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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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Hrududu

Xofpod wrote: »

I did the double whammy of Jane Austen in secondary school. Pride & Prejudice for the Inter, Emma for the Leaving.

Suffice it to say, I'm with Mark Twain on the subject: "Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone."

I did the same double whammy and for years thought the same as you. But then I went back and reread Pride and Prejudice years later and was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Callan57

Hrududu wrote: »

I did the same double whammy and for years thought the same as you. But then I went back and reread Pride and Prejudice years later and was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

I had the same experience with George Eliot

SarahBM

I unfortunately got nowhere near finished Dune for cinema book club, however it was starting to grow on my so I think I will finish it. But I am going to take a break for a while to read Lying in Wait which I have wanted to read for ages. And maybe Harry Potter. Also still only half way through Sapiens, which I am also determined to finish and I would love to continue on reading the Tarzan books.
I am doing a social media ban for Dare to Care starting Saturday for a whole week so that means I will have loads of time on my hands for reading!

Xofpod

SarahBM wrote: »

I unfortunately got nowhere near finished Dune for cinema book club, however it was starting to grow on my so I think I will finish it. But I am going to take a break for a while to read Lying in Wait which I have wanted to read for ages. And maybe Harry Potter. Also still only half way through Sapiens, which I am also determined to finish and I would love to continue on reading the Tarzan books.
I am doing a social media ban for Dare to Care starting Saturday for a whole week so that means I will have loads of time on my hands for reading!

Is Sapiens good? it's in the pile to be read...

Fathom

Paper Dolls
by Cory Toth

SarahBM

Xofpod wrote: »

Is Sapiens good? it's in the pile to be read...

It's really just a lot of facts and figures and the author reasoning as to why we turned out the way we did. I don't know if "good" is the word I would use, though I know others who have raved about it. It is interesting, but I found myself getting a bit annoyed and putting it down for long periods. which is why I have not picked it up in about 2 months. I will read another bit though.

Xofpod

Finished The Secret of Evil by Roberto Bolano.. I went into it knowing it was a collection of unfinished pieces, and everything Bolano wrote is worth reading, but it's a bit cheeky naming the book after a one and a half page scrap of a story, just because it's got a catchy title.

eire4

Finished All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque his classic anti war novel about world war 1 written from the perspective of a German soldier on the western front.

Paddy Samurai

Just finished Nightwise by R S Belcher and enjoyed it a lot.
Involving Magic ,the Devil ,the Illuminati and a serbian war criminal ,a real mixed bag ,that worked out well in the end.

Just starting The wheel of Ocheim by Lawrence..

Callan57

Just finished The Story of a New Name, second book in Elene Ferrante's Neapolitan series, and now I am read to begin on the third book Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay .... superb series, can't recommend it enough.

Wyldwood

Read a Man Called Ove and loved it. It was an emotional ride reading it but I'd recommend to all lovers of Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave.

Next on the pile is Rachel Hore's The House on Bellevue Gardens.

Prenderb

Nemanrio wrote: »

Has anyone read The Alchemist? Is it worth a read?

MOD - I moved this in here as it's a more active thread and more likely to get an answer

It's short enough and a straightforward enough read to justify starting it anyway - particularly if it's a lender or library book. Very popular book. Most find it thought-provoking in some way.

Wyldwood wrote: »

Read a Man Called Ove and loved it. It was an emotional ride reading it but I'd recommend to all lovers of Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave.

Next on the pile is Rachel Hore's The House on Bellevue Gardens.

Really enjoyed A man called Ove. I think that was one of the best-built characters I'd read in a long, long time.

I've just finished Orcs: The Second Omnibus. Not as good as the first (perhaps because it wasn't as original).

Belle E. Flops

I finished Poldark last night. I started getting a bit bored of it once I got about halfway through but that could be because I've recently watched it.

I've just started Mr Penumbra's 24 hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. Can't say much about it yet but I love the description of the bookshop with its bookshelves reaching up three stories with sliding ladders etc. I am always drawn to books that are set in bookshops or libraries so hoping this will be good.

Prenderb

Belle E. Flops wrote: »

I've just started Mr Penumbra's 24 hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. Can't say much about it yet but I love the description of the bookshop with its bookshelves reaching up three stories with sliding ladders etc. I am always drawn to books that are set in bookshops or libraries so hoping this will be good.

Look forward to seeing how much you enjoy this one! Loved it myself.

Fathom

Damaged, by Cathy Glass

Arghus

Flashman's Lady by George MacDonald Fraser - The third of the Flashman series of books that I've read so far. This is the first time I've come away thinking that the book was just merely alright, compared to absolutely the belting reads that were Flashman and Royal Flash. Perhaps I've just got used to the gimmick: in case you don't know (and you probably don't, considering that I've never met another living soul who has read these books and have read about them generally quite infrequently online) the gist of the series is that they are the fictional memoirs of Ninteenth Century Aristocrat Harry Flashamn; detailing his globetrotting adventures during the Age of Empire, which usually entails with him being right in the mix during key historical events and rubbing shoulders with titans from global history. Sounds kind of dry, I know. They are anything but. Flashman's character is that of a lying, cheating, cowardly cad, but one who is brutally honest in his assement of himself and the world around him. From what I've read so far, it's easy to deduce that there's a magic to these books, even if I found this particular read didn't scale previous heights. MacDonald Fraser was, quite clearly, a genius. The level of historical research and accuracy is something to admire, but to combine this with sidesplitting humour, and a ability for narrative drive matched with the descriptive powers of a literary master: well, then you've got a genius. A sadly unappreciated genius. Obviously, once you start really looking for it there is a sizable miniority out there that rate these books, but, considering their quality, for them to be so unknown by the public is nothing short of a mystery. If you're a fan of historical fiction, in any way at all, then you owe it to yourself to give these books a shot. As long as you aren't easily offended, of course.

Flashman's Lady isn't a bad book by any means. If it had been my starting off point I'd probably be ranting and raving about it. It does, sadly, contain an awful lot about cricket - which I couldn't give a shit about at the best of times. Also, the main villains could have been more of a match for Flashy. He's such a magnificent bastard in his own right, that whomever he comes up against has to usually be a real, real bad piece of work themselves.

Joe_ Public

Arghus wrote: »

Flashman's Lady by George MacDonald Fraser - The third of the Flashman series of books that I've read so far. This is the first time I've come away thinking that the book was just merely alright, compared to absolutely the belting reads that were Flashman and Royal Flash. Perhaps I've just got used to the gimmick: in case you don't know (and you probably don't, considering that I've never met another living soul who has read these books and have read about them generally quite infrequently online) the gist of the series is that they are the fictional memoirs of Ninteenth Century Aristocrat Harry Flashamn; detailing his globetrotting adventures during the Age of Empire, which usually entails with him being right in the mix during key historical events and rubbing shoulders with titans from global history. Sounds kind of dry, I know. They are anything but. Flashman's character is that of a lying, cheating, cowardly cad, but one who is brutally honest in his assement of himself and the world around him. From what I've read so far, it's easy to deduce that there's a magic to these books, even if I found this particular read didn't scale previous heights. MacDonald Fraser was, quite clearly, a genius. The level of historical research and accuracy is something to admire, but to combine this with sidesplitting humour, and a ability for narrative drive matched with the descriptive powers of a literary master: well, then you've got a genius. A sadly unappreciated genius. Obviously, once you start really looking for it there is a sizable miniority out there that rate these books, but, considering their quality, for them to be so unknown by the public is nothing short of a mystery. If you're a fan of historical fiction, in any way at all, then you owe it to yourself to give these books a shot. As long as you aren't easily offended, of course.

Flashman's Lady isn't a bad book by any means. If it had been my starting off point I'd probably be ranting and raving about it. It does, sadly, contain an awful lot about cricket - which I couldn't give a shit about at the best of times. Also, the main villains could have been more of a match for Flashy. He's such a magnificent bastard in his own right, that whomever he comes up against has to usually be a real, real bad piece of work themselves.

Nice account. Haven't read the Flashman books myself, but have been meaning to get around to them for ages. His McAuslan books are great, though, some of the funniest stories I have ever read.

Belle E. Flops

Finished 'Mr Penumbra's 24hour Bookstore'. I liked it, didn't love it. I was really sucked into it for the first half of the book, and I loved the description of the bookshop and they place in NYC but it just didn't live up to my expectations.

Moving onto 'Psycho' by Robert Bloch.

Xofpod

Brilliant, brilliant books. Flashman's Lady is probably the weakest of the lot, alongside Flashman on the March, but they are all absolutely worth reading.

The quality of the plot varies from book to book but for me, it's the small character moments that make it - the moments where the (almost) lovable rogue anti-hero is revealed for the utterly deplorable human being that he is.

Personal favourite probably Flashman and the Redskins.

Arghus wrote: »

Flashman's Lady by George MacDonald Fraser - The third of the Flashman series of books that I've read so far. This is the first time I've come away thinking that the book was just merely alright, compared to absolutely the belting reads that were Flashman and Royal Flash. Perhaps I've just got used to the gimmick: in case you don't know (and you probably don't, considering that I've never met another living soul who has read these books and have read about them generally quite infrequently online) the gist of the series is that they are the fictional memoirs of Ninteenth Century Aristocrat Harry Flashamn; detailing his globetrotting adventures during the Age of Empire, which usually entails with him being right in the mix during key historical events and rubbing shoulders with titans from global history. Sounds kind of dry, I know. They are anything but. Flashman's character is that of a lying, cheating, cowardly cad, but one who is brutally honest in his assement of himself and the world around him. From what I've read so far, it's easy to deduce that there's a magic to these books, even if I found this particular read didn't scale previous heights. MacDonald Fraser was, quite clearly, a genius. The level of historical research and accuracy is something to admire, but to combine this with sidesplitting humour, and a ability for narrative drive matched with the descriptive powers of a literary master: well, then you've got a genius. A sadly unappreciated genius. Obviously, once you start really looking for it there is a sizable miniority out there that rate these books, but, considering their quality, for them to be so unknown by the public is nothing short of a mystery. If you're a fan of historical fiction, in any way at all, then you owe it to yourself to give these books a shot. As long as you aren't easily offended, of course.

Flashman's Lady isn't a bad book by any means. If it had been my starting off point I'd probably be ranting and raving about it. It does, sadly, contain an awful lot about cricket - which I couldn't give a shit about at the best of times. Also, the main villains could have been more of a match for Flashy. He's such a magnificent bastard in his own right, that whomever he comes up against has to usually be a real, real bad piece of work themselves.

Callan57

Finished Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay last night and this morning I started the fourth book in the series, The Story of the Lost Child.

Fathom

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

Xofpod

This is the Ritual, Rob Doyle.

And slowly working my way through the epic Jerusalem by Alan Moore.

eire4

Fathom wrote: »

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

I liked that one. Very enjoyable and insightful read.

holy guacamole

Finished 'A Place Called Winter' by Patrick Gale.

For those unfamiliar with the book it's about a gay man living in England in the 1900s a time when homosexuality was a crime punishable by death.

At the start I really enjoyed this book, reminded me of John Williams' Stoner in that it was a story about a man struggling to conform in a society which he felt apart from.

But as it progressed it took on a more traditional narrative and didn't really build upon what was a fascinating premise. There's also sections told from within a retreat for the 'mentally disturbed' which add nothing to the story as a whole and should have either been fleshed out or omitted imo.

Still worth checking out if only for a glimpse into how society viewed homosexuality in that era and the consequences for those caught in the act.

eire4

Finished Paul Cuddihy's biography of Tommy Burns A Supporter Who Got Lucky. A warm read about a man who who was lucky enough to live out his dream both as a player and a coach at Celtic.

SarahBM

Just started Interview with a Vampire.
Finished Lying in Wait which I highly recommend. Even better than Unraveling Oliver.
I think I might read a Tarzan book for fun too.

Fathom

Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard

Callan57

Fair Play by Tove Jansson

Loafing Oaf

Justin Pollard's biography of Alfred the Great

Fascinating story well told

Callan57

A reread of The Dark by John McGahern