This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Swiper the fox

SarahBM wrote: »

Misery was the first Stephen King book I read. I thought it was brilliant! The kite runner has been sitting on the bottom of my to read pile for literally years. I had read a thousand spendid Sun's and I didn't like it.
Let me known what you think of the kite runner.

The Kite Runner is brilliant although I loved a thousand splendid sons also. The newer book isn't in the same league at all unfortunately.
I'll be getting started on Cloud Atlas tonight, that has been on my to read list for quite a while.

Jijsaw

Just started 'Vanity Fair' by William Thackeray, looking forward to it!

Gonzovision

Started 'The shock of the Fall' by Nathan Filer, having finished 'The Silkworm' by Robert Galbraith, which I enjoyed, even though the ending was a bit run of the mill.

Junior D

SarahBM wrote: »

Misery was the first Stephen King book I read. I thought it was brilliant! The kite runner has been sitting on the bottom of my to read pile for literally years. I had read a thousand spendid Sun's and I didn't like it.
Let me known what you think of the kite runner.

Finally managed to get around to finishing the Kite Runner tonight. The book is about 340 pages long and I was at page 180 starting tonight at 11pm. I've literally just finished about 20 minutes ago. I couldn't put it down. My advice is read this book!

Generally, this wouldn't be the type of book I'm interested in. I thought it started off well, maybe a bit slow and laboured, and dragged a bit in the middle. It was only coming to the end of the book that I realised that's the way it was meant to be described, and written perfectly so. I won't go into any more details, I don't want to spoil any minor detail because to me its a type of book that you should really soak in every word.

Enjoy

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I've been trying to read The Sound and the Fury for about a week now. The first third of the book seems to be written by someone who's not quite all there and none of it makes any real sense. There's an introductory note at the start that suggests it makes sense eventually but it's a struggle.

Aenaes

I finished The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson. I enjoyed it, wasn't as straight-forward as I expected it to be and the language wasn't that difficult to understand.

I'm nearing the end of The Quiet American by Graham Greene. It revolves around an English reporter in French Indochina in the 1950's, reporting on the Viet Minh's struggle against the French occupying forces.

fruvai

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I've been trying to read The Sound and the Fury for about a week now. The first third of the book seems to be written by someone who's not quite all there and none of it makes any real sense. There's an introductory note at the start that suggests it makes sense eventually but it's a struggle.

I've got bad news for you then - it's not even the most challenging part of the book :pac: The story does become a lot clearer the further you go on

cookiecakes

I finished A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara yesterday and honestly, it was probably the toughest book I've ever read. It was heartbreaking and I properly sobbed during the last quarter of it. It's about 700 pages but it took me about a week to read it because I kept having to put it down and walk away. I'm not sure I've ever read anything that had such an effect on me. I was so bloody sad yesterday thinking about it! Have now lined up 5 or 6 less challenging books while my heart heals! Definitely worth a read but it was heavy going. The author is also doing a reading & q&a on the 25th in the Morrison. This will probably be me:

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

fruvai wrote: »

I've got bad news for you then - it's not even the most challenging part of the book :pac: The story does become a lot clearer the further you go on

Is it worth struggling on?

fruvai

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Is it worth struggling on?

Definitely - it's a brilliant book

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

fruvai wrote: »

Definitely - it's a brilliant book

Right, I'll persevere. I will come find you if it's not brilliant. :eek:

fruvai

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Right, I'll persevere. I will come find you if it's not brilliant. :eek:

Let me rephrase that - I thought it was a brilliant book

chanelfreak

I've an awful habit of reading a few books at the same time, so I just finished The Regulators (Stephen King) because I wanted a dose of schlocky horror, I'm re-reading Rivals (Jilly Cooper) for about the millionth time, I'm also in the middle of The Reality Dysfunction (€1 special on Amazon kindle) and my night-time read is The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham.

That list is keeping all my personalities happy for the moment

Mr.Nice Guy

I finished The Iron King by Maurice Druon which is part of a seven-book series called The Accursed Kings. Goerge R.R. Martin is a big fan and wrote the foreword on the version I read.

The bulk of the book concerned plots for power occurring in the background. There wasn't a great deal of action but perhaps that is still to come. I intend to read the next one in the series.

Belle E. Flops

I'm rereading The Order of the Phoenix at the moment. I'm loving reading a HP every few books.
Ive never really understood the appeal of audiobooks but I decided to try one because Audible have some trial offer thing so I downloaded Stephen Fry's The Fry Chronicles. I've found it quite nice listening to him talking when I go for a walk. I love his voice so he could read the phone book and I'd be happy out. It just makes a nice change. I do zone out every so often getting lost in my own thoughts but it's nice to listen to something other than music.

eire4

Finished a re read of 2 books recently. Amongst Women by John McGahern and on a totally different tack The Revolt of Silken Thomas by Laurence McCorristine.

Fathom

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence.

Junior D

About to start Any Human Heart by William Boyd

I've heard good reviews and again moving out of my comfort zone in regards what I usually read, so this should be interesting. I'll either love it or hate it!

Fathom

Still reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom. T.E. Lawrence popular as Lawrence of Arabia. Authored book. Eye opener. Ethnographic study of Arabia. Tribal context. WWI times. Lost 1st manuscript on train. Started over. From scratch. Driven personality. In more ways than one.

Mr.Nice Guy

I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams as I'd heard it was a classic and one of the funniest books out there. Perhaps it's that it's just not my type of humour, or maybe it's just that comedy has adopted many of these elements in the years since it was first published, but I didn't really get the hype.

I did like it. I found it amusing. But it didn't have me laughing.

I did nevertheless whiz through it and I found it an easy read. And despite being a bit underwhelmed by it, I would read the others in the series if I came across them. I guess I just expected better as it had been built up to me so much.

Aenaes

Death Comes To Pemberley by P. D. James.

Wyldwood

Read An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris. Based on the story of Alfred Dreyfus, a French soldier, who was accused of spying for the Germans.
It's an intriguing story which highlights the corruption and abuse of power. Really enjoyed it despite it's rather horrifying subject matter.

heathledgerlove

Us by David Nicholls. It's okay so far although a bit "luvvie" as Stephen Fry would say, with the focus on achingly hip Londoners and their obsessions with art and slightly dippy drugs and travelling to France to eat baguettes and lounge on benches. Pure affectation of course, as visited before by Nicholls in the character of the twattish Dexter in the hugely popular One Day.
Starter for Ten remains my favourite of his books for sheer hilarity and likeability factor (and, thanks to the movie, welcome evocations of James McAvoy :P ), with, perhaps surprisingly, The Understudy a close second. Always readable of course, I'll see whether Us reveals itself to be a little deeper and more generous to its reader beyond catchy prose and the extremely familiar male mid-life crisis theme littered with pop (and artistic) culture references.

ivytwine

Reading Jamaica Inn at long last. Loving it!

I gave up on the finkler question literally because I have no idea where I put the flipping book. I'll go back to it when I find it :pac:

Swiper the fox

heathledgerlove wrote: »

Us by David Nicholls. It's okay so far although a bit "luvvie" as Stephen Fry would say, with the focus on achingly hip Londoners and their obsessions with art and slightly dippy drugs and travelling to France to eat baguettes and lounge on benches. Pure affectation of course, as visited before by Nicholls in the character of the twattish Dexter in the hugely popular One Day.
Starter for Ten remains my favourite of his books for sheer hilarity and likeability factor (and, thanks to the movie, welcome evocations of James McAvoy :P ), with, perhaps surprisingly, The Understudy a close second. Always readable of course, I'll see whether Us reveals itself to be a little deeper and more generous to its reader beyond catchy prose and the extremely familiar male mid-life crisis theme littered with pop (and artistic) culture references.

I gave up on us but did enjoy one day. Nice work, so much better than just posting a book title.

eire4

Finished a re read of John McGahern's The Collected Stories a very enjoyable compilation of some of his short stories.

Fathom

Martin Eden by Jack London

Mr.Nice Guy

I finished The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. It's quite a short book with just over 100 pages.

Overall, it was okay. Not sure I'd call it a classic of literature the way some describe it, but it's fine for a weekend read.

Callan57

Finished Wally Lamb's We Are Water - a big read addressing major themes handled adroitly by a superb author.

Next is what I expect will be a quick read Becoming Moon by Craig A. Hart

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I finished The Sound and the Fury a few days ago. It's alright, I mean.... when you wade through the first two chapters and get a vague idea of what's actually going on. I found it quite annoying because there's potentially a really great story in there but why he had to go an write it in such a way I do not know. I had to go and look up the Cliffs Notes on it to make sure I actually did get what was going on and although I got most if it there were still a few bits that I missed. I might go back and read the first section again now I know what it was about.

I'm now reading Invictus by John Carlin. Originally called Playing the Enemy I guess it's been renamed after they made that film of it with Matt Damon. It's basically the history of the Rugby World Cup in South Africa in 1995 and how Nelson Mandela used it to unite the nation post apartheid. I'm only a few chapters in but already I'm amazed at how easy it was for him to manipulate his jailers and members of the apartheid government just by using his charm. They were either extremely dumb or, by that point, not really very committed to their regime. I never realised either just how hated the Springboks were by the black South Africans. I had figured they maybe didn't play rugby or weren't allowed to, I didn't realise the national team was basically seen as a symbol of oppression and the black South African's would only ever watch a match if they were playing someone guaranteed to beat them, like New Zealand. Mandela obviously had to charm his own people into supporting them once he'd finished charming the whites to give them freedom.