This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Kalimah

Bring up the Bodies is nearly better than Wolf Hall. I read A Place of Greater Safety recently; also by Hilary Mantel. The last page or two was probably the most moving ending to a book that I have ever read. It's a long book but worth the read.

Hidalgo

Just finished
'Year 501: The Conquest Continues' By Noam Chomsky.

My first foray into Chomsky, and its quite deep. Was working away from home a good bit lately and thought I'd fly through this but after a very long day a few pages is all I could manage some nights.

Book was released to coincide with the quincintenial of the discovery of the Americas. It examines the leading role the US plays in global affairs and economics through US style neo-colonialism whereby poor nations export raw materials to the US or to US owned industries and then imports the manufactured goods in return. A loss loss for the poor, win win for the rich.
Also looks at examples where the US gets rid of what Chomsky calls 'rotten apples' before a single apple contaminates the entire barrel i.e a state that where the masses have a right in how industry and natural resources are used must be prevented in case it starts a domino effect in that region.

Brazil, Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua Vietnam are all looked at and how US foreign policy in the 20th century has played a central role in these states. Basically, whilst preaching democracy, its better have a military style fascist ruling minority to keep the great unwashed in their place. Chomsky argues that both the media and intellectual circles have played their part if following the desired path of going along with US style colonialism.

Going to continue the theme of globalisation, next up is Thomas Friedman and 'The World is Flat'.

karaokeman

Read the first 50 pages of Ulysses today, actually wasn't that bad. After reading summaries prior to the actual text I got the gist of the story up to this point with the exception of a few detailed and complex sentences.

Slattsy

Kalimah wrote: »

Bring up the Bodies is nearly better than Wolf Hall. I read A Place of Greater Safety recently; also by Hilary Mantel. The last page or two was probably the most moving ending to a book that I have ever read. It's a long book but worth the read.

On my phone so can't really check, but are Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies in any way connected?
Ie can you read one without the other.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I've started Deathless by Catherynne M Valente.

It's some kind of retelling of a Russian folk tale, I think. I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure what's happening but I am 100% sure I love it.

Callan57

Slattsy wrote: »

On my phone so can't really check, but are Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies in any way connected?
Ie can you read one without the other.

Yes they are very much connected both dealing with the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell and his dealings with HenryV111 but they are equally good reads on their own. Enjoy

AnnyHallsal

I read Roberto Bolano's The Savage Detectives, which was predictably brilliant. Martin Amis's memoir Experience started well. By the end I loathed him so much I left it on the train.

Now reading the first Karl Ove Knausgard A Death in the Family and the non-fiction Why the West Rules for Now.

a0ifee

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I've started Deathless by Catherynne M Valente.

It's some kind of retelling of a Russian folk tale, I think. I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure what's happening but I am 100% sure I love it.

I absolutely adored that book!! didn't really fully understand what the plot was, but i loved it

Callan57

Finished Burial Rites by Hannah Kent last night - superb for a first novel, I found it really gripping and by the last page the tears were pouring down my face & that was at 3am
(I'm too lazy to check back to see who recommended it here but whoever you are a big thank you).

Next for me is Philippa Gregory's, The White Princess

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

a0ifee wrote: »

I absolutely adored that book!! didn't really fully understand what the plot was, but i loved it

I can't decide whether I should go an read the traditional story of it first to get an idea of who and what everyone is or just keep going as I am? I might understand it more but I don't want to spoil it either.

Callan57 wrote: »

Finished Burial Rites by Hannah Kent last night - superb for a first novel, I found it really gripping and by the last page the tears were pouring down my face & that was at 3am
(I'm too lazy to check back to see who recommended it here but whoever you are a big thank you).

I think it was pretty much everyone

Swiper the fox

Swiper the fox wrote: »

I'm in a strange situation, for some reason unknown to me I bought a book called "when mr dog bites" last week, even as i was at the till I knew it wasn't really my thing. I started reading it the other night and it seems to be a book for teenagers, thing is it's not so bad that I want to give up on it, it looks like I'll have to press on, will probably scan read through most of it.

My wife is reading Burial rites which i bought from the recommendations on here, she's nearing the end now and was in absolute bits last night, sobbing uncontrollably, can anybody reassure me that it's to do with the book and not the fact that she's married to me:o:pac:

Callan57 wrote: »

Finished Burial Rites by Hannah Kent last night - superb for a first novel, I found it really gripping and by the last page the tears were pouring down my face & that was at 3am
(I'm too lazy to check back to see who recommended it here but whoever you are a big thank you).

Next for me is Philippa Gregory's, The White Princess

That's a relief to me anyway:P. i'll start on that soon myself.

I'm reading a book called Beyond the game by Gary Smith. It's a collection of his feature articles from Sports Illustrated. I had previously read his other collection called Going Deep. There is crossover between some of the stories but I cannot recommend these books highly enough for sports fans. This is the best sports writing you will ever read IMO. You will thank me for this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/%2522Sports-Illustrated%2522-Classic-Sports-Stories/dp/160320024X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399805609&sr=1-1&keywords=gary+smith+going+deep

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Game-Collected-Sportswriting-Smith/dp/0802138497/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=185EWKHYTD5S5AZ0Z5QK

SarahBM

I can't wait to get stuck into burial rites as soon as im finished this exam tomorrow.

Lisha

I just finished Donal Ryan's first book 'the spinning heart'
I loved it. He is particularly good at building multi layered characters. Initially the characters are unlike able then you read a but more background and you understand them and feel sorry for them.

I would have preferred a but more closure in the ending but that's only being picky .

I'm very interested to know what others thought of it

Huzzah!

Kalimah wrote: »

Bring up the Bodies is nearly better than Wolf Hall. I read A Place of Greater Safety recently; also by Hilary Mantel. The last page or two was probably the most moving ending to a book that I have ever read. It's a long book but worth the read.

I'm reading A Place of Greater Safety at the moment. It's good but loooonnng. I may be some time...

IvyTheTerrible

Lisha wrote: »

I just finished Donal Ryan's first book 'the spinning heart'
I loved it. He is particularly good at building multi layered characters. Initially the characters are unlike able then you read a but more background and you understand them and feel sorry for them.

I would have preferred a but more closure in the ending but that's only being picky .

I'm very interested to know what others thought of it

I really enjoyed it, I think he nailed modern small-town Ireland (I could "recognise" a lot of his characters!)

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Swiper the fox wrote: »

That's a relief to me anyway:P. i'll start on that soon myself.

SarahBM wrote: »

I can't wait to get stuck into burial rites as soon as im finished this exam tomorrow.

Should we rename this thread "This week I am mostly reading Burial Rites."

Swiper the fox

Lisha wrote: »

I just finished Donal Ryan's first book 'the spinning heart'
I loved it. He is particularly good at building multi layered characters. Initially the characters are unlike able then you read a but more background and you understand them and feel sorry for them.

I would have preferred a but more closure in the ending but that's only being picky .

I'm very interested to know what others thought of it

I absolutely loved it, one of the best books I've read in recent years, amazing how he nailed so many diverse characters. Great humour in a rural Irish way. For some reason it hasn't been popular on this thread, each to their own.

biZrb

I started The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson last night. I was looking forward to reading it on my lunch today but a chatty colleague sat beside me instead.

I've made a mental note to look out for Burial Rites, seems very popular with everyone here.

Swiper the fox

60 pages into Burial rites after last night, only intended starting and reading about 10 or 15 pages before I turned the lights out, I know already that this is going to be an outstanding book.

kirk buttercup

Swiper the fox wrote: »

60 pages into Burial rites after last night, only intended starting and reading about 10 or 15 pages before I turned the lights out, I know already that this is going to be an outstanding book.

it is.

MagicMarker

Currently reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, really enjoying it!

I feel compelled to read Burial Rites next!

Swiper the fox

MagicMarker wrote: »

Currently reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, really enjoying it!

I feel compelled to read Burial Rites next!

No matter how good Burial rites is (and as I said I suspect it could be brilliant), it's unlikely to reach the heights of Middlesex, that's one of the best books of recent years in my opinion. it's one of those books i'd love to be able to read again for the first time.

eire4

Finished a re read of Peter De Rosa moving and brilliant book Rebels about the 1916 rising.

SarahBM

I plan to get really stuck into Burial Rites tonight. bout 60 pages in, but haven't been able to give it a good run yet.

Going to add Middlesex to the list :-)

Slattsy

Picked up The Kills - serious reviews out there for this book.

Cant wait to get stuck in!

Callan57

Starting a reread of Anthony & Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough

Paddy Samurai

The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jacktakes inspiration from one of the most enduring mysteries of the Victorian age, then weaves it into a tale of time travel and history unmade. Author Mark Hodder's cast list includes appearances by many celebrities of the day; the great engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, a very young Oscar Wilde, naturalist Charles Darwin, and the poet Algernon Swinburne. Taking the lead role is the explorer and writer Sir Richard Francis Burton. Part steampunk, part alternate history, with a liberal dollop of detective thriller, it is a melting pot that has the potential to produce something tasty, or a nauseating mess.

About 70 pages in ,but not sure which one it will be.Hope its the former.

MagicMarker

Finished Burial Rites, it was quite good, not Earth shattering or anything, but good.

The fact that the author is only around 28 years old depresses me though!

SarahBM

MagicMarker wrote: »

Finished Burial Rites, it was quite good, not Earth shattering or anything, but good.

The fact that the author is only around 28 years old depresses me though!

I'm so jealous at how fast everyone reads. I'm only half way through! It's good. But finding hard to get stuck in.

Travel is good

I might look out for Burial Rites now.

I'm reading "Regeneration" by Pat Barker" and am really enjoying the Chaos trilogy, onto the 2nd book now, "The Ask and the Answer" by Patrick Ness.

IvaBigWun

I cant find a stand alone thread for the book, but if it exists could a mod please merge. Thanks.

Question: I downloaded a sample of The Wolf Of WAll Street last night to see if Id like to buy the full thing and so far Im on the fence.

Its well written and Im liking Jordan's style but it seems to more or less jump straight to him almost crashing his helicopter and then the fights with his second wife Nadine.

Does the narrative then work its way backwards to him building his own brokerage and even as far back to his meat packing business?

Ive read all there is from the free sample and this would be the deciding factor if Im going to buy it in full. The point of reading a book after seeing the film its based on is to gleam more details from the story and so far Im not seeing that

littlema

A book club was started at work....I don't have the time to go to the meetings, but I thought I should support them and read the first recommendation. It was for The cuckoos calling,by Robert Galbraith and I was seriously iffy about reading her other stuff!! But....it wasn't too bad a read and rattled along through the 550 pages, with the possibility of another book to come on the back of this one..
The moral of the few lines here?......that other peoples choices can be satisfying sometimes.

Meathlass

IvaBigWun wrote: »

I cant find a stand alone thread for the book, but if it exists could a mod please merge. Thanks.

Question: I downloaded a sample of The Wolf Of WAll Street last night to see if Id like to buy the full thing and so far Im on the fence.

Its well written and Im liking Jordan's style but it seems to more or less jump straight to him almost crashing his helicopter and then the fights with his second wife Nadine.

Does the narrative then work its way backwards to him building his own brokerage and even as far back to his meat packing business?

Ive read all there is from the free sample and this would be the deciding factor if Im going to buy it in full. The point of reading a book after seeing the film its based on is to gleam more details from the story and so far Im not seeing that

I was very disappointed by the book. It doesn't really go into the back story at all. Instead it spends a lot of time on his months in rehab and it stops before he goes to prison so we don't get any of that story either about how he fared after that and became a motivational speaker. I'd pick it up in the library or buy it in a charity shop but I wouldn't pay €10 for it.

Aenaes

I'm reading the Dupin series by Edgar Allan Poe, three murder mysteries beginning with "The Murders In Rue Morgue". First published in 1841, it has been recognised as the first detective story.

cookiecakes

IvaBigWun wrote: »

I cant find a stand alone thread for the book, but if it exists could a mod please merge. Thanks.

Question: I downloaded a sample of The Wolf Of WAll Street last night to see if Id like to buy the full thing and so far Im on the fence.

Its well written and Im liking Jordan's style but it seems to more or less jump straight to him almost crashing his helicopter and then the fights with his second wife Nadine.

Does the narrative then work its way backwards to him building his own brokerage and even as far back to his meat packing business?

Ive read all there is from the free sample and this would be the deciding factor if Im going to buy it in full. The point of reading a book after seeing the film its based on is to gleam more details from the story and so far Im not seeing that

I found it a terrible slog. Didn't enjoy it at all and I was dying to read it. That was pre-film so maybe having seen it, I might enjoy it a bit more.

SarahBM

Finished Burial Rites. It was good, but not amazing. I loved the descriptions of the Icelandic landscape and the scenery. I would love to go there, but even more so now.

Im starting the Lincoln Lawyer now. I am not sure, but I dont think I have read any Michael Connolly books before. My friend said it was good.

Swiper the fox

SarahBM wrote: »

Finished Burial Rites. It was good, but not amazing. I loved the descriptions of the Icelandic landscape and the scenery. I would love to go there, but even more so now.

Im starting the Lincoln Lawyer now. I am not sure, but I dont think I have read any Michael Connolly books before. My friend said it was good.

I also finished Burial Rites a few days ago, I thought it was excellent but once again the hype has left me ever so slightly disappointed. Strangely enough considering what you've said I didn't notice the landscape and scenery descriptions too much, strange what people can take from a book sometimes.

I've moved onto the new Joseph O'Connor book, he is probably my favourite living writer so I'm coming at it with great expectations but also very forgiving eyes. Needless to say it is brilliant so far.

Oh and finally, I've read the Lincoln Lawyer, it's the only Michael Connolly book I've read and while it's absolutely fine I won't be reading any more of his books, I thought that the two Denis Lehane books I read were much better but still not really my thing.

Meathlass

Halfway through Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann not as good as Transatlantic so far.

Next up is The thing about December by Donal Ryan which I'm really looking forward - loved The spinning heart

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Meathlass wrote: »

Halfway through Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCarthy not as good as Transatlantic so far.

I thought Let The Great World Spin was rubbish, to be honest. It felt like a bunch of short stories all tacked together without any real reason.

Meathlass

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I thought Let The Great World Spin was rubbish, to be honest. It felt like a bunch of short stories all tacked together without any real reason.

Yeah, that's the vibe I'm getting so far. Transatlantic was beautiful, the language was so poetic, that I had high hopes for this one.

SarahBM

Tell me this, is there a lack of punctuation in all mc carthy's books? I read no country for old men and it was so annoying, the lack of quotation marks and stuff. Wrecked my head.

Meathlass

SarahBM wrote: »

Tell me this, is there a lack of punctuation in all mc carthy's books? I read no country for old men and it was so annoying, the lack of quotation marks and stuff. Wrecked my head.

Yes, it's a trait of his. Supposed to stem from his time in college and modeled on Joyce and Faulkner. He believes good writing doesn't need a lot of punctuation and in his post-apocalyptical novel The Road it's echoes the sense of nothingness; that the world has been stripped bare.

It can be very confusing when you first start reading it but I have to say, I really love it as a style of writing.

Aenaes

Oh, that lack of punctuation annoyed me too. I found it difficult at times to distinguish which character was speaking. I've only read Blood Meridian so I thought it was unique to that book due to the lack of proper grammar in the Wild West. It's going to put me off starting another book of his, to be honest.

Anyway, currently reading A Storm Of Swords: Blood And Gold by George R.R. Martin.

Swiper the fox

SarahBM wrote: »

Tell me this, is there a lack of punctuation in all mc carthy's books? I read no country for old men and it was so annoying, the lack of quotation marks and stuff. Wrecked my head.

I would say that if you didn't enjoy No country for old men you should probably give Cormac McCarthy a wide berth, it's probably his most accessible book, certainly thematically. I liked most but not all of the McCarthy books I've read, loved NCFOM and the Road.

By the way have we kind of mixed up McCarthy and Colum McCann over the last few posts, otherwise the McCarthy reference seems quite random.

SarahBM

Swiper the fox wrote: »

By the way have we kind of mixed up McCarthy and Colum McCann over the last few posts, otherwise the McCarthy reference seems quite random.

Whoops,:( sorry about that. I was reading the thread on my phone, itty bitty writing. I still think my point about Cormac McCarthy is valid though :D

Has anyone read that Girl who Saved the King of Sweden yet? Im dying to start it but I must finish the Lincoln Lawyer first.

Meathlass

Swiper the fox wrote: »

By the way have we kind of mixed up McCarthy and Colum McCann over the last few posts, otherwise the McCarthy reference seems quite random.

Sorry that was my fault. In my original post I called McCann, Colum McCarthy for some reason.

Callan57

Finished my re-read of Antony & Cleopatra ... superb

Now it's on to Arena by Simon Scarrow

Wyldwood

Half way through Middlesex and it's not grabbing me. It's ok but I'm not rushing to pick it up every spare minute.

I see the summer Richard and Judy read list is out, a few interesting books on there.

cookiecakes

Just finished The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud. Thought I'd love it but was quite disappointed. I liked it but felt like it dragged on for ages and then tried to cram stuff in at the last minute. Started Sense & Sensibility as I wanted to re-read the original before starting Joanna Trollope's Austen Project version.

minnow

Flying through "Glow" by Ned Beauman, after really enjoying "The Teleportation Accident" a few months ago. Very Martin Amis-like in terms of witty style and language.