This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Ipso · 18-12-2014 07:44AM

Birneybau wrote: »

On to '2001' by Arthur C. Clarke, enjoyable, very accessible, picked up the whole collection, seems short enough, makes a change from having read 'Song of Ice and Fire' collection over the Summer. ; )

Also, re-reading 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' by Bryson on the side. Love it.

Was thinking about getting that, what about Rendevous with Rama? Heard it's supposed to be good.

Birneybau · 18-12-2014 06:10PM

Ipso wrote: »

Was thinking about getting that, what about Rendevous with Rama? Heard it's supposed to be good.

I may get to it eventually but '2001' is my first Arthur C. Clarke book.

eire4 · 18-12-2014 10:24PM

Finished a re read of Roy Keane's 2002 biography self titled Keane. Interesting read but amazing how constantly negative he is in the book.

Hrududu · 18-12-2014 11:14PM

Finished Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and adored it. Not sure whether to take a break before reading another of his or jumping right in. First book I've read in a long time where I didn't want it to end.

Birneybau · 19-12-2014 10:42AM

Hrududu wrote: »

Finished Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and adored it. Not sure whether to take a break before reading another of his or jumping right in. First book I've read in a long time where I didn't want it to end.

Read 'Black Swan Green', a very straight forward palate cleanser before delving into 'The Bone Clocks'. Do not read "Number9dream' straight away.

Callan57 · 19-12-2014 11:12AM

Birneybau wrote: »

Read 'Black Swan Green', a very straight forward palate cleanser before delving into 'The Bone Clocks'. Do not read "Number9dream' straight away.

I don't care what order but read them all ... I love David Mitchell

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 19-12-2014 12:23PM

I've started The Colour Purple. The dialect was a bit annoying at first but I've gotten used to it now, I find myself reading with an accent

Callan57 · 19-12-2014 12:25PM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I've started The Colour Purple. The dialect was a bit annoying at first but I've gotten used to it now, I find myself reading with an accent

I found that such an upsetting book to read - brilliant but upsetting

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 19-12-2014 12:33PM

Callan57 wrote: »

I found that such an upsetting book to read - brilliant but upsetting

Well she's

Spoiler

raped

on the first page so I wasn't expecting a light read.

Birneybau · 19-12-2014 01:10PM

Callan57 wrote: »

I don't care what order but read them all ... I love David Mitchell

I'm yet to read 'The Ten Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet' myself to complete his works, a great writer.

Finished '2001' by Arthur C. Clarke last night and really enjoyed it, the moment where Dave goes through the Star Gate and what happens next were awe-inspiring.

Straight into ' The Book of Strange New Things' by Michel Faber today, excellent so far, another fantastic writer.

ivytwine · 19-12-2014 02:49PM

Birneybau wrote: »

I'm yet to read 'The Ten Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet' myself to complete his works, a great writer.

Make that your next one, fab book!

Birneybau · 19-12-2014 03:37PM

ivytwine wrote: »

Make that your next one, fab book!

I'll line it up for next!

Aenaes · 19-12-2014 05:20PM

I finished The American West by Dee Brown. Was a good read full of history, stories and some myth busting.

I read The Hunger Games last night. It was okay.

Birneybau · 19-12-2014 06:20PM

Aenaes wrote: »

I finished The American West by Dee Brown. Was a good read full of history, stories and some myth busting.

I read The Hunger Games last night. It was okay.

Have you read 'Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee'? Read it years ago, loved it.

Callan57 · 19-12-2014 08:30PM

Birneybau wrote: »

Have you read 'Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee'? Read it years ago, loved it.

One of my favourite books, I read it years ago, lost my copy during various moves but a few weeks ago didn't I pick up a copy in the Cancer Shop

Aenaes · 19-12-2014 10:13PM

I haven't but it was mentioned as a big deal on the back of "The American West" so it's made me keep an eye out for it.

SarahBM · 19-12-2014 11:02PM

I started Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMarier last night. Love it so far.

I was a blubbering mess at the end of a Monster Calls.

Busi_Girl08 · 19-12-2014 11:56PM

I just (finally) finished The Goldfinch. How that convoluted piece of garbage won a Pulitzer I will never understand.

The whole thing comprised stories that went nowhere, like when Theo wore an onion on his belt, as was the style at the time.

That was more an ordeal than a story of acceptance of life and life choices.

Moving on, I'm going to start Metamorphosis by Kafka.

Has been on my list for a while.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 20-12-2014 01:18AM

SarahBM wrote: »

I was a blubbering mess at the end of a Monster Calls.

I cried from where his friend gave him the note until the very end and for a little while after.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 20-12-2014 01:21AM

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

I just (finally) finished The Goldfinch. How that convoluted piece of garbage won a Pulitzer I will never understand.

Agreed.

Hated it. It was like she wrote a really long first draft and then didn't bother showing an editor and just printed the whole damn thing.

Busi_Girl08 · 20-12-2014 01:26AM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Agreed.

Hated it. It was like she wrote a really long first draft and then didn't bother showing an editor and just printed the whole damn thing.

There were entire prose that were irrelevant. Why, WHY do we need repeated elaborate descriptions of the titular painting. I KNOW WHAT THE THING LOOKS LIKE.

It really felt like she gave herself a target and padded it out to death to reach that limit of pages. I did that when I was in 3rd year and had to write a 3 page long essay on Romeo and Juliet.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 20-12-2014 03:02AM

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

There were entire prose that were irrelevant. Why, WHY do we need repeated elaborate descriptions of the titular painting. I KNOW WHAT THE THING LOOKS LIKE.

It really felt like she gave herself a target and padded it out to death to reach that limit of pages. I did that when I was in 3rd year and had to write a 3 page long essay on Romeo and Juliet.

The sad part is I was really loving it at the start. Young Theo was quite likable and I cared about his life after the explosion and his relationship with the old guy in the shop. Then he moved to Vegas and it all went to hell.

IvyTheTerrible · 20-12-2014 09:38AM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Agreed.

Hated it. It was like she wrote a really long first draft and then didn't bother showing an editor and just printed the whole damn thing.

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

I just (finally) finished The Goldfinch. How that convoluted piece of garbage won a Pulitzer I will never understand.

The whole thing comprised stories that went nowhere, like when Theo wore an onion on his belt, as was the style at the time.

That was more an ordeal than a story of acceptance of life and life choices.

Moving on, I'm going to start Metamorphosis by Kafka. Has been on my list for a while.

Hated it too.

She does her own editing, it's true! How arrogant is that?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 20-12-2014 10:47AM

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Hated it too.

She does her own editing, it's true! How arrogant is that?

Or doesn' bother doing her own editing seems more likely.

IvyTheTerrible · 20-12-2014 11:14AM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Or doesn' bother doing her own editing seems more likely.

That's what it looks like but she has actually said she edits her own books. Sure how can you do that objectively?

Jijsaw · 20-12-2014 11:28AM

'A Piece of Cake' by Cupcake Brown. I'm up to her "Gangsta period" which apparently turned a lot of people off her memoirs but I'm finding it good so far. It's a bit hard to believe all her stories though what with her always stating how she was drunk and/or high all the time yet still could remember everything with perfect clarity...

Callan57 · 20-12-2014 11:54AM

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

The sad part is I was really loving it at the start. Young Theo was quite likable and I cared about his life after the explosion and his relationship with the old guy in the shop. Then he moved to Vegas and it all went to hell.

Agree completly, I loved it up to that point. I actually thought, WOW I'm going to be pulling an all-nighter with this - Boy was I ever wrong

Aenaes · 20-12-2014 12:39PM

SS-GB by Len Deighton. Extremely festive.

Swiper the fox · 20-12-2014 12:46PM

Has anybody else read Time and Time again by Ben Elton. I absolutely loved it, very interesting hypothesis of what could have happened if there had been no WW1
Back to reading sports books for the moment,

ivytwine · 20-12-2014 01:27PM

Swiper the fox wrote: »

Has anybody else read Time and Time again by Ben Elton. I absolutely loved it, very interesting hypothesis of what could have happened if there had been no WW1
Back to reading sports books for the moment,

Oooh I like the sound of that Ben Elton book!

Reading Martin Sixsmith's Russia. Very interesting. I realise I knew absolutely nothing about Russia until now!

This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

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