This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Callan57

katydid wrote: »

I'm halfway through We Were The Mulvaneys, by Joyce Carol Oates. A harrowing story of a family that falls apart because of something that happens to their daughter one night when she's seventeen. The story of how the family relationships gradually deteriorate is fascinating and wonderfully portrayed.

Definitely one of the best books I have ever read - hope you like it

katydid

Callan57 wrote: »

Definitely one of the best books I have ever read - hope you like it

I've asked Santa for more JCO books. I love her writing.

Callan57

Finished Disclaimer last night ... good read but the ending is a bit of a damp squib.

Next The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

kirk buttercup

started the Bone clocks

mejulie805

Started The Grass Is Singing by Doris Lessing this morning. One chapter in but really love her writing style think I am really going to like it. Finished the new Galbraith. It was good but slightly underwhelming.

Paddy Samurai

Flew through this one,already on the last chapter .

About a Ex-highwayman chasing a serial killer through the plague ridden alleyways of London in the 1600's. Very atmospheric and entertaining.A real page turner.

katydid

kirk buttercup wrote: »

started the Bone clocks

It starts off quite normal, but gets WEIRD after a while. Stick with it, it will make sense eventually. But be prepared for a very confusing ride.

ivytwine

Wyldwood wrote: »

Finished Career of Evil and I'm on the fence about it. I didn't find it as satisfying a read as the last 2 books, The Cuckoo's Calling is still my favourite. The characters of Robin and Strike are well developed but

I think she prioritised the relationship between Robin and Strike and the murder took a bit of a back seat

Definitely agree with this. The early part of the book was the most engaging, but I felt

I don't see them as couple material. Also Matthew is a jerk, but she's only 26... There are other men out there, would have preferred for them to break up yet for Robin to be single for a bit.
(My being 26 and single has NOTHING to do with this I swear )
Agree the murders took too much of a back seat. Also Donnie was the least well drawn of the three suspects...
I did really enjoy it. I think the rage and humiliation felt by many victims of sexual assault was very, very well captured. Robin's experience was v close to the bone.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Finished The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness last night.

Very disappointing.

Ness is known as a YA writer and this was his first attempt at an "adult" novel. I'm inclined to think he should stick to what he's good at.

Next up is either We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves or Asking For It by Louise O'Neill. Not sure yet.

Kurtosis

I finished Being Mortal by Atul Gawande during the week, I'm a fan of medical writing as it is but this book was really excellent and changed my thinking/perspectives on ageing.

Getting stuck into Ghostwritten by David Mitchell now, loved Cloud Atlas so have been looking forward to this and so far (two chapters in) am very much enjoying it.

ahlookit

Loved Ghostwritten & Cloud Atlas. Keep an eye out for some characters popping up in both.

Ice Storm

My first David Mitchell book was Cloud Atlas and I really liked it despite finding it a little pretentious. I read The Bone Clocks earlier this year and wasn't hugely impressed - the beginning was the strongest part for me.

Then I read Ghostwritten a few months ago and by the end of it I felt like I'd had enough of David Mitchell's "style" - the jumping between locations and times, and the tenuous links between stories became tiresome. But I think if I'd read Ghostwritten first, I would have liked it much more.

I've also read Jacob de Zoet which I enjoyed but the style is different to the others.

Swiper the fox

I'm about 50 pages into the new Kevin Barry novel, Beatlebone, which was strangely difficult to put down last night despite the late hour, unusual but brilliant so far.

I'm savouring Donal Ryan's short stories by only reading one a day at the most, I said it a few days ago but let me repeat, these stories are absolutely superb, the guy is a writer of rare talent.

katydid

Ice Storm wrote: »

My first David Mitchell book was Cloud Atlas and I really liked it despite finding it a little pretentious. I read The Bone Clocks earlier this year and wasn't hugely impressed - the beginning was the strongest part for me.

Then I read Ghostwritten a few months ago and by the end of it I felt like I'd had enough of David Mitchell's "style" - the jumping between locations and times, and the tenuous links between stories became tiresome. But I think if I'd read Ghostwritten first, I would have liked it much more.

I've also read Jacob de Zoet which I enjoyed but the style is different to the others.

I read Jacob de Zoet first, so I was a bit taken aback when I read Ghostwritten. But I got the gist of it and appreciated it, and liked the links between it and subsequent books. I'm not sure if I want this surreal stuff to continue in all his books though; he's a good writer and can do other things. He has a new book out, which I've asked Santa for, so if Santa's good to me, I'll be able to judge where he's going.

The first part of Bone Clocks was wonderful. As someone of the same gender and generation as the heroine, I identified so much with her. I was always happy when the story went back to "normality"

echo beach

penguin88 wrote: »

I finished Being Mortal by Atul Gawande during the week, I'm a fan of medical writing as it is but this book was really excellent and changed my thinking/perspectives on ageing.

Recently read this and agree completely. Everybody over 50 or who has a parent, grandparent or loved one over 50 should read this, think about what is really important and discuss how they want to spend the rest of their lives.
Anybody who ever opens their mouth about 'health spending' should also read it.

littlema

We are all completely beside ourselves seems like a bit of fluff first off, but raises a lot of ethical questions quite early on. Still with me 4 weeks later, so must have made a bit of an impact !!!

kirk buttercup

katydid wrote:

It starts off quite normal, but gets WEIRD after a while. Stick with it, it will make sense eventually. But be prepared for a very confusing ride.

Yep its started getting pretty weird I can see how this type of book can split opinion. I'm new to Mitchell but have to say even though at times I'm a bit confused I'm enjoying the strange and dark stuff

ahlookit

How music got free - Stephen Witt

Really entertaining and enjoyable trek through the history of the mp3 format and the decline of the music industry. Follows the stories of the guys who created the mp3 compression algorithm, music industry executives, internet leakers, and people working at CD pressing plants.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in music, technology or both. Written with a dry sense of humour, very readable.

eire4

Finished a re read of Anne Rice's classic Interview With The Vampire.

GLaDOS

Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon, seen it recommended here a few times for fans of The Stand. Enjoying it so far.

Callan57

The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

ivytwine

I started The Narrow Road To The Deep North but I'm taking a break, not able for a war book atm. So doing my annual reread of Hogfather much earlier than usual!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I read Asking For It by Louise O'Neill.

I can't praise this book enough. It's incredible. I'd heard people talking about it in lots of places, papers, twitter, even when I was buying some other books there were 3 people in the queue holding this book and the girl on the till was singing it's praises to each one of them. I thought it can't possibly live up to that much hype but I should maybe give it a go anyway.... so I did.

It's the story of an 18 year old girl in Cork who is your typical modern day teenager, everyone loves her, girls want to be her boys want to be with her etc. etc. She loves the attention and isn't shy about going after what she wants. She goes to a party one Saturday night and wakes up on her own doorstep the next morning with no recollection of how she got there. This being the social media age though there are pictures, lots of pictures, and they're on the internet. The whole town can see what happened to her but the boys involved are good boys, from good families, two of them won the county championship last year and one of them is going to be picked to play for the Cork senior team this year. They wouldn't do something like that.

If you're familiar with the Steubenville case from last year.... this is pretty much the Irish version. Which, I have to admit, was why I wasn't really expecting much from this book. It's such a hot button topic at the moment and not really an issue that you can tackle lightly so I was wary about the content before I even started.

It's not a book I could say I enjoyed because given the content it's obviously not enjoyable. I did read about 300 pages in the one sitting though, so it is compelling. It's also frustrating and heartbreaking and parts of it made me so very angry. It shines a light on a multitude of problems in modern society, from teens living their lives almost entirely for instagram likes and the parochial BS that still exists in small towns to the double standard we employ when talking to our kids about sex and consent. And yet it deals with all of that without laying it on too heavily. You can come to your own conclusions on it all.

I do think it's an important book. O'Neill is billed as a "young adult" writer and I suppose this could pass as older young adult fiction but it's definitely something that should be read by as many people as possible, male and female, young and old, if for no other reason than to further the conversation.

Birneybau

eire4 wrote: »

Finished a re read of Anne Rice's classic Interview With The Vampire.

I'm not being cheeky but everytime you post it's a re-read. Ever pick up something new?

DVD-Lots

Finished Swan Song, loved it, yes it is like The Stand but I think more straightforward (if that makes sense...).

Started Not On Fire But Burning by Greg Hrbek and just finished it after nearly giving up. I still don't know what the hell I just read or what to think of it. Just a mad style of writing I think, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narratives all randomly thrown together with some random thoughts. Kinda reminded me of the dog in Up! (SQUIRREL!). Also struck a deeper chord with the events in Paris this week as it involves Islamic Terrorism in a sort of/maybe/I dunno post event/apocalyptic and dystopian society...... That last line actually makes more sense than the book!

Swiper the fox

Birneybau wrote: »

I'm not being cheeky but everytime you post it's a re-read. Ever pick up something new?

We've been over this a few times now, eire4 will be moving through his Anne Rice collection now and leaving his hill of new books untouched:pac: I find it completely nuts but each to their own.


That was a great post Tickle me Elmo, I wish there were more like it in this thread rather than a book title and author.:)

eire4

Birneybau wrote: »

I'm not being cheeky but everytime you post it's a re-read. Ever pick up something new?

haha no your not been cheeky at all. I am just on a phase of re reading books that I really enjoy. I do that every now and then.

eire4

Swiper the fox wrote: »

We've been over this a few times now, eire4 will be moving through his Anne Rice collection now and leaving his hill of new books untouched:pac: I find it completely nuts but each to their own.


That was a great post Tickle me Elmo, I wish there were more like it in this thread rather than a book title and author.:)

Hhaha Swiper I sense your supernatural powers are growing. How on earth could you possible know what I am going to read next but you do your so right.


The good news you will be delighted to hear is that at some point next year I will begin working on the stacks of new books I have accumulated but have not read yet!!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Swiper the fox wrote: »

That was a great post Tickle me Elmo, I wish there were more like it in this thread rather than a book title and author.:)

You're too kind

I try to put a little bit about every book I read, even if it's just that I'm enjoying it or not. I did feel compelled to write a proper post about that particular book though. I'm still thinking about it this evening...

SarahBM

Have any of ye read the Player of Games? I am really not enjoying it and it's taken me nearly 2 weeks just to read 140 pages. I really don't want to give up on it, because it was a book I got in a book swap and everyone said it was brilliant. But I just cannot seem to get into it. I feel like giving up on it. Maybe I am in a bit of a funk.
I have a million other books to read in the Pile that never seems to get any smaller. I think I may just pick up a thriller like After The Crash, just to get out of this funk.

Wyldwood

Picked up Kate Morton's The Lake House for a quick read. The plot sounded intriguing. A police detective temporarily 'relieved of duty' while an investigation is ongoing into her involvement in a case decamps to her grandfather's in Cornwall where she becomes involved in the 70 year old case of a missing child.

I really enjoyed the first 3/4 but the ending was much too contrived for my liking, Pity as it could have been a great read.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I can't seem to bring myself to start anything new since finishing Asking For It. I keep looking at it sitting by my bed and find myself kind of hoping I missed a chapter at the end. Bit weird, I know, but it feels like I'm letting the character down if I move on to something else.... can't say I've ever had this problem before.

I'm still behind on my Goodreads challenge thanks to War & Peace so it better pass soon or I'll have to resort to nursery rhymes to get to my target.

katydid

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I can't seem to bring myself to start anything new since finishing Asking For It. I keep looking at it sitting by my bed and find myself kind of hoping I missed a chapter at the end. Bit weird, I know, but it feels like I'm letting the character down if I move on to something else.... can't say I've ever had this problem before.

I'm still behind on my Goodreads challenge thanks to War & Peace so it better pass soon or I'll have to resort to nursery rhymes to get to my target.

Hmmm. I'm always trying to find books for my daughter (twenty something) to read - she's not a great reader, but some books catch her imagination. It sounds like that might be worth getting her for Christmas.

Hrududu

I finished Salem's Lot. I enjoyed it even though it had flaws, like people falling in love and making firm friendships within the space of a few days before the sh!t hits the fan. But it was fun.

I got very confused at the ending though. It seemed to end but there were a few more chapters, one that jumped ahead a few years. Then another that jumped back over 100 years. Both in different styles of writing. I wasn't really sure what he was going for. It was only afterwards that I googled it to find out that those 2 chapters were short stories written about that world for other collections, and were then added to my copy of the book. So mystery solved.

SarahBM

I'm stuck in a reading rut and I can't get out of it. Help!!! I am torn between giving up on my current book or just putting it aside and starting a new one. Part of me would feel so guilty of I didn't finish it though

IvyTheTerrible

SarahBM wrote: »

I'm stuck in a reading rut and I can't get out of it. Help!!! I am torn between giving up on my current book or just putting it aside and starting a new one. Part of me would feel so guilty of I didn't finish it though

Life's too short to stay with a book that you're not enjoying! I say start a new one.
You can always come back to the unfinished book later.

SarahBM

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Life's too short to stay with a book that you're not enjoying! I say start a new one.
You can always come back to the unfinished book later.

Ya your right. I am no where near my Goodreads target so I just want to boot through a few books before Xmas. In the hopes that santi may bring some!

I have pulled out 3 potentials. Will decide on Friday on the train. I love the train because I get like two hours solid reading!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

katydid wrote: »

Hmmm. I'm always trying to find books for my daughter (twenty something) to read - she's not a great reader, but some books catch her imagination. It sounds like that might be worth getting her for Christmas.

Just to be clear... I don't work for this author or her publishing company but yes, I'd definitely recommend it.

ahlookit

SarahBM wrote: »

I have pulled out 3 potentials. Will decide on Friday on the train. I love the train because I get like two hours solid reading!

Apart from the noise made by other passengers... no consideration!! Someone on the bus this morning was listening to Abba on headphones that leaked a lot of noise.

I was attempting to read The Girl in the Spiders Web, the 4th in the Millennium trilogy(!) with David Lagercrantz taking up Steig Larsson's characters. I'm about two-thirds of the way through, and enjoying it so far. He does a good job of continuing the story of Blomkvist and Salander, the book itself seems to be shorter and better paced than the last couple, which seemed to grow more bloated as they progressed.

The ownership of the characters is a different debate - the legal dispute between Larsson's family and long term partner is regrettable - but as a reader its good to see some much loved characters return.

SarahBM

ahlookit wrote: »

Apart from the noise made by other passengers... no consideration!! Someone on the bus this morning was listening to Abba on headphones that leaked a lot of noise.

I always have headphones in on the train. I like to have music to drown out the noise of children screaming and loud phone conversations about how so and so got on at this or that. I remember they used to have a quiet carriage on the train. Do they still have those?
I was given a lovely present of the millennium trilogy on audio book. Hope to start after Xmas.

Callan57

Starting The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell ... really looking forward to this one

Aenaes

I finished "A woman in Berlin".
It was a book I had always looked at in my pile and wanted to read. It seems wrong to say I was looking forward to it because of the subject matter.

I've always been interested in WW2 and as a memoir about being in the ruins of Berlin of May 1945 alone it was great.
Reading about the mass rapes and "hunting packs" of rapists in such a personalised account was sickening.
Edit:The reception the book got on it's first publication was despairing too. I felt so sorry for the author as it seemed to affect her more than the rapes considering she asked for the book to be only re-published after her death.

The thing that stood out for me most though was the black humour of the Berliners. Some guy fled to the West and so they said "He's American now" and nicknaming the guy who still believed in Final Victory, "Siegismund" really cracked me up.

Anyway, now I'm about halfway through "Nimitz Class" by Patrick Robinson even though I told myself I wasn't going to read it.
It's about the disappearance of a United States Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, so not exactly a small thing. I was going to read it just as far as the author describes the disappearance but now I'm kinda skimming and probably gonna finish it.

It was published in 1997 but is set in 2002. I'm getting fed up of the great American heroes in it though and how they can do no wrong.

minnow

Just finished Never Mind by Edward St Aubyn. Beautiful writing, but horrible characters. Won't read other follow on novels, happy to have it behind me.

Belle E. Flops

Finished The Half Blood Prince last night. I just love curling up in front of the fire with a HP book.

Moved onto 'Star of the Sea' by Joseph O'Connor this morning after seeing so many great reviews of it on here. I'm only about 2 chapters in but I am in love with his use of language. He writes so beautifully, I've actually gone back and reread certain sentences just because they are so well written.

Also this is book 35 of my 35 book Goodreads challenge. yay!

Fathom

Gray Mountain, by John Grisham

SarahBM

I am nearly finished My Husband's Sin. I have put the Player of Games to the side for the moment. I was thinking of reading something nice for xmas like Harry Potter or Artemis Fowel, just something not too serious because it's xmas. I cannot wait to start the other two books in the Silo trilogy, but I have a mental busy month ahead, so I may save them for that quiet period after xmas when I am broke and cannot afford to go outside the door.

Do other people read specific books round xmas?

Fathom

SarahBM wrote: »

Do other people read specific books round xmas?

No. University assigned. Or random.

SarahBM

Fathom wrote: »

No. University assigned. Or random.

It must be hard having to read what you are told to all the time. Or would you say it has surprised you, that you liked books you were assigned that you thought you would not like?
I found with book club I have read books I would have never picked myself and then ended up loving them!

Fathom

SarahBM wrote: »

I found with book club I have read books I would have never picked myself and then ended up loving them!

Happens too at University

Aenaes

I'm a couple of chapters in to Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and finding it funny so far.