What book are you reading atm?? CHAPTER TWO

silliussoddius · 25-01-2022 2:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528121#Comment_118528121

Have you read any of Christopher Priest’s other stuff? I read The Prestige, The Affirmation, The Glamour and The Separation, I always meant to read his other stuff as I found the others interesting.

EmmetSpiceland · 25-01-2022 10:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118528980#Comment_118528980

This is the first of his I’ve read. Wasn’t aware he’d written ‘The Prestige’ either, enjoyed the film.

silliussoddius · 25-01-2022 5:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118529510#Comment_118529510

The film makes some changes, but overall the main story is there. The book is worth checking out, it and the others I mentioned seem to deal mainly with identity.

Dial Hard · 25-01-2022 5:55pm

I finally finished Eternity's Wheel and started Shadow Voices, which I'm very much enjoying, it's an anthology of Irish genre fiction from the last 300 years or so, edited by John Connolly. It's too big to read in the bath, though, so I'm also reading Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street, which I have to say, has me utterly intrigued already.

After that it'll be Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates.

Oh, and I snuck in a read of Serpentine by Philip Pullman the other day, it's one of his very short companion pieces to His Dark Materials. This one is about Lyra going back to see Dr. Lanselius in Trollesund after the events of The Amber Spyglass.

Loafing Oaf · 27-01-2022 11:32am

Pandora's Jar: Women In The Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes

very lively and engaging read, recommended for anyone with an interest in classics

noraos · 27-01-2022 4:22pm

The Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver-

Interesting court room drama book, breaks down the law and how it works and how to make it work.

Written and set in 1958 so I find the view and relationships of/with women very interesting - if you are interested in crime/ courtroom drama and the law aspect of crime, id recommend it.

If your offended by social views of women in the 50s I would not recommend it.

Cleverly written, easily readable and overall very enjoyable.

Dial Hard · 01-02-2022 1:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118539336#Comment_118539336

Fiction, but if you enjoyed that I'd thoroughly recommend The Silence of the Girls and The Women of Troy by Pat Barker.

Joe_ Public · 02-02-2022 3:45pm

Got Max Hastings latest on the go, Operation Pedestal, about the dramatic attempt to sail a relieving fleet to Malta in 1942. Typically entertaining and well told and I've already got Hastings' follow up, Soldiers, on the desk beside me for as soon as I've finished. Amazing he can be so uncommonly prolific and yet be so consistently thorough and engaging.

Tauriel · 02-02-2022 5:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571068#Comment_118571068

Big fan of Hastings myself having read some of his work. I have Operation Pedestal on my shelf to read but would be interested to see what you make of Soldiers.

Joe_ Public · 02-02-2022 7:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571645#Comment_118571645

Only had a quick flick through it, it's an anthology rather than a narrative and looks interesting but it'll be a week or two before I can dig properly into it. I think he's a Falklands book due out soon too, to mark the 40th anniversary and I expect that to be good given he was there and had a ringside seat for the whole unfortunate farrago.

Dial Hard · 04-02-2022 3:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118531752#Comment_118531752

After The House on Needless Street (which was excellent, btw) I didn't fancy another book about child abuse, so shelved Zombie for the time being and am reading Philip Pullman's Count Karlstein instead. It's technically a children's book, but with Pullman, it tends not to matter, his writing is just so enjoyable.

Tauriel · 09-02-2022 6:26pm

River God by Wilbur Smith

Historical fiction novel which happens to be book one of the Egyptian series by Smith. We have war, a love triangle, the Egyptian religious belief system and new discoveries recounted by the slave Taita, whom was owned by the evil Lord Intef and subsequently and rather reluctantly gifted to Intef's daughter, one of the Pharaoh's many wives, upon her wedding.

Dial Hard · 09-02-2022 6:31pm

So I started Zombie yesterday. It's, erm, sure something.

pavb2 · 11-02-2022 4:18pm

Just finished ‘The Singapore Grip’ one of a loose trilogy by JG Farrell took me ages to get through it, I enjoyed his other work, ‘The Siege of Krishnapur’ a lot more.

Also read ‘Night Boat to Tangier’ by Kevin Barry

Tauriel · 16-02-2022 9:49pm

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

A Cold War era space thriller which pits the US against Russia in a race to intercept an important discovery on the moon.

A bit of an odd book in that at times I found it hard to motivate me to pick it up (particularly the first third or so) to find elements engrossing.

silliussoddius · 17-02-2022 4:54pm

Just finished The Searcher by Tana French, another enjoyable piece of Irish crime fiction. Now I'm on The Outsider by Stephen King.

Loafing Oaf · 20-02-2022 12:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118564793#Comment_118564793

Very rarely read novels anymore but thanks for the recommendation.

Currently perusing Tom Holland's Dominion, and a rollicking good read it is.

gutenberg · 20-02-2022 11:31pm

Currently reading Matrix by Lauren Groff, based on the life of Marie de France and set in a convent. I am enjoying despite some anachronisms annoying me (& appreciating it is an imaginative take on the period, including supernatural elements etc.).

I have Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe to read too. I read Dopesick (and watched the TV series) last year, but in between now and then I have had need of some strong painkillers myself due to an accident, which definitely makes me a bit nervous to pick it up!

21-02-2022 12:40am

Reading This much is true by Miriam Margoyles at the minute. It's her autobiography and really enjoying it. As you'd expect there's some good laughs in it.

Also reading I found my tribe by Ruth Fitzmaurice which is a good read too. Sad and funny and honest all at the same time.

21-02-2022 2:39pm

Late to the table, but just finished Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. It was, for me, anyway, spellbinding. And very thought-provoking. The web of connections and what happens to the protagonists - who vary in the various narrative sections - spanning nearly 70 years and viewed through different lenses, was excellent.

Wish I'd read it before.

thomil · 21-02-2022 2:48pm

Currently reading The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu. It's the sequel to The Three-Body Problem and it's hard to give even a quick blurb without spoiling the previous book. Both books are, well, I guess "audacious" would be the best way to describe them, both in their scope and ideas! I knew about the great plot twist in The Three-Body Problem and I was still riveted, and The Dark Forest is continuing in that vein, even though I'm only about 20% in so far. You can clearly tell that it's been translated from Chinese to English though, some of the phrases are a bit unusual.

Tauriel · 22-02-2022 3:14pm

The Irish Assassins by Julie Kavanagh

This book looks at the lead up and aftermath of the Phoenix Park murders during the Land League era of Ireland.

Daisy78 · 22-02-2022 8:10pm

Started reading Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Have read a lot of his other stuff but never got around to this.

EmmetSpiceland · 13-03-2022 7:51pm

‘We’ by Yevgeny Zamyatin. About halfway through it, interesting read so far.

Set in the distant future, in a USSR-like state where the protagonist is finding out that he’s more than just a number.

Can see why it’s said to have influenced “big hitters” like ‘1984’ and ‘Brave New World’.

14-03-2022 10:40pm

Beneath Cannock's Clock - The last man hanged in Ireland by Dermot Walsh. About the tragic death of Nurse Catherine Cooper by Michael Manning. Very tragic story really from both sides.

pavb2 · 23-03-2022 9:35pm

I’m about halfway through Peter Swanson’s Girl With a Clock for a Heart It’s an easy read, a murder mystery and in a similar vein to his other work The Kind Worth Killing and Rules for Perfect Murders

WrenBoy · 24-03-2022 5:40pm

Currently reading John Le Carré's "The Spy who came in from the Cold"

I'm aware its the 3rd in the Smily series but I read online that it didn't matter too much in what order they are read. I had heard this was considered his best work and I didn't want to read Tinker Tailor.. yet because I have seen the movie and the reveal would be ruined. I will go back and read them in order when Im finished with The Spy who came in from the Cold.