This week, I are mostly reading....

OfflerCrocGod · 25-01-2007 10:52pm

God Delusion by Richard Dawkins it's a bunch of pretentious and dull waffle if I'm honest and I'm a 100% atheist - just don't like his tone.

John · 26-01-2007 2:08am

Susanna Clarke The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

Mick86 · 27-01-2007 1:32pm

I've just finished reading Undertones of War by Edmund Blunden. The book covers his time on the Western Front from late 1915 to early 1918. The book was written in 1928 which is probably the reason why it seems to be about a mature individual experiencing the horrors of the Great War. Blunden was 19 when he fought on the Somme and celebrated his 21st birthday at Passchendaele.

Early in the book Blunden describes one of his men being blown to pieces by a shell whilst making tea. He held a sandbag while his sergeant shovelled the reamains into it and he recalls finding an eye under the duckboard in the trench. Readers of Pat Barker's Regeneration will recognise this as being the basis for the incident that tripped her hero (or anti-hero), Lt Prior, over the edge.

Valmont · 27-01-2007 10:56pm

Just nearing the end of 'Less than Zero' by Bret Easton Ellis. It's enjoyable but quite possibly the gayest book I've ever read (literally).

The_Minister · 27-01-2007 11:10pm

Halfway through "Going Postal" by Terry Pratchett.

Blush_01 · 30-01-2007 2:04am

Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke and Bluebeard's Egg - Margaret Atwood.

philologos · 30-01-2007 4:38pm

Palestine - Peace not Apartheid - Jimmy Carter

JustCoz · 31-01-2007 1:18am

Just finished Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden- amazing!

Tar.Aldarion · 31-01-2007 10:55am

A Song of Ice and Fire: Blood and Gold.

Valmont · 31-01-2007 7:29pm

Anne Rice - Queen of the Damned. I've been savouring this one for a while now, mmmm:D

Undergod · 01-02-2007 9:48pm

Just finished Moby Dick - Hermann Melville, Shamrock Tea - Ciarán Carson, and about to read A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess and Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut.

AMHRASACH · 01-02-2007 10:00pm

. . "Propellorhead" . . for anyone interested in microlights . .

BaZmO* · 02-02-2007 4:20pm

Just finished "To Kill A Mockingbird" and just before that "Perfume". Two fantastic reads.

Started "The Men Who Stare At Goats" by Jon Ronson last night. Hilarious and quite scary.

John · 02-02-2007 4:41pm

Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind. Despite the kind of trashy and tabloidy name and layout of the book, I'm finding this to a remarkably balanced and well-written book about black metal. Highly recommended.

Undergod · 02-02-2007 10:41pm

Really? I've only heard negative reviews of it before, though mostly from big black metal fans.

I ended up reading 'Junky' by Willaim S. Burroughs this evening. Fascinating book.

John · 03-02-2007 2:17pm

I'm a big black metal fan and I think it's great. I think the problem some people would have with it is that it shatters a lot of the myth surrounding those crazy Norwegians. Other than that, it's well-balanced, not too badly written (you can tell these guys don't speak English as a first language sometimes) and full of lots of interesting bits of information. I'm flying through it

estariol · 03-02-2007 2:29pm

atomised - michel houellebecq

god of small things - arundhati roy

maidofthemist · 04-02-2007 3:59pm

The Book Thief Markus Zusak. Definitely the best book I've read for about 6 months.

Recently finished The Lay of the Land - Richard Ford - which took ages to read mostly because I just couldn't seem to connect with the style. Apparently Ford fans say it is not as good as his other books but I can't face finding out if that is true until I've had a longer breather.

Last weekend, I went back to Joanna Trollope for a little relaxation and enjoyment post-Ford. I'm usually a fan of hers and I'd been really looking forward to it, but Second Honeymoon was a disappointment.

I started The Book Thief on Monday and it hasn't left my side since.

kead1987 · 04-02-2007 4:01pm

Finally getting to read One Hundred Years of Solitude this week....

nando · 04-02-2007 6:48pm

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

Half way through and I can't put it down even though nothing much actually happens. It's just really lovely writing.

bluto63 · 04-02-2007 11:48pm

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. I'm only a bit into it but it's good so far

Tar.Aldarion · 05-02-2007 12:01pm

A feast for crows- G.R.R M

philologos · 05-02-2007 5:43pm

Beyond Chutzpah - On the Misuse of Anti-Semetism and the Abuse of History by Norman G. Finkelstein

OfflerCrocGod wrote:

God Delusion by Richard Dawkins it's a bunch of pretentious and dull waffle if I'm honest and I'm a 100% atheist - just don't like his tone.

That's the next book I want to read, someone has offered it to me to read. I am a Christian but I just want to see the kind of argument he is throwing.

Undergod · 05-02-2007 6:52pm

Slaughterhouse 5 is complete, now working on the excellent A Clockwork Orange.

OfflerCrocGod · 05-02-2007 10:42pm

Jakkass wrote:

That's the next book I want to read, someone has offered it to me to read. I am a Christian but I just want to see the kind of argument he is throwing.

Well I found the book improved as it went on I may have had a terribly negative view of the book because the start was all about showing flaws in religions and for me that was like 200+ page of him saying "The sky is blue.". Well thank you for telling me I would have never know otherwise

I wouldn't spend money on it personally so a lend is perfect

John · 05-02-2007 11:14pm

The God Delusion is in my "To read" pile too. I'm looking forward to it, I know he's arrogant as hell when it comes to his views on religion but in previous works I've found his actual arguments to be very good. I like his other books a lot but being a biologist I'm probably biased.