This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Mark Hamill

Sarxos wrote: »

I'm currently more than half-way through Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. I'm a huge fan and this book is so far keeping up with his rich tradition of truly excellent story-telling.

As I hope you can tell from my sig, I have recently finished UNseen Academicals and I loved it:).
Before that I hade read House of Leaves by Marc Z. Danielewski, really freaked me out inparts, was a great (if difficult) read.
Currently reading A Stir Of Echoes by Richard Matheson. (links to the movie page, book page had no info)

Wilde

The Liar by Stephen Fry. Brilliant read. If Old School by Tobias Wolff was dwritten by a snarky dandy, this would be the result. Brilliant satire.

Paddy Samurai

Just arrived this morning in the post,although i have a load of books lined up i am going to jump straight in to this one.Tim Powers for me is one of the most exciting fantasy fiction writers around.He comes up with the maddest combinations of characters,settings,ideas,and althought they should'nt work they do.They usually work brilliantly.

This supernatural suspense thriller crosses several genres--espionage, geopolitics, religion, fantasy. But like the chicken crossing the road, it takes quite a while to get to the other side. En route, Tim Powers covers a lot of territory: Turkey, Armenia, the Saudi Arabian desert, Beirut, London, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow. Andrew Hale, an Oxford lecturer who first entered Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service as an 18-year-old schoolboy, is called back to finish a job that culminated in a deadly mission on Mount Ararat after the end of World War II. Now it's 1963, and cold war politics are behind the decision to activate Hale for another attempt to complete Operation Declare and bring down the Communist government before Moscow can harness the powerful, other-worldly forces concentrated on the summit of the mountain, supposed site of the landing of Noah's ark. James Theodora is the über-spymaster whose internecine rivalry with other branches of the Secret Intelligence Service traps Hale between a rock and a hard place, literally and figuratively. There's plenty of mountain and desert survival stuff here, a plethora of geopolitical and theological history, and a big serving of A Thousand and One Nights, which is Hale's guide to the meteorites, drogue stones, and amonon plant, which figure in this complicated tale. There's a love story, too, and a bizarre twist on the Kim Philby legend that posits both Philby and Hale as the only humans who can tame the powers of the djinns who populate Mount Ararat.

chenguin

Currently reading The Scarpetta Factor from Patricia Cornwell.
I am not quite sure if I actually like Patricia Cornwells books but I do keep reading them so I must do?

Also reading Life Stories from David Attenborough. I learn something new on every page.

Cadiz

Just finished 'Things Mother Never Told Me', Blake Morrison. Haven't read the earlier one he wrote about his father, but will definitely pick it up now.

Was gripped by this one though, which is based around Morrison's parents letters to each other during WW2. His mother was Irish but buried that part of her identity under a new life in a new country, something he still struggles to understand about her even after her death.

Just started Lake Woebegon Summer of 1956 - Garrison Keillor scraping the Woebegon barrel, I'm disappointed.

Best recent read - Attachment, by Isabel Fonseca. Totally surprised by how good it was.

The_Minister

Dune this week, as well as Thomas Malthus Principles of population.

Cadiz

Hermy wrote: »

Currently reading The Ginger Man. This is the first time I've read Donleavy and I'm fascinated.
Is this typical of his style?

Yeah Hermy that's the way he rolls, I re-read The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B recently, fascinating is the word!

Cadiz

Great to see so many Pratchett fans here

Hermy

Cadiz wrote: »

Yeah Hermy that's the way he rolls, I re-read The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B recently, fascinating is the word!

Thanks Cadiz. He certainly does roll along!
Great stuff all the same and I look forward to reading his other novels.

Seillejet

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie. Very enjoyable.

Chris Evans autobiography. Enjoyed it but definitley a guilty pleasure.

Busi_Girl08

Just started Angela's Ashes, liking it so far

I also made a little goal to read some Shakespeare plays...in the middle of MacBeth now

Jako8

Just about the start "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman.

I really enjoyed the oher two books in the HDM series so I hope it can end well

SarahBM

The Phillip Pullman Books are great. dont bother with the movie though.

Im still on PS I Love You. sad I know. but just dont have the time!

emeraldstar

Seillejet wrote: »

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie. Very enjoyable.

Chris Evans autobiography. Enjoyed it but definitley a guilty pleasure.

Oooooh, I wasn't aware Hugh Laurie had ever written a book. Thank you! Excellent, must track this down now.

Closed ac

Just finished:

"The Catcher in the Rye" - J.D Salinger
"The Kite Runner" - Khaled Hosseini

I've now taken on "War And Peace" - Leo Tolstoy.

God help me!

staker

"The Kite Runner" is one of the best books I've ever read.
Reading Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis atm, enjoying it so far....

Closed ac

staker wrote: »

"The Kite Runner" is one of the best books I've ever read.
Reading Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis atm, enjoying it so far....

Yes, it was fantastic!

staker

Often thought of picking up the Catcher in the Rye....
Is it a hard read? Any good?

Closed ac

staker wrote: »

Often thought of picking up the Catcher in the Rye....
Is it a hard read? Any good?

Not hard at all! It's only about 200 pages I think and it's aimed at young adults imo. It's a great read though, very slow moving but the main character in it is great! I'd recommend it!

Porkpie

DKZ wrote: »

Not hard at all! It's only about 200 pages I think and it's aimed at young adults imo. It's a great read though, very slow moving but the main character in it is great! I'd recommend it!

It is a great read as long as you can put up with the annoyingly frequent usage of the expression 'God damn'! I read it in school and never really appreciated it. I read it again recently, partly for nostalgia. It's a very easy read and you'll fly through it. The more you can relate to the protagonist the more you'll enjoy it I'd say.

tHE vAGGABOND

Just finished 'Hiroshma' - Brilliant! The aftermath of the Hiroshma bomb on 6 real people. A must read for everyone on the planet tbh

Now reading Fatherland - always wanted to read it and never bothered, even if the plot seems paper thin after the 80 or 90 pages I'm into it so far

Just got Stephen Kings new book delivered, that'll be next so

Closed ac

Porkpie wrote: »

It is a great read as long as you can put up with the annoyingly frequent usage of the expression 'God damn'! I read it in school and never really appreciated it. I read it again recently, partly for nostalgia. It's a very easy read and you'll fly through it. The more you can relate to the protagonist the more you'll enjoy it I'd say.

Yeah, haha. And also "it killed me."

rickman

just read the new novel from dubliner, peter mc cluskey. it's called "here comes robert kingdom" - very funny and humourous.
saw it mentioned in the independent and got it through his website location27books dot com

paoloiaquinta

saw that guy in the paper - mccluskey - from dublin.
didn;'t know he had a new book out. his "boy in the river" was good. similar to the snapper in style - funny.
what's "here comes robert kingdom" like??

Cutie18Ireland

Kathy Reichs

206 Bones

Cadiz

On Green Dolphin Street by Sebastian Faulks.

Not for much longer probably - flat characters, nothing to get teeth into..

Seren_

I'm reading Ulysses for college. It's good, if a bit confusing. Especially the chapters from Stephen's point of view, I officially want to murder him!

And for my own enjoyment I'm about to start reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac. I've heard that it's great

Julesie

Just finished reading...

Truman Capote - In Cold Blood (I really enjoyed this one, it had been sitting on my bookshelf for ages and I finally got around to reading it last week)

Alice Walker - The Color Purple (A little bit Oprah-ish for my liking. Which may be accurate as I have since found out she starred in the film adaptation and also bankrolled the Broadway stage show. Still not a bad book. An easy read, written in the form of a series of letters charting the development of a poor black woman from Georgia in the 1930's)

Next up... James Joyce - The Dubliners

Jako8

I'm currently reading "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman.

I'm enjoying it so far.

This_Years_Love

I started reading Bram Stoker's Dracula yesterday. It's the first time I've read it. I'm on chapter 8 at the moment. It's good but some of the old English slang terms are hard to understand though. I didn't understand most of the things that Mr Swales character said.