Books - What are you reading?

[NowWatchThisDrive]

NowWatchThisDrive said:

Decided to pound the "classics I really should have already read" beat with...(gulp) The Brothers Karamazov. I get the feeling I'm either going to love this, or end up writing it off halfway through out of frustration.

As half-expected, thrown in the towel ~25% through. Maybe I'll try again another time. I've read more palatable Dostoevsky (The Gambler) but this is something else...Tolkien-esque in its verbosity and very difficult to follow. I should have known when I mentioned starting it to my Mrs, a classics devotee, and even she raised her eyebrows and said "really?!"

Now onto Ronnie O'Sullivan's memoirs for a bit of light entertainment therapy...

[coppice]

thebraketester said:

Ah hah . My wife gives talks on Shackleton and no matter how many times I hear the story or the Endurance (I am gopher/driver) I marvel at it. In two weeks time she'll be visiting his grave on South Georgia and then giving her talk on board ship, en route to Elephant Island and beyond.

[thebraketester]

coppice said:

thebraketester said:

Ah hah . My wife gives talks on Shackleton and no matter how many times I hear the story or the Endurance (I am gopher/driver) I marvel at it. In two weeks time she'll be visiting his grave on South Georgia and then giving her talk on board ship, en route to Elephant Island and beyond.

Brilliant. Well if she is ever in the london- Herts area doing a talk let me know.

[Mercdriver]

Enjoy Ferrari by brick Yates, fascinating read of the building up of the company through the war years and his racing heritage of scuderria Ferrari .


Worth a read, some guy!

[thekingisdead]

Currently reading ‘all the sinners bleed’ by S.A Cosby.

Having a decent start to the year - this is my 5th book. Aiming to read 2/month.

Other highlights include Janelle Brown - pretty little things

[coppice]

thebraketester said:

Brilliant. Well if she is ever in the london- Herts area doing a talk let me know.

I will indeed . . She went to South Georgia yesterday but had to stay on the Zodiac boat - bird flu. She is spitting feathers , as it were , at getting so close to his grave but was still so far away. Still , if she finds another small fortune behind the sofa she can go again next year..

Sorry to go on but something which might interest you is the fact that at her last talk, in Whitby two weeks ago , an elderly lady came over and said - "these pictures might interest you -my mother's cousin was on the Endurance " . Bloody hell fire ....

[Stuart70]

Picked up an old copy of Game, Set and Match by Len Deighton.

It is not literature by any means, but it is better written than I had anticipated.
The characterisation is a little bit cut and paste but entirely acceptable in a plot driven story

6 Deightons out of 10 LeCarres.

[droopsnoot]

I've just finished "So say the fallen" by Stuart Neville. A DCI attends what appears to be a straightforward of the suicide of a local successful businessman who had suffered in a major road accident a few months before, but turns out to be nothing of the sort. A decent enough story, not an author I recall reading before and I'll look for some more of his.

[2HFL]

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown.

[Got4wheels]

Read quite a few books as a part og my postcolonial module.

I think I left off at Wide Sargasso Sea: Starts out ever so well, but becomes a weird Jane Eyre prequel and I believe it ruined what should've been an interesting novel into colonial Jamaica.

Untouchable: Brilliant read! Would recommend to anyone, fascinating insight to the Caste system.

Cracking India: I learnt a lot from this on the horrors that came from the botched partition of India and Pakistan. Its written from a child's perspective but feels very cynical and adult.

Annie John: Not an amazing book, but another look into colonial Jamaica with a child's interpretation, came away feeling the imperialists won. However the writing style and layout was inspiring.

Small Island: Fantastic book, set in post war London, hopped between 1948, the past and everyone's stories seamlessly. Felt sad when I finished it.

The Yield: Another one up there! Fascinating deep dive into Aboriginal lands and practices and how some of it has been lost.

Michael

[andrewcliffe]

At the moment I'm reading the 2nd volume of Clarkson's Farm books - these are a collation of his Sunday Times column. It was a christmas present.

Once I've finished that I've got Dom Joly's "The Conspiracy Tourist" - another christmas present, and bought for me as my wife and I have tickets to see his show a couple of months.

I've just listened to Chris Harris' Variable Valve Timings on Audible.

[Desiderata]

I've just finished this one, one of the few John Buchan novels I hadn't read previously. John Buchan fascinates me, a prolific writer of dashing adventure stories all done in a style reminiscent of his own great hero, Sir Walter Scott, dashed off in his spare time whilst living a life not unlike that of some of his illustrious characters. Lawyer, journalist, spy, diplomat, politician, governor general of Canada, hunter, fisherman and author.

[beagrizzly]

'Withnail & I: From Cult to Classic'

Recently published collection of stories, reminiscences, fan viewpoints and factoids from the making of the movie, its reception and enduring popularity. It's a great read (possibly only if you love the film) and makes me want to watch it for the umpteenth time.

So I shall. :-)

[akirk]

Desiderata said:

I've just finished this one, one of the few John Buchan novels I hadn't read previously. John Buchan fascinates me, a prolific writer of dashing adventure stories all done in a style reminiscent of his own great hero, Sir Walter Scott, dashed off in his spare time whilst living a life not unlike that of some of his illustrious characters. Lawyer, journalist, spy, diplomat, politician, governor general of Canada, hunter, fisherman and author.

Haven't read that for years...
Buchan's 'John McNab' is one of my favourite books

[lornemalvo]

James Patterson - London Bridges
I wanted some light reading and had this on my Kindle. I read quite a bit of it and couldn't work out why I wasn't enjoying it. Aside from the unconvincing plot it finally came to me - it is REALLY poorly written. There are some authors whose writing style draws you in to the story, maintains tension and can even evoke some emotion. I think Steven King is probably the best storyteller out there but Patterson manages none of this for me. I simply can't understand the glowing reviews by readers on Amazon. Disappointing, I may not even finish the book because I don't care what happens.

[Desiderata]

akirk said:

Desiderata said:

I've just finished this one, one of the few John Buchan novels I hadn't read previously. John Buchan fascinates me, a prolific writer of dashing adventure stories all done in a style reminiscent of his own great hero, Sir Walter Scott, dashed off in his spare time whilst living a life not unlike that of some of his illustrious characters. Lawyer, journalist, spy, diplomat, politician, governor general of Canada, hunter, fisherman and author.

Haven't read that for years...
Buchan's 'John McNab' is one of my favourite books

Yes, I like John McNab. I loved the TV dramatisation of Huntingtower when I was a kid and thought that John McNab might be even better, even to the point of trying to persuade my shooting estate owning neighbours to join me on a wee project along these lines.

[akirk]

I think that Buchan generally would be good for a bunch of Netflix series - they could be superb…

[droopsnoot]

lornemalvo said:

James Patterson - London Bridges
I wanted some light reading and had this on my Kindle. I read quite a bit of it and couldn't work out why I wasn't enjoying it. Aside from the unconvincing plot it finally came to me - it is REALLY poorly written. There are some authors whose writing style draws you in to the story, maintains tension and can even evoke some emotion. I think Steven King is probably the best storyteller out there but Patterson manages none of this for me. I simply can't understand the glowing reviews by readers on Amazon. Disappointing, I may not even finish the book because I don't care what happens.

I enjoy a lot of his stuff, but most of it now is "co-authored", which I believe means that JP has the basic story idea and leaves it to the co-author to actually flesh it out into a complete novel. That doesn't seem to be the case with this one, which surprises me, though it's a long time since I've read any of the Alex Cross series. But plenty of people on here dislike his stuff, so you're not alone.

I expect it'll fall into the usual traps that American authors seem to fall into when setting one of their stories in the UK - I've read some from people who ought to know better, or be able to pay someone to check before publication - that have all sorts of rubbish in them - fifty pound notes, terrible attempts at dialogue, that sort of stuff.

[Watcher of the skies]

There's a lot of love for George Orwell on this thread, one of my favourites is Burmese Days.
Any other fans?

[Stuart70]

Watcher of the skies said:

There's a lot of love for George Orwell on this thread, one of my favourites is Burmese Days.
Any other fans?

Always loved Down and Out in Paris and London for both the realism but also the descriptions of the life of kitchen staff in grand restaurants. Anthony Bourdain has nothing on that!

Also loved Coming up for Air with the description of George “Fatty” Bowling - which in my 20’s I found deeply dispiriting and as a warning to me in my 40’s which I continue to heed in my 50’s!!