What book are you reading atm??

Fritzbox

The little Stranger, by Sarah Waters. It seems to be quite a good read

friendlyfun

Gotta Theroux This

Nigel Fairservice

friendlyfun wrote: »

Gotta Theroux This

I really enjoyed it, was laughing out loud in parts.

Rufeo

We are legion, We are Bob. Pretty hard Sci fi, but very funny in places.

Singularity Trap, just started, from the same author.

I finished Across the Nightingale Floor the other day. Mental interested in going to Japan now.

Widdershins

Widing, it's about the full scale rewinding of the Knepp estate and the effect on its ecosystem. I would recommend.

Thargor

Widdershins wrote: »

Widing, it's about the full scale rewinding of the Knepp estate and the effect on its ecosystem. I would recommend.

Have a look at the World Without Us if you liked that, there isnt a boring page in the whole book:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Without_Us

Black Swan

George R.R. Martin's A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.

Hector Savage

Just finished Cujo by Stephen King and was enjoying it immensely, great read - but

absolutely devastating twist at the end when the kid dies ... such a kick in the stomach...books need to have some payback, I know it's a horror novel but still ... man I couldn't sleep last night over it, never before have I been so sad at the end of a book ... maybe it's cos I have a 4 yr old too ...

CrankyHaus

I Heard You Paint Houses - Charles Brandt. Excellent True-Crime account of the life of Frank Shearan brought to the screen in Scorsese's latest film The Irishman. Interesting to see how much didn't fit into the film, even a 3 and a half hour one. Not just the usual gangster stuff but political and union machinations like Joe Biden's maiden Senate election campaign in 1972 enlisting Frank Shearan's union racketeering to prevent unfriendly newspapers from being printed and distributed; or Nixon taking vast amount of sums from Jimmy Hoffa for a presidential pardon, while secretly taking similar amounts from Hoffa's union rival to delay the pardon.
If there's a weakness it's the excessively detailed focus of the writer, a lawyer, on the minutiae of Jimmy Hoffa's increasingly ridiculous attempts to frustrate and corrupt his criminal trials in the 1960s which weighs down the mid section of the book slightly.

Hector Savage

Hector Savage wrote: »

Just finished Cujo by Stephen King and was enjoying it immensely, great read - but

absolutely devastating twist at the end when the kid dies ... such a kick in the stomach...books need to have some payback, I know it's a horror novel but still ... man I couldn't sleep last night over it, never before have I been so sad at the end of a book ... maybe it's cos I have a 4 yr old too ...

Seriosuly this is really f*cking with me today, I can't concentrate at work ... don't think I'll pick up another King for a while...

Amazing though, shows how talented he is , to create this fictional world and can effect one's emotions so much ...

EmmetSpiceland

Hector Savage wrote: »

Seriosuly this is really f*cking with me today, I can't concentrate at work ... don't think I'll pick up another King for a while...

Better put the book into the freezer, H.

New Home

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Better put the book into the freezer, H.

Beth dies!!!

Hector Savage

Hector Savage wrote: »

Just finished Cujo by Stephen King and was enjoying it immensely, great read - but

absolutely devastating twist at the end when the kid dies ... such a kick in the stomach...books need to have some payback, I know it's a horror novel but still ... man I couldn't sleep last night over it, never before have I been so sad at the end of a book ... maybe it's cos I have a 4 yr old too ...

Don't read Pet Sematary then. Don't have kids myself but it's a tough book.

Hector Savage

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't read Pet Sematary then. Don't have kids myself but it's a tough book.

I have read it, but before I had kids, a great read and yes very tough.
I won't be giving it a re read anytime soon!!

Hector Savage

Started The Future of Humanity by Michio Kaku there, great read so far ....

stratowide

Guns,germs and steel by Jared Diamond.

Normally devour these type of books but am struggling with this big time.
Noah Harari's a brief history of humankind was a similar type of book but a great read.

I'm losing interest rapidly in this one though and am only 100 pages in.

I will persist though..Haven't not finished a book yet..:p

Hector Savage

stratowide wrote: »

Guns,germs and steel by Jared Diamond.

Normally devour these type of books but am struggling with this big time.
Noah Harari's a brief history of humankind was a similar type of book but a great read.

I'm losing interest rapidly in this one though and am only 100 pages in.

I will persist though..Haven't not finished a book yet..:p

Jared Diamond can be hit and miss, Collapse and rise and fall of 3rd Chimpanzee were great, but the world untill yesterday kind of dragged on for me.

bnt

Just finished Ubik by Philip K. Dick, recommended on Reddit. I didn't care for it, the plot was incoherent and only makes a kind of sense once you learn a specific bit of information near the end. I didn't feel like I'd learned anything afterwards.

EmmetSpiceland

bnt wrote: »

Just finished Ubik by Philip K. Dick, recommended on Reddit. I didn't care for it, the plot was incoherent and only makes a kind of sense once you learn a specific bit of information near the end. I didn't feel like I'd learned anything afterwards.

I felt the same after reading it. And considering it always seems to be regarded as one if his “best” I found it even more disappointing.

He’s got other books that are far more enjoyable.

Earthhorse

For me Philip K Dick shines as a short story writer but tends to get lost in longer fiction. Any of his short story collections are worth reading.

Only novels of his I've really enjoyed were Do Androids...? and Dr. Bloodmoney (and I've read about ten or so).

coffee_cake

A fan of pk dick recommended a few of his books to me before. Not fan at all

mikhail

Earthhorse wrote: »

For me Philip K Dick shines as a short story writer but tends to get lost in longer fiction. Any of his short story collections are worth reading.

Only novels of his I've really enjoyed were Do Androids...? and Dr. Bloodmoney (and I've read about ten or so).

I read a bunch of his work in my teens, and I'd largely agree with this.

EmmetSpiceland

mikhail wrote: »

I read a bunch of his work in my teens, and I'd largely agree with this.

I dunno, ‘Scanner Darkly’, ‘Time Out Joint’, ‘Flow My Tears’, Penultimate Truth’, and ‘Three Stigmata of Palmer Aldridge’ are all enjoyable to read.

‘Confessions of a Crap Artist’ too, if you’re not into the whole “sci-fi” thing.

Earthhorse

bluewolf wrote: »

A fan of pk dick recommended a few of his books to me before. Not fan at all

If you didn't read the short stories I seriously recommend giving them a go. It's almost like reading a different author at times. "We Can Remember it for You Wholesale" is probably the most accessible for want of a better word.

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

I dunno, ‘Scanner Darkly’, ‘Time Out Joint’, ‘Flow My Tears’, Penultimate Truth’, and ‘Three Stigmata of Palmer Aldridge’ are all enjoyable to read.

‘Confessions of a Crap Artist’ too, if you’re not into the whole “sci-fi” thing.

Didn't like Confessions at all. Maybe the first chapter, like a lot of his books.

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is a great title for a book but it's incoherent and just not enjoyable. I do like the idea but it just doesn't work.

Haven't read the others.

EmmetSpiceland

Earthhorse wrote: »

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is a great title for a book but it's incoherent and just not enjoyable. I do like the idea but it just doesn't work.

Haven't read the others.

Yeah, comes from a song the Renaissance, or Middle Ages.

‘A Scanner Darkly’ is a very good book, his best in my opinion. If you don’t fancy reading it you should definitely check out the film version.

‘Time Out of Joint’ is good too but if you didn’t like the others I’m not sure that will change anything.

Have you tried any of the Valis ones? Pretty “out there” stuff.

Earthhorse

No. I haven't thought I think one of the short stories covers similar terrain.

The likelihood is I'll eventually read everything by him, particularly the notable ones, though it certainly has been a while.

Hector Savage

I must say when I read Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? I was very disapointed, a big letdown - BladeRunner was much much better.

The man in the high castle was better - but also overrated I thought.

Wouldn't be touching PKD again.

EmmetSpiceland

Earthhorse wrote: »

No. I haven't thought I think one of the short stories covers similar terrain.

The likelihood is I'll eventually read everything by him, particularly the notable ones, though it certainly has been a while.

He did that a bit, ‘The Penultimate Truth’ was originally a short story. Not sure expanding it did much to it but the idea, itself, is good.

The Valis ones are another “great idea” but a bit all over the shop. Still enjoyed the two I’ve read but they’re fairly mad.

Earthhorse

Hector Savage wrote: »

I must say when I read Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? I was very disapointed, a big letdown - BladeRunner was much much better.

The man in the high castle was better - but also overrated I thought.

Wouldn't be touching PKD again.

I feel the opposite. Do Androids...? has so much more in it that the movie misses. All the interesting stuff about Mercerism and social status is just cut. Book is far better for me.

And it's also far better than TMITHC which I agree is overraated (and just plumb not very good).

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

He did that a bit, ‘The Penultimate Truth’ was originally a short story. Not sure expanding it did much to it but the idea, itself, is good.

The Valis ones are another “great idea” but a bit all over the shop. Still enjoyed the two I’ve read but they’re fairly mad.

Yeah, I think Faith of the Fathers was expanded into a novel too. As you say, he did it a fair bit. The short stories are always superior though.

Ihatewhahabies

Best fiction for years

The master and the Margarita...Just brilliant