This week, I are mostly reading....

theCzar

Thnx4theGum wrote: »

Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup

they changed the name from Q&A? Suppose it makes sense if you want to make a lot of money! :pac:

Blush_01

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

BurnsCarpenter

Just finished 2666 by Roberto Bolano.
Great stuff. Big book but well worthwhile.

2040

Nearly finished The Savage Detectives, also by Roberto Bolano. Looking forward to reading 2666.

deelite

I'm reading Once in a Lifetime by Cathy Kelly - okay so far but she was talking about a man named Tom - then his name changed to Tim in the next sentence.

Mink

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

I'll be honest, I'm not enjoying it. I'm over 1/2 way through and was really hoping it would get better but it's not. It's not a bad book but this is what happens when I've finished a really excellent book (Time Travellers Wife) - everything just pales in comparison.

I might slog through it to get it finished. I can see how others could enjoy it but I guess it's not my cup of tea. The characters are very annoying & whiney to me.

Tawfee

Mink wrote: »

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

I'll be honest, I'm not enjoying it. I'm over 1/2 way through and was really hoping it would get better but it's not. It's not a bad book but this is what happens when I've finished a really excellent book (Time Travellers Wife) - everything just pales in comparison.

I might slog through it to get it finished. I can see how others could enjoy it but I guess it's not my cup of tea. The characters are very annoying & whiney to me.

Same here. I felt some of the characters just needed a good slap & to be told to stop moping. I like Murakami's style of writing though, so I'll give one of his other novels a go at some stage.

Cianos

Recently finished;

Blindness by Jose Saramago - Thought it was great. Peculiar style of writing, no punctuation except for commas and full stops (and ONE question mark). Pretty unsettling story and the atmosphere is very skilfully crafted. Thought it waned towards the end slightly, but that's a minor gripe. Good read.

The Tipping Point, by Michael Gladwell - Not as specific to the subject matter as I was hoping, and a lot of filler information I thought. But still, entertainingly informative and a lot of interesting bits and pieces. He brought all the various topics together in the end quite well to reinforce the ideas and suggestions.

The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs - Wow, such an impressive piece of work. It was written in the 60's and I don't have a background in economics so I don't know how relevant it is today, but I imagine it is still just as relevant as it was when it was written, given the clarity and reinforcement of her ideas. If you have even a slight interest in this topic I really recommend it.

The Inner Eye by Nicholas Humphrey and Mel Calman - Deals with the questioning of the function of human conciousness and it's role in evolution. Doesn't get as stuck in as I was hoping for but still decent.

(If anyone has any recommendations for me based on the above, please let me know!)

John

Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights

garth-marenghi

The Bitter Glass by Eilis Dillon

Simian!

Just finished DeNiro's Game by Rawi Hage - parts of it were brilliantly visceral but the ending was somewhat predictable. Also, the book is split into three sections and the last one seemed fairly drawn out. Still very enjoyable though. Next up: American Gods

trustno1

Just finishing The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard which is just okay when compared with the unputdownable Mawson's Will, Endurace or Unsung Hero in the 'polar expeditions' genre, Worst Journey is very repetative.. also reading The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (graphic novel) which is also 'just okay'!!

Red Hand

Kurt Vonnegut-Welcome to the Monkeyhouse/Palm Sunday

I like what I've read so far. An interesting mix of speculative fiction and sci-fi. The sci-fi may seem a little dated but as ever with Vonnegut, it is just a lever he uses to get the story going.

DáireM

2040 wrote: »

Nearly finished The Savage Detectives, also by Roberto Bolano. Looking forward to reading 2666.

Also reading The Savage Detectives

What do you think of it? I'm about 300 pages in, thought the first section with García Madero was fantastic and read it in a day but finding the second section tough going to be honest. Just hoping the last section picks up the pace a bit!

DublinWriter

Mink wrote: »

It's not a bad book but this is what happens when I've finished a really excellent book (Time Travellers Wife) - everything just pales in comparison.

I'm nearly through the Time Traveller's Wife right now and it's one of the most impressive books I've read in the last few years.

I finished Black Swan Green and Never Let Me Go last week, and I thought that they were critically over-rated.

lordgoat

Time TRavellers wife was one of the most over rated books i had to struggle through. REally didn't see the appeal. I love Murakami though, i think he develops characters better than most authors out there at the moment.

Looking forward to reading more AM homes over the next few months.

BurnsCarpenter

DublinWriter wrote: »

I'm nearly through the Time Traveller's Wife right now and it's one of the most impressive books I've read in the last few years.

I finished Black Swan Green and Never Let Me Go last week, and I thought that they were critically over-rated.

Thought the Time Traveller's Wife was enjoyable enough but way overated.

Loved Black Swan Green.
Thought Never Let Me Go was weak enough, compared to other Ishiguro stuff.

Just started Matter by Iain M Banks.

FruitLover

Almost finished Haruki Murakami's Underground. It's a non-fiction study of the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attacks and aspects of the Japanese psyche revealed by the mayhem. The first half or so consists of interviews of victims of the attacks, the second is interviews of current and former members of the cult responsible.

Brown.Eyed.Girl

I'm about four chapters into The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold.

Blush_01

The Lovely Bones is INFINITELY better. The Almost Moon was ok, but paled in comparison.

Reading The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde. Excellent so far!

A. Carruthers

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A. Carruthers

BurnsCarpenter wrote: »

Just finished 2666 by Roberto Bolano.
Great stuff. Big book but well worthwhile.

Im reading this at the moment 3/5s through. Ive never read anything like it before. I also think its great so far anyway. He really wrote on a grand scale.

Shryke

Finished Frankenstein and now reading The Thirty Nine Steps.

Spread

Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman.
Lst two weeks ........ True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey.

BopNiblets

Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, bout a big antisocial annoying fat guy who lives with his mum in New Orleans in the early 60s.

Except for the being fat and slightly mental, I can relate!

Spread

Very funny book. Ignatious was the character selling weenies. I liked the line where "his tongue was foraging through his moustache for crumbs". In my top ten of funniest boks read.

Denerick

Finished Rob Roy last week and took on Catch 22. Around 250 pages in, fantastic book and can hardly keep away from it!

tHE vAGGABOND

Uncle Toms Cabin

Denerick

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Uncle Toms Cabin

Would you reccomend it? Been on my bookshelf for years but never got round to it.

yermin

I just finished the first in the sandman series by Neil Gaiman, and it has reawakened my love for comics after many years of not touching them.
Started reading the first book of The Wheel of Time series for the second time, having got to the tenth and then stopping before the 11th for some reason. Damn I love those books though.
And this week , mostly, I are mostly reading The island of the day before by Umberto Eco. Which Is a bit of a struggle for me at times, but it's totally worth it so far.