[andekwarhola]

I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe.

[Collie D]

“The Psychopath Test” by Jon Ronson

Only a couple of chapters in but I like the premise and reckon it will be interesting. I think I’ve read one of his other books (friend is a big fan and apparently she gave me both?) - Them: Adventures with Extremists - but I genuinely can’t remember one bit of it.

Just finished “The Mountain Shadow” by Gregory David Roberts after months. Awful ****e. And I loved his first one “ Shantaram”.

[KH25]

Taking the opportunity to read Macbeth and enjoying it so far. I’ve always wanted to read it but just never got around to it.

[Joy Spicy Slum]

I've read so many in the last few weeks that I couldn't possibly cover them all here.

At the moment I'm reading the sequel to Under the Hawthorn Tree, 'Wildflower Girl'.. When I read Under the Hawthorn Tree (I came to it late) the reviews of its sequel's here wasn't great so I avoided them. But this morning I downloaded Wildflower Girl, and have almost finished it and loving it.

But probably the stand out book for me during the lockdown has been 'The Forgotten Highlander', a story of a young Scottish lad conscripted into the Gordan Highlanders at the beginning of WWII.

Sent to the far East he was on a cushy number until falling prisoner to the Japanese, then the horror story begins.. His story of imprisonment, hardships, torture, starvation and survival for the next 3 years was like something I've never read before.

After capture he survived working on the infamous bridge on the river Kwai, he was being shipped to another work camp when his ship was torpedo'd by an American sub.. He survived this and floated on a raft for a week before being rescued by a Japanese fishing trawler and taken to Japan where he was again imprisoned in a POW camp.. Then he survived the bombing of Hiroshima and eventually he was freed by American troops.

An incredible story and highly recommended.

[Barna77]

Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi. Picked it randomly in a charity shop.

You'd think a book with so many geographical references would include a map or two... Nope.

[paddythere]

With all this time on my hands I've finally decided to get stuck into the enormous "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer.. Excellent so far, wonderfully written.

[mikhail]

Originally Posted by Barna77

Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi. Picked it randomly in a charity shop.

You'd think a book with so many geographical references would include a map or two... Nope.

It's out of copyright. You could make a version with handy maps.

[Foweva Awone]

"Station Eleven" by Emily St John Mandel.

It's about survivors of a global flu pandemic (apt, eh?) ... it's something different, it's disturbing and beautiful and really well written. Worth a read!

[ablelocks]

Stasi Child - David Young

first in a series of tormented detective in cold war east berlin gets sucked into investigations with distinct political overtones. the series was reduced on kindle books a couple of weeks ago so bought them all.

edit : actually still £0.98 or free on kindle unlimited, which is on a 30 day rather than 7 day trial

[mustang shelly]

The Templar Salvation by Raymond Khoury.

This is the follow up novel to The Last Templar and was very enjoyable.

[JeffreyEpspeen]

Been a while since I read a book. I love George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane books. The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy is probably the best book I ever read. Strangely enough it's the only Ellroy book I've read. I started LA Confidential, and it was good, but I got interrupted, forgot where I left off, and I hate starting over.

[Jackoflynn]

This is happiness
By Niall Williams.
Beautifully written, gorgeous words. Old school Irish tale of ordinary lives. Funny and heart - warming.
Touching and unique.

[Danger781]

Finished
Sam Harris - Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
Disappointed overall in this book. Left a 3 star review on Goodreads. I'm a fan of Harris. I've listened to every single episode where he appeared on the JRE podcast and become absolutely engrossed hearing him speak. I bought this book immediately after, and suffice it to say, it probably wasn't the best introduction to Harris' books. I do intend of delving into some of his other materials despite my feelings toward this one as I'm confident the others won't disappoint.

Currently Reading:
Cibola Burn (The Expanse, #4) - James S.A. Corey
Enjoying this one so far. Was not a fan of #3 in the series. This seems like an improvement but time will tell as the book progresses (I've about 25% read).

[bodhrandude]

Just read the two books about Afghanistan called The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini which were amazing and traumatic at the same time, especially the passages about the Taliban. Just now I've started another book by author Christy Lefteri called The Beekeeper of Aleppo that is as equally good based on refugees fleeing Syria and settling in the UK, also about Isis and Assad destroying that beautiful city, definitely an Eastern journey I'm in at the moment.

[Ipso]

Originally Posted by JeffreyEpspeen

Been a while since I read a book. I love George Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane books. The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy is probably the best book I ever read. Strangely enough it's the only Ellroy book I've read. I started LA Confidential, and it was good, but I got interrupted, forgot where I left off, and I hate starting over.

LA Confidential is better. A beast of a book. If you like his stuff you should try American Tabloid.