This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Asphyxia · 11-11-2010 1:08am

anothernight wrote: »

I just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray. I hated it with a passion and I hold it responsible for many a bus journey spent embarrasingly asleep I'm starting Lord of the Flies. So far it's very good.

Oh that's really surprising I loved The Picture Of Dorian Gray, I lent my copy to my boyfriends mum and she also told me it wasn't great not because it was a bad story she just found it very difficult to read.

Lord Of the Flies is a brilliant book I hope you really enjoy ending is great

I have started reading I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith. My mother was giving all her old books to charity so I raided the box beforehand and got myself a few books to keep me going for now.

anothernight · 11-11-2010 1:20am

Pocketfizz wrote: »

Oh that's really surprising I loved The Picture Of Dorian Gray, I lent my copy to my boyfriends mum and she also told me it wasn't great not because it was a bad story she just found it very difficult to read.

I like the concept and I agree that it's very well written. What I didn't like was that it read as a timeline of very spaced out, boring events, if you get me. It was very very predictable as well, though I suppose that's to be expected from a short classic book (as in everyone knows most of the story anyway).

I'm nearly finished with Lord of the Flies at this stage. Still loving it

squeakyduck · 11-11-2010 11:21pm

It took me ages to get through the lord of the flies but I flew through the end of it. It's quite an upsetting ending especially with everything that has happened to the boys.

tHE vAGGABOND · 12-11-2010 2:23pm

The Dice Man - weird, weird, weird

anothernight · 13-11-2010 4:48am

squeakyduck wrote: »

It took me ages to get through the lord of the flies but I flew through the end of it. It's quite an upsetting ending especially with everything that has happened to the boys.

I just finished it. You're so right. Meh

8mv · 13-11-2010 4:03pm

Just finished Ghost Light by Joseph O'Connor. As usual, he doesn't dissapoint. Good story told in an interesting way.

elance2010 · 13-11-2010 5:25pm

I've finished "Do you remember me?" from Sophia Kinsela

it's a beautiful novel and also funny!
______________________
Barcelona Bench clearance sale going on now...

Kate P · 14-11-2010 3:09pm

Emma Donoghue's Room is a good read - there's a weakness in the middle but otherwise it's worth the read.

The Earth Hums in B Flat is also a good read, with a similarly charismatic narrator.

Ian Rankin's The Complaints is the weakest thing he's written in a long time and I'm disappointed. Also just finished the latest Kathy Reichs book which is a series, I'm sad to say, that seems to be going the way of the Scarpetta books. The history and science - re Vietnam war deaths, is interesting but the relationships and plots give credibility the kind of stretch marks that hang around a long time.

Just started Damon Galgut's In A Strange Room and like it a lot, but it's not one for dipping in and out of in stolen moments.

Callan57 · 15-11-2010 7:32pm

'Slammerkin' by Emma Donoghue

flyaway. · 16-11-2010 1:26pm

Ten Seconds from the Sun by Russell Celyn Jones

AnnyHallsal · 16-11-2010 1:33pm

Kafka's The Trial

Asphyxia · 16-11-2010 5:42pm

elance2010 wrote: »

I've finished "Do you remember me?" from Sophia Kinsela it's a beautiful novel and also funny!
______________________
Barcelona Bench clearance sale going on now...

I agree I love Sophia Kinsela I have read a few of her books and I always find myself in giggles

vepyewwo · 17-11-2010 5:38pm

Emma Donoghue's Room is a good read - there's a weakness in the middle but otherwise it's worth the read.

I'm finding this quite hard to get into, not sure if it's the child narration that I'm not keen on but I'm about 50 pages in and it hasnt really gotten going for me. Abandoned it yesterday and started Kevin Lewis "The kid" instead which I'm enjoying but will give Room another go.

Just finished Jeffrey Archer short stories "And therby hangs a tail" which was rubbish, none of the stories were great and I'm usually a fan of Archer.

optogirl · 17-11-2010 5:41pm

All families are Psychotic by Douglas Copleand - much preferring it to another of his I read 'Girlfriend in a Coma'

DonOcelot · 18-11-2010 11:50pm

Ive started reading "Dark Rivers Of The Heart" by Dean Koontz.

Really enjoying it so far, interesting enough story & characters and it rarely drags.

Paddy Samurai · 19-11-2010 6:27pm

Currently reading this one.
I have been hearing about this book for years so i hope it lives up to all the online hype about it.Looking good so far.

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Life-Robert-McCammon/dp/1416577785/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290187409&sr=1-1

anothernight · 19-11-2010 6:50pm

Reading Like the Flowing River, a collection of short stories by Paulo Coelho. I find it very annoying because I'm reading it in Spanish, and even though the language is very simple, they seem to not have translated it properly. Things that made sense in Portuguese were translated literally to Spanish, so they lose sense but sound simple, making it sound "deeper" or something. It's not the first time I've seen that happen in a book by Paulo Coelho =/

An example of this is how they didn't bother translating the word "interior" (which means the countryside in Portuguese. The sentence in English is "like any other person who lives in the countryside, the most important news is the weather.").

Other than that, it's ok. Never been into his work because I find it quite boring, so it's nice to read something in bite-size pieces.

kylith · 20-11-2010 3:37pm

Atonement. I'm really enjoying it. Think I'll go read some more now.

Callan57 · 20-11-2010 11:36pm

Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler

H. Flashman · 21-11-2010 10:33am

Treasure island!

I read it as a kid years ago but had pretty much forgotten it ... now that I'm reading it again I'm realising how good it is

Carl Sagan · 21-11-2010 8:01pm

Critical Mass by Philip Ball. Loving it but barely have any time to get through it.

George83 · 22-11-2010 2:16pm

Non fiction - Rebels (Peter de Rosa)

Fiction - Brooklyn (Colm Tobin)

Asphyxia · 28-11-2010 1:37pm

Decided to re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows since the movie came out and for the last movie next year.

GBX · 28-11-2010 1:43pm

Im getting through most books by Simon Kernick. Really enjoying them. Just picked up "The last ten seconds"

Callan57 · 28-11-2010 1:47pm

I'm about to start reading 'The Death Instinct' by Jed Rubenfeld

I really enjoyed The Interpretation of Murder so I have high hopes for this one.

It's the weather for a good book

Grievous · 01-12-2010 1:54pm

A Christmas Carol by some dude named Charles Dickens.

Bah! Humbug! Merry Christmas!

All of the above phrases have been made famous by this wonderful little book by Charles Dickens.

A true classic and one that lives up to it's immense popularity. As great as any of it's adaptations; even the one with the muppets!

This is my third Dickens work. He is always an interesting author with something important to say about morality, politics and social topics.

Grievous · 01-12-2010 1:57pm

The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.

This was a decent read. It certainly wasn't as great as I thought it might be. I can see Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine taking quite a bit of inspiration from the likes of Twain with this novel in particular.

There isn't really a huge plot in Tom Sawyer, but many fun and interesting sketches of childhood bliss mixed with some dark events as well.

The book is laugh-out funny at times, and others it is sombre and moody. I like Twain's prose, despite some of the language being a product of the times he lived in.
Also, Racism---Just a generational thing here, I mean, this novel is old. The N-Word wasn't unusual in American literature at the time. Still, The N-word is always horrible to read.

I'd say Huck Finn is much more compelling than Tom Sawyer and for this reason I am looking forward to reading The Adventures Of Huck Finn some day (I have a copy of it here somewhere).

Grievous · 01-12-2010 2:08pm

AnnyHallsal wrote: »

Kafka's The Trial

Heh,

Did you enjoy The Trial?

Kafka's nightmarish novel has inspired and influenced gallizons of novelists and screen-writers since it's publication.

I like the fact Franz Kafka has the term Kafkaesque named after him. Meaning Bizarre, complex, nightmarish, impending danger..................

Peace.

Grievous · 01-12-2010 2:17pm

Censorsh!t wrote: »

Reading Time's Arrow by Martin Amis. I like it so far... it's quite humorous, although I'm wondering how exactly that will work out when the srrious subject matter comes up. I like that it's in reverse, it's very different from anything i've read before, in that regard. Sometimes confuses me a bit, but getting used to it.

Time's Arrow is a decent read. I read it a few weeks ago, here's my brief thoughts and review of it.

An interesting novel. I can see why it didn't win the Booker prize it was shortlisted for; the novel is ambitious and has a cool creative take on it but I can't help feeling it would be lost on most readers.

The story unfolds backwards and it would be a logistical nightmare trying to remember or follow everything the writer puts forward, or should I say backwards?

I would be willing to try more of Amis's work some day.

Pocketfizz wrote: »

I'm starting The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner tonight.

Have you finished this wonderfully complex and difficult novel yet?:)
I found it rewarding by re-reading it and taking some notes: I.eWhen the Nickname of one important character is mentioned in the text, that means the narrative has skipped back to the childhood days of all our lead characters.

Fortune_Cookie · 02-12-2010 12:36am

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

emeraldstar · 02-12-2010 11:09am

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. Have had it for the best part of a year but never opened it. Decided to start the other day and am almost finished (it's a big book!). Loving it.

Dibble · 02-12-2010 11:15am

If This is a Man & The Truce by Primo Levi (single volume).

I bought this book on the back of a recent trip to Auschwitz. He really was a gifted writer.

Callan57 · 03-12-2010 3:22pm

Finished The Death Instinct last night ... 10/10:)

Censorsh!t · 04-12-2010 8:57pm

Finished White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Was pleasantly surprised by it. Very good book.

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Probably should have read it before the movie. It was a humorous account of life in a mental hospital.

Currently reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Very funny, I really like it!

Callan57 · 04-12-2010 10:44pm

Picked up 'The Heart of the Matter' by Graham Greene today & I about to start it

IvyTheTerrible · 05-12-2010 11:44am

Dibble wrote: »

If This is a Man & The Truce by Primo Levi (single volume).

I bought this book on the back of a recent trip to Auschwitz. He really was a gifted writer.

If you liked that, you should also read The Periodic Table, it's a collection of short stories, each one titled after an element in the periodic table. It's fantastic. Funny in parts, sad in parts but always full of humanity.

Blush_01 · 05-12-2010 12:06pm

Snow - Orhan Pamuk.

I don't know why I have such difficulty with this novel. It's very easy to read, but I seem to get to page 100 and lose it, or leave it somewhere, and never get much further.

I've started it again (and am actually as far as 156, which is a major achievement) so hopefully I'll get to the end this time.

Callan57 · 05-12-2010 12:29pm

Blush_01 wrote: »

Snow - Orhan Pamuk.

I don't know why I have such difficulty with this novel. It's very easy to read, but I seem to get to page 100 and lose it, or leave it somewhere, and never get much further.

I've started it again (and am actually as far as 156, which is a major achievement) so hopefully I'll get to the end this time.

Agree with you totally I too found it an extremely difficult book to read ... I dd finish it eventually but did not enjoy it at all.

Dibble · 05-12-2010 1:13pm

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

If you liked that, you should also read The Periodic Table, it's a collection of short stories, each one titled after an element in the periodic table. It's fantastic. Funny in parts, sad in parts but always full of humanity.

Thanks for the recommendation Ivy, much appreciated.

Asphyxia · 05-12-2010 5:14pm

I'm reading the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens I seem to always read it around Christmas time

BopNiblets · 05-12-2010 8:36pm

Mystery Man by (Colin) Bateman
Main character is one part Bernard Black and one part Dirk Gently (Douglas Adams detective character)
Funny stuff.

emeraldstar · 07-12-2010 2:33pm

Pocketfizz wrote: »

I'm reading the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens I seem to always read it around Christmas time

I plan to read this in the next week or so. Oddly I've never read actually it before so am looking forward to it!

George83 · 07-12-2010 5:05pm

Just after starting The Salesman by Joseph O'Connor

AnnyHallsal · 09-12-2010 11:59am

The Ginger Man by J P Donleavy. What a read. Funny, dissolute, a tribute to dirty Dublin.

Callan57 · 09-12-2010 2:58pm

Just a few pages into 'No and Me' by Delphine de Vigan & loving it so far

E.T. · 09-12-2010 10:17pm

Just read the Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris. Very enjoyable - easy reads but slightly dark at the same time. Went through a phase of reading really dark thrillers - Val McDermid/Jo Nesbo, so needed something to lift the mood a bit!

Fortune_Cookie · 09-12-2010 10:45pm

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

anothernight · 09-12-2010 11:38pm

Re-reading Dune for the third time (I think). This book never gets old

ValJester · 10-12-2010 5:23pm

A Happy Death by Albert Camus.Can't get enough of that man.

Asphyxia · 10-12-2010 9:29pm

I recently finished reading Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake by Philip Kitcher. It was very interesting, definitely going to read again.

Not sure what to start now!

This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

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