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This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Sammy Jennings

...continued from this thread

A Good School by Richard Yates

Slight, but some great moments

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B_Wayne

The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson, surprised by how visceral and modern it feels. Great so far.

Prenderb

Swiper the fox wrote: »

I'm not exactly flying through 'all the light we cannot see', have heard great reports from here and elsewhere, if I'm not loving it after 100 pages am I in trouble?

I thought this was a great read and have purchased copies as gifts, equally well received. That being said, I too subscribe to the "it's not biting, there are many more books to read" limit of around 100 pages. I'm reluctant to advise you to give it up, but if you're not enjoying it by p100, you might not enjoy the rest of it.

I've just finished "Selling Hitler" which is the very intriguing story of the creation and sale of the Hitler Diaries in the early 80s.

MasqueOfTheRed

Anna Karenina - loving it. Such an easy read after battling through War and Peace! That second epilogue half killed me.

Callan57

The Haunting of Nathaniel Wolfe by Brian Keaney

bobbyss

Aenaes wrote: »

Been a while since I posted in here. I finished 1984 by George Orwell, found it scary, funny and sweet in places.

I read My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk and Attila The Hun: Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire by Christopher Kelly on holidays.
Such a vast difference in terms of enjoyment.

I was excited to start My Name is Red but it turned out to be dull and drawn out. Set in 1590's Istanbul a miniaturist is murdered. It deals less with the murder and the city than with the styles of painting and the encroachment of the "European style" upon the miniaturists.

Attila the Hun was a fantastic book. It sets to tell the story of a person we've all heard about but actually know very little of. The author explores how much of we "know" is actually derived from Roman prejudice and propaganda.
The conflicts, intrigues and power shifts of the time are told but it doesn't read just like a "history" book. Definitely a book I'd recommend checking out.

I just finished The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth who is apparently a famous author but I'd never heard of before. The books deals with three generations of the Trotta family and the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Anyway, I'm currently reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. It seemed to start of slowly and the language is a bit of a slog sometimes but it's picking up pace now.

Do let us know about Ivanhoe. I have a few Scott novels on my bookshelf and eye them up now and then.

Callan57

A Backward Place by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala ... OMG the print is tiny

holy guacamole

Finished 'Bitter Fruit' by Achmat Dangor. Found it a very strange, kind of remote, book.

It's set in South Africa just after Mandela's release and centres on a middle-aged couple and their teenage son. A rape which occurred in the distant past is the driving force for the story but in many ways the story is about South Africa itself and its attitudes to race and sex.

The most striking thing about the book however is how distant it all feels, how the events unfolding are relayed to the reader in a matter-of-fact manner. Because of this it's difficult to care all that much about what's happening, something which is only enhanced by how thoroughly unlikeable all the characters are.

As an insight into a country finding itself after a period of untold political turmoil it works quite well, but if it's entertainment or a good read you're after look elsewhere.

Xofpod

10:04 by Ben Lerner. Picked up at random in the library and loving it so far.

Callan57

Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark

eire4

Finished a re read of Trainspotting by Irving Welsh. Hilarious and really enjoyable madcap book.

Gremlinertia

Roseanna - The Martin Beck series by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo.. Written in 1965 but very fresh for it, then again i may have a slight fondness for Scandinavian thrillers

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I read a few pages of The Sisters Brothers tonight. Can tell already I'm going to like it.

Xofpod

eire4 wrote: »

Finished a re read of Trainspotting by Irving Welsh. Hilarious and really enjoyable madcap book.

I'm thinking about rereading Porno before the Trainspotting sequel movie comes out but I have the feeling that most of his stuff, bar Trainspotting and maybe Glue, won't stand up to repeat reading.

Birneybau

Xofpod wrote: »

I'm thinking about rereading Porno before the Trainspotting sequel movie comes out but I have the feeling that most of his stuff, bar Trainspotting and maybe Glue, won't stand up to repeat reading.

I thought 'Marabou Stork Nightmares' was his best book by miles. Then again, haven't re-read it.

eire4

Xofpod wrote: »

I'm thinking about rereading Porno before the Trainspotting sequel movie comes out but I have the feeling that most of his stuff, bar Trainspotting and maybe Glue, won't stand up to repeat reading.

I had no idea they were making a film out of porno. I liked the film version of Trainspotting although the book as usual was much better. I have not read Glue yet. Will have to put that onto my ever growing to read list.

Huntergonzo

Could anybody recommend a book for me please, I'll tell you roughly what I'm after. I'm looking for a book that details the differences in everyday life between black and white people in the America south before slavery was abolished (preferably the mid 1800s). I don't particularly mind if it's one story or a collection of different stories but I much prefer fact (not really a fan of fiction) and something under 600 pages.

Any suggestion would be great, thanks.

IvyTheTerrible

Huntergonzo wrote: »

Could anybody recommend a book for me please, I'll tell you roughly what I'm after. I'm looking for a book that details the differences in everyday life between black and white people in the America south before slavery was abolished (preferably the mid 1800s). I don't particularly mind if it's one story or a collection of different stories but I much prefer fact (not really a fan of fiction) and something under 600 pages.

Any suggestion would be great, thanks.

Roots by Haley is semi-factual, it traces one family from their African origins up to the author. I thought it was excellent.

Huntergonzo

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Roots by Haley is semi-factual, it traces one family from their African origins up to the author. I thought it was excellent.

Cheers for that Ivy, I'll look it up.

Callan57

The Good Son by Paul McVeigh

Harry Angstrom

Huntergonzo wrote: »

Could anybody recommend a book for me please, I'll tell you roughly what I'm after. I'm looking for a book that details the differences in everyday life between black and white people in the America south before slavery was abolished (preferably the mid 1800s). I don't particularly mind if it's one story or a collection of different stories but I much prefer fact (not really a fan of fiction) and something under 600 pages.

Any suggestion would be great, thanks.

Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Joe_ Public

If you're lookign for factual books on slavery, you could do a lot worse than Edward Baptist's The Half Was Never Told. Complex story told in a devastating and very readable manner and weighs in at an easily manageable 500 odd pages. Left an indelible imprint on me anyway.

Huntergonzo

Thanks for all the suggestions folks.

Mr.Nice Guy

I finished Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes which was another book recommended to me in the combat scenes thread.

I thought this was a very good book. The last few chapters were especially compelling. I will say I was a bit disappointed that:

we didn't find out what happened to the protagonist Mellas. I was wondering would he make it out of there alive.

The parts with the superiors such as the Colonel were enjoyable too and how they viewed events from their own positions of self-interest. I'd recommend it.

Gonzovision

So finished 'Stalin: In the court of the Red Tsar' by Simon Sebag Montefoire, honestly one of the best books I've read in a long time. Very easy to read but extremely informative and enjoyable, although the subject matter was trying at times, to say the least!

I then read 'Nothing is True and Everything is Possible' by Peter Pomerantsev, a look at life in modern day Russia. It's about a British TV producers ten years living in Moscow. Not what I expected but some great stories, quite eye opening.

Sticking on a Russian theme, I've just started 'Fragile Empire' by Ben Judah, chronicling the rise of Vladamir Putin.

Callan57

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Xofpod

eire4 wrote: »

I had no idea they were making a film out of porno. I liked the film version of Trainspotting although the book as usual was much better. I have not read Glue yet. Will have to put that onto my ever growing to read list.

Glue is well worth a read and some of the characters from that cross over into Porno, as well as into some of his other "less good" stuff.

I'm currently reading Digging Up Mother by comedian, Doug Stanhope. If anybody is familiar with his comedy style, then you will know that the book is all kinds of crazy. (I'm only two chapters in.)

Ipso

About half way through Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series, great stuff. At least he writes faster than George Martin.

kirk buttercup

Ipso wrote: »

About half way through Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series, great stuff. At least he writes faster than George Martin.

they are Brilliant and bbc are adapting them for tv