Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
Just finished 'The first 15 lives of Harry August'
Really enjoyed this one, clever plot and it's made quite believable. It's more science fiction than philosophical but poses some great questions and felt quite 'epic' in scale. I usually want an explanation on why it happens as I like hard sci-fi but found myself not even bothered. Took a bit of getting my head around at first but haven't enjoyed a book this much in ages.
I haven't really read any classics but now onto this for some reason:
Anyone given it a go?
Really enjoyed this one, clever plot and it's made quite believable. It's more science fiction than philosophical but poses some great questions and felt quite 'epic' in scale. I usually want an explanation on why it happens as I like hard sci-fi but found myself not even bothered. Took a bit of getting my head around at first but haven't enjoyed a book this much in ages.
I haven't really read any classics but now onto this for some reason:
Anyone given it a go?
I've just finished "Snowblind" by Robert Sabbag, which was reasonably entertaining but I found myself jumping over a lot of the historical background stuff. Before that I read "Dead Men's Harvest" by Matt Hilton, a Joe Hunter book described as "if you like Jack Reacher, you'll love Joe Hunter". Not a bad book, not sure it wasn't edging towards a bit towards the silly for me - anything that uses the word "supersecret" is a bit offputting - but I'll keep an eye open for others in the series to get a better idea.
Before that I read "American Devil" by Oliver Stark, usual serial killer stuff but a good read in any case. Now I've just started "Desert God", the new Wilbur Smith book.
Before that I read "American Devil" by Oliver Stark, usual serial killer stuff but a good read in any case. Now I've just started "Desert God", the new Wilbur Smith book.
Moby Dick - the unabridged version is quite heavy going I found, I read it when I learned it was an allegory of developing cultures in the united states, to that end honestly I couldn't finish it in paperback as it felt like a bit of an effort.
i might try it again on Kindle.
you could say a cigar is just a cigar and its a book about trying to catch a whale...
i might try it again on Kindle.
you could say a cigar is just a cigar and its a book about trying to catch a whale...
coppice said:
Let me be Frank- Richard Ford - as brilliant as all his other books.
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn- disturbing and quite un-put-down- able.
Please Mr Postman and This Boy- proof that not all politicians are dull or out of touch .
Funny Girl - Nick Hornby; good but not great
Stoner - John Williams- a classic on US academic in the 20s and 30s.
The Children Act - Ian McEwan - brilliant as ever- one of our best writers
An Officer and Spy - Robert Harris- superb account of the Dreyfus scandal in France in 1890s .
The Richard Ford is my best book so far of 2014 - the writing is of the very highest quality
I must admit, The SPortswriter and Independence are amongst my favouriate books of all time, the writing is so lyrical and sumptuous at times without being sycophantic or meandering.Dark Places - Gillian Flynn- disturbing and quite un-put-down- able.
Please Mr Postman and This Boy- proof that not all politicians are dull or out of touch .
Funny Girl - Nick Hornby; good but not great
Stoner - John Williams- a classic on US academic in the 20s and 30s.
The Children Act - Ian McEwan - brilliant as ever- one of our best writers
An Officer and Spy - Robert Harris- superb account of the Dreyfus scandal in France in 1890s .
The Richard Ford is my best book so far of 2014 - the writing is of the very highest quality
I didn't get into piece of my heart though oddly....is Let me be Frank really good then?
Abagnale said:
The Pilgrim. About a third through it now & finding it mildly diverting, but with a strong undercurrent of Chuck Norris/'Merica f
k yeah bullst about it. I'll stick with it, but I don't think it's going to live long in the memory for me.
Amazing how two people's perception of a book can differ so wildly.k yeah bullst about it. I'll stick with it, but I don't think it's going to live long in the memory for me.I read Pilgrim and Chuck Norris was the last person it made me think of. Didn't think it was very 'merica f*ck yeah' either.
Nom de ploom said:
I must admit, The SPortswriter and Independence are amongst my favouriate books of all time, the writing is so lyrical and sumptuous at times without being sycophantic or meandering.
I didn't get into piece of my heart though oddly....is Let me be Frank really good then?
I didn't get into piece of my heart though oddly....is Let me be Frank really good then?
It is superb- if you like Richard Ford . He comes close to meandering but that has always been at the heart of his style. RF can write a thousand words about virtually nothing at all and it will be a joy to read. Er..you don't mean sycophantic do you ? Not a term I would expect to see applied to anything other than a gushing biography .
Really been getting into reading recently and have made my way through quite a few in the last month
Don Quoxite - very good. Long at > 900 pages but it's broken down in to small chapters. Funny in places and quite sad at times. Been calling people garlic filled peasants ever since reading it as that insult tickled me.
A concise history of the United States by Andrew Sinclair. Concise being the operative word here. Good intro to American history but very lacking in detail.
The Great Gatsby -really enjoyed this. Watched the film with Leo in straight after and enjoyed that too.
Currently reading A Christmas Carol.
Not sure where to go next. Might try another dickens like great expectations our David Copperfield.
used to spend my evenings watching ste on the tv now put classic fm on and read for hours
Don Quoxite - very good. Long at > 900 pages but it's broken down in to small chapters. Funny in places and quite sad at times. Been calling people garlic filled peasants ever since reading it as that insult tickled me.
A concise history of the United States by Andrew Sinclair. Concise being the operative word here. Good intro to American history but very lacking in detail.
The Great Gatsby -really enjoyed this. Watched the film with Leo in straight after and enjoyed that too.
Currently reading A Christmas Carol.
Not sure where to go next. Might try another dickens like great expectations our David Copperfield.
used to spend my evenings watching s
te on the tv now put classic fm on and read for hours944fan said:
Don Quoxite - very good. Long at > 900 pages but it's broken down in to small chapters. Funny in places and quite sad at times. Been calling people garlic filled peasants ever since reading it as that insult tickled me.
I must get round to that. It's been groaning on my bookshelf for years.944fan said:
...
Currently reading A Christmas Carol.
Not sure where to go next. Might try another dickens like great expectations our David Copperfield.
...
I didn't discover the classics until late in life either; Dickens was quite good but may I suggest Hardy next? Tess of the d'Urbervilles or Far From the Madding Crowd maybe? Currently reading A Christmas Carol.
Not sure where to go next. Might try another dickens like great expectations our David Copperfield.
...
Abagnale said:
944fan said:
Don Quoxite - very good. Long at > 900 pages but it's broken down in to small chapters. Funny in places and quite sad at times. Been calling people garlic filled peasants ever since reading it as that insult tickled me.
I must get round to that. It's been groaning on my bookshelf for years.I have a low tolerance threshold for books that try hard to be funny. Don't get my wrong, I am sure in the 18th Century (or whenever it was written) this was hilarious and clever but it just left me completely cold.
That said, I feel exactotly the same was about Shakespeare 'comedies'. Not funny, not anything.
LordGrover said:
944fan said:
...
Currently reading A Christmas Carol.
Not sure where to go next. Might try another dickens like great expectations our David Copperfield.
...
I didn't discover the classics until late in life either; Dickens was quite good but may I suggest Hardy next? Tess of the d'Urbervilles or Far From the Madding Crowd maybe? Currently reading A Christmas Carol.
Not sure where to go next. Might try another dickens like great expectations our David Copperfield.
...
I've acquired a copy of Gone Girl, as recommended earlier, but I'll leave it for Christmas reading.
In the meantime, I've just grabbed and read my 'kindle first' book for December - you get a choice of one of four. I picked Guardians of the Night, by Alan Russell. Sort of a poor mans Michael Connelly, I quite enjoyed it. The style reminds me of Connelly quite a bit, along with a couple of other authors, can't quite put my finger on it.
Very much worth reading, but it is the 2nd in a series annoyingly, something I'd not realized when I chose it. Fortunately, the first is free on kindle unlimited. So that's next up, or maybe 'I am pilgrim', which I've also acquired.
In the meantime, I've just grabbed and read my 'kindle first' book for December - you get a choice of one of four. I picked Guardians of the Night, by Alan Russell. Sort of a poor mans Michael Connelly, I quite enjoyed it. The style reminds me of Connelly quite a bit, along with a couple of other authors, can't quite put my finger on it.
Very much worth reading, but it is the 2nd in a series annoyingly, something I'd not realized when I chose it. Fortunately, the first is free on kindle unlimited. So that's next up, or maybe 'I am pilgrim', which I've also acquired.
Just stopped by to recommend unreservedly William Gibson’s new book, The Peripheral. After a bit of a dip with his last two, this is right back to what he does best: looking around at today, and asking “how will that play out in the near future”. While he wraps it in a mild science fiction premise, it’s not a SF book like Neuromancer. He uses the SF only as a device to separate out near term and long term predictions in politics, society, and technology, and overlays it with a gentle conspiracy thriller to keep the action moving.
Every page throws a new idea into the text without any fanfare, and they are all on the “yes, of course that’s how it’s likely to go, why didn’t I think of that” level. Random samples: Your chair wants you to sit in it and actively conforms itself to your current fitness level. The US continues to militarise and Homeland Security becomes the government. Cars will be autonomous, so no driver error crashes, so less safety packaging required, so can be made of recycled cardboard. Everyone has a personal surveillance drone, because everyone has a personal surveillance drone.
It paints things in relatively broad strokes and assumes you are intelligent enough to work out the nuances by yourself. There's none of the magic word nonsense (“Jim energised the quantum wuffler and stepped into the ultraspace wrangler”) that kills so many future tech novels.
Buy it. Read it slowly. Savour it.
Every page throws a new idea into the text without any fanfare, and they are all on the “yes, of course that’s how it’s likely to go, why didn’t I think of that” level. Random samples: Your chair wants you to sit in it and actively conforms itself to your current fitness level. The US continues to militarise and Homeland Security becomes the government. Cars will be autonomous, so no driver error crashes, so less safety packaging required, so can be made of recycled cardboard. Everyone has a personal surveillance drone, because everyone has a personal surveillance drone.
It paints things in relatively broad strokes and assumes you are intelligent enough to work out the nuances by yourself. There's none of the magic word nonsense (“Jim energised the quantum wuffler and stepped into the ultraspace wrangler”) that kills so many future tech novels.
Buy it. Read it slowly. Savour it.
Abagnale said:
All of which leads me to the conclusion that you may not exactly be the greatest barrel of laughs to stand up on two legs. I appreciate the input, but I think I'll apply my own critical faculties & get back to you.
If your barometer of whether someone is the 'greatest barrel of laughs to stand up on two legs' is determined by their love of Shakespeare comedy then you are right, you and I have completely different senses of humour.Enjoy Don Quixote, and I would thoroughly recommend Catch-22 along with Terry and June.
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