What book are you reading atm??

Sephiroth_dude

kimokanto wrote: »

I have never read any of Gaiman but would appreciate a recommendation for a first read??

Neverwhere or American gods would be my picks, also The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I wish I could read Neverwhere for the first time again.

gutenberg

Barkskins by Annie Proulx.

Riddle101

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

Any good?
Seeing as they're making a series, I dont want to be caught like I was with Game of Thrones.
I want to be in the smug "thread for people who have read the books"

I just bought Tower of the Swallow and Lady of the Lake today. At the moment i'm just collecting them and haven't read any of the books. Once I get the rest i'll start reading the whole series.

Ipso

The Old Man and the Sea.

Paddy Samurai

Just finished Gardens of the Moon By Erikson. Part two is ordered .:D

Not sure what to start next as I have a lot of unread books on the shelf.:(
I might try Sharpe Ends by Abercrombie,or maybe the Tom Swan series.

gmisk

I devoured on my hols
The woman in cabin 10 (trashy but fun)
Bird Box (really excellent - hard to describe without giving the plot away)


I am about 1/2 way through Sharp Objects (Enjoying this one as well - same writer as gone girl)

The Pheasant2

Just finished "HMS surprise" by Patrick O'Brian, quickly followed by "The Wind in the Willows"

Have just started "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett

mad m

Just finished Shantaram by Gregory Roberts. Great read , true story.

Summer wind

I’m reading Bad Apple 🍏 by Zoje Stage. It’s described as a mix between We Have To Talk About Kevin and Gone Girl and The Omen. It’s good so far.

Samsgirl

Just started The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn. Going good so far.

RobbingBandit

Trying to start Asperger's Children tough read so far

Re-read Alex Ferguson Leading the past few days good insight into his business like attitude towards football while he was a manager.

mikhail

The Pheasant2 wrote: »

Just finished "HMS surprise" by Patrick O'Brian

Are you reading the series in sequence? I read the whole lot over a decade or so, and it remains one of the most satisfying reading experiences of my life. The film captures the tone of the books admirably.

Pero_Bueno

The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu - collection of short stories, amazing stuff, never heard of him before, can't wait to start The three body problem trilogy next ...

The Pheasant2

mikhail wrote: »

Are you reading the series in sequence? I read the whole lot over a decade or so, and it remains one of the most satisfying reading experiences of my life. The film captures the tone of the books admirably.

Yep, have "The Mauritius Command" lined up for my next read, looking forward to it, I find them excellent. O'Brian's attention to detail really does a lot to make for rich reading.

mikhail

Pero_Bueno wrote: »

The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu - collection of short stories, amazing stuff, never heard of him before, can't wait to start The three body problem trilogy next ...

I've only read the first of them. It took a few chapters to get used to the style (I don't read a lot of translated works), but it's an interesting book. The opening is set during the Cultural Revolution in China when (among other atrocities) many academics were beaten, publically humiliated, and imprisoned; it really brought it to life for me how messed up China was at the time. And that's just back story for one character!

Noodles81

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith. Gets straight into the story. I'm enjoying it tremendously. I love Cormoran Strike, a great character.

Cheshire Cat

Noodles81 wrote: »

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith. Gets straight into the story. I'm enjoying it tremendously. I love Cormoran Strike, a great character.

Good to know that a new one is out!

JupiterKid

A Concise History of Amsterdam. Beautifully illustrated with historical maps and drawings but appallingly translated into English from Dutch. Shame.:(

Paddy Samurai

Decided to give Sanderson a try.
About 70% through this novella and not really liking it.:(
I will still try something else by him to give him a fair go.

Believe Me by JP Delaney, enjoying it so far

appledrop

Just started the Importance of Being Aisling. Hilarious. Never read a book like it that gets the culchie so well.

Have finished Sally Rooney Normal People. It was a grand read but don't get the fuss about it or long list for Man Booker. Some of it very unbelievable + that annoyed me
The context of the popular boy in school from working class family magically getting 600 points even though seems to do limited work in school.

Carry

For friends of hard-boiled crime fiction I can only recommend Bloody January by Alan Parks.

It's not my usual preference, don't like the cliché of tough macho cop cleaning up the mean streets of anywhere. But this one has quite an interesting twist.

It's set in Glasgow 1973, with all the dirt, drunkenness, utter poverty and miserable weather - and the music. Even David Bowie plays a small role.

The cop in question is a druggie, drunk, has a junkie prostitute as a girlfriend and ties from childhood to the underworld. And there are hints at abuse as a child in catholic institutions.

The fascinating part is actually the atmosphere the author captures. You find yourself immersed in a Glasgow most of us never knew and you can read the book as a social commentary.

I'm halfway through and despite my reservations at first I'm now kind of gripped.

Apparently the author plans to write a book with this cop for every month in the year 1973 in Glasgow. Bloody January is the first.

Ipso

Carry wrote: »

For friends of hard-boiled crime fiction I can only recommend Bloody January by Alan Parks.

It's not my usual preference, don't like the cliché of tough macho cop cleaning up the mean streets of anywhere. But this one has quite an interesting twist.

It's set in Glasgow 1973, with all the dirt, drunkenness, utter poverty and miserable weather - and the music. Even David Bowie plays a small role.

The cop in question is a druggie, drunk, has a junkie prostitute as a girlfriend and ties from childhood to the underworld. And there are hints at abuse as a child in catholic institutions.

The fascinating part is actually the atmosphere the author captures. You find yourself immersed in a Glasgow most of us never knew and you can read the book as a social commentary.

I'm halfway through and despite my reservations at first I'm now kind of gripped.

Apparently the author plans to write a book with this cop for every month in the year 1973 in Glasgow. Bloody January is the first.

If you like grim British crime stories, try David Peace’s Red Riding quartet (1973, 1977, 1980 & 1983).
They cover few intertwining stories, which include The Yorkshire Ripper, told from from the perspective of different people.
Covers all the warm and fuzzy stuff like corruption, serial killers, pedo rings and porn industry.

Carry

Ipso wrote: »

If you like grim British crime stories, try David Peace’s Red Riding quartet (1973, 1977, 1980 & 1983).
They cover few intertwining stories, which include The Yorkshire Ripper, told from from the persoective of different people.
Covers all thecwarm and fuzzy stuff like corruption, serial killers, pedo rings and porn industry.

I think there was a TV-series basing on these books. Red Riding rings a bell. I remember, that I've tried to watch one of them and had to stop. It was bleak beyond imagination, and had a boring narrative as well.

Usually books are better. I'm more into words than pictures anyway. But I think that Alan Park's book is as far as I go in British bleakness.

Talking of British bleakness: I'm looking forward to the first crime thrillers based in Brexit-Britain... :pac:

batgoat

Carry wrote: »

I think there was a TV-series basing on these books. Red Riding rings a bell. I remember, that I've tried to watch one of them and had to stop. It was bleak beyond imagination, and had a boring narrative as well.

Usually books are better. I'm more into words than pictures anyway. But I think that Alan Park's book is as far as I go in British bleakness.

Talking of British bleakness: I'm looking forward to the first crime thrillers based in Brexit-Britain... :pac:

Channel 4 made the series.

JupiterKid

Carry wrote: »

For friends of hard-boiled crime fiction I can only recommend Bloody January by Alan Parks.

It's not my usual preference, don't like the cliché of tough macho cop cleaning up the mean streets of anywhere. But this one has quite an interesting twist.

It's set in Glasgow 1973, with all the dirt, drunkenness, utter poverty and miserable weather - and the music. Even David Bowie plays a small role.

The cop in question is a druggie, drunk, has a junkie prostitute as a girlfriend and ties from childhood to the underworld. And there are hints at abuse as a child in catholic institutions.

The fascinating part is actually the atmosphere the author captures. You find yourself immersed in a Glasgow most of us never knew and you can read the book as a social commentary.

I'm halfway through and despite my reservations at first I'm now kind of gripped.

Apparently the author plans to write a book with this cop for every month in the year 1973 in Glasgow. Bloody January is the first.

Sounds interesting - like Inspector Rebus meets the characters of Jake Arnott’s The Long Firm and it’s sequels.

Roger Hassenforder

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Neverwhere or American gods would be my picks, also The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I wish I could read Neverwhere for the first time again.

Browsing in Easons the other day, came accross American Gods. On the strength of this post, i pulled the trigger.

Have to say, im not disappointed so far.
Im enjoying the premise. Quirky and original.

Carry

Finished today Violett Hill by Henrietta McKervey.
It was advertised as a crime novel, but it's far from it. Of course, Violett Hill is a sleuth in 1918 London, on a case concerning Conan Arthur Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame.
And the story is interweaved with the fate of a female police officer in 2018 London, who has the gift of absolute face recognition.
But it's not about crime, it's about identiy, about believe systems, about what a life means or not means, what truth is and what you make of it.
A fascinating and literary read with lots of food for thought.

Carry wrote: »

Just finished The Last Hours by Minette Walters.

What a story! Time is the mid-1300s and place is a demesne and village in Dorset, when the plague broke out and devasted Europe. One woman, the lady of the manor, and her serfs/farmers defy not only the plague but also the clergy and the aristocracy and thereby religious and feudal rules.

I know Minette Walters as a fantastic thriller writer and her skills to create a sense of place, interesting characters, realistic circumstances, gory details and a gripping story shows in this historical novel. It is well researched and I was really "living" in medieval times while reading it.

It's supposed to be a trilogy. Can't wait for the next installment.

Highly recommended!

Finally out now: The Turn of Midnight, the follow-up of the book above.
Looking forward to bedtime and reading what happens to the characters in the first book!

optogirl

Just started 'Before the Fall' by Noah Hawley. Good so far

batgoat

A Man Called Ove, couldn't get into it the first time I started it but loving it on the second try.