Books - What are you reading?

[Fanboi]

jimmyjimjim said:

Laurel Green said:

jimmyjimjim said:

New Harry Bosch out today - 'The wrong side of goodbye'.

Have it in my 'to read' pile.

Finished it about an hour ago, not bad, certainly one of his top ten.

Agreed, just read this.
A good read.

[Laurel Green]

Fanboi said:

jimmyjimjim said:

Laurel Green said:

jimmyjimjim said:

New Harry Bosch out today - 'The wrong side of goodbye'.

Have it in my 'to read' pile.

Finished it about an hour ago, not bad, certainly one of his top ten.

Agreed, just read this.
A good read.

Yep! Not a bad read indeed.

[grumbledoak]

I have just finished Annihilation (The Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 1)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0008139105/

Amazon said:

For thirty years, Area X, monitored by the secret agency known as the Southern Reach, has remained mysterious and remote behind its intangible border– an environmental disaster zone, though to all appearances an abundant wilderness. Eleven expeditions have been sent in to investigate; even for those that have made it out alive, there have been terrible consequences.

‘Annihilation’ is the story of the twelfth expedition...

It's very good. Weird, creepy, and gripping. I'm ordering the next two right now.

[droopsnoot]

I've just finished "Splinter the Silence" by Val McDermid. I have been avoiding the Carol Jordan / Tony Hill books because I found a few one them quite heavy going, but this was very good. Now started the new Jack Reacher.

[gforceg]

How's the pain? by Pascal Garnier. Good noir short story.

[brrapp]

I've just started 'Nomad' by Ayann Hirsi Ali. I read her previous book 'Infidel' a couple of years ago and found it very thought provoking if a bit heavy going at times. 'Nomad'seems to be more of the same although I've only just cleared the 30 odd page introduction. For those of you who haven't read it, 'Infidel' is her story of her 'escape' from a life as an oppressed Muslim woman to a new 'emancipated life in Europe. 'Nomad' is a follow on from that as she makes a new life in the USA and an attempt at analysis of the differences between the Muslim and Western cultures.
Even the introduction has some controversial points to make :- "There are many good men an women in the West who try to resettle refugees, scold their fellow citizens for not doing more, donate money to philanthropic organizations, and strive to eliminate discrimination.....These people mean well, I have no doubt. But I believe that their well-intentioned activism is now part of the very problem they seek to resolve....What comes packaged in a compasionate language of acceptance is really a cruel form of racism. And it is all the more cruel because it is expressed in sugary words of virtue." . I'm looking forward to seeing how her attitude to the West has developed .

[droopsnoot]

I've just finished "The Death Collector" by Neil White, which was very good if you like serial killer / police things. Set around Manchester.

[Collectingbrass]

plasticpig said:

King Herald said:

Jut started the new Reacher book. A bit different, hope it doesn't descend into the usual private detective turns lover theme, like the last few books have.

I think you may be disappointed.

I enjoyed it, and it was the first book I've read all year (too much reading for a course this year) so hopefully it's got me back in the saddle. On the whole very good, and a couple of plot twists I didn't see coming but I did find it jarring to see Reacher using his Nomad years techniques while still technically a serving officer in the 110th. I would not have thought he would have been able to do so quite so freely only ten years after the Iran Contra hearings? Certainly I found the other military era Reacher books to be more true to my expectation of the character, it felt like there's a whole story arc I've missed between this and "The Enemy" which was set in 1990, and it feels like it should sit before "The Affair", not after. Still, it was a good book and one I will probably read again after speed reading it a bit last night.

[toasty]

Something lighthearted to cheer me up.

[towser]

Two most recent.....

The Malice of Waves ( Mark Douglas-Home ) - 3rd book in the "sea detective" series - the detective in this case being an oceanographer who is brought in to solve disappearances and deaths at sea. Held my interest to a point , although I found it a little bit too similar to his previous book in the series in terms of setting and characters. 3/5.

Whisky from Small Glasses ( Denzil Meyrick ) - predictable storyline with all the usual tropes ( maverick DI, troubled personal life, issues with his superiors etc etc..... ). Having said that I found it moved along at a decent pace and the main players were reasonably well portrayed and engaging enough. Nothing stellar. Another 3/5.

Just started Sweet Caress ( William Boyd ), need to ditch the dodgy crime stuff for a bit :-)

[brrapp]

toasty said:

Something lighthearted to cheer me up.

The book is certainly more lighthearted than the film. The description in the book is poetry than prose at times, something that the film couldn't capture.

[pidsy]

currently reading this. not as hard hitting as i thought it would be but an interesting insight into how the rest of the world still pays for the release of its nationals being held captive.

[IanA2]

Just finished London Calling by James Craig. Excruciating.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11458042-londo...

[gforceg]

No picnic on Mount Kenya by Felice Benuzzi. POW camp break-out romp to climb a mountain, and then break back in again.

[King Herald]

King Herald said:

blindswelledrat said:

Fiction I am afraid. It has never actually been 'revealed' as such, but a number of people have tried to research it and found nothing at all to support the story, concluding that it never happened.

Just finished The Long Walk. Seems believable, to a degree, but the tales of going 8 days without water in a desert, climbing snow covered mountains with nothing but a couple of animal skins, and then seeing to yetis.....well, it sort of lost the plot a bit.

Not sure if it has been mentioned, but this story appears to have been made into a movie "The Way Back" in 2010.

I'm just downloading it as we speak, trailer looks interesting.

[Nezquick]

toasty said:

Something lighthearted to cheer me up.

Love Cormac McCarthy books.

If you've not read it, check out No Country For Old Men.....much better than the film.

Blood Meridian is also a no compromise book which is beautifully written. Very harrowing.

[toasty]

Nezquick said:

Love Cormac McCarthy books.

If you've not read it, check out No Country For Old Men.....much better than the film.

Blood Meridian is also a no compromise book which is beautifully written. Very harrowing.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

[brrapp]

I'm in the middle of plodding my way through two other fairly heavy books but this evening, after a busy weekend , I couldn't face up to either. I'd bought this for my son for Christmas and it was lying out waiting to be wrapped. I remember reading and very much enjoying it as a teenager 40 years ago. I picked it up for a quick glance through and 3 hours later I've just finished it, couldn't put it down. It must be one of the best books I've read this year. I'd recommend it to anyone, I'd forgotten just how beautiful and thought provoking it was.

[K12beano]

^^^

Oooo -

A classic is always a classic!!!

[brrapp]

K12beano said:

^^^

Oooo -

A classic is always a classic!!!

Absolutely, but its also amazing how pertinent it is today. As I was reading it this evening, my wife was watching some kind of celebrity drivel on TV that could have been taken straight out of the story.