What Are You Reading?

iamanengine

Halfway through the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, so, so funny, really good read.

After that it will be on to The Hobbit and from there on I'll either read Catch 22, the LOTR trilogy or the A Song of Fire and Ice series! So much reading

Cherry Blossom Girl

Since real life is currently lacking in passion I have taken to reading some good old 19th century romance novels. First up is Jane Eyre and then I'm going to attempt Anna Karenina for the 3rd time.

I also found this cool website the other day: http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/. You type in an author or book that you liked and it gives you reccommendations for other, similar books. I tried it with a few different books and authors and the results are pretty decent. Might be useful to some of you now that the summer holliers are finally upon us

HandsomeDivil

I've gone on a bit of a reading binge since I finished the LC. Started off with Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis. I really enjoyed it but I'm not sure why.

There's not much of a plot, more of a stream of consciousness sort of thing. I kinda wish my life was like that though, filled with meaningless sex and drugs. :P

I then re-read Of Mice and Men. It's such a good book, I remember studying it for Junior Cert and falling in love with it. One of my favourite books ever.

Finally got around to reading 1984. I thought it was really good, it's scary how much of it is applicable to modern society.

I was left with a stark feeling of hopelessness but maybe that's what makes it so good, the fact that it's so true to life.

After this I read The House of Silk, which is Anthony Horowitz's take on a Sherlock Holmes novel. I was pleasantly surprised by this. If anything, it was almost too like Doyle's writing but yeah it was good.

I also read The Hunger Games. Was a bit disappointed to be honest. It's an interesting concept but I thought the writer could have explored it more.

There wasn't that much tension during the Games and we never really get the feeling that Katniss could die at any moment. I dunno, I thought it was all just a bit convenient, everything just seemed to work out for her in the end.

wnolan1992

I've decided that since I've kinda drifted from reading in the last few years, I'm going to try and jump start my interest by getting a few audiobooks to listen to while I'm "working" (i.e. sitting at a laptop pretending to work).

Starting with "Ilium" by Dan Simmons. I have absolutely no idea what it's about, but it was in the Top 100 Sci-Fi audiobooks collection and Ilium was the name of a planet in Mass Effect. What could possibly go wrong?

Precious flower

Finished The Stand by Stephen King - Finally!! I thought I'd never get to the end of it! I don't mean it was bad, but it was just one hell of a big book, enjoyed it though, felt the ended was maybe a bit rushed though. I've moved on to another Stephen King book now, Rose Madder. Enjoying it more than The Stand, it reminds me of The Shining which so far is my favourite Stephen King book.:)

tigerblob

Just started Second Glance by Jodi Picoult. It's alright so far, but I have crazy-high expectations because I recently read The Pact by her and it was amaaaazing so I'm expecting it to pick up.

Lawliet

HandsomeDivil wrote: »

I also read The Hunger Games. Was a bit disappointed to be honest. It's an interesting concept but I thought the writer could have explored it more.

There wasn't that much tension during the Games and we never really get the feeling that Katniss could die at any moment. I dunno, I thought it was all just a bit convenient, everything just seemed to work out for her in the end.

Worked out for her in the end? Did you read the same series I did?

After avoiding the series for years I finally caved an read the 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. Dear god those Sweds drink a lot of coffee. I prefer the American film to the book tbh, the writer could talk for miles about nothing.

JamJamJamJam

I started reading Animal Farm yesterday. It's only 100ish pages, so for someone who's shite at reading, I thought it was something I might actually finish, and I will, which is an achievement to me :P

I'm only half way through, but it's really interesting

LoonyLovegood

Bought Tender is the Night and The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald today. Interesting enough, want to get properly stuck in though

Junco Partner

Recently finished With The Old Breed by Eugene B. Sledge and Helmet For My Pillow By Robert Leckie. Two WWII memoirs by marines in the Pacific Theater. HBO used them as the basic for The Pacific miniseries.
Two good reads, seems war came down to months of boredom and drudgery followed by periods of untold horror and savagery.

At the moment I've started the Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
Trying to work my way through all the sci-fi/dystopia classics but i'm finding it contains an awful lot of math. which historically I've struggled with.

JamJamJamJam

JamJamJamJam wrote: »

I started reading Animal Farm yesterday. It's only 100ish pages, so for someone who's shite at reading, I thought it was something I might actually finish, and I will, which is an achievement to me :P

I'm only half way through, but it's really interesting

Finished it just there. It would have had more impact on me if I'd known the history a little better.

Now, time to read Simone de Beauvoir's 'The Second Sex', and become a totally intolerable person 8-|

Cherry Blossom Girl

JamJamJamJam wrote: »

Finished it just there. It would have had more impact on me if I'd known the history a little better.

I love Animal Farm. I read my friend's copy of it under the desk in a succession of religion classes back in secondary school. :cool:

JamJamJamJam wrote: »

Now, time to read Simone de Beauvoir's 'The Second Sex', and become a totally intolerable person 8-|

Nowt wrong with feminism! I'd also recommend some Betty Friedan, Germaine Greer and Judith Butler if you're so inclined.

As for me, I'm currently about a quarter of the way through The Book Thief and really enjoying it. I've found it difficult to get interested in reading lately but this is actually holding my attention which is very good. My dog doesn't seem to share my feelings though; I was reading it outside on the grass yesterday and left it down to go inside and get some water. When I came back he had the whole front cover and half the back cover ripped off! Left two nice puncture holes in the title too :mad:

Davyhal

I started The Book Thief almost two months ago and read about two-thirds of it, but then stopped as I had left it at my parents' house by accident. I then decided to go back and finish some other books that I had started and not finished...

Finally finished "The Magician's Apprentice" by Trudi Canavan over the weekend after what seems like an eternity. My God, what a painful read. I read the High Lord triliogy back about 3 years ago or so and I really enjoyed it, so I thought I would enjoy the prequel too. I was wrong. It follows a few different characters and you expect their storylines to eventually all tie up together. No such luck. I am now doubting whether or not I should read the Traitor Trilogy, the sequel to the High Lord Trilogy,

In the meantime, I am going to finish the Book Thief.

Clandestine

JamJamJamJam wrote: »

Now, time to read Simone de Beauvoir's 'The Second Sex', and become a totally intolerable person 8-|

Read "The Second Sexism" if you get the chance, to see the other side of the story.

buttonteaser

ive just finished divergent and insurgent great books. its all about dystopian societies lately so it was a good read. im planning on reading under the dome soon and start game of thrones. love the hunger games trilogy too

Cherry Blossom Girl

Finally finished The Book Thief. I was geuinely sad to say goodbye to the characters which is something I haven't felt about a book in a long time.

If anyone's interested, AwesomeBooks are currently having an ahem.. awesome sale! They have hundreds of 3 book bundles (you can choose by author or category) for €8.14 and they have lots of bestsellers for only 3 yoyos. Free delivery too

Insect Overlord

Cherry Blossom Girl wrote: »

Finally finished The Book Thief. I was geuinely sad to say goodbye to the characters which is something I haven't felt about a book in a long time.

I really have to read that! I promised someone a few years ago that I'd read it. Woops...

Precious flower

Insect Overlord wrote: »

I really have to read that! I promised someone a few years ago that I'd read it. Woops...

:O :O *Demonic voice* Read that book!! :P Oh, it's SO good you won't regret it! I loved it! Reading Anna Karenina, I keep starting it, then walking away from it. I can't seem to get into it but it's a classic so I feel it's a must read! And have gone away from books (The Book Thief is a prime example) because I couldn't get into it, then came back to it and made myself read in further to the book and loved it. I always feel as well that once I've made a start at a book that I can't not finish it.

MissD93

is anyone reading the knife of never letting go, i'm getting a bit obsessed with it at at the moment

SChique00

Reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close since mid-August and making slow progress (due largely to the demands of sixth year) - that says nothing for how well-written and evocative the book is. Can be a little awkward in places due to the quirky protagonist and his unconventional narrative voice, but an engaging read thus far. Hoping to move onto "The Fault in Our Stars" afterward - has anyone here read it before?

LoonyLovegood

Oh TFIOS. It grabbed me, ripped out my heart, tore it up, sewed it back up in little pieces then shoved it back in.

SO GOOD

AllCaps

Can anyone here recommend me some good Mystery/Crime novels? Something similar in plot to the TV series 'Broadchurch' is what I'm after.

I'm reading A Game of Thrones at the moment, then I plan on reading A Clash of Kings and I feel like taking a break from fantasy after that.

Pigwidgeon

I just stayed up all night reading the kite runner at the start of a 6 day working week. I guess you could say it's good.

Whatsernamex33

Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult. It's fairly good so far.

YayForYuffie

I've started reading the Dresden Files, and I'm living that!

I was also in the process of trading The Fault In Our Stars until my sister cruelly took it away from me!


I probably shouldn't have taken it without asking.

Pigwidgeon

Right I've a request, I'm interested in general learning more about history seeing as I didn't do it in school or anything, but don't want the type of books you get in school.

Does anyone know of any books that are an interesting (and educational) read on history, the main things I'd like to learn about at the moment would be general Irish history and World war 2; I'll take it from there afterwards. I'm sure there's someone who is studying history and has come across a decent read

marko93

Pigwidgeon wrote: »

Right I've a request, I'm interested in general learning more about history seeing as I didn't do it in school or anything, but don't want the type of books you get in school.

Does anyone know of any books that are an interesting (and educational) read on history, the main things I'd like to learn about at the moment would be general Irish history and World war 2; I'll take it from there afterwards. I'm sure there's someone who is studying history and has come across a decent read

I'm reading this at the moment and very much enjoying it;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nazis-Warning-History-Laurence-Rees/dp/056349333X

G Eyed Joe

Mein Kampf By Adolf Hitler. Great book, altogether. On the Chapter entitled "Years of Studying and Suffering in Vienna" .

wnolan1992

G Eyed Joe wrote: »

Mein Kampf By Adolf Hitler. Great book, altogether. On the Chapter entitled "Years of Studying and Suffering in Vienna" .

I actually read the first few chapters of it once out of sheer curiosity. Good lord it's DULL. I didn't even get as far as the antisemitism.



I'm not sure if this is the sort of stuff that might interest you Pigwidgeon, but I got a book a few years ago called "Great Irish Speeches" (I think it was this one but I'm not sure because mine came with a CD that had recordings of some of the more modern stuff) and I thought it was a great read. You could probably get all the speeches online somewhere, they're definitely worth a read (particularly Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams, Haughey, Lynch and Emmett).

SarahBeep!

wnolan1992 wrote: »

I actually read the first few chapters of it once out of sheer curiosity. Good lord it's DULL. I didn't even get as far as the antisemitism.



I'm not sure if this is the sort of stuff that might interest you Pigwidgeon, but I got a book a few years ago called "Great Irish Speeches" (I think it was this one but I'm not sure because mine came with a CD that had recordings of some of the more modern stuff) and I thought it was a great read. You could probably get all the speeches online somewhere, they're definitely worth a read (particularly Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams, Haughey, Lynch and Emmett).

I have that, amazing stuff!

Pang

Started reading The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin. It's really addictive.

Junco Partner

Been reading SkagBoys by irvine welsh.

A really brilliant book Full of pop culture and black black humor. shows some of the reasons why people get into smack without being judgmental.

Irvine welsh's writings are more effective than any "Just say no" campaign.

It's written in a phonetic scot's accent. which i struggled with while eading trainspottibg but living with an edinburgh native has eased the process with skagboys somewhat

LoonyLovegood

Irvine Welsh is a living legend (and I'm not just saying that because he's a Bohs fan too)

burrenguy

I'mjust finished reading "The Straight A Conspiracy". Decent book about study skills.

floutingmaxims

Just started reading 'This is Your Brain on Music' by Daniel Levitin. I originally only took it out of the library to help me with an assignment I'm writing, but it's really very interesting so far!

green and yellow

Just finished Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin. Really nice book which, if anthing, finished a wee bit abruptly. The guy is a great writer.

LostBoy101

Just been reading a biography of Che Guevara by Álvarez de Toledo, Lucía. Great book so far and never knew he had astma attacks!

Junco Partner

Picked up a book today based solely on the cover art, Cause I'm a rebel.

Some Russian novel "The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Apparently It was never published during the authors lifetime because of the soviets having an erection for censorship, so far so good. First non sci-fi book / graphic novel I've picked up in a while.

Ash_M

Just finished Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. It is fantastic. Go read it now.

marko93

Recently read a book based in the Aliens universe. Oh how disappointed I was by it. I have all the GoT books sitting on my shelf, but I cant bring myself to read them ;___;

Coeurdepirate

Currently reading Zero Degrees of Empathy, it's about personality disorders and psychopathy, really interesting read.

Thinking of starting A Game of Thrones when I finish, it's been sitting on my shelf for ages. I assume it's great due to its cult-status, but is it an easy read or are there tedious parts?

Burt Macklin

Coeurdepirate wrote: »

Currently reading Zero Degrees of Empathy, it's about personality disorders and psychopathy, really interesting read.

Thinking of starting A Game of Thrones when I finish, it's been sitting on my shelf for ages. I assume it's great due to its cult-status, but is it an easy read or are there tedious parts?

All of the ASOIAF books are great in my opinion, especially the first three. Started reading them after season 3 of the show finished, and I've already gone through them all.

There are a lot of characters and plot lines, and sometimes it can be tricky to keep track of everything. There are also plenty of detailed descriptions of the clothes a character is wearing, or the food at a feast, but I never really found it tedious. Give it a try, and if you like his style of writing, you'll be hooked pretty quickly.

Aoifey!

Just finished "the time keeper" by Mitch Albom and its after getting me into reading again.

Anyone read any good books lately?

Bazinga_N

This thread seems a little dead lately but I'm gonna post anyways!

I've decided to write up a list of 30 books I want to read this summer! I'm already on the third book and I'm only two weeks in!

I read 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami at the suggestion of my debating teacher. It's an interesting read. The plot is quite strange but in a good way. There's parts of it that were difficult to follow but overall I actually enjoyed it! The ending killed me though. It left so many questions unanswered! Apparently the more you read the book, the more you understand. I might re-read it again at some point, to see if I can figure it out a bit better.

After that I read 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown. I found it really easy to go through. I read the entire thing in two days. I thought the whole background to the story was really interesting. It's a lot of conspiracy stuff and religion comes into it a lot. I've been told that most of the story in it is complete bull, but regardless it's an interesting read. Has anyone read any more of Brown's books? I might give some a read in the future!

I'm reading 'Mysterious Skin' by Scott Heim now. My friend watched the movie on Netflix and told me a little bit about it. It sounded quite controversial, and then by chance I actually saw a copy of the book in the window of a charity shop! I picked it up and decided to have a read. I'm about a third of the way in and I have to say. I quite like it! It's quite adult and taboo but so far it's been dealt in a good way. I'll let you know how it turns out!

What has everyone else been reading/plans to read now that the summer months are upon us?

marko93

Looking at my shelves of unread books atm, if I made a list it would go something like this

The Hobbit
LoTR series
1984
The Shining
GoT
RoCK series

and probably a tonne more, I don't know why but I can't seem to motivate myself to read.


SHARE YOUR WISDOM BAZINGA

shefellover93

Bazinga_N wrote: »

This thread seems a little dead lately but I'm gonna post anyways!

I've decided to write up a list of 30 books I want to read this summer! I'm already on the third book and I'm only two weeks in!

I read 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami at the suggestion of my debating teacher. It's an interesting read. The plot is quite strange but in a good way. There's parts of it that were difficult to follow but overall I actually enjoyed it! The ending killed me though. It left so many questions unanswered! Apparently the more you read the book, the more you understand. I might re-read it again at some point, to see if I can figure it out a bit better.

After that I read 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown. I found it really easy to go through. I read the entire thing in two days. I thought the whole background to the story was really interesting. It's a lot of conspiracy stuff and religion comes into it a lot. I've been told that most of the story in it is complete bull, but regardless it's an interesting read. Has anyone read any more of Brown's books? I might give some a read in the future!

I'm reading 'Mysterious Skin' by Scott Heim now. My friend watched the movie on Netflix and told me a little bit about it. It sounded quite controversial, and then by chance I actually saw a copy of the book in the window of a charity shop! I picked it up and decided to have a read. I'm about a third of the way in and I have to say. I quite like it! It's quite adult and taboo but so far it's been dealt in a good way. I'll let you know how it turns out!

What has everyone else been reading/plans to read now that the summer months are upon us?

I liked the 'Da Vinci Code' too It's been a long time since I read it though :pac:

Just finishing off Éamonn Dunphy's book, was kinda meh really to be honest. Bits were interesting but there was a lot of name dropping! Keith Gillespie's one I raid a week or two ago was better, was massively honest with his figures and gave quite a detailed description of the La Manga incident.

Finished 'A Year In Provence' by Peter Mayle a few weeks ago and re-read (for like the fifth time) 'A Season With Verona' by Tim Parks, both excellent books. There's a small enough Ross O'Carroll Kelly one I said I'd try for the laugh.

I do need to get back into reading fiction though, have read a lot of sport books in the last while

Bazinga_N

marko93 wrote: »

Looking at my shelves of unread books atm, if I made a list it would go something like this

The Hobbit
LoTR series
1984
The Shining
GoT
RoCK series

and probably a tonne more, I don't know why but I can't seem to motivate myself to read.


SHARE YOUR WISDOM BAZINGA

The Hobbit, LOTR and 1984 are all on my reading list as well! I don't know how I get motivated tbh! Usually it just takes one good book (in this case it was the seven Harry Potter books that started me off!) to get you into it and then you just keep at it with different books! There's always going to be ones you don't like, but give them a go and try to find something you like!

shefellover93 wrote: »

I liked the 'Da Vinci Code' too It's been a long time since I read it though :pac:

Just finishing off Éamonn Dunphy's book, was kinda meh really to be honest. Bits were interesting but there was a lot of name dropping! Keith Gillespie's one I raid a week or two ago was better, was massively honest with his figures and gave quite a detailed description of the La Manga incident.

Finished 'A Year In Provence' by Peter Mayle a few weeks ago and re-read (for like the fifth time) 'A Season With Verona' by Tim Parks, both excellent books. There's a small enough Ross O'Carroll Kelly one I said I'd try for the laugh.

I do need to get back into reading fiction though, have read a lot of sport books in the last while

Yeah I thought the Da Vinci Code was actually quite good! A lot of people seemed to disagree with me though! :eek:

I'm not really a sports-guy so Sporty stuff wouldn't be really up my alley. Science/Conspiracy and any type of Fiction however and I'm all for it

LoonyLovegood

Oh good god...reading the Divergent trilogy, I've burned through the first two in three days and I have about 75 pages in the last one.

Bazinga_N

CTYIgirl wrote: »

Oh good god...reading the Divergent trilogy, I've burned through the first two in three days and I have about 75 pages in the last one.

I've read the Divergent trilogy too! Allegiant is amazing! The plot gets really interesting and the ending is brilliant! No spoilers though

I recently just finished Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It's a mystery/romance/crime/strange novel and it's quite good. The storyline and plot twist and the characters are all really well written and thought out. It's an interesting read. My only fault with it was the ending. I felt it just ends too abruptly and leaves you wanting to know more about the characters and what happens next. It's being made into a film with a release date of October 2014, so I'm excited for that. Ben Affleck's in it (which is not what I imagined Nick to look like at all!).

I'm reading the Hobbit at the moment and probably the rest of the LOTR books after that!

I'm considering reading the A Song of Fire and Ice series. I've never watched the Game of Thrones series but I've heard a lot about it! Can anyone tell me if they've read the series and let me know their thoughts on it?

LoonyLovegood

I am so annoyed at the ending of Allegiant, it kills me. I understand why it happened, and it was damn brave, but no. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.