This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Callan57

I've decided to re-read Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four ...

Kalimah

I've just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I read it in about four days and it's a long enough book-over 500 pages. I was a bit iffy about it for the first few pages but got into it then and couldn't put it down. The first book in a very long time to make me cry.

AnnyHallsal

John O'Donoghue, Sectioned: A Life Interrupted

tim_holsters

Finished Shantaram by David Gregory Roberts, I loved it. A picaresque tale if ever there was one.

Belle E. Flops

Reading On The Road - Jack Kerouac and also reading The Portable Dorothy Parker at the moment, really enjoying both books!

AnnyHallsal

Painted Shadow, a biography of T. S. Eliot's first wife, Vivienne.

micayla

Currently reading I Am Number Four. Bought it before I saw the movie back when Waterstones closed, I'm enjoying it more than I did the film

Callan57

The Human Stain by Philip Roth

groovie

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

Reading On The Road - Jack Kerouac and also reading The Portable Dorothy Parker at the moment, really enjoying both books!

I read On The Road recently - for the first time - and was astounded by how good it was - I mostly read fantasy or crime. There were some parts I had to re-read a number of times for the pure pleasure it gave me. Wow.
The section "Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night?"
gave me goosebumps.

MsJenjers

Girl in a Pearl Earring

Asphyxia

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer

I read this extremely fast one weekend after borrowing it off a friend but I picked it up for three euro ina little book shop last week Going to take my time now

Callan57

'How the Light Gets In' by M J Hyland

Hrududu

I'm struggling through American Pastoral by Philip Roth. At the heart of it there's a good story. But its padded with so much repetition and endless details that it just bogged me down. I end up skimming a lot of it until the plot comes back into play. Its a shame as I'd read one of his later books, Nemesis, and really liked that.

I feel like a bit of a philistine criticising it but I'm very close to giving up on it. There is just no enjoyment from reading it at all.

Callan57

Give Me Your Heart by Joyce Carol Oates

flyaway.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

ItsNoAlias

Sword of Albion by Mark Chadbourn

tim_holsters

Hrududu wrote: »

I'm struggling through American Pastoral by Philip Roth. At the heart of it there's a good story. But its padded with so much repetition and endless details that it just bogged me down. I end up skimming a lot of it until the plot comes back into play. Its a shame as I'd read one of his later books, Nemesis, and really liked that.

I feel like a bit of a philistine criticising it but I'm very close to giving up on it. There is just no enjoyment from reading it at all.

I thought AP was terrific, a really intense read I think it almost gave me a headache at times but I did find finishing the book a rewarding experience. I've never read another Roth since though, I'm saving him. The Swede eh :pac:

sallydan

Reading Jane Eyre at the mo!
actually very good and i generally wouldnt read the classics! Saw that they were making a movie and wanted to read the book first!

rokossovsky

'Everything Flows' by Vassily Grossman. His unfinished final novel which was famously 'arrested' by the KGB.

Funglegunk

Just finished Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Not as good as I was expecting unfortunately.

Now on to A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Very entertaining read so far.

Callan57

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

anitasenior

Ive been reading Un Secret myself but its difficult to understand everything in French. What exactly did Hannah do when checking the papers at the inn?

Callan57

anitasenior wrote: »

Ive been reading Un Secret myself but its difficult to understand everything in French. What exactly did Hannah do when checking the papers at the inn?

I read it in translation afraid my French wouldn't be up to standard. As I understood it she was comparing the forged papers with the ones stamped 'Juden' which seemed to suggest she deliberately handed the 'Juden' one to the policeman. I found it quiet a fascinating read.

Vim Fuego

Finished Risen by Jan Strnad. Cheap as chips for the kindle and with no DRM (it was the author's choice) so bonus points for him.

People are coming back from the dead in the small town of Anderson. Only they're not zombies, they seem to be better than ever.

Solid but unspectacular supernatural thriller from Strnad. It's a perfectly fun read that brings to mind early Stephen King - a small town, strange happenings, ultimate evil etc. There are some standout moments that will keep you gripped - the opening chapter, a cockroach nightmare scenario, but it somewhat putters out towards the end, perhaps missing the great shock revelation you might expect. A solid 3/5. There's a few short stories at the end, following other town members that didn't make it into the book. Enjoyed these as well as the main story.

No idea what to read next but I have a gigantic pile of books to get stuck into yet.

Callan57

William Trevor's Love and Summer

AnnyHallsal

Cselaw Milosz, New and Collected Poems: 1931-2001

patff

The Tenants of Moonbloom, Edward Lewis Wallant

Central character Norman Moonbloom, with a disparate collection of secondary characters in Manhattan circa 1960. Neurotic, witty, gross.

AnnyHallsal

Rattigan, Plays Two: The Deep Blue Sea ... In Praise of Love

Callan57

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

tim_holsters

anitasenior wrote: »

Ive been reading Un Secret myself but its difficult to understand everything in French. What exactly did Hannah do when checking the papers at the inn?

I don't know if you're aware but there's a French film adaptation of Un Secret.

I didn't know the film came from the book until now, when you mentioned the papers at the inn it rang a bell. If you haven't seen the film you should check it out, I'd imagine you'll think they've done a pretty good job.

Vim Fuego

Got Fight? by Forrest Griffin

I imagine that Forrest wrote this book by raining hammerfists down upon a keyboard and by kneeing his printer into oblivion any time there was a paper jam. It's a wonderfully stupid, self-deprecating and genuinely funny read. Griffin's good friend and badass referree Big John McCarthy contributes in sections titled 'Dick In A Box', giving us the lowdown on how crazy Forrest really is when it comes to picking up ladies, confronting bad drivers and shutting up an annoying friend-of-a-friend. It was these sections more than any other that made laugh out loud. It's not exactly great literature but I enjoyed the hell out of Got Fight? Worth a read for any MMA fan and aspiring practitioners of manliness.

tim_holsters

Finished Casuals: Football Fighting and Fashion The Story of a Terrace Cult. Quite good if you like that sort of thing.

Also The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills. A dry dark comedy about a group of manual workers who put up fences. You could read this in one sitting. I’ll read more of Mills I found his sparse style appealing.

And to finish up Fermat’s Last Theorem by Simon Singh. The story of a mathematical problem which perplexed the most brilliant minds for centuries.

Valmont

As a treat, I picked up Philip K. Dick's Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?. So far, the dialog is racy and the conjured world is just mind bending. I think I will like this book!

marienbad

Valmont wrote: »

As a treat, I picked up Philip K. Dick's Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?. So far, the dialog is racy and the conjured world is just mind bending. I think I will like this book!

Made a pretty good movie too

Valmont

Valmont wrote: »

As a treat, I picked up Philip K. Dick's Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?. So far, the dialog is racy and the conjured world is just mind bending. I think I will like this book!

I hated it Don't like his writing at all

Still suffering through tad williams at the moment, really slowly

Blush_01

Just started Atwood's Year of the Flood and Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago, but very early stages with both of them at the moment. Think I'm going to enjoy them. Brings my current tally on active books to 6 though - think I need to finish something!

Callan57

Well into Elegy for April by Benjamin Black

tim_holsters

Nul Points by Tim Moore. Tim's homage to the greatest losers in Eurovision history. Extremely funny with meticulous attention to detail.

Vim Fuego

I'm about halfway through The Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington. Absolutely brilliant so far, some of the finest blasphemy I've ever read from the two main characters. I didn't know much about it, it's an extremely violent adult fairytale and has one of the most disgusting yet hilarious sex scenes ever. Check it out.

Morlar

Some WW2 history stuff and also . . . 'The Death of Bunny Munro' of which I am nearly wholly finished.

AnnyHallsal

Toni Morrison, Paradise.

Was spellbound by Beloved and enjoying this too.

Conchir

Just started Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian. It's very technical and old fashioned, but it really is interesting once you get into it.

emeraldstar

Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent.

started this one
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possession_%28novel%29

sallydan

Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng

smokedeels

Gateway by Frederick Pohl

I'm on a major Sci-Fi kick atm, I'm essentially reading through this list SF Masterworks

I'll probably mid-way through it at the moment and it has been engrossing thus far, there's an awful sense of dread... I'm just waiting for something terrible to happen to the protagonist. He is a fantastic character, he’s essentially trying to avoid the routine he was born into by taking admirable leaps towards the unknown, an inspiring trait, but it’s his hesitations that make root for him even more.

If you enjoy books like The Sirens of Titan and The Stars my Destination I would recommend this.

Dogdaysareover

Just finished The Passage by Justin Cronin,

Was a little bit disappointed, about 200 pages too long...it started well but went downhill gradually.

brentan

I'm reading Redemption Falls by Joseph O'Connor. I've already read his book Star Of The Sea. It was brilliant. I think this one is shaping up just as good.

Vim Fuego

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Only a few chapters in but enjoying it so far. At this point, I can't get Starship Troopers imagery out of my head.

tim_holsters

Vim Fuego wrote: »

I'm about halfway through The Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington. Absolutely brilliant so far, some of the finest blasphemy I've ever read from the two main characters. I didn't know much about it, it's an extremely violent adult fairytale and has one of the most disgusting yet hilarious sex scenes ever. Check it out.

Vim I'll be putting in an order with the book depository soon. I've never heard of Jesse Bullington but I'm all for blasphemy so I'm asking you to put your head on a block here. Should I go for it?