I'm so hard to please that I need serious help!

Justin1982

Ok, so basically I am really really hard to please book wise.

I read a lot of maths/physics books and I can find books no problem to read like Fermat's Last Theorem, Big Bang, The Codebook, The 4 percent Universe, yadda yadda yadda!

But I find it nearly impossible to find novels to read that I like. Its like needle in a hay stack. The last 15 years I've come across all the usual rubbish you read in school and thats forced down your throat. I generally hated all the Shakespeare, Dickens, Stephen King, James Joyce, Dostoyevsky type books and plays.

I thought English was not for me until I was forced to read Patrick Kavanaghs Tarry Flynn about 10 years ago during the Leaving Cert. It was a really great book. Since then I came across a few other books and plays that I thought were superb like Kavanagh's The Green Fool. Also the play "The plough and the stars" I liked. After that I read John B. Keane's "The Bodhran Makers" which for me was an unbelievable read. Probably my favourite. That was back in 2002. I couldnt find a book since then that could catch my interest until I came across "Hidden Soldier" by Padraig O'Keeffe in 2011 which I couldnt put down. So well written and told.

I've tried other books by Irish writters like The Borstal Boy by Behan and The Master by MacMahon, among many others which I thought were poor enough.

So basically i have about 4 novels that I like thus far in my existence.

Can anyone suggest a novel that I might like? I really want to find that next great read. And no, the rest of John B Keane's books are light years behind The Bodhran Makers.

Sorry for being so fussy :P

my my my

Have you read 'Birds of Prey' ? by wilbur smith

Quatermain

You might actually like a writer called Neal Stephenson. He writes baroque historical works that delve into the origins of science, mathematics, and physics. They run from intrigue to swashbuckling, from "natural philosophy" to hardcore cryptography. His first one is called "Quicksilver".

Mardy Bum

You sound like a fan of Irish Lit that is not too Joycean centric. Brian Friel is probably the best playwright since Beckett and Wilde. His plays are about rural life so it is similar to Kavanagh's ouevre. Sean O Casey who wrote The Plough and the Stars has two other stand out plays; The Shadow of a Gunman and Juno and the Paycock. Thomas Kilroy and Tom Murphy are also excellent playwrights.

You may like John McGahern's novels such as Amongst Women. It is an excellent read.

ixoy

Seconded on Neal Stephenson. I'd recommend "Cryptonomicon" first for you, far ahead of the Baroque trilogy. It features a large section on cryptography including Turing and the Enigma machine which could tie in nicely if you've read Singh's Code book. Also his "Anathem" tome centres around a group of monks delving into mathematical theories making great discoveries in the process.

If you want to push into the science fiction end but maintain the science element, check out Greg Egan and particularly his short story collections such as "Luminous" and "Oceanic". He is the most rigorous of science fiction writers in his understanding of physics - can be very detailed in the science element but generally with a good story to back it up.

PurpleBee

Just out of interest, what was it that set Tarry Flynn and The Green Fool apart from the rest? Might help in coming up with suggestions for you.

thefasteriwalk

I recommend this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logicomix

Justin1982

I read one of John McGahern's books before. Think it was called The Darkness or something and it was crap. That turned me off trying his other books. I have heard a lot of good things about Amongst women so I might try it.

Justin1982

PurpleBee wrote: »

Just out of interest, what was it that set Tarry Flynn and The Green Fool apart from the rest? Might help in coming up with suggestions for you.

Hmmm. Hard to say. I think its the description of Irish country life that I liked, the small mindedness of people and absolute ridiculous major dramas that were generated out of nothing. Also I liked the struggle of the main character as he tried to rise above the little bubble that the people lived in.
There is also a sense of humour to the books that is subtle.
Also the way the story flows and is told is perfect as far as I'm concerned. No over descriptiveness. No perfect english. Its very real. Captures the Irish way of speaking, thinking and carrying on perfectly.

I know I'm probably wierd about the whole thing. I tried getting my city girlfriend to read Tarry Flynn and she hated everything about it ha ha.

Has anyone read any of these books? Anyone else think that The Bodhran Makers is a superb book?

By the way I went to see Oscar Wildes "A woman of no importance" in the Gate Theatre in the last two weeks. Excellent stuff. I'll have to check out his other plays when they come up. Which is his best? His style seems to be a typical Irish style. As in he gets his point across by ripping the piss out of the people he is trying to depict. Or am I just uneducated?

Thanks for the responses so far.

Justin1982

thefasteriwalk wrote: »

I recommend this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logicomix

I'd be interested in that type of book. Have an interest in that area of mathematical logic and Godels Theorems but not too keen on the whole comic book style.

I'll see can I find more about it online though. Thanks

PurpleBee

Have you ever read or seen John Bull's Other Island by Shaw? Judging by what you said of Wilde's humour and the Kavanagh books I think you might like it.

ViveLaVie

I recommend Sean O Casey too, Frank O Connor and The Playboy of the Western World though for the life of me I can't think of the author's name!

emeraldstar

ViveLaVie wrote: »

I recommend Sean O Casey too, Frank O Connor and The Playboy of the Western World though for the life of me I can't think of the author's name!

JM Synge.

chasmcb

I think you might enjoy the novel No Great Mischief by Alastair MacLeod, a wonderfully written story of the relationships and clan history of two Cape Breton brothers of Scottish highlander descent. Much of the action takes place in present-day Canada but the book is also shot through with memories and stories of their Scottish homeland and forebears. It's a terrific read.

steddyeddy

Im a scientist myself and read a lot of books about genetics, biochemistry ect and have the same problems with novels as you do. The one book I can recommend however would be foucault's pendulum by the philosopher Umberto Eco. To me it actually reads like a science book because of the amount of research involved in its writing. It has been described as a thinking mans da vinci code but I dont think that does it justice.