What I'm reading ...

I have suspended my reading of Londoners, as it is an easy book to dip into and out of, and I wanted to ensure that I could complete my next book club selection in time: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Here is the blurb:

Among the tangled waterways and giant anacondas of the Brazilian Rio Negro, an enigmatic scientist is developing a drug that could alter the lives of women for ever. Dr Annick Swenson's work is shrouded in mystery; she refuses to report on her progress, especially to her investors, whose patience is fast running out. Anders Eckman, a mild-mannered lab researcher, is sent to investigate. A curt letter reporting his untimely death is all that returns. Now Marina Singh, Anders' colleague and once a student of the mighty Dr Swenson, is their last hope. Compelled by the pleas of Anders's wife, who refuses to accept that her husband is not coming home, Marina leaves the snowy plains of Minnesota and retraces her friend's steps into the heart of the South American darkness, determined to track down Dr. Swenson and uncover the secrets being jealously guarded among the remotest tribes of the rain forest. What Marina does not yet know is that, in this ancient corner of the jungle, where the muddy waters and susurrating grasses hide countless unknown perils and temptations, she will face challenges beyond her wildest imagination. Marina is no longer the student, but only time will tell if she has learnt enough.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Londoners by Craig Taylor. I heard some of this book on the radio a while back and bought it. Someone else then told me that it was a good read, so I thought it time to give it a go. Here's the blurb:

Here are the voices of London - rich and poor, native and immigrant, women and men (and a Sarah who used to be a George) - witnessed by Craig Taylor, an acclaimed Canadian journalist, playwright and writer, who has lived in the city for ten years, exploring its hidden corners and listening to its residents. From the woman who is the voice of the London Underground to the man who plants the trees along Oxford Street; from a Muslim currency trader to a Guardsman at Buckingham Palace; from the marriage registrar at Westminster Town Hall to the director of the biggest Bethnal Green funeral parlour - together, these voices and many more, paint a vivid, epic and wholly fresh portrait of Twenty-First Century London.

Gone Girl - by Gillian Flynn

This book is quite complex - you never quite know whether someone is telling the truth or not. The chapters alternate between Nick's and Amy's POV on two different, but converging timelines. I did not really like any of the characters and ultimately thought that they got their just desserts. The story kept me guessing right up to the end. A good read.