What Are You Reading?

Palytoxin

Living on Google scholar these days, reading anything at all.

Cherry Blossom Girl

Now that my silly FYP is over I can get back to reading non-college related books again. I'm currently half-way through The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt. I'm enjoying it quite a bit, it's a very fun read (and it has a cool cover - that's always a plus, and it's the only reason I actually bought it). After that I have about 15 books on my to-read shelf which should keep me going for the foreseeable future!

Davyhal

Finally got round to reading Animal Farm... Actually had it finished in 3 hours. I know it is a very famous classic, but I expected it to be overhyped. I was pleasantly surprised. Powerful book for 112 pages.

iamanengine

Picked it up with the intention of just starting it, ended up reading it all in about 3 hours as well. Powerful book. Both Animal Farm and 1984 really **** with your views on life :pac:

Supermensch

Upon a friend's suggestion I read The Faults in Our Stars, and then read Will Grayson Will Grayson and An Abundance of Katherines. Yer man John Green has a very, readable, writing style. They're all nice books, I had sort of gotten my fill by the time I'd finished a third book, the characters are sort of angsty, but worth reading (in that order, I might advise).

At the moment, reading Job: A Comedy of Justice, Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and also Crime And Punishment.

LoonyLovegood

Bought and read Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare yesterday. I'm not sure if it's that I was waiting the full year for it to come out, or if it's just that the epilogue really was as bad as I thought it was, but...it felt like a cop out. Nobody could be unhappy with that ending, which annoys me. It was built up to be a big tale of loss and woe and tragic love ending...but nope.

And that's probably spoilery even though it's vague, but ANYWAY.

Jackobyte

Supermensch wrote: »

Upon a friend's suggestion I read The Faults in Our Stars, and then read Will Grayson Will Grayson and An Abundance of Katherines. Yer man John Green has a very, readable, writing style. They're all nice books, I had sort of gotten my fill by the time I'd finished a third book, the characters are sort of angsty, but worth reading (in that order, I might advise).

At the moment, reading Job: A Comedy of Justice, Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and also Crime And Punishment.

Regarding John Green, his "Looking for Alaska" and "Paper Towns" are also very good. Again, very angst driven, but those two did a lot more for me than "The Faults in our Stars"(haven't read the others yet, as I too had my fill after 3 consecutive ones). They seemed more relatable and presented me with better understanding of others. The Faults in our Stars just seemed that bit too disconnected from my own life.

bluejay14

Whenever I get the time/money/both I plan on working my way througb John Green's books and then some. I have like 60 books on my to read list..........


But in the mean time I've been taking advantage of the free books I can find on the kindle app. Can't remember if I posted it or not already, but since Christmas I've finished "Wuthering Heights" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". I wasn't a huge fan of WH, I suppose I can kinda see why it's considered such a classic but it just didn't grab me like other books usually do. It was confusing in some parts and overall it was very moany in general.

Now Huckleberry Finn on the other hand.....I remember reading it years ago and I still really like it. I don't even know what I liked about it, it just had some charm to it.

And heading away from my free stuff, I finished "The Kite Runner" last week. It was really good apart from the, in my opinion, most of the time unnecessary Afghan words. I can see that they give a better sense of the location and background that most of the book is set in but if you're going to use them and then explain them in English, you can probably live without them. The end was a bit of a letdown aswell.............



Damn this Leaving Cert and its time consumingness.............

Robby91

Currently reading Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself (on the recommendation of a friend). So far, I'm quite enjoying it (at least, sufficiently so to justify me already buying the other 2 books in the trilogy :P )

I've bought way too many books that I never get around to reading... I've had Terry Pratchet's The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Snuff and Thud (I think) along with The Dark Tower I (not to mention all the books from the WH40k Horus Heresy book series I bought...) just sitting on my desk gathering dust!

Justice!

Currently ploughing my way through the Game of Thrones.
Must...finish...Storm of Swords...before...new...tv series....

wayhey

Justice! wrote: »

Currently ploughing my way through the Game of Thrones.
Must...finish...Storm of Swords...before...new...tv series....

Are you finding it a chore? I ordered the set after hearing people rave about it on here, and the plot is excellent - but I find Martin's writing so basic and just don't care about some characters at all. I haven't picked up the 4th one in weeks.

marko93

Sadly, nothing

Eathrin

I didn't really read much until my friend, HistoryKitty here on Boards, got me The Hunger Games as a present.
I thought it was a fantastic read and finished it in one sitting.
I then ordered the sequels and yesterday I read "Catching Fire" and I plan on reading "Mockingjay" in the coming days.

About a year ago I read Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" which was fantastic and I plan on reading his follow up book "Blink", which I now own, very soon.

Also, about 3 years ago I purchased a book called "Skippy Dies" on the recommendation of my former English teacher. I didn't read much of it before giving up, but I remember it was quite good and now I can't remember why I stopped. That'll be one to read in the coming week or so too.

So all of a sudden I've become a very booksy person. Thanks a lot HistoryKitty!!

Slow Show

I'm finding myself incapable of reading for any more than ten minutes at a time, and I'd really like to read a few books during these two weeks. Can someone recommend me a book that I will become utterly engrossed in to the point of not wanting it to end? Y'know, the kind of book you don't forget and look back on and fondly remember how good it was. Anyone? :P

starlit

Just started Accidental Love Story.

Glee_GG

Finished reading Fallen Grace, would defiantly recommend it! Really unexpected ending to it

Eathrin

Glee_GG wrote: »

Finished reading Fallen Grace, would defiantly recommend it! Really unexpected ending to it

Did Grace get back up?

*Gets coat

SarahBeep!

Slow Show wrote: »

I'm finding myself incapable of reading for any more than ten minutes at a time, and I'd really like to read a few books during these two weeks. Can someone recommend me a book that I will become utterly engrossed in to the point of not wanting it to end? Y'know, the kind of book you don't forget and look back on and fondly remember how good it was. Anyone? :P

I know this much is true by Wally Lamb. It's so powerful!

'The novel takes place in Three Rivers, Connecticut. Dominick Birdsey's identical twin, Thomas, suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. With medication, he can function properly and work at a coffee stand, but occasionally he has severe episodes of his illness. Thinking he is making a sacrificial protest that will stop the war in the Middle East, Thomas cuts off his own hand in a public library. Dominick sees him through the ensuing decision not to attempt to reattach the hand, and makes efforts on his behalf to free him from what he knows to be an inadequate and depressing hospital for the dangerous mentally ill.
In the process, Dominick reviews his own difficult life as Thomas's normal brother, his marriage to his gorgeous ex-wife, which ended after their only child died of SIDS, and his ongoing hostility toward his stepfather. Dominick also displays classic symptoms of PTSD, as a result of stressors in his adult life. First in Thomas's interests, and then for his own sake, he sees a therapist, Dr. Rubina Patel, an Indian psychologist, employed by the hospital. She helps Dominick come to understand Thomas's illness better and the family's accommodations or reactions to it.
In the course of Thomas's treatment, Dominick is covertly informed of sexual abuse taking place in the hospital, and helps to expose the perpetrators. He succeeds in getting Thomas released, but Thomas......'

From wiki, don't look it up, spoilers everywhere!

Davyhal

Powering through the books these days!

Yesterday I read "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson and "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde.

Jekyll and Hyde was alright. I know it is supposed to be one of the Big 3 when it comes to classic horror (along with Frankenstein and Dracula) but I thought it was nothing special. Maybe my experience would have been different if I had not known how it worked out, but realistically, who these days does not know the story of Jekyll and Hyde?

The Importance of Being Earnest was brilliant! Rarely do I laugh out loud whilst reading, but I caught myself doing so a few times while reading this play, especially in the second act. Clever clever wordplay.

Cherry Blossom Girl

I've been reading lots of Raymond Carver's poetry lately - he's quickly turning into one of my favourite poets. I studied some of his short stories for college last year and they didn't really grab me but I'm going to give them another go during the summer. I think I'm in a more relatable mindframe for them now.

jefreywithonef

Cherry Blossom Girl wrote: »

I've been reading lots of Raymond Carver's poetry lately - he's quickly turning into one of my favourite poets. I studied some of his short stories for college last year and they didn't really grab me but I'm going to give them another go during the summer. I think I'm in a more relatable mindframe for them now.

LOVE Carver. Some of his poems hit so deep, like Happiness and Late Fragment, both amazing. It's been ages since I read any but I enjoyed his short stories as well, and I must order Short Cuts next time I go on an Amazon splurge.

Cherry Blossom Girl

jefreywithonef wrote: »

LOVE Carver. Some of his poems hit so deep, like Happiness and Late Fragment, both amazing. It's been ages since I read any but I enjoyed his short stories as well, and I must order Short Cuts next time I go on an Amazon splurge.

He is pretty great alright. Late Fragment really is amazing, it's one of my favourite poems. (And it makes me feel like such a failure for never being able to create something with that much meaning using so little words :pac:) I'm sort of excited to start his short stories now, if I could only decide which collection to begin with!

marko93

Started reading "In The Name Of The Wind" again. Sad I ever put it down, excellent book!

jefreywithonef

Cherry Blossom Girl wrote: »

He is pretty great alright. Late Fragment really is amazing, it's one of my favourite poems. (And it makes me feel like such a failure for never being able to create something with that much meaning using so little words :pac:) I'm sort of excited to start his short stories now, if I could only decide which collection to begin with!

Yeah it's probably my favourite poem by anyone ever. It's actually inscribed onto his gravestone. I've read Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? and quite liked it, though it's not as immediate as his poetry. I downloaded Where I'm Calling From a while ago (hard to find his books in stores) - think I might start it tonight!

iamanengine

I know nothing of Carver bar Late Fragment but my God, it gives me shivers!

Jackobyte

Finally started A Dance With Dragons, about 15 months after finishing A Feast of Crows. I'm getting the sense that this is a bad idea with orals/LC coming up.

Junco Partner

Can anyone tell me if Cormac Mcarthy's the Road is worth reading?

Cherry Blossom Girl

Junco Partner wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if Cormac Mcarthy's the Road is worth reading?

A lot of people seem to think it's a bit overrated but I really enjoyed it! The writing style seems to bother some people as it sort of swings between poetic observations on life and minimalist, repetitive dialogue between the characters. It's been a while since I read it and I vaguely recall not liking the ending but it can't have been that bad if it doesn't stick out in my memory. Overall I found it quite compelling and read most of it in one sitting. Give it a go, I think it's one of those 'love it or hate it' books.

Junco Partner

Went into town today with the intention of buying myself a new going out jacket. Every shop's selection was dire so i instead decided to find a bookshop and load up on materials.

I came away with
do androids dream of electric sheep by philip k dick (blade runner ftw), world war z by max brooks, cormac mcarthy's the road and volume 3 of the walking dead. I think i'm sorted for the next while

ShatterResistant

I've started into Mary Robinsons Memoir for the second time.... yes, I am that guy. Surprisingly a very good biography for a barrister/politician/un official, the first time I read it over two nights. If you have any interest in current affairs then it's definitely worth a read!