What book are you reading atm?? CHAPTER TWO

His non fiction book Bad Blood is worth a read. It's a sort of travelogue where he walks the length of the Irish border in the build up to the Good Friday Agreement.

And if like me you think religion is daft The Sign of the Cross is a similar book where he travels around Europe going to various religious sites and festivals. He isn't vicious but also isn't on the fence about how stupid he thinks it all is.

Cool story bro.

Finished ‘Roadside Picnic’ by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky there. A decent, and different, take on the aftermath of an alien visitation.

Must watch the Tarkovsky film version again, haven’t seen it since I was in college.

Will crack into ‘If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller’ by Italo Calvino next.

Read 2 excellent short novels in the past couple of weeks that are perfect for this time of year.

White Fang by Jack London, classic story about a dog/wolf set in the klondike gold rush in Alaska/Northern Canada , really enjoyable easy to read novel that shows how cruel humanity and nature can be , highly recommended and every bit as good as Call of the Wild, (Jack London's other most famous novel) generally you can get them both combined in one book.

Ice by Anna Kavan, dystopian, apocalyptic ,science fiction story.Very weird book and sometimes it can be hard to fully understand what is going on but it's incredibly absorbing when you are reading it and really transports you into another world.

The Coastal Atlas of Ireland edited by Robert Devoy, Val Cummins, Barry Brunt, Darius Bartlett and Sarah Kandrot.

A third Christmas in a row in which I have read one of the 5kg monsters produced by Cork University Press.

This is obviously a HUGE book but don't let that put you off reading it if you have any interest in Ireland's coastal and maritime history and future prospects. I really enjoyed this and it is not overloaded with a lot of scientific jargon, so it is easily accessible to non-science people.

The Dream of the Celt

Mario Vargas Llosa

Its about Roger Casement.

Iv only started it

Same here but I did get The Mistborn trilogy.

White noise by Don Delillo.

didnt do much for me, not sure I’ll ever read a novel by this acclaimed author again.

apart from it possibly inventing a version of the Simpsons classic line: “are you saying boo or boo-urns?” Joke, I’m not sure I took much from it.

i also finished The North Light by Hideo Yokohama which is a more recent novel. This was a more conventional mystery novel. Not terribly riveting though.

I’ve discovered , whether it’s books or films , that listening to people who thought it was great leads to disappointment . Better ignoring them and find out for yourself.

LA Confidential is a great book. The movie only really covers the first half of it.

Surface Detail

Ian M. Banks

Sci-fi of the first order.

Apologies if he's been mentioned before, I haven't read the thread.

The Big Nowhere blew me away with a twist I’ve read the 4 LA quartet and think The Big Nowhere is the best .

Not one for the faint of heart as books go though. Loved it, Ellroy himself comes across as bordering on insane based on what I've read about him.

I think what I’ve read about his mother has definitely played a part in his writing .