Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
blindswelledrat said:
I hated that book an indescribable amount. Just a.n.other in a series of attention seeking "Oooo, look at me. I was a drug addict and now I'm not" books.Hated him, hated his story, hated the amount of times he repeated the mantra that he didn't expect sympathy (as if anyone might give him any?) and hated anyone I knew who liked it.
We'll see how it goes. I quite enjoy drug related literature.
jbudgie said:
EdJ said:
LordGrover said:
blindswelledrat said:
I am Pilgrim.
Best thriller I have read in ages. Thoroughly recommend it.
£1.49 on kindle. Best thriller I have read in ages. Thoroughly recommend it.
Really enjoying it, and given the backdrop of what is currently happening with ISIS etc, it makes for topical reading.
blindswelledrat said:
It perfectly exemplifies why I don't tend to like books written by women.
Nezquick said:
I should say too that I'm also not a great fan of books written by women for some reason
Glad it's not just me. I tend to avoid female authors, but rarely admit to it as such a view is often met with derision from people whose opinions I respect (men as well as women).My big exception to this is Pat Barker. Her Regeneration trilogy remain three of the best books I have ever read. Oh and more recently, Donna Tartt's Goldfinch - a superb book.
blindswelledrat said:
I'm half way through Gone Girl for the second time and I just cannot comprehend why people are liking it so much. It perfectly exemplifies why I don't tend to like books written by women.
The first time I put it down after about 60 pages dismissing it as a women's relationship story.
Then I saw lots of people here (men, in theory) singing its praises so assumed I was being a bit hasty.
This time around I am 230 pages in (more than halfway through) and it is still just a women's relationship book.
180 pages detailing the breakdown of their relationship (both from his point of view and hers - who gives a toss?) and now we've moved on to his relationship with his mistress. Really couldn't give a f
k.
Somewhere among all that female-angst stuff there is the beginnings of a thriller i.e. woman gone missing, suspicion starting to fall on bloke, but not even remotely enough of one to justify the 230 pages of crap I've read so far.
WHat am I missing here?
This is how I felt about it when I read it. You can really tell the male character's POV is being written by a woman and it was a bit odd to read, plus I found the writing style annoying. Think some of us discussed this quite a few pages ago and came to this conclusion. Everyone else seems to love it though. The first time I put it down after about 60 pages dismissing it as a women's relationship story.
Then I saw lots of people here (men, in theory) singing its praises so assumed I was being a bit hasty.
This time around I am 230 pages in (more than halfway through) and it is still just a women's relationship book.
180 pages detailing the breakdown of their relationship (both from his point of view and hers - who gives a toss?) and now we've moved on to his relationship with his mistress. Really couldn't give a f
k.Somewhere among all that female-angst stuff there is the beginnings of a thriller i.e. woman gone missing, suspicion starting to fall on bloke, but not even remotely enough of one to justify the 230 pages of crap I've read so far.
WHat am I missing here?
Paddy_N_Murphy said:
May I suggest you pick up the old ones and read them in the right order http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy
Awesome series.....
Probably one of the best series of all time, Executive Orders especially is a book I can (and have) read again and again.Awesome series.....
Alapeno said:
This is how I felt about it when I read it. You can really tell the male character's POV is being written by a woman and it was a bit odd to read, plus I found the writing style annoying. Think some of us discussed this quite a few pages ago and came to this conclusion. Everyone else seems to love it though.
I persevered and the second half of the book is actually very good. Really interesting and good twists etc. Its a really good thriller.But I agree with you quote completely. You've hit the nail on the head.
On balance I wouldn't recommend it to anyone other than a woman because of the tedious first half, but for any of you that gave up after 100 pages or so- really worth persevering as you have done the worst part.
EdJ said:
blindswelledrat said:
It perfectly exemplifies why I don't tend to like books written by women.
Nezquick said:
I should say too that I'm also not a great fan of books written by women for some reason
Glad it's not just me. I tend to avoid female authors, but rarely admit to it as such a view is often met with derision from people whose opinions I respect (men as well as women)..
Men and women generally like, and do, different things. Our minds work in different ways and different things appeal to us.
It's not that black and white, of course, but I realised one day that I like about 7/10 books I read written by men and about 3/10 written by women so given that there are an infinite number of books out there it made no sense to read female authors.
On the subject of male or female authors, I must admit that because of how I buy a lot of my books (car boot sale, clearance shelf, library sale) I have a quick glance at the summary to make sure I haven't read it before, then grab it. I'm paying 30p to 50p, so it doesn't really matter if I get a duffer or a duplicate. But I don't think I actively avoid authors because they are female (though I did think Jo Nesbo was female for ages), I avoid stuff by how it sounds from the summary.
As I think about it I've read quite a few female authors in the past - Patricia Cornwell was good but went off recently, Kathy Reichs is good, Val McDermid (mostly), Ann Cleeves, and probably quite a few I can't remember.
As I think about it I've read quite a few female authors in the past - Patricia Cornwell was good but went off recently, Kathy Reichs is good, Val McDermid (mostly), Ann Cleeves, and probably quite a few I can't remember.
Just started Robert Ludlum's Matarese Countdown having discovered last weekend that our local park has started a free library (a shed with boxes of books, take one out, drop any books you don't want in, I hope it works out and people don't take the piss), probably should have reread The Materese Circle to which this one is a sequel, but it does seem to be explaining the history well enough as it goes on.
I rather like Ludlum's stuff but would recommend people not to bother reading the Eric Lustbader sequels to the Bourne books if you enjoyed the original trilogy.
I rather like Ludlum's stuff but would recommend people not to bother reading the Eric Lustbader sequels to the Bourne books if you enjoyed the original trilogy.
Shadow R1 said:
At the moment on Mark Billingham's from the dead.
You're a couple ahead of me, I've got quite in to the Tom Thorne series. Wasn't entirely convinced with the TV adaptation of Sleepyhead though.droopsnoot said:
Might be worth trying to read them in order, though the bones of the story isn't really affected by it.
I brought a set, dragon (finished that) inca gold, sahara, then treasure.I have a few of the numa files that i have finished already.
What other author do you suggest, in a similar vein ?
RizzoTheRat said:
You're a couple ahead of me, I've got quite in to the Tom Thorne series. Wasn't entirely convinced with the TV adaptation of Sleepyhead though.
I have bloodline and death message after that.Some of his one liners have me in tears, in from the dead, a line in the porno shop, i will leave it at that.
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