This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

tritriagain

If you liked moby dick you must read in the heart of the sea by nathaniel philbrick
Simply brilliant

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

chasmcb wrote: »

Just finished Strumpet City, had never read it before. Terrific read. Odd that RTE didn't re-run their TV adaptation this year given it's the Lockout centenary -maybe they wiped the tapes!

Also it was the One City, One Book choice for Dublin this year.

emeraldstar

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I've started Persuasion by Jane Austen.

Persuasion is criminally underrated. It's my favourite ahead of P&P and, boy, do I love P&P.

SarahBM

emeraldstar wrote: »

Persuasion is criminally underrated. It's my favourite ahead of P&P and, boy, do I love P&P.

I think Ann is a more realistic protaganist. and like you said it is extremely underrated. and Wentworth, I just love him!!!! Have you seen the BBC version with Rupert Penry Jones? swoon.

anyway, back to books. Pride and Prejudice is funny, but Persuasion isnt. Its more realistic IMO, I find Ann's position way more plausible for some reason.
I think Mansfield Park is my least favourite Austen book.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I'm not very far in yet but I was finding Persuasion kind of funny. When they were discussing the move to Bath and they all dismissed Ann as being unnecessary I couldn't help thinking of The Brady Bunch movie. Ann is clearly Jan and Elizabeth it Marsha. It's always Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

mickoregan

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor - not getting it.

salacious crumb

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Emma is one of my all time favourite books by any author. I also love Clueless, which is based on it, and the most recent BBC adaptation of it was pretty much perfect. One of the rare cases of the "film" being as good as the book.

Torture. Had to read Emma for my LC, many years ago. Would not be in any great hurry to read any more of her work :pac:

biZrb

SarahBM wrote: »

My TO READ pile is getting so big. I wish I was a faster reader so I could read more. There just are not enough hours in the day.

I have hit the half way mark in the Count of Monte Cristo. The print is so small

I'm also a slow reader.
I have a friend who is super fast at reading. I started Shantaram at the same time he started the Count of Monte Cristo, he finished it before while I was still three quarters of way through Shantaram. We were reading for about the same amount of time each day.

The Count of Monte Cristo is a brilliant read - are you enjoying it so far?

I'm currently reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

emeraldstar

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I'm not very far in yet but I was finding Persuasion kind of funny. When they were discussing the move to Bath and they all dismissed Ann as being unnecessary I couldn't help thinking of The Brady Bunch movie. Ann is clearly Jan and Elizabeth it Marsha. It's always Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

Definitely. There's plenty of humour in all of Austen's books and Persuasion is no exception. Sure, the overall tone is more mature than most of her other works, but still lots of comedy to be had

SarahBM

Liking the Count alright. But as I said slow going. My best friend is also an extremely fast reader! Very annoying
I liked Emma. I think it was the funniest of Austens works.

Honey-ec

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

. Have just started 'Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' by John Cleland.

I read that when I was about 13. Closest thing to p0rn I could get my hands on in the heady days of the early 90s!

Belle E. Flops

Honey-ec wrote: »

I read that when I was about 13. Closest thing to p0rn I could get my hands on in the heady days of the early 90s!

I decided to read it because I was intrigued as to what was so bad about it that it is 'one of the most prosecuted and banned books in history' (according to Wikipedia)
To be fair to it though, it does jump straight into quite detailed sexy stuff a few pages in. I hope my poor innocent mind won't be corrupted. :eek:

Whippersnapper

Reading I Am Zlatan. Autobiography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He comes across as a right donkey.

eire4

Finished a re read of Tim Pat Coogan's The Troubles this week. Has some very interesting anecdotes in it involving some of the major personalities involved.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I'm almost finished Persuasion but I've had to take a wee break to swoon at Captain Wentworth's letter. Oh my! He's giving Mr. Knightly a run for his money.

Paddy Samurai

Shades of David Gemmell... It's about time someone good took up the torch for heroic fantasy. Inspiring characters, great plot and culture. I read this in one session, utterly absorbed"
CONN IGGULDEN

Only about two chapters in ,so can't comment on above yet,but I am looking forward to this one.Hope I'm not dissapointed...............


Love the cover

emeraldstar

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I'm almost finished Persuasion but I've had to take a wee break to swoon at Captain Wentworth's letter. Oh my! He's giving Mr. Knightly a run for his money.

Hell, Knightley's got nothin' on the Captain.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

emeraldstar wrote: »

Hell, Knightley's got nothin' on the Captain.

It's too close to call for me but I think we can all agree they're both better than Darcy.

emeraldstar

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

It's too close to call for me but I think we can all agree they're both better than Darcy.

You're on your own there!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I don't like Darcy at all. Or Elizabeth for that matter. They're well suited, I'll give them that

Anyway... after sufficient swooning I've finished Persuasion. I liked it a lot. Very easy to get into and really likable characters.

MagicMarker

Think I'm going to get started on Don Quixote.

SarahBM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I don't like Darcy at all. Or Elizabeth for that matter. They're well suited, I'll give them that

Anyway... after sufficient swooning I've finished Persuasion. I liked it a lot. Very easy to get into and really likable characters.

I think the Captain's letter was wonderful! "I'm havlf agony, half hope!" - be still my beating heart!!! and Swoon is right! Men arent like that any more, such a shame.

As for Ms Bennett and Mr Darcy, I think Jane and Bingley were the real love birds there. They just fell in love, plain and simple.

got another book in chapters today, I swear they must be getting sick of me inside there. and I forgot to use the credit note I had! *facepalm*
might take a break from the count for a while.

Callan57

MagicMarker wrote: »

Think I'm going to get started on Don Quixote.

I've tried reading the Don so many times but so far it has failed me to finish it - it's still on my shelf, I'm determined to read it some day.

Aenaes

Callan57 wrote: »

I've tried reading the Don so many times but so far it has failed me to finish it - it's still on my shelf, I'm determined to read it some day.

It is kinda hard to get stuck in to, I think but quite worth it overall. Enjoyable but tedious at times.
I just about finished it before I had to return it for the library deadline so 6 weeks, I think, which is longer than usual for me.

A good way of reading it might be by taking it slow and reading one or two of those little chapters then stopping.

Tom Joad

Aenaes wrote: »

A good way of reading it might be by taking it slow and reading one or two of those little chapters then stopping.

Really good suggestion. Allows you to take it all in and not get lost. It can be tough going but is really worth it. Definitely in my top 5 books off all-time..:)

Callan57

Tom Joad wrote: »

Really good suggestion. Allows you to take it all in and not get lost. It can be tough going but is really worth it. Definitely in my top 5 books off all-time..:)

It just always seems so repetitive to me

MagicMarker

Finished Part 1 anyway, I like it, seems very Monty Python-esque.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I have sufficiently swooned over Persuasion and have moved on to Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. Why? Because between leaving my house and getting to the library (10 minutes) I forgot that I went there with the intention to get Far From The Madding Crowd and somehow ended up with Nicholas Nickleby instead.

The copy I got is really old though. Well.... 1962, and it cost 92p to buy back then

emeraldstar

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I have sufficiently swooned over Persuasion and have moved on to Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. Why? Because between leaving my house and getting to the library (10 minutes) I forgot that I went there with the intention to get Far From The Madding Crowd and somehow ended up with Nicholas Nickleby instead.

The copy I got is really old though. Well.... 1962, and it cost 92p to buy back then

I found Far From The Madding Crowd to be a bit of a drag. Although I've not got around to reading it yet, I'm sure Nicholas Nickleby will be a great deal better. Dickens is one of my absolute favourites!

IvyTheTerrible

MagicMarker wrote: »

Finished Part 1 anyway, I like it, seems very Monty Python-esque.

I much prefer part 1 to part 2 anyway!

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

emeraldstar wrote: »

I found Far From The Madding Crowd to be a bit of a drag. Although I've not got around to reading it yet, I'm sure Nicholas Nickleby will be a great deal better. Dickens is one of my absolute favourites!

I vaguely remember seeing bits of the Julie Christie film of FFTMC years ago and finding it very depressing, but then I was quite small when I saw it so I probably didn't really understand it.

I love Dickens too. I find him so easy to read compared to other writers of the same period.

Gonzovision

Just starting Dr. Sleep, can't wait to get stuck into it.

Redhenrun

I`m enjoying "Parnell: The Uncrowned King of Ireland" by Katherine O`Shea. Yep, she`s the famous Kitty O`Shea, who became involved with CS Parnell having separated from her husband Capt O`Shea.

The book is beautifully written, apart from being a fascinating story and also marking a major turning point in Irish history.

FloatingVoter

"Berlin Diary 1934-1941" by William Shirer. 0.99 on the Amazon Kindle deal of day thingy. Addictive even though I know how it ends.

Tom Joad

Callan57 wrote: »

It just always seems so repetitive to me

Yeah I can understand where you are coming from on that with the different sally's. I found that a bit tough at the start - its like driving from Cork to Dublin but turning back at Fermoy the first few times and starting over again.

There is an abridged version available that cuts out some of the stories that are not directly relevant to Quixote or Sancho Panza which might be easier to get through.

Ronomono

I'm re-reading the Dark Tower series by Stephen King,
I'm on The Gunslinger at the moment.

Neil McCauleys Cooler Brother

"Bring Up the Bodies", Hilary Mantel.

Callan57

Neil McCauleys Cooler Brother wrote: »

"Bring Up the Bodies", Hilary Mantel.

Brilliant book IMO

Spanish Eyes

Just finished Tess of the D'Urbervilles, again after many years. It is such a great read IMO.

Wouldn't you want to shout at Tess and rail against her plight?

But hindsight is foresight, it was written in an age.

I thought the baptismal scene was so poignant. And all the rest of it too. Including the harrowing work picking turnips. Funny what remains in your head after reading.

As for Angel Clare...well once is enough for Tess thanks.

salacious crumb

Saw a trailer for Filth last night, so decided to re-read Irvine Welsh's Filth before the movie comes out...

Aenaes

Aenaes wrote: »

Now on to Jospeh Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Done with this. Short but good. Interesting story particularly when you take into account when it was written. The edition I read had notes to signify passages, phrases etc. that I wouldn't have realised myself, so that was handy.

I'm going to start Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy next since it was mentioned/recommended here a few times.

Saorenza

I finally finished Michelle Paver's Dark Matter. I read the first nearly 200 pages, then put it then, before finishing the last 50. I felt it lagged a bit but that was probable due to me putting it down. Lovely descriptions of the Arctic and a creepy ghost story.

I started and finished Standing in Another Man's Grave by Rankin. I love the Rebus novels.

I had the flu and found it hard to concentrate but I read Shimura Trouble by Sujata Massey, light but enjoyable detective story (I have read several others in this series). I also read The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones. I had already read the standalone sequel.

Now I am reading Longbourn by Jo Baker- the story of Pride and Prejudice from the servant's perspective - and Pompeii by Mary Beard. The Pompeii book is excellent - engaging and scholarly at the same time:)

Callan57

Finished Cry, The Beloved Country - absolutely brilliant.

Almost finished Winter of the World

Next for me is Under a Blood Red Sky by Kate Furnivall

ulinbac

Just finished Cuckoos Calling by Robert Galraith aka J.K. Rowling.

I love crime and having never read her Harry Potter stuff I thought this to be very good and well worth the read.

Pretty annoyed she was runbled on thus as Strike is a brilliant character!

Honey-ec

Started Raymond Feist Magician yesterday. Haven't read any fantasy in a good while.

Swiper the fox

In keeping with my current sports book craze I've just started reading "Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda's Cycling Team". It's written by Tim Lewis who is the former editor and feature writer for The Observer Sports monthly, the best Sports magazine ever produced on this side of the Atlantic. Only read the first few pages last night after finishing Ledley King's(I'm a Spurs Fan) terribly boring autobiography but I've got a really good feeling about it.

stratowide

Just finished under the dome by Stephen King.As with most King book's I've read it just peter's out at the end.An enjoyable read all the same.I'm sure there was a message in there somewhere though.

Started filth by Irvine Welsh yesterday.Trainspotting was the only book I've read that has made me laugh out loud.Thought it was brilliant.
This has started well too.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Struggling a bit with Nicholas Nickleby at the mo. I'm only about 200 pages in (it's over 800) so maybe it'll get better. It's not that it's bad exactly, it's just nothing's really happening. It's just a series of events so far, a bit like.. this happened, and then this happened, and then this. I know it's full title is The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby so maybe that's all it is?

emeraldstar

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Struggling a bit with Nicholas Nickleby at the mo. I'm only about 200 pages in (it's over 800) so maybe it'll get better. It's not that it's bad exactly, it's just nothing's really happening. It's just a series of events so far, a bit like.. this happened, and then this happened, and then this. I know it's full title is The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby so maybe that's all it is?

That made me laugh. Not sure what you were expecting

Currently reading Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis.

Tom Joad

Half way through Bleak House at the minute and really struggling to find a reason to keep reading it! Am I missing something as loads of people recommended it to me