental?
As with the previous books in the series this volume abounds with black humour. Dexter is really an alien amongst us. He muses at length about his colleagues and vulnerabilities. There is of course Dexter’s colleague Masuka. A pervert by any measure his lines in both versions of Dexter (TV and Book) are memorable. For example; Masuka: “I’m not telling her. This case was solved. If I asked her to reopen it, I might as well put my balls in a vice – and not in a hot way either”. Continue reading “Dexter is Delicious (Dexter #5)”
Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I read this in November 2011 and is part of my transfer of reading from the Now Reading plugin to Goodreads
This is the fourth novel featuring Dexter the serial killer for good. He is perhaps best known from the TV series Dexter. This story has Dexter coming to grips with married life and step children. This adds another level of complexity to his other activities. Nevertheless his “dark passenger” still beckons. Continue reading “Dexter By Design (Dexter #4)”
First of all I have to admit that the review of this book is very late I wrote it in October 2011 when I finished it. Håkon Nesser is a
new author to me I came across the volume in a bookshop. This is the first in the Van Veetren crime fiction series. At the time I wrote this I commented that they still exist sadly since then the bookshop has closed. This cleverly constructed whodunit revolves around Chief Inspector Van Veetren. He is what you would expect in a seasoned detective brusque with a curmudgeonly disposition. He antagonises those around him, estranged from his family keeps his own company. Continue reading “Mind’s Eye (Van Veetren #1)”
My last post on this subject was about the apparent demise of Now Reading Reloaded plugin that I have been using to keep a track of my reading. It has been a great way to keep track. I means I don’t forget what I have read and saves me buying a book twice which I have done. The advantage was that all the data was stored on my blog.
I have decided to use Goodreads as a replacement. The obvious disadvantage is that the data is stored elsewhere. However the advantages are many, I can use my iPhone to scan books to my Goodreads account and I have a widget that displays what I have read. Continue reading “Goodreads on WordPress”
I just finished reading some writers tips from the excellent blog Brain Pickings in particular the 10 tips from Zadie Smith. I then looked back at my last post Book Reading and was struck by how silly the title is. Book reading is stating the bleeding obvious. What else do you do with books. I know that some buy them by meter because they look nice and some use them to flatten things but reading is right up there.
There is still a joy in reading that creates an inner world that is as unique to reader as it is to the writer. Any way the point was that my post title seemed silly, but I wont change it will jut remind me.
