This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

musical.x · 26-05-2011 12:51PM

started Wyrd sisters by Terry Pratchett last night.

Vim Fuego · 26-05-2011 02:37PM

American Tabloid by James Ellroy.

This is the fourth book of his I've read this year. I think I might just be a little too familiar with him as a result. The dialogue and the writing style neither blew me away or confounded me as it seems to do with many others.

That said, I was very interested in the Kennedy assassination a number of years back and had read a lot about it. To be able to weave a fascinating piece of fiction in between all this, from pre-election to death, using a majority of people that actually existed (mostly in secondary roles) is some feat.

That said, the telling of the story from the perspectives of the three main characters just felt a little too familiar to The Big Nowhere and LA Confidential. Not that this is a bad thing, more my fault for ploughing through so much of his work in a short time. I also really missed the LA setting and mostly the goings-on within the LAPD which was probably filled with more political backstabbing and in-fighting than the FBI, CIA and Presidential offices combined.

On the up-side, the three main characters are absolute gems. I lost track of the amount of times each of them commits "apostasy" (as Hoover is fond of saying) with their views of Cuba, the Kennedy family, the mob and the FBI determined by the fall-out from multiple events. The characters who end the story are not the same men as at the beginning.

It's a solid 4/5 for me. I couldn't stop reading but it just lacked that small bit of magic from the LA Quartet, especially LA Confidential which is my favourite so far. According to other reviews I've read, this is the last "great' Ellroy novel, which makes me sad to think I've seen the best of his work. I have The Cold Six Thousand on the shelf, I might just give myself a bit more time before diving into it.

AnnyHallsal · 27-05-2011 08:12PM

Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming Pool Library. He writes beautifully, but the novels remain gripping. Great combination.

Callan57 · 28-05-2011 10:10AM

The Touch by Colleen McCullough

musical.x · 31-05-2011 02:47PM

Guards! Guards! by terry pratchett

Dibble · 31-05-2011 03:26PM

The Sea by John Banville

Asphyxia · 31-05-2011 07:21PM

Three Wishes by Gemma English

I started this a few weeks ago and I ended up forgetting about it :rolleyes: Four other books later I am picking up where I left off

epgc3fyqirnbsx · 31-05-2011 08:18PM

Crime and Punishment
Was afraid it was going to be a little heavy for morning bus reading but it's fine, two chapters in and highly enjoyable so far

Vim Fuego · 01-06-2011 03:07PM

Fevre Dream by George RR Martin.

Vampires on the Mississippi in the 1850's basically. Very atmospheric so far, about 50% in. Loving the main character Abner Marsh, a gruff steamboat captain.

Noticing a few things in this that may have been ripped off by True Blood (the tv series, not too interested in reading Charlaine Harris' books) but I won't say for fear of spoilers.

Anyway, firstbook of GRRM's I have read outside of the ASOIAF series. Nice to know I won't be waiting six years for another installment at least!

musical.x · 01-06-2011 03:16PM

Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett

Callan57 · 01-06-2011 03:30PM

Viking Odinn's Child by Tim Severin

emeraldstar · 01-06-2011 09:51PM

Made in America by Bill Bryson. Barely 20 pages in but loving it so far. Definitely my type of book.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 03-06-2011 07:39PM

'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists' by Robert Tresell.

AnnyHallsal · 03-06-2011 08:48PM

Terence Rattigan: The Man and his Work

Callan57 · 04-06-2011 05:24PM

The Song of Troy by Colleen McCullough

Busi_Girl08 · 04-06-2011 08:58PM

After abandoning it at approx page 380 nearly 3 weeks ago, I have given up on It.

Too drawn out. Same thing over again and again, it just made actually not care about what happens next.

So I have moved onto the next bewk - American Psycho

posy2010 · 04-06-2011 09:05PM

Reading The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. I am about 2/3 of the way through and while it is sexist enough to be off putting at times, it is keeping my attention.

mikedone · 05-06-2011 10:50PM

Just finished "A Feast For Crows", part four of George R.R. Martin's "Song Of Ice And Fire" and about to start Joe Abercrombie's "The Heroes"

AnnyHallsal · 07-06-2011 06:37PM

Comic book this week. Neil Gaiman's Preludes and Nocturnes.

Niles · 08-06-2011 05:34PM

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Callan57 · 08-06-2011 11:49PM

Smut two unseemly stories by Alan Bennett

squeakyduck · 09-06-2011 03:17PM

I've just started blood, sweat and tears: an Irish Woman’s Journey of Self-Discovery.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/65468

A must read for any runner

Callan57 · 09-06-2011 11:50PM

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett by Colleen McCullough

johnsonkid · 10-06-2011 03:22AM

The Celts - A History by, Peter Berresford Ellis (of Sister Fidelma fame). Great book by a great scholar. PBE demolishes some current myths (there were no such thing as Celts) and some old ones (the Celts were illiterate) is the opening pages of the book, it only gets better from there. Well worth a red for anyone interested in such history.

Cartier Trinity Ring Cartier Love Bracelet CartierNotes Bracelet in Rose Gold Plated

AnnyHallsal · 10-06-2011 08:14AM

The Hare with Amber Eyes

Can it possibly live up to all this hype? We shall see.

musical.x · 10-06-2011 12:27PM

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

old hippy · 10-06-2011 12:37PM

Just finished John Dickie's Cosa Nostra - a history of the Sicilian mafia. V imformative, not at all sensationalist, despite the Reservoir Dogs style cover.

Reading a Charlie Brooker book at the moment & smiling like a lunatic on the tube...

Travel is good · 10-06-2011 03:26PM

AnnyHallsal wrote: »

The Hare with Amber Eyes

Can it possibly live up to all this hype? We shall see.

I just finished that book last week. Yes, I think it did live up to all the hype! A lovely story. I'm recommending it to everyone.

This week I'm reading "Leaving the World" by Douglas Kennedy.

flyaway. · 11-06-2011 12:43PM

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

Blush_01 · 11-06-2011 11:16PM

Travel is good wrote: »

This week I'm reading "Leaving the World" by Douglas Kennedy.

Actually really enjoyed that.

Currently reading The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood. LOVE Atwood.

This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

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