What Are You Reading?

bythewoods · 08-01-2011 04:01AM

Should I start reading The Great Gatsby or Catch 22 next?!

Guide me goddamit!

jefreywithonef · 08-01-2011 04:14AM

Found Gatsby merely decent. Did not live up to the hype. Haven't read the other.

wurzlitzer · 08-01-2011 04:20AM

I have read both

Gatsby is very good read.

read the catch twice...classic, very funny

In fact from time to time, I read one of the chapters on it's own, just for laughs.

The black humour is amazing...shame the film did not live up to the book

Lawliet · 08-01-2011 02:04PM

I haven't read the Great Gatsby, but I strongly recommend Catch 22 anyway. It's one of my favourite books EVAR!

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 08-01-2011 03:06PM

KnifeWRENCH wrote: »

I'd disagree there. Haven't read Hitchens' book but I find him absolutely insufferable, and representative about everything that's wrong with militant atheism.

Dawkins is a little arrogant but I find him much more tolerable and less sensationalist than Hitchens.

Im reading 'Letters to a Christian Nation' by Sam Harris, he seems to be quite reasonable compared to Hitchens.

bythewoods · 08-01-2011 05:00PM

Read the first few pages of both, but haven't been able to settle yet.

I think I'll give Catch 22 a shot.

Found a copy of it in my attic, it's about 25 years old, with teeny tiny font and really brittle, yellow pages. And it's got the next best thing to new book smell- really old book smell. Num num num.

Jako8 · 08-01-2011 05:07PM

Finally started American Gods yesterday. About 80 pages in and it's pretty good.

stevveyg · 08-01-2011 05:13PM

just started the girl who kicked the hornets nest, read the other 2during xmas really enjoyed them. watched the first two movies as well, and as always the books are much better

08-01-2011 08:00PM

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

Im reading 'Letters to a Christian Nation' by Sam Harris, he seems to be quite reasonable compared to Hitchens.

He's quite good. Really calm guy, and even the people who don't like Dawkins seem to like him. Must read that now, I've only seen him talk. Although he has some ideas about some absolute morality that we can deduce from science which I don't agree with.

Reading Matter by Ian Banks. I've started it before and stopped halfway through. It's quite good actually so I'm not sure why. Top quality Sci-fi.

Lawliet · 08-01-2011 09:14PM

Finally got round to starting The Great Hunt, the second book in The Wheel of Time series.
The fourteen book in the series is going to be released in 2012, so I've decided I'm going to have read all thirteen books finished before then. Most of them are over a thousand pages long, so that should keep me occupied for a while.

Juice Terry · 09-01-2011 12:08AM

I read Brett Easton Ellis's 'The Informers' over Xmas; picked up in HMV for two quid! It's, at the same time, the most depressing and compelling novel I've ever read. It's the literary equivalent of rubber-necking at the scene of a car crash!

Started reading 'Filth' again for about the fourth time. Irvine Welsh at his very, very best.

Ginja Ninja · 09-01-2011 04:19PM

I'm reading the unread posts in this forum TROLLOLOLOLOLOL!!!

[sorry,I've wanted to make that joke since this thread started]

norwegianwood · 09-01-2011 07:57PM

Just started reading the Shining, its class, I need to start reading King more often.

Cows Go µ · 09-01-2011 11:55PM

I discovered a voucher in my locker in work today so got Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs, I'd already read half of it on my lunch breaks and got to a really exciting part so just had to get it. Its my first venture into crime and I'm really enjoying it.

shefellover93 · 12-01-2011 12:19AM

Got a few books for Christmas. Finished Michael McIntyre's (Did I spell that right?) autobiog. Despite the fact that nobody should have one before the age of 60 I thought it was enjoyable enough. Some funny anecdotes, and the start of the book is hilarious, which reels you in.

Onto the Damned United now, and find it fascinating how Clough is portrayed as being so paranoid. Very enjoyable so far, but does paint Cloughie in a bad way (no great mystery there)

Carl Sagan · 12-01-2011 03:53AM

Anyone know of any decent audio books?

12-01-2011 04:59AM

Carl Sagan wrote: »

Anyone know of any decent audio books?

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series, if that counts.

pajor · 12-01-2011 01:42PM

Bad Lands by Tony Wheeler
rather amusing

Corkfeen · 12-01-2011 11:33PM

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, it's excellent but extremely strange.:D

Slow Show · 13-01-2011 09:26PM

I'm past the halfway mark of The Kite Runner now...I'm seriously underwhelmed so far tbh, so I'm hoping it picks up. Maybe it's the fact that I'm only managing to get a few chapters in here and there what with life getting crazy busy lately or that I really dislike the protagonist. It's like he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever...so far. But hopefully I'll like it more as I go on, the last book I read (Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb...Go read everyone!) took ages to pull me in and then I loved it.

Robby91 · 13-01-2011 09:31PM

Been reading Elephants on Acid over the last few days after my brother had finished it - there's some fairly crazy stuff in it...

EuropeanSon · 14-01-2011 07:32PM

Working my way through Gardens Of The Moon, the first book in The Malazan Book Of The Fallen series now... Quite good.

Next book I intend to get onto after that is Room by Emma Donoghue. Anybody read it?

amacachi · 15-01-2011 01:56AM

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

Im reading 'Letters to a Christian Nation' by Sam Harris, he seems to be quite reasonable compared to Hitchens.

Don't diss The Hitch.

Deleted User wrote: »

He's quite good. Really calm guy, and even the people who don't like Dawkins seem to like him. Must read that now, I've only seen him talk. Although he has some ideas about some absolute morality that we can deduce from science which I don't agree with.

There's something about him I don't like but I can't quite put my finger on it. Well actually what you mentioned there about his ideas about absolute morality may well be a large part of it. Really can't agree with that idea.

Shall start reading something on Monday, haven't made up my mind from the books I bought myself over Christmas, none quite fit what I feel like reading right now, though few books do.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 15-01-2011 02:30AM

I like Hitchens... I was just saying Sam Harris might appeal to others who don't.

amacachi · 15-01-2011 02:45AM

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

I like Hitchens... I was just saying Sam Harris might appeal to others who don't.

Whether you like him or not it seemed you were saying he was unreasonable, and that's a diss in my book. :pac:

Irish_Elect_Eng · 15-01-2011 03:08AM

Re-Reading "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

Last 2 "Wheel of Time" Books in the hopper.

Slow Show · 15-01-2011 12:13PM

I finished reading The Kite Runner last night. Yes, it definitely picked up and it's quite a good book but I just don't get the hype tbh. Still though, it was well worth the read even for the insight into life in Afghanistan, which I'd never really thought about before. But wow, Amir has to be the least likeable protagonist ever.

Anyway, I'm gonna start reading The Book Thief today. I really hope that lives up to all I've heard about it. I gobble up books set during World War 2 normally, so hopefully I'll like it.

EuropeanSon · 15-01-2011 12:58PM

Slow Show wrote: »

Anyway, I'm gonna start reading The Book Thief today. I really hope that lives up to all I've heard about it. I gobble up books set during World War 2 normally, so hopefully I'll like it.

That's another one that's in my very large pile... It looks quite good.

jefreywithonef · 15-01-2011 04:10PM

Going back to college fecked up my reading so after 400 pages I came to an abrupt stop in reading Homicide by David Cross, the guy who created The Wire. Overall it's good, very good, but it does get a bit trashy and melodramatic in places. Anyway I'll go back to it in a week or so.

Started reading The Death of Bunny Monroe by Nick Cave last night and it's excellent so far. Some of the lines are just poetic and remind me of Raymond Carver while the first scene in the hotel room made me think of Blasted (an excellent albeit strange play).

Namlub · 15-01-2011 05:53PM

Slow Show wrote: »

Anyway, I'm gonna start reading The Book Thief today. I really hope that lives up to all I've heard about it. I gobble up books set during World War 2 normally, so hopefully I'll like it.

Hah, I'm reading that now! The writing style's a bit hard to get used to at first but I'm almost finished and I love it now, though I feel like it's going to end badly

What Are You Reading?

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