What book are you reading atm?? CHAPTER TWO

py2006

Well now,

Following on from the surprising interest and genuinely great contributions from so many on here in the first thread it finally reached its capacity.

So I decided to create a fresh one and hopefully it will continue in the same vein and provide a great resource in the current climate too.

Simple rules:
1/ Title of Book
2/ Author/s
3/ Brief blurb on whats its about
4/ Would ya recommend it.

Thanks


Link to Literary Forum for more indepth discussion of any books

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=19

'The Life Of Riley' by Anthony Cronin. A tragi-comedy about an unrepentent chancer's descent into drink-fuelled oblivion. Highly recommended for sparkling turn of phrase.

thefasteriwalk

Last night I finished Coetzee’s ‘Waiting for the Barabrians.’ It’s my favourite of his works that I’ve read so far. Subtle but profound. Tonight I am starting Philip Roth’s alternative history ‘The Plot Against America.’ I’m looking forward to checking out the HBO adaptation when I’m finished.

branie2

Galway Girl, a Jack Taylor thriller, by Ken Bruen

mikhail

Prisoners of Geography, Tim Marshall. It's reducing the foreign policy of various powers (Russia, China, US, so far) to a race to secure mountains, coasts, and navigable sea channels so they can't easily be attacked. Somewhat interesting, but feels a bit reductive.

Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield written by Jeremy Scahill. It's about the covert wars that the United States has been fighting. Excellent read and a real eye opener, even for someone that has a particular low opinion of U.S regimes. I'm on my third reading of it and still learning more and more.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15814204-dirty-wars

JohnnyFlash

[Deleted User] wrote: »

'The Life Of Riley' by Anthony Cronin. A tragi-comedy about an unrepentent chancer's descent into drink-fuelled oblivion. Highly recommended for sparkling turn of phrase.

Sounds great, Bertie. I’ll have to give it a read.

Quantum Erasure

I'm still on chapter one... haven't finished whatever it was I was reading in the last thread

gutenberg

Getting through Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel in anticipation of the new one. Read Wolf Hall last week. I'd forgotten how good they are, and I recall liking Bring Up the Bodies even more than Wolf Hall when I read it first, so let's see if it stands up to that...

The_Kew_Tour

Max Hastings All Hell Let Loose about WW2 was enjoyable.

Keeping with WW2 theme Hanns and Rudolf by Thomas Hardy was also decent.

ArchXStanton

Can anyone recommend a good Terry Pratchett book? I'm here putting in an amazon book order

quickbeam

Mort.

mikhail

Mort is a good place to start - I think it's the first of the books that focus on the anthropomorphic Death.

I'm fond of Guards! Guards! too, which is the start of the Night Watch stories, which are my favourite of the strands that run through the series. In a city where crime has been legalised (and given quotas - the city's dictator is delightfully Machiavellian), the Night Watch is a defunct organisation, staffed by imbeciles and run by a jaded if capable alcoholic. The boss is always depicted in the cover art as a sort of Clint Eastwood type - possibly in reaction to the watch motto - Fabricas Diem, Pvnk. Their idealistic new recruit may be the rightful heir to the throne, and there's a plot to overthrow the dictator and install someone worse. Pratchett wrote it after thinking about the guys they always yelled for in the old movies - "Guards! Guards!"

Of the relatively stand-alone books, I adored Thief of Time. Just to give you a flavour, the lead character is a monk who practices "deja fu", which is a martial art that leaves one with the impression that one has been kicked in the head that way before. His order seems to be modelled on the Buddhists, but they worship, protect, and manipulate time. In spite of that, he derives his philosophy in life from the aphorisms of his old landlady, which he has collected in a little notebook. Lines like, "If you keep picking at that, it'll never heal" are treated with reverence. It's simultaneously sweet and funny, and a great send-up of religion. It's a fun adventure too.

andekwarhola

Lines In The Sand - AA Gill

Your Face

I'm a few chapters into Napoleon the Great by Andrew Roberts.

Really like it so far.

EmmetSpiceland

[Deleted User] wrote: »

'The Life Of Riley' by Anthony Cronin. A tragi-comedy about an unrepentent chancer's descent into drink-fuelled oblivion. Highly recommended for sparkling turn of phrase.

Have you ever read ‘No Time for Work’ by George Ryan, B? Well worth a look if you haven’t.

Tigerbaby

ArchXStanton wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good Terry Pratchett book? I'm here putting in an amazon book order

A, Just finished my ( 3rd or 4th !!) re-read of all the discworld books, and I also loved the Night Watch and Death books.

However, as a stand-alone book, I found "Small Gods" one of his best.

On a similar seam of writing, I am in the middle of reading Walter Moers Zamonia series of books. Buy the actual books, not kindle, as the illustrations within are essential to the stories.

Moers is ( almost) up there with Pratchett for inventiveness, fun and sheer craziness.

enjoy

eviltwin

Reading The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. It's a great book but I think I need something a bit lighthearted at the moment. Nothing too heavy. Someone recommended David Sedaris, anyone familiar with his work?

Tauriel

I finished I Know A Secret today by Tess Gerritsen and thus the Rizzoli & Isles series. I quite enjoyed it and a bit sad that this is the end for the crime fighting duo.

EmmetSpiceland

‘The Planets’ by Dava Sobel.

A nice little read, gives a little history, mythology and social/cultural “background” of the solar system.

Don’t expect a “hard” science textbook or, if you’re a Sobel fan, maybe don’t expect the same “impact” as ‘Longitude’ but it’s still enjoyable.

ablelocks

Night Boat to Tangier, Kevin Barry.

not quite City of Bohane, but really good

Nigel Fairservice

I'm reading State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America. It's an interesting anthology piece where authors talk about their impressions of one of the 50 US states, try to give us a sense of place and give context to what each state means to them on a personal level. It's a mixed bag with some contributors doing it better than others. There's some nice contributions from Rick Moody and Dave Eggers.

mikhail

Nigel Fairservice wrote: »

I'm reading State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America. It's an interesting anthology piece where authors talk bout their impressions of one of the 50 US states, try to give us a sense of place and give context to what each state means to them on a personal level. It's a mixed bag with some contributors doing it better than others. There's some nice contributions from Rick Moody and Dave Eggers.

Eggers has a interesting autobiography called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. He lost both parents to cancer and wound up a twenty-something-year-old guardian of his little brother, 13 years his junior. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer.

Danger781

Finished Station Eleven. Not a huge fan if I'm honest. Left me feeling like the book had unfulfilled potential. Not enough focus on the post-apocalyptic elements of the story and far too much focus on the backstory of insignificant characters.

Started reading Sam Harris' book Waking Up. Not an easy read so far even though I've just started.

Tauriel

I've just finished The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury and really enjoyed this first of five novels in the Sean Reilly series.

The Vatican lend some of their prized artifacts, which are normally hidden deep within the Vatican vaults, to the Met in New York for display. On the opening night, four horseman raid the Met leaving a trail of destruction and death in their wake.

In comes FBI agent Sean Reilly to investigate the case alongside an archaeologist that was in attendance at the raid and a Vatican representative. Soon it becomes clear that the motive behind the raid is not a straightforward robbery but something much more sinister, that the Catholic Church would kill to keep secret.

branie2

The Guardians, the latest John Grisham thriller

Tauriel

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl.

Another one of the books recommended by the Auschwitz Memorial that I decided to read. Unfortunately this particular book wasn't my cup of tea, I couldn't wait to finish it.

TheRepentent

Currently reading Fatherland by Richard Harris (good so far , surprised I hadn't read it before).

Also reading (and would be a great cure for insomniacs) the Blitzkrieg Legend...the bundeswehrs analysis of the 1940 panzer campaign in the west. Good but only if military history is your thing

Foweva Awone

I've started into "An Astronaut's Guide To Life", a memoir by Chris Hadfield. He mentions that his earnestness is a bit of a joke to his children. And he really does come across as very earnest, idealistic, on the verge of preachy. That aside, it's a good read - he's an astronaut, how could it not be interesting!

Thargor

Took a punt on the Chivalry series by Christian Cameron:

https://www.goodreads.com/series/132815-chivalry

And its great. Young English squire heads off to war in France to make his fortune, reads a lot like Emperor by Conn Iggulden. Couldnt have come at a better time either, bored all day at work then bored all evening at home. He has a Greek series and a Roman series and Im just going to grab them now aswell because Im tearing through the first series.

andekwarhola

I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe.

Collie D

“The Psychopath Test” by Jon Ronson

Only a couple of chapters in but I like the premise and reckon it will be interesting. I think I’ve read one of his other books (friend is a big fan and apparently she gave me both?) - Them: Adventures with Extremists - but I genuinely can’t remember one bit of it.

Just finished “The Mountain Shadow” by Gregory David Roberts after months. Awful ****e. And I loved his first one “ Shantaram”.

KH25

Taking the opportunity to read Macbeth and enjoying it so far. I’ve always wanted to read it but just never got around to it.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I've read so many in the last few weeks that I couldn't possibly cover them all here.

At the moment I'm reading the sequel to Under the Hawthorn Tree, 'Wildflower Girl'.. When I read Under the Hawthorn Tree (I came to it late) the reviews of its sequel's here wasn't great so I avoided them. But this morning I downloaded Wildflower Girl, and have almost finished it and loving it.

But probably the stand out book for me during the lockdown has been 'The Forgotten Highlander', a story of a young Scottish lad conscripted into the Gordan Highlanders at the beginning of WWII.

Sent to the far East he was on a cushy number until falling prisoner to the Japanese, then the horror story begins.. His story of imprisonment, hardships, torture, starvation and survival for the next 3 years was like something I've never read before.

After capture he survived working on the infamous bridge on the river Kwai, he was being shipped to another work camp when his ship was torpedo'd by an American sub.. He survived this and floated on a raft for a week before being rescued by a Japanese fishing trawler and taken to Japan where he was again imprisoned in a POW camp.. Then he survived the bombing of Hiroshima and eventually he was freed by American troops.

An incredible story and highly recommended.

Barna77

Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi. Picked it randomly in a charity shop.

You'd think a book with so many geographical references would include a map or two... Nope.

paddythere

With all this time on my hands I've finally decided to get stuck into the enormous "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer.. Excellent so far, wonderfully written.

mikhail

Barna77 wrote: »

Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi. Picked it randomly in a charity shop.

You'd think a book with so many geographical references would include a map or two... Nope.

It's out of copyright. You could make a version with handy maps.

Foweva Awone

"Station Eleven" by Emily St John Mandel.

It's about survivors of a global flu pandemic (apt, eh?) ... it's something different, it's disturbing and beautiful and really well written. Worth a read!

ablelocks

Stasi Child - David Young

first in a series of tormented detective in cold war east berlin gets sucked into investigations with distinct political overtones. the series was reduced on kindle books a couple of weeks ago so bought them all.

edit : actually still £0.98 or free on kindle unlimited, which is on a 30 day rather than 7 day trial

Tauriel

The Templar Salvation by Raymond Khoury.

This is the follow up novel to The Last Templar and was very enjoyable.

JeffreyEpspeen

Been a while since I read a book. I love George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane books. The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy is probably the best book I ever read. Strangely enough it's the only Ellroy book I've read. I started LA Confidential, and it was good, but I got interrupted, forgot where I left off, and I hate starting over.

Jackoflynn

This is happiness
By Niall Williams.
Beautifully written, gorgeous words. Old school Irish tale of ordinary lives. Funny and heart - warming.
Touching and unique.

Danger781

Finished
Sam Harris - Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
Disappointed overall in this book. Left a 3 star review on Goodreads. I'm a fan of Harris. I've listened to every single episode where he appeared on the JRE podcast and become absolutely engrossed hearing him speak. I bought this book immediately after, and suffice it to say, it probably wasn't the best introduction to Harris' books. I do intend of delving into some of his other materials despite my feelings toward this one as I'm confident the others won't disappoint.

Currently Reading:
Cibola Burn (The Expanse, #4) - James S.A. Corey
Enjoying this one so far. Was not a fan of #3 in the series. This seems like an improvement but time will tell as the book progresses (I've about 25% read).

bodhrandude

Just read the two books about Afghanistan called The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini which were amazing and traumatic at the same time, especially the passages about the Taliban. Just now I've started another book by author Christy Lefteri called The Beekeeper of Aleppo that is as equally good based on refugees fleeing Syria and settling in the UK, also about Isis and Assad destroying that beautiful city, definitely an Eastern journey I'm in at the moment.

Ipso

JeffreyEpspeen wrote: »

Been a while since I read a book. I love George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane books. The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy is probably the best book I ever read. Strangely enough it's the only Ellroy book I've read. I started LA Confidential, and it was good, but I got interrupted, forgot where I left off, and I hate starting over.

LA Confidential is better. A beast of a book. If you like his stuff you should try American Tabloid.

EmmetSpiceland

Just finished ‘King Goshawk and the Birds’ by Eimar O’Duffy. A very funny, satirical, book.

If you’re one of those who can’t handle any “criticism”, or jokes, of all things Irish steer clear. An excellent read.

Going to start ‘American Gods’ by Neil Gaiman next, on the recommendation of an esteemed “contributor“ to this very thread, no less. The fact it’s not set during World War 2, in a concentration camp or some godawful drivel set in “Roman times“ already stands to it.

mikhail

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Going to start ‘American Gods’ by Neil Gaiman next, on the recommendation of an esteemed “contributor“ to this very thread, no less. The fact it’s not set during World War 2, in a concentration camp or some godawful drivel set in “Roman times“ already stands to it.

It's a good read, though I liked Anansi Boys better.

Tauriel

Survival in Auschwitz: If This Is A Man by Primo Levi.

Again another text recommended by the Auschwitz Memorial. It wasn't great to be honest, so far out of the recommended readings, I've only enjoyed Night by Elie Wiesel.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Reading 'Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans Von Luck

A fantastic read. Col Von Luck fought in just about every theater of war in Europe and north Africa, then fought the invading allied forces on D.Day.. Commanded German forces at Pegasus Bridge and many years after WWII while lecturing college students on WWII he met his opposite number, the commander of British forces fighting him at the bridge, they immediately struck up a friendship which was to last to their dying days.

The both describe each other as best friends.

It some bloody read.

A thank you now.. A few months back I was undecided on getting a Kindle and a few gave me good advice, I got one and have loved it since. But right now its been a God send, during CV-19 I'm devouring books on it, thank you.

JustAThought

Re-reading one of my favourite books:
The Boys of Everest by Clint Willis.

All true Tales of climbing & feats of madness and daring over the past century - amazingly written and now with the internet you can google the places they talk about and see them and look them up on youtube documentaries - great way to kill a covid 19 week or two and a really un-put-downable read that keeps you clenched on the edge of the couch.

megaten

Started The Encahted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. Only on chapter three but it seems fun.