Five On Friday #6 (MORE (!) Recent Reading)

Well regular readers will have noticed the complete lack of scrapping here following my operation.  My elbow flared up a bit as I was doing too much, despite doing less than normal and so scrapping has had to take a definite back seat.  Even surfing has to be done in short sessions - hence the limited commenting I've been doing - sorry!  Turning the pages of a book does seem to be within the limits of my abilities so here are another 5 of this month's novels:

Michael Crichton's "Next" was a very thought-provoking novel about the consequences of patenting genes.  Lots of scientific research and data is put into context as the fall-out from scientists cutting corners, judges making ill-informed decisions and company CEOs putting profits before people all hits home.  A thrilling and unfortunately all too believable read.

"Hornet's Nest" by Patricia Cornwell - I have to say I prefer her Kay Scarpetta series, this was a bit 2 dimensional and completely unbelievable in places.  I know most police thrillers generally get their man (or woman) at the end, but it helps if you care about the characters doing the chasing or getting killed and dislike the perpetrators or their motives ... not the case here I'm afraid.

The third of the Hunger Games books, "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins was better; I enjoyed a look at life outside Panem but felt that the storming of the Capitol was overly long and complicated.  Still not as gripping as the first book but plenty to keep the pages turning.

I then raided the local library to get more supplies: Having tried out Ian M. Banks at the beginning of the month, I thought I'd better read one of his non-sci-fi books, written without the middle initial, and picked out "The Wasp Factory".  What a twisted and complicated book - various shades of madness in the main characters, murky secrets, jaw-dropping, eye-watering violence - fabulously written, drip-feeding clues that gradually make some sense, culminating in a shocking twist in the final chapter.  Definitely a good read, but not for the faint-hearted!

"Cold Earth" by Sarah Moss was very interesting - six people working on an archaeological dig in an isolated corner of Greenland, coping with inner (and outer?) demons as a flu pandemic sweeps across the rest of the world.  Beautifully written final(?) journal entries/letters from each of the characters tell the tale - I can imagine this being a very spooky and atmospheric film.

Do you enjoy films of books?  Do films of books make you want to check out the book too?