This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Finished a re read of Malcom Gladwell's very insighful book Blink.

'The Crimson Petal And The White' by Michael Faber, looks like I'm in for a long haul, enjoyable so far.

I started Jamaica Inn a couple of days ago. I'm finding it hard to put down but i need sleep! I'm enjoying the dark, gothic atmosphere; it seems appropriate for this time of year.

SarahBM wrote: »

I cannot wait til christmas when I can get back to reading books I want to read as opposed to text books and journals. further education sucks. I just wanna read man!

One of the joys of retirement, sit down with a book and a cuppa after lunch and suddenly realise it's time to get the dinner

I'm reading Chris Bohjalian's Sandcastle Girls at the moment. Set in Syria at the start of WW1 and has some very harrowing descriptions of the Armenian genocide and Gallipoli, with a love story thrown in. Has some resemblance to Faulk's Birdsong.

I'm about halfway through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. One of the few Dahl stories I never read.

Finished Slaughterhouse 5 a couple of days ago. Short but enjoyable, so it goes. Currently reading Molloy by Beckett - finding it a lot more enjoyable than Murphy which was so abstruse that I found it difficult to decipher what was happening at the end (although Murphy undoubtedly has some sublime prose).

Finished a re read of Back To Paradise by Billy McNeil a must read for any Celtic fan.

I finished Molloy and quite enjoyed it despite there being no discernible plot or narrative. I did not finish Molloy and I did not enjoy it :pac:
Have just started Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Finished Gone Girl at the start of the week - it was entertaining enough and a good page turner. Though when I was halfway through I did have one part of the story ruined for me by a colleague who had just seen the film (special circle of hell reserved for spoilers).

I then flew through The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (enjoyed it, beautiful descriptions, though did wonder whether I had accidentally bought a kid's book) and Mortality by Christopher Hitchens (really like his writing and going to try book up some of his other books).

Next up is either One Day by David Nicholls or Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Have to take a flight next week so will have a think about which is a better travel book!

Reading Beloved by Toni Morrisson. Like it a lot so far.

Eleni by Nicholas Gage.

Finished a re read of Lady Gregory's famous Irish Myths and Legends. Just a great fun and enjoyable read of all those great tales I enjoyed so much when I was a kid.

About 2/3's through and loving it.Hardin as they say had sand.:D

A stunning snapshot of the life of one of Texas’s most notorious outlaws


For his forty-two years on this earth, John Wesley Hardin’s name was synonymous with outlaw. A killer at fifteen, in the next few years he became skilled enough with his pistols to back down Wild Bill Hickok in the street. By the time the law caught up with Hardin when he was twenty-five, he had killed as many as forty men and been shot so many times that, it was said, he carried a pound of lead in his flesh. In jail he became a scholar, studying law books until he won himself freedom, and afterwards he tried to lead an upright life. It was not to be.

By the time he was killed in 1895, Hardin was an anachronism—the last true gunfighter of the Old West. In this volume, western master James Carlos Blake retells Hardin’s life, exposing the many different sides of the man who became a legend.

chasmcb wrote: »

The Pistoleer sounds right up my street! I must check it out, thanks for the mention.

If you end up liking Blakes writing I would also suggest you try.......

In the Rogue Blood my favourite book by Blake.

Wildwood Boys and The Friends of Pancho Villa are on a par with The Pistoleer.

A World of Thieves was the only one I was'nt mad about ,but that was more to do with the setting.

Happy reading.:D

Currently chortling my way through the mightily funny 'How to be a Public Author' by Francis Plug/Paul Ewen. Our hero and narrator, Francis Plug, is a gardener, wannabe author and half-cracked, with a booze habit that would put Kingsley Amis to shame. He attends readings, talks, and book-signing events by Booker winners and regales us with his observations and musings, alternately sharp and surreal, on same. Each chapter is prefaced with an image of a signed book jacket by the author whose event he was attending and each one features Plug's hilarious brief encounter with perplexed author in question as he is getting his book signed. The satire is aimed less at the writers themselves than the whole literary showbiz, readings & signings razzamatazz of today's book-buying, book-flogging scene. Plug's gardening life is also described including such zinger tips as sourcing free horse manure outside Buckingham Palace after a cavalry parade -he goes to a John Berger reading with a satchel full of poop! Funniest book I've read in a long time.

Finally finished 'The Crimson Petal and the White', amazing start, kind of got bogged down in the middle which at 840 pages was a lot.

Onto 'Revival' by Stephen King as a palate cleanser. Also, have Bill Bryson's book about Shakespeare on the side.

After 4 weeks of pretty solid reading I can say I have read A Suitable Boy.

I loved the story of the four featured families. Got totally involved in each of their lives but especially Maan and Lata. Seth did a wonderful job of developing the personalities of each of the characters and their interactions with each other. I'm going to miss them.

The only negative I have is that, unless you're really au fait with Indian politics and social classes, it can get a bit heavy going at times. I found myself googling constantly in order to understand a lot of the background goings-on and the Indian terms used. In fairness to Seth he did try to keep the setting of the novel as historically accurate as possible but that may not be everyone's cup of tea. Highly recommend it though.