Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
epom said:
Suggestions please..... something on the easier to read side of things, not able for heavy at the mo..
When I want an easy read, I like a slower-paced story that I can lose myself in for hours at a time. I don't know your circumstances with regards to why you don't want a heavy read at the moment (nor do I need / want to) but if things are imperfect, the escapist element of a good yarn is hard to resist.For that reason, I'd like to suggest 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman or '11/22/63' by Stephen King. The latter is significantly longer and, while I know not everybody appreciates King's writing style, the story he tells is immersive without being too verbose. There are entire pages of description you don't need of places you'll never see again, but that may be no bad thing as it brings the environment to life (and can be skimmed if it's not to your taste). 'American Gods' I finished more recently but it might also appeal. If you're into mythology and folklore then you might enjoy it. With Amazon having recently produced a series based on the book, it should be easily found in most bookshops.
Goaty Bill 2 said:
Which takes us nicely to 'Berlin Alexanderplatz', with which I admit I am not familiar.
I had a quick peruse of the wiki - Berlin Alexanderplatz and translation of the dialogue seems to have been considered an obstacle to enjoying that work properly as well.
Having read that (wiki), it may well end up on my 'should read' list.
I forgot to mention in my initial post that the version I'm reading is the 2018 Michael Hofmann version, based on the strength of his translations of Hans Fallada and Joseph Roth. I imagine the translation's Cockney dialect would have a similar effect on native German speakers as the original text would have on native English speakers. As ever with Hofmann's works I find myself very impressed so far, even if I am only 40-ish pages through.I had a quick peruse of the wiki - Berlin Alexanderplatz and translation of the dialogue seems to have been considered an obstacle to enjoying that work properly as well.
Having read that (wiki), it may well end up on my 'should read' list.
epom said:
Suggestions please..... something on the easier to read side of things, not able for heavy at the mo..
If I'm looking for something light to read, I'll quite often head for my son's Terry Pratchett collection. Some were aimed at 'young adults' and some at normal humans, but all are entertaining to read and funny but also thought provoking. In fact most serious books aimed at 'young adults' tend to worth a look.epom said:
Suggestions please..... something on the easier to read side of things, not able for heavy at the mo..
Three of my favourite books:Pastoral by Nevil Shute
Landfall also Nevil Shute
Love on a Branch Line John Hatfield
The last one is about as lightweight as you can get! The first two easy to read but rather touching.
American Gods. Thanks again. ribiero said:
epom said:
Suggestions please..... something on the easier to read side of things, not able for heavy at the mo..
3 ways to capsize a boat - Chris Stewart -- that's the last light and fun book I remember reading, surprised me tbh.
Can’t put this down, fantastic - even if you’re not interested in football:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boy-Shed-remarkable-sport...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boy-Shed-remarkable-sport...
I finished Alfred Döblin’s ‘Berlin Alexanderplatz’ a few days ago, but I still can’t decide how I feel about it (though this is not meant negatively). I have no issue with Michael Hofmann’s translation, which remains excellent as ever despite the obvious challenges Döblin’s novel would have presented. The decision to render Berlin’s colloquial speech in Cockney doesn’t trouble me, and probably comes closer to how the original text than the Queen’s English.
The plot was straightforward enough, and manages to render its protagonist, Franz Biberkopf, as somewhat likeable despite the opening chapter being his leaving prison four years after beating his girlfriend to death. Certainly, not a quality found in many protagonists. Other than the basic plot the text is laden with Biblical and mythological references that keep things interesting, and Döblin spliced vignettes of Berlin life into chapters concerning the cast of characters.
The Wikipedia page really doesn’t do the plot justice but, as you might expect, the German one is a lot more detailed. I suspect some of the enjoyment comes from the book being something of a love-letter to Berlin and Berliners; the people of the working-class areas mingling with the criminal underworld, the struggle faced by returning veterans and wounded soldiers, and the fractured political climate that existed in 1929. This enjoyment is limited for me, having never spent time in Berlin.
I suppose the fairest assessment I can give is that I’d be eager to read some of Döblin’s other books, particularly ‘Wallenstein’. And if Hofmann can translate those other books too, all the better.
I’m currently reading ‘Passchendaele 1917’ by Robert J. Parker, which seems a very new book examining one of the more hellish battles of World War I. Passchendaele is a battle whose name I had seen only on a DVD cover and as a map in ‘Battlefield 1’. The scene I saw from the film looks dreadful, but the story that inspired the film is quite moving: the director's grandfather confessed privately that he had bayonetted a young German soldier through the forehead during the battle, recounting that his eyes looked like water. Lying on his deathbed, he begged for forgiveness repeatedly, mystifying almost everyone in the family.
As for the rendition of Passchendaele in ‘Battlefield’ it rates as one of the most impressive looking maps in the game. Of course, bouncing around capturing flags and gunning down enemy players is ahistorical at best but the actual design is what piqued my interest in reading more about Passchendaele. To realise that actual people fought and died in a similar environment is really quite horrible.
The plot was straightforward enough, and manages to render its protagonist, Franz Biberkopf, as somewhat likeable despite the opening chapter being his leaving prison four years after beating his girlfriend to death. Certainly, not a quality found in many protagonists. Other than the basic plot the text is laden with Biblical and mythological references that keep things interesting, and Döblin spliced vignettes of Berlin life into chapters concerning the cast of characters.
The Wikipedia page really doesn’t do the plot justice but, as you might expect, the German one is a lot more detailed. I suspect some of the enjoyment comes from the book being something of a love-letter to Berlin and Berliners; the people of the working-class areas mingling with the criminal underworld, the struggle faced by returning veterans and wounded soldiers, and the fractured political climate that existed in 1929. This enjoyment is limited for me, having never spent time in Berlin.
I suppose the fairest assessment I can give is that I’d be eager to read some of Döblin’s other books, particularly ‘Wallenstein’. And if Hofmann can translate those other books too, all the better.
I’m currently reading ‘Passchendaele 1917’ by Robert J. Parker, which seems a very new book examining one of the more hellish battles of World War I. Passchendaele is a battle whose name I had seen only on a DVD cover and as a map in ‘Battlefield 1’. The scene I saw from the film looks dreadful, but the story that inspired the film is quite moving: the director's grandfather confessed privately that he had bayonetted a young German soldier through the forehead during the battle, recounting that his eyes looked like water. Lying on his deathbed, he begged for forgiveness repeatedly, mystifying almost everyone in the family.
As for the rendition of Passchendaele in ‘Battlefield’ it rates as one of the most impressive looking maps in the game. Of course, bouncing around capturing flags and gunning down enemy players is ahistorical at best but the actual design is what piqued my interest in reading more about Passchendaele. To realise that actual people fought and died in a similar environment is really quite horrible.
Been (re)reading a lot of my paperback colelctions lately.
Was interesting to work through in rapid succession the Rebus novels (now noting I've two missing from the collection, must've lent them out and never been returned).
Currently ploughing through my Craig Thomas collection; Rat Trap was much better than I remembered it being when I first read it about 30 years ago;
Firefox was so let down by turning it into [I]that[I] film; was good to go out of the authors sequence and read the sequel straight after.
Wolfsbane & Snow Falcon - he's getting better at building tension, but a few too many contrivances in the plot.
Sea Leopard thoroughly enjoying, style has developed to really builds tension (though I'm not sure if some events are telegraphed, or recalled from the dim & distant in the re-reading process).
Finding by working through a whole collection back-to-back you really notice the authors development as a novelist.
Was interesting to work through in rapid succession the Rebus novels (now noting I've two missing from the collection, must've lent them out and never been returned).
Currently ploughing through my Craig Thomas collection; Rat Trap was much better than I remembered it being when I first read it about 30 years ago;
Firefox was so let down by turning it into [I]that[I] film; was good to go out of the authors sequence and read the sequel straight after.
Wolfsbane & Snow Falcon - he's getting better at building tension, but a few too many contrivances in the plot.
Sea Leopard thoroughly enjoying, style has developed to really builds tension (though I'm not sure if some events are telegraphed, or recalled from the dim & distant in the re-reading process).
Finding by working through a whole collection back-to-back you really notice the authors development as a novelist.
Reading A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert - set in Ukraine 1941 and about the round up of Jews in a small town by the SS.
Have also read one of her other books The Dark Room which was also about the War and Nazis.
I think she's said in interviews that her grandparents were Nazis.
Recommend both.
Have also read one of her other books The Dark Room which was also about the War and Nazis.
I think she's said in interviews that her grandparents were Nazis.
Recommend both.
TheJimi said:
Currently on the third book of the Kingsbridge trilogy by Ken Follett.
Brilliant books. Only gripe is that the language used is too modern for the time and can be quite jarring.
I loved those. I don’t mind the modern language, I suspect that if he’d used age appropriate language it would make it more difficult to read and would also attract all the bores who’d just criticise him for using the wrong age appropriate language. Brilliant books. Only gripe is that the language used is too modern for the time and can be quite jarring.
Also worth a read is the century trilogy. It’s especially appropriate given what’s going on politically at the moment, if somewhat scary that a few people can cause massive damage to a nation.
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