This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Daisy78 · 25-05-2020 8:58pm

Bitta non fiction... The Thoughtful Dresser by Linda Grant.

Busi_Girl08 · 26-05-2020 3:13pm

Finished Circe, one of my favourite books read in a while.

Starting A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood for a book club.

Xofpod · 27-05-2020 9:34am

The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead

Wyldwood · 27-05-2020 10:25am

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. Not his best work but readable.

Next up The Lost Letters of William Wolfe by Helen Cullen

otnomart · 28-05-2020 8:08pm

Finished three books which I had started months ago and set aside:
The Sea by John Banville - sorry to say I did not like it. (I enjoyed one of his Quirke novels though)
Notes from the Cévennes: Half a Lifetime in Provincial France by Adam Thorpe - loved it
2 A.M. at the Cat's Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino - quirky oddball novel set in Philadelphia

Now reading Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris.
Love his humour, this is the third of his I have read so far.

KJ · 29-05-2020 10:19pm

John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

Callan57 · 30-05-2020 6:34pm

The Thief of Time by John Boyne

Swiper the fox · 30-05-2020 7:10pm

KJ wrote: »

John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

Best book ever for me, I’ve read it twice and only started listening on audible in the past few days (haven’t read it in over 10 years), the reader on audible is superb, dramatises every part, highly recommended

KJ · 31-05-2020 9:32am

Swiper the fox wrote: »

Best book ever for me, I’ve read it twice and only started listening on audible in the past few days (haven’t read it in over 10 years), the reader on audible is superb, dramatises every part, highly recommended

This is my first time reading it. I've had the books for maybe a year or 2 and never got around to it but then I was inspired to read it after watching a documentary last week about some Australians who set out to cycle the route taken in the book. It's called Bikes Of Wrath if you're wondering.

branie2 · 31-05-2020 11:11am

The First Lady, a thriller by James Patterson

New Home · 31-05-2020 7:02pm

I love Donal Ryan, but "Slanting of the sun" is a cruel book.

31-05-2020 8:10pm

New Home wrote: »

I love Donal Ryan, but "Slanting of the sun" is a cruel book.

Can you elaborate?

New Home · 31-05-2020 8:55pm

I felt like I was being beaten up to a pulp while I was reading it. One story sadder and meaner than the next. No respite. Cruel. Beautiful writing, but cruel.

31-05-2020 10:18pm

I find a lot of modern Irish writers can write like that, characters almost cartoonish in their unrelenting cruelty. And while I do enjoy those books and characters at times, sometimes I think they are a bit easy, and that thinking of something horrific is an easier way to provoke emotion than to create a truly engaging narrative. But I'm nitpicking...

New Home · 31-05-2020 10:23pm

Well, to be honest, they didn't feel "cartoonish" or over the top, their cruelty exaggerated for entertainment/ shock value. They genuinely felt like real people, which made them even more abhorrent to me.

Xofpod · 01-06-2020 1:56am

New Home wrote: »

I felt like I was being beaten up to a pulp while I was reading it. One story sadder and meaner than the next. No respite. Cruel. Beautiful writing, but cruel.

I agree, and it feels like a deliberate, studied cruelty. Very out of tone with his other books, and, to be honest, feels a little trying-too-hard. My least favourite of his work. That said, I'll read anything he writes. Probably the best irish writer currently working, this aside.

otnomart · 01-06-2020 1:28pm

I lost my girlish laughter by Jane Allen
Hilarious satire of 30s Hollywood,
real life characters are thinly disguised and easy to guess.

Busi_Girl08 · 02-06-2020 10:56am

Flew through Psychology of Time Travel - really enjoyed it - very fun angle on time travel as an industry and the psychological impacts of it.

Started Where the Crawdads Sing last night, liking it so far.

All that fandango · 03-06-2020 8:14pm

Highly recommend The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary.

Sinister Kid · 04-06-2020 10:17am

All that fandango wrote: »

Highly recommend The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary.

Her latest book The Switch is a lovely read too.

Xofpod · 04-06-2020 5:20pm

Before the Fall, Noah Hawley.

echo beach · 04-06-2020 5:43pm

Xofpod wrote: »

I agree, and it feels like a deliberate, studied cruelty. Very out of tone with his other books, and, to be honest, feels a little trying-too-hard. My least favourite of his work. That said, I'll read anything he writes. Probably the best irish writer currently working, this aside.

I preferred Slanting of the Sun to the novels but will also read everything he writes.
Sadly ordinary people can be cruel, mostly unintentionally rather than deliberately, and he has an ability to portray that in a way that forces you to confront the fact it could be you.

New Home · 04-06-2020 6:50pm

echo beach wrote: »

I preferred Slanting of the Sun to the novels but will also read everything he writes.
Sadly ordinary people can be cruel, mostly unintentionally rather than deliberately, and he has an ability to portray that in a way that forces you to confront the fact it could be you.

No, never. Not ever, ever, ever. That's the thing, none of the people he portrayed in that book were unintentionally cruel. They all knew exactly what they were doing. If you have a scrap of empathy, a conscience, or you have a concept of ethics, you stop yourself before behaving like that. The one exception I can make, at a push, is the Syrian kid.

I agree with the point that he has a gift for portraying so many different people.

Sinister Kid · 06-06-2020 5:31pm

Since my last post about 6 weeks ago I've read / listened to audiobook -

The Holiday - T.M. Logan
The Switch - Beth O Leary
The Sun Down Motel - Simone St. James
The Jetsetters - Amanda Eyre Ward
Heartburn - Nora Ephron
I Found You - Lisa Jewell
Normal People - Sally Rooney
The Guest List - Lucy Foley
The Girl Who Drank The Moon - Kelly Barnhill (Kids book, Highly reccommend!!)
The Harper Connelly Mysteries x4books - Charlane Harris
(1.Grave Sight 2.Grave Surprise 3.An Ice Cold Grave 4.Grave Secret )

Callan57 · 07-06-2020 8:55pm

Blacklands by Belinda Bauer

HalloweenJack · 07-06-2020 10:14pm

The last few books I've read were:

Things Fall Apart - A sad story but a very interesting one. It was a well structured story too with an ending that tied things up fairly well.

Norwegian Wood - My wife loved it and wanted me to read it. I liked it, almost like a Japanese version of Normal People. The development was good but the ending left me a bit frustrated.

John Crow's Devil - This was breathtakingly written. The pace was a bit all over the place but the detail and style was incredible.

eire4 · 09-06-2020 9:37pm

Finished George RR Martin's Fevre Dream. It was written before he became big time with the Game Of Thrones series although this is a stand alone vampire novel rather then fantasy which he is know for. I liked it albeit not quite at the Anne Rice vampire novel level.

Callan57 · 10-06-2020 11:23am

Finished Blacklands by Belinda Bower in the early hours ... gripping read.

Next is Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent

_Godot_ · 11-06-2020 4:01pm

A book I ordered just arrived today, called Hollywood Wants to Kill You. Seems good so far.

Callan57 · 12-06-2020 12:05am

Finished Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent ... excellent read

Next is Heresy by S J Parris

otnomart · 13-06-2020 7:07am

A writer I discovered last year was Lucia Berlin and her short stories.
Loved first A Manual for Cleaning Ladies and then Evening in Paradise.
Just started Welcome Home.

HalloweenJack · 14-06-2020 10:31pm

I'm about 300 pages into the Magic Mountain. It's an enjoyable read so far, quite interesting and a good amount of characters to provide different views.

Busi_Girl08 · 15-06-2020 10:29am

Finished Where the Crawdads Sing - Slow-going at first, I found the long nature descriptions a little dull after a while, but found improved greatly in the 2nd half

Started Ask Again, Yes

Callan57 · 16-06-2020 11:31pm

Eggshells by Caitriona Lally

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 16-06-2020 11:47pm

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

Started Ask Again, Yes

I read that a few months back. I really liked it for the most part but I can't remember how it ended.

Xofpod · 17-06-2020 10:29am

Finished Before the Fall, Noah Hawley. A great page turner, really well written.

Have a huge stack to read but the new, shiny one always gets the attention..... Just started on Nobber by Oisin Fagan which popped in through the letter box yesterday.

Callan57 · 19-06-2020 9:33pm

Reading The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell

Listening to A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Wyldwood · 20-06-2020 10:10am

Finished The Second Sleep by Robert Harris. Found it quite a tedious read and nearly put it aside several times. Not his best work by a long shot.

Next up is Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet.

otnomart · 21-06-2020 5:26pm

Just finished The Electric Hotel by Dominic Smith.
A novel about the silent era of film.
Found the characters really striking.

otnomart · 24-06-2020 8:01pm

Xofpod wrote: »

Was a bit disappointed with A Thousand Moons (Sebastian Barry), but maybe only by comparison with Days Without End, which is one of my favourite books of recent years

I am reading A Thousand Moons right now, first book by Sebastian Barry for me so far.
I am enjoying it so far, it reminds a bit of As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.

Callan57 · 24-06-2020 10:01pm

Starting Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Wyldwood · 25-06-2020 10:08am

Finished Hamnet last night, enjoyed it.

Daisies · 25-06-2020 4:55pm

Started both Lost connections and Purple Hibiscus this week after finishing Homo Deus and On Beauty

Busi_Girl08 · 26-06-2020 11:36am

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I read that a few months back. I really liked it for the most part but I can't remember how it ended.

I'm liking it, but I'm about 70% through and I can't help but feel it's about 50 pages too long. It drags a bit in some parts.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO · 26-06-2020 12:52pm

Busi_Girl08 wrote: »

I'm liking it, but I'm about 70% through and I can't help but feel it's about 50 pages too long. It drags a bit in some parts.

Yeah, I felt like that a few times but also there were a few points where I felt the skipped too fast to the next section of their lives.

Callan57 · 27-06-2020 2:12pm

Finished Hamnet last night ... superb writing, the death of Hamnet is one of the most harrowing pieces of writing I have read in a long time. Every bit as good as the reviews said.

Next is The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead & on audio The Women at Hitler's Table by Rosella Postorino

Wyldwood · 27-06-2020 7:18pm

Have to agree with that review Callan57. Didn't want to say too much until you'd finished reading but it is a splendid novel. The way each individual reacts in their own particular way to Hamnet's death is beautifully portrayed and the prose throughout is exceptional.

Also read and enjoyed The Underground Railroad some time ago.

Callan57 · 04-07-2020 2:46pm

Finished The Lost Man by Jane Harper last night ... really, really good. The depiction of the vastness & loneliness of the Australian outback is spellbinding ... I could almost feel the unrelenting heat & the sand in my mouth!

Next lined up is The Street by Ann Petry ... an American classic I been meaning to read for ages and now seems opportune.

otnomart · 05-07-2020 6:37pm

A while back I have enjoyed The Durrells of Corfu by Michael Haag and Islander: A Journey Around Our Archipelago by Patrick Barkham

Now started: My family and other animals by Gerald Durrell and another book by Barkham: Coastlines

eire4 · 05-07-2020 9:28pm

Finished Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart. My first time reading the author and I was impressed. I like fantasy books and this was very good I thought. If you like Game of Thrones then you will probably like this one too.

This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

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