Best book I've ever read!!! [Archive] - The Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club

spiston

06-01-2007, 07:12 PM

The richness of the Russell world has yet to be matched...I have searched, to no avail.
I have Justice Hall and Locked Rooms as audiobooks and have listened to them more times than I'd like to admit in mixed company...you all understand, though.

Just wait until you've read the rest...

pamstl

06-01-2007, 07:52 PM

Don't you love the audio versions? I have "read" all the books at least once on audio. Everything is so vivid.

Carlina

06-01-2007, 08:16 PM

I could go on endlessly about the wonders of Russell's world...including her husband...:)

Crochet

06-02-2007, 08:00 AM

It gets so much better! I found these books last year and they were like a light in the darkness. Real mind candy! I've given the books to three different people with very diverse taste in literature and they ALL loved them! That's saying something.

BeeKeepers Aprentice was the first work of fiction I have read in years that really truly moved me.

I want MORE books!

vicki

06-02-2007, 09:07 PM

I love the Russells. I didn't try them until some people in the Readerville.com YA Reading Group convinced me to read The Beekeeper's Apprentice. I resisted at first because I had little interest in the mystery genre and even less in Sherlock Holmes (still haven't read any of the Conan Doyles, believe it or not </sacrilege> but I finally said, what the hey--if it doesn't catch me after thirty pages or so, I'll donate it to the library. By thirty pages in, however, lightning had struck, the earth had moved, etc., etc., etc. And I've been hooked ever since. It even got me started reading mysteries, which I'd never done before.

I've never listened to an audiobook of any of the Russells, but I do have a CD of a pretty cool Beekeeper's Apprentice radio dramatization the BBC did years ago. I'd be happy to lend that out via snail-mail out to fellow VBC'ers, if anyone's interested.

Carlina

06-03-2007, 02:51 AM

I actually heard that BBC production and that's what introduced me to Mary Russell. I was inputing data for anaylsis for my dissertation and wanted some Sherlock Holmes stuff to listen to so I got all the BBC Merrison and Williams stuff from a friend and that just happened to be in there...somehow..

Well needless to say I was hooked...Sherlock Holmes with this intelligent young lady...

I can honestly say I started the series because of Holmes. I am, by all means, a canonical Holmesian, but found a soft spot with Russell...although I do occasionally want to shake her a bit..I still love her to death.

The Moor...ah that is my fav. By the third read I could not stop laughing...they are so quippy in that book and I love them together in it.

AmyLizzie

06-03-2007, 02:27 PM

Hi, I'm new to this and considering I'm only 21 I find that a bit shocking!! Just wanted to say that I love the Mary Russel books and although I find her far too intelligent for her own good, I'd rather like to have known her and hopefully her husband :) That's all and loving all the current discussions!!

AmyLizzie xx

irish

06-03-2007, 03:12 PM

My mom introduced me to Mary Russell right after I had my son. I couldn't put the books down! Every chance I got (mainly naptime), I would be nose deep into a new Russell adventure. Now, I re-read them all. I keep them tucked in different spots so I always have one handy. My (current) favorite is O Jeruselum. I love how Ali is always amazed at "Amir's" unfeminine talents.
I'm glad that all us LRK lovers finally have a place to meet!!
Irish

jtb1951

06-03-2007, 04:46 PM

I'm definately a readaholic... and happily re-read LRK's... all except Justice Hall.. it really bothers me for some reason.. I tell everyone it makes my stomach hurt... and yes, that's a compliment.

I have read each of LRK's novels, and Justice Hall is still one of my favorites. It is certainly one of her most emotionally engaging stories, and provides a perfect entree to some of the later Russell's. When a story grips you like that, you can appreciate the talent of the author!!

John.

CatMtn

06-03-2007, 11:32 PM

They only get better. I think my favorite so far is _The Game_, possibly because Kim was one of my favorite childhood stories. O, Jerusalem__ is pretty high on my list, too.

Mary

sarahm@actcom.co.il

06-04-2007, 05:43 AM

Anyone out there who hasn't read the original Sherlock Holmes stories (the "Canon") should do so; you can't get a feel for the "real" Holmes without it. LRK has done a good job of capturing him, but he IS different in the "Kanon" (the Russell stories)

alina

06-04-2007, 07:21 AM

Oh yes, it's definitely fascinating comparing Doyle's Holmes to Laurie's. I prefer Laurie's take, but I also prefer her plots and writing style and wit and...the list goes on.

And as to how these books affected me personally? They shaped my teenage years and consequently who I am today. I would be an extremely different person--a very boring, silent creature crushed by her parents' wills--if I had not read these books.

Which reminds me...I still have yet to write to Laurie how much she's impacted my life. Yet another letter to put on the to-do list. Sigh.

jtb1951

06-04-2007, 11:52 AM

Which reminds me...I still have yet to write to Laurie how much she's impacted my life. Yet another letter to put on the to-do list. Sigh.

Then don't procrastinate; just drop her a short note (address at bottom of her home page); it takes a little while, but she does respond to her letters with a nice handwritten note. LRK is the best!!! :)

John.

vicki

06-04-2007, 03:09 PM

And remember that LRK has her own thread--The Author's Study (http://laurierking.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=9)--in case you want to leave a message there.

Four-eyed Redhead

06-04-2007, 08:35 PM

I love the Mary Russell books! I received A Letter From Mary for Christmas several years ago, and I was hooked! I re-read all of them every summer. I absolutely love the sarcastic innuendo that pops up from time to time. My favorite is Holmes quote, or should I say misquote! "Goodness and mercy shall plague me all the days of my life".

One of these days a LRK signing event is going to coordinate with my annual San Jose visit with my daughter and son-in-law!:D

alina

06-04-2007, 10:31 PM

jtb--Thanks so much! I'm off to find some nice stationary!

jtb1951

06-05-2007, 01:52 AM

alina -- You're welcome! LRK is one of the most gracious authors that I have ever met; when talking to her, one gets the feeling that she truly appreciates her fans and makes a concerted effort not to let her fame go to her head. Quite the class act!!!

john

Scarletquill

06-05-2007, 04:12 PM

I JUST got finished with Beekeepers Apprentice and I am nearly speechless (yes, NEARLY because if I was fully speechless I wouldnt be ranting like this)
It was the most enthralling thing I have ever read! I cant wait to get the second book!

That was exactly my reaction when I first finished it. It was just so awesome! :D

wpriest

06-10-2007, 11:36 AM

You are in for a treat then. I have read all the Russel books and enjoyed them all.

Lillian

Vilian

06-12-2007, 07:41 AM

I just have to agree that Beekeeper's Apprentice is one of the most brilliant books out there. No other (=non-Russell) book left me stunned like that and in such hunger for more :D I rarely do a search for possible sequels, but for BA I did (yay for Google ;) ), and was furious that there are seven more possibly equally amazing novels, and none was ever published in Poland, not mentioning Polish edition of BA being out of stock for years (the copy I had was from library). Thanks to my friends and me being stubborn I could put my greedy paws on BA in Polish, and more novels in English (yesterday came another one, Justice Hall, yay!). As expected, none of novels following BA disappointed me yet, but I really have to agree: my emotions toward BA are stronger than towards anything else. Probably because as first in series of such experiences, this one became most memorable and thus most beloved one :)

vicki

06-14-2007, 07:58 AM

Probably because as first in series of such experiences, this one became most memorable and thus most beloved one :)http://laurierking.com/vbulletin/images/misc/progress.gif
I think that is why I'm especially fond of The Beekeeper's Apprentice, too. For me, though, that fondness really extends to A Monstrous Regiment of Women, as well. I think that's because I inhaled them in almost the same breath, back-to-back. It left me with the impression of them being almost two halves of the same book.

yesterday came another one, Justice Hall, yay!

Woohoo! Do you have all the Russells now, Vilian?

Vilian

06-14-2007, 08:37 AM

Woohoo! Do you have all the Russells now, Vilian?

Not yet, I'm missing three novels at the moment. The Moor and The Game should come around the end of this month - the bookstore I ordered them at has two storages for foreign books, one in Poland and one abroad, thus books from Polish stock came faster, and now I'm waiting for those which have longer way to go. It takes a really long time, but there are no shipping fees, so it's way cheaper than for example buying at Amazon. My biggest pain for now is that it's still uncertain if O Jerusalem will ever come at all. It was ordered at different bookstore, because that more reliable one didn't have it in stock anywhere :( I'm keeping my fingers crossed hoping either way I will eventually put my greedy paws on that novel too :D

Lady Natalie Bennet

06-27-2007, 09:42 PM

vicki

06-29-2007, 06:18 AM

I haven't heard of Christine Feehan--where is a good place to start in her work?

with a Madeliene (sp) L'Engle book tossed in

I love, love, love A Wrinkle in Time. I haven't read that much of her other stuff, but I need to.

Vilian, did you ever get O Jerusalem? It's one of my favorites! I think you're really going to love it.

farmwife, I think one of the biggest attractions for me to Justice Hall was all the architecture. I'm a huge architecture geek, so any book with big, rambling old houses or castles gets an automatic head start. :)

Elizabeth

06-29-2007, 11:22 AM

My favourite LRK book is 'A Letter of Mary', mostly to do with the glorious character of Dorothy Ruskin, but also for the brief appearance of one of my most beloved characters in fiction. And that character is also in my favourite book of all time: 'Gaudy Night' by Dorothy L. Sayers. I pick it up whenever I'm low and wallow in the language and complicated love to be found within its pages.

cynthia

06-29-2007, 02:16 PM

Congratulations on finishing Beekeeper's Apprentice. You are now officiallly hooked!! I can't wait for the new Russell novel to be completed. I have enjoyed each book in the series- some of them more than once. I have also made Russell converts of several of my friends.

vicki

06-29-2007, 02:42 PM

I have also made Russell converts of several of my friends.

I've been pretty diabolical in that regard, too. Since the long exceprts of BEEK and AGT were added to LRK's website, I've even added this as my email signature:

Try one of my favorite reads: http://laurierking.com/pdf/Beekeeper.pdf (http://laurierking.com/pdf/Beekeeper.pdf)
Here's another great one: http://laurierking.com/pdf/A%20Grave%20Talent.pdf (http://laurierking.com/pdf/A%20Grave%20Talent.pdf)
For more info: http://laurierking.com/ (http://laurierking.com/)

If they just click on one of the excerpts and read for a few minutes, they're bound to get pulled in. It's like an evil little tractor beam at the bottom of every message. Mwahahahaha!

but also for the brief appearance of one of my most beloved characters in fiction. And that character is also in my favourite book of all time: 'Gaudy Night' by Dorothy L. Sayers. I pick it up whenever I'm low and wallow in the language and complicated love to be found within its pages.

Reading sister! I love, love, love the Lord Peter books! And LRK did such a good job of capturing him in the scene--it was like Dorothy Sayers was resurrected for just a little while to write some sparkly dialogue (unlike the recent Jill Paton Walsh Wimsey continuations <grumble, grumble>). I wish the Sayers estate would let LRK write some more of Lord Peter into the Russells. That would so rock the Casbah.

alina

06-29-2007, 07:37 PM

It's like an evil little tractor beam at the bottom of every message. Mwahahahaha!

Tee hee hee; Vicki, you're so funny! And it's almost an addiction, getting others addicted to Russell! I've got different circles of friends at UGA perusing the series as well as some at GT and even Princeton! Yay for books that travel everywhere!

Reading sister! I love, love, love the Lord Peter books! And LRK did such a good job of capturing him in the scene

I absolutely love the Lord Peter novels too! Sayers is an amazing author, both in her fiction and non-fiction. My favorites are Murder Must Advertise and Gaudy Night. I must read more of them soon...

That would so rock the Casbah.

Oh yes it would!

Kiyomi

06-30-2007, 01:06 AM

I can't even remember what I do or don't own anymore, as I have about 500 books besides hers on my shelves...I just got about 13 new books (used, actually) , and most of them are Christine Feehan, with a Madeliene (sp) L'Engle book tossed in. I know I have Beekeeper's Apprentice, along with MREG, and the Game...I think there's one more that I don't remember having, but oh well. My favorite one was...oh dear...I don't think I have a specific favorite. They were all great!

Welcome to the club :D just wait till you have a couple thousand books and your husband says more shelving or a divorce are in order ;-) And of course it's very hard at that point to remember what one owns, has read but doesn't own yet, and what is on the list to read now that you've looked at the title a couple hundred times perhaps you have read it...;)

jtb1951

06-30-2007, 02:13 AM

Welcome to the club just wait till you have a couple thousand books and your husband says more shelving or a divorce are in order ;-) And of course it's very hard at that point to remember what one owns, has read but doesn't own yet, and what is on the list to read now that you've looked at the title a couple hundred times perhaps you have read it...

Or in my case, be glad that having a few thousand books isn't a problem, because I'm the husband responsible for the additional shelving, or temporary storage of old making room for new books!:) My spouse (and not coincidentally) our daughters are readers as avid as myself, maybe even moreso! Not quite the statistical all-American family profile, but we love it.

John.

VictoriaMisselthwaite

08-18-2007, 05:01 AM

Finally I've read them all...just finished Justice Hall, and I really enjoyed it!

So descriptive, and I loved the supporting characters so much...it's right up there with Locked Rooms, which is my favourite...but really they're all wonderful!

Now I need to actually buy them and have them in my permanent collection, but till then there's always the library!