Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
lowdrag said:
It is sad here that I have about 250 mostly hardback novels here and try as I might I can't give them away. I contacted the university and libraries and no one wants them, except a Brit library who never turned up to collect them. So tomorrow off to the tip they go.
Try releasing books into the wild. We've done it a few times. It involves putting book or two in a known place for a stranger to pick up and read. They may or may not leave another book in its place. Google it and you should find out if there its an active group in your area.It's really sad that it is now not easy to give away good books. Mine (all hardbacks) used to go to a traveling library but unfortunately funding ceased and they are no more. I phoned around various libraries but none seemed to want them so ended up taking them to a local charity shop.
lowdrag said:
It is sad here that I have about 250 mostly hardback novels here and try as I might I can't give them away. I contacted the university and libraries and no one wants them, except a Brit library who never turned up to collect them. So tomorrow off to the tip they go.
Laurel Green said:
It's really sad that it is now not easy to give away good books. Mine (all hardbacks) used to go to a traveling library but unfortunately funding ceased and they are no more. I phoned around various libraries but none seemed to want them so ended up taking them to a local charity shop.
Start a thread with a list?I realise that's extra work for little personal gain.
There are also quite a few second hand book shops on line that might at least pay packaging and post, or turn out to be fairly local.
I've never binned a book in my life, though a few probably deserved little better, (and we dare not discuss burning them), it would seem almost sacrilegious somehow.
RC1807 said:
I LOVE JLB, ever since I got a free copy of Black Cherry Blues on the front of a GQ about 25 years ago. I've now read everything he's published. I agree with your comment entirely!
I'm currently reading the latest Rebus:
Good book that Rebus. He's a great writer, nothing much happens but damn readable.I'm currently reading the latest Rebus:
brrapp said:
Just picked up Melvyn Bragg's 'Now is the Time'.
A historical novel set in 14th Century England about Watt Tyler's 'rebellion'.
I've enjoyed a few of his previous novels although they were almost semi-autobiographical, not sure how this one will go down. I'll report back in a couple of days.
Well, I just finished it at lunchtime, and while I enjoyed it, I found it a bit stilted and formulaic. It must be difficult to get the balance between keeping the history accurate and padding it out into an interesting story. Worthwhile reading though even if just for the history and the invented details helped me to digest it.A historical novel set in 14th Century England about Watt Tyler's 'rebellion'.
I've enjoyed a few of his previous novels although they were almost semi-autobiographical, not sure how this one will go down. I'll report back in a couple of days.
Thoroughly enjoyed John Birmingham's alternate history series having had them recommended on PH (on this thread or another on B&L or perhaps Planes, Trains, etc - I forget which). I really enjoy his style, not a wasted word across all 3 books, very fast pace, and just the right level of detail.
Liked them so much I've now taken delivery of the Stalin's Hammer series, Angels of Vengence and After America - looking forward to those.
Liked them so much I've now taken delivery of the Stalin's Hammer series, Angels of Vengence and After America - looking forward to those.
Nezquick said:
What have you gone for?
a wide range-jimmy nail autobiography as caught auf weidersehen pet on tv recently-just readingearly one morning
Churchill-by roy Jenkins
dice man
storm front-first of harry Dresden novels
and having writ-very interesting scifi-just finished
how I left the national grid
should keep me occupied a while,still have Dali biography book I am struggling through as hard going
I've been re-reading the "Shardlake" series by C. J. Sansom - England during Henry VIII's reign of capricious terror. I read pretty much anything - picked up a book of essays by the late Stephen Ambrose (Band of Brothers, Crazy Horse and Custer) Also "Grimm's Fairy Tales" - I'd forgotten how horrible some of them are, so I'll likely revisit Angela Carter's rewrites of some fairy tales. I'd recommend them as strange, thoughtful and sexy alternatives to familiar stories. A particular favourite is "Tis Pity She's a w
e" (by the Elizabethan dramatist John Ford) reimagined as a Western by, of course, John Ford.
Iain Banks is brilliant too, the author of my favourite opening sentence: "It was the day my grandmother exploded." ("The Crow Road").
e" (by the Elizabethan dramatist John Ford) reimagined as a Western by, of course, John Ford. Iain Banks is brilliant too, the author of my favourite opening sentence: "It was the day my grandmother exploded." ("The Crow Road").
Perseverant said:
I've been re-reading the "Shardlake" series by C. J. Sansom - England during Henry VIII's reign of capricious terror.
I've got one more in the series to read, but I've enjoyed them.Currently on book 3 (Bloodline) of Conn Iggulden's 'Wars of the Roses' series, it's along similar lines to the Shardlake ones, a novelisation of historical facts. As you'd hope, the battle scenes are very good.
Goaty Bill 2 said:
lowdrag said:
It is sad here that I have about 250 mostly hardback novels here and try as I might I can't give them away. I contacted the university and libraries and no one wants them, except a Brit library who never turned up to collect them. So tomorrow off to the tip they go.
Laurel Green said:
It's really sad that it is now not easy to give away good books. Mine (all hardbacks) used to go to a traveling library but unfortunately funding ceased and they are no more. I phoned around various libraries but none seemed to want them so ended up taking them to a local charity shop.
Start a thread with a list?I realise that's extra work for little personal gain.
There are also quite a few second hand book shops on line that might at least pay packaging and post, or turn out to be fairly local.
I've never binned a book in my life, though a few probably deserved little better, (and we dare not discuss burning them), it would seem almost sacrilegious somehow.
And back on topic I've just ordered Joshua Slocum's Sailing alone around the world. A book that Arthur Ransome reviewed by saying "Boys who do not like this book ought to be drowned at once." I have a faintly achievable dreaming of setting off and sailing into the sun so this is a bit of encouragement.
Jonmx said:
We're quite lucky in that we have a really good independent second hand bookshop who will take any books in. The chap running it has a great attitude, always has a box of free books outside for those who can't afford to buy something to read, and any children going in the shop with their parents get a free book.
And back on topic I've just ordered Joshua Slocum's Sailing alone around the world. A book that Arthur Ransome reviewed by saying "Boys who do not like this book ought to be drowned at once." I have a faintly achievable dreaming of setting off and sailing into the sun so this is a bit of encouragement.
I admire the attitude of the bookshop owner. Sadly there's not a single bookshop in my town; there are shops which sell books but none which are completely dedicated to doing so. There hasn't been one for, I'd say, 10 years. And yes, like everywhere else in the world, the charity shops are full to bursting with tattered copies of The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, and 50 Shades of Grey.And back on topic I've just ordered Joshua Slocum's Sailing alone around the world. A book that Arthur Ransome reviewed by saying "Boys who do not like this book ought to be drowned at once." I have a faintly achievable dreaming of setting off and sailing into the sun so this is a bit of encouragement.
With the completion of Volume 3, I have completed for now, my journey through 'The Gulag Archipelago' by Solzhenitsyn.
I will be looking to acquire others of his work as I understand his novels are very readable (and thankfully a bit shorter
)
Some readers and critics have commented that volume 3 was unnecessary, but then, some have said volume 2 was also unnecessary.
Don't be fooled by them. It was necessary that someone should have written at least this much. It is still necessary that as many people as possible should read them - all of them.
Now; 'The Crusades - A Short History' by Jonathan Riley-Smith
'Devils' by Dostoevsky awaits...
I will be looking to acquire others of his work as I understand his novels are very readable (and thankfully a bit shorter
)Some readers and critics have commented that volume 3 was unnecessary, but then, some have said volume 2 was also unnecessary.
Don't be fooled by them. It was necessary that someone should have written at least this much. It is still necessary that as many people as possible should read them - all of them.
Now; 'The Crusades - A Short History' by Jonathan Riley-Smith
'Devils' by Dostoevsky awaits...
After a few different setbacks, including reading another novel, I've finished Atatürk.
It's not a perfect book but the timing of my having finished it and the news that Erdoğan is going to be able to expand his presidential powers is faintly ironic. The book is polarising: Amazon reviews attest to some readers feeling Mango was too critical while others state the complete opposite. There is a lot of information on the Greco-Turkish War at the expense of coverage of the Armenian genocide, a topic I know remains controversial in Turkey to this day. I intend to buy a copy of Rogan's The Fall of the Ottomans to provide some extra context, but I may read another few books beforehand.
It's not a perfect book but the timing of my having finished it and the news that Erdoğan is going to be able to expand his presidential powers is faintly ironic. The book is polarising: Amazon reviews attest to some readers feeling Mango was too critical while others state the complete opposite. There is a lot of information on the Greco-Turkish War at the expense of coverage of the Armenian genocide, a topic I know remains controversial in Turkey to this day. I intend to buy a copy of Rogan's The Fall of the Ottomans to provide some extra context, but I may read another few books beforehand.
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