Author Topic: What books are we reading at the moment ? (Read 846684 times)

L CC · « **Reply #3150 on:** 29 December, 2013, 11:00:02 pm »

Quote from: citoyen on 22 December, 2013, 11:31:53 pm

Quote from: Nuncio on 18 December, 2013, 09:44:46 pm
Quote from: Nuncio on 16 October, 2013, 01:00:54 pm
Quote from: citoyen on 16 October, 2013, 12:50:32 pm
Quote from: Nuncio on 16 October, 2013, 12:23:51 pm
I've just embarked on Donna Tartt's The Little Friend.

Good luck with that. I remember thinking it was one of those books that felt like it was never going to end. It certainly lacks the pace of The Secret History. There are some passages of brilliance in it, but it's about 200 pages too long.

Her new one is supposed to be better.

OK. I'll skip the next 200 pages. That should do it.
Should have skipped about 450. I think I've done with Tartts now.

My memory of The Secret History turned out to be somewhat faulty. Certainly in respect of its pacing. It is sluggish and verbose. At half the length, it might have been a nice, light thriller. I'm now thinking that The Little Friend might be better than The Secret History, but I don't want to put the time into reading it again to find out.

And I've gone right off the idea of reading her new one. She's dead to me.

Bugger. I spent one of my credits on The Goldcrest. What if my memory of The Secret History is equally flawed? I can't read it to find out, and I certainly don't want to spend 22 hours listening, being wrong.
Fecking hell, the Goldfinch is 32 hours and 23 minutes.

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #3151 on:** 30 December, 2013, 12:34:37 pm »

Quote from: Ruthie on 29 December, 2013, 10:40:15 pm

Have you read 'How To Be A Woman' by Caitlin Moran? I just finished it and, while I don't agree with her necessarily, it's very very funny indeed.

Me? Yes. I really liked it. I think people would be foolish to view it as the ultimate feminist manual, but for younger women just starting to think about things, it's a good start, and for the rest of us, it has a few good points to make, and it's very funny.

andrewc · « **Reply #3152 on:** 30 December, 2013, 06:32:18 pm »

Currently 3/4's of the way through Jonathan Grimwood's "The Last Banquet", an historical foodie novel set in 17th century France. Enjoying it so far, though one or two scenes make me want to hit the protagonist with a brick. I'm hoping the writer didn't do too much original research into the best way to cook household pets....

Mr Grimwood is best known for his rather good SF and Fantasy as Jon Courtenay Grimwood , so he seems to be doing an Iain Banks with the alternate name.

I enjoyed "The Secret History" when I was younger, and have "The Nightingale" on my Kindle to read, you lot are putting me off it now!

citoyen · « **Reply #3153 on:** 30 December, 2013, 08:42:17 pm »

Quote from: andrewc on 30 December, 2013, 06:32:18 pm

Currently 3/4's of the way through Jonathan Grimwood's "The Last Banquet", an historical foodie novel set in 17th century France.

Sounds like just my kind of thing. I've added it to my wish list.

If you fancy following that with an historical foodie novel set in 17th century England, try John Saturnall's Feast by Lawrence Norfolk. It's rather good.

andrewc · « **Reply #3154 on:** 01 January, 2014, 12:07:47 am »

Quote from: citoyen on 30 December, 2013, 08:42:17 pm

Quote from: andrewc on 30 December, 2013, 06:32:18 pm
Currently 3/4's of the way through Jonathan Grimwood's "The Last Banquet", an historical foodie novel set in 17th century France.

Sounds like just my kind of thing. I've added it to my wish list.

If you fancy following that with an historical foodie novel set in 17th century England, try John Saturnall's Feast by Lawrence Norfolk. It's rather good.

Correction - 18th century France . All the dates were 17something or other... and it ends with the Revolution....

Finished it now. Pretty good stuff. http://jonathangrimwood.com/

Quint · « **Reply #3155 on:** 01 January, 2014, 10:39:25 am »

The Cycling Anthology volume 2 (Le Tour) I'm finding it most excellent

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #3156 on:** 01 January, 2014, 11:12:07 am »

Some Christmas pressies:
Paris-Brest-Paris 120 ans, 1.200 kilometres
Lapize...now there was an ace
Road to Valour - Gino Bartali: Tour de France legend and Italy's secret World War Two hero
Wheeling Matilda - the story of Australian cycling
Bikie - a love affair with the racing bicycle

Steph · « **Reply #3157 on:** 02 January, 2014, 04:26:28 pm »

Quote from: Ruthie on 29 December, 2013, 10:40:15 pm

Have you read 'How To Be A Woman' by Caitlin Moran? I just finished it and, while I don't agree with her necessarily, it's very very funny indeed.

Taking a short break from writing current books and spotted this rec. Now on my Kindle. Will report later...

Just finished a Kindle deal, the Janus books by Andre Norton. Books of my childhood and my dreams.

Vince · « **Reply #3158 on:** 02 January, 2014, 05:06:21 pm »

I think I can afford to invest 39p in my re-education towards SF.

Steph · « **Reply #3159 on:** 02 January, 2014, 06:20:15 pm »

Ah, the suck fairy was kind to Ms Norton.

andrewc · « **Reply #3160 on:** 02 January, 2014, 08:24:35 pm »

Quote from: Steph on 02 January, 2014, 04:26:28 pm

Quote from: Ruthie on 29 December, 2013, 10:40:15 pm
Have you read 'How To Be A Woman' by Caitlin Moran? I just finished it and, while I don't agree with her necessarily, it's very very funny indeed.
Taking a short break from writing current books and spotted this rec. Now on my Kindle. Will report later...

Just finished a Kindle deal, the Janus books by Andre Norton. Books of my childhood and my dreams.

Still got the Janus books on my shelves, and some of her other stuff on the Kindle. I think "Plague Ship" was one of the earliest SF books I read, along with "Islands in the Sky" by ACC.

citoyen · « **Reply #3161 on:** 03 January, 2014, 11:26:16 am »

Of Love and Hunger by Julian Maclaren-Ross.

The life and loves of a hard-up vacuum cleaner salesman in Bognor Regis in 1939.

Not a particularly well known writer these days but was a major figure in post-war literary London, famous for his "bohemian" lifestyle. I came to him via Anthony Powell's A Dance To The Music Of Time series of novels, in which he features as the character X.Trapnel.

And he can write. Oh yes, he can.

He's what I'd call a reader's writer - the pleasure of reading him is in savouring his fluent, accessible, authentically vernacular prose style. He's funny, astute, doesn't over-egg it, and says a lot in relatively few words.

Reminds me in many ways of Patrick Hamilton, George Orwell and Colin Macinnes. The voice reading it aloud in my head is Bill Nighy.

tiermat · « **Reply #3162 on:** 03 January, 2014, 11:28:56 am »

"And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini.

Not as immediate as Kite Runner or Thousand Splendid Suns, still good, so far, though.

T42 · « **Reply #3163 on:** 03 January, 2014, 02:11:45 pm »

The Long Earth, by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter. Reminds me a bit of Arthur C. Clark - thus far it's more like a guided tour than a story. Favourite line to date There's one Born Again every minute.

Vince · « **Reply #3164 on:** 03 January, 2014, 02:16:27 pm »

I'm very suspicious when a well known author starts co-authoring with others. If they are no longer capable of writing, maybe they should just stop. This view is based on the experience of reading a book co-authored by Clive Custler.

tiermat · « **Reply #3165 on:** 03 January, 2014, 02:28:51 pm »

Quote from: Wunja on 03 January, 2014, 02:16:27 pm

I'm very suspicious when a well known author starts co-authoring with others. If they are no longer capable of writing, maybe they should just stop. This view is based on the experience of reading a book co-authored by Clive Custler.

Normally I would be, by TP has a record of some half decent colabs, including one faith Neil Gaiman.

T42 · « **Reply #3166 on:** 03 January, 2014, 02:34:15 pm »

My sentiment is that if other accomplished authors will help Pratchett get his ideas into book form then more power to them. Nobody's obliged to read them, and it might provide him some relief from the frustration he must feel these days.

I did read a book by Clive Custler once. Maybe he hadn't had much practice back then.

citoyen · « **Reply #3167 on:** 03 January, 2014, 02:37:58 pm »

Quote from: T42 on 03 January, 2014, 02:34:15 pm

My sentiment is that if other accomplished authors will help Pratchett get his ideas into book form then more power to them.

But is Pratchett doing it because he needs help? Or is it an "artistic" collaboration? I mean, he's certainly not doing it for the money.

I'm not a Pratchett fan so I probably wouldn't like it anyway but, Wunja, I wonder if perhaps you're worrying for the wrong reasons.

Steph · « **Reply #3168 on:** 03 January, 2014, 05:05:27 pm »

Quote from: Wunja on 03 January, 2014, 02:16:27 pm

I'm very suspicious when a well known author starts co-authoring with others. If they are no longer capable of writing, maybe they should just stop. This view is based on the experience of reading a book co-authored by Clive Custler.

Er... Mr Baxter is also rather well-known...

citoyen · « **Reply #3169 on:** 04 January, 2014, 01:08:36 pm »

Had a bit of a Kindle binge this morning - all the books on last year's Booker shortlist are now 99p (except the Colm Toibin one, for some reason), so I bought:
A Tale For The Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
Harvest - Jim Crace
We Need New Names - NoViolet Bulawayo
The Lowland - Jhumpa Lahiri

(I already have The Luminaries, but that's now 99p too, if anyone's interested.)

Also got another Ruth Ozeki that was on offer - All Over Creation - which looks interesting.

And The Goldfinch is currently 99p too - despite earlier comments on Ms Tartt, it's probably worth taking a punt at that price, so why not?

There's also The Universe vs Alex Woods, but I've already read that.

And quite a few others that I don't know. But the ones I've got will do for now - I'm still adding books to my Kindle faster than I can read them...

mattc · « **Reply #3170 on:** 04 January, 2014, 01:15:21 pm »

[ Before Kindles, did everyone talk about how much their books cost them? Or even where they got them from? Aren't the words the thing? ]

citoyen · « **Reply #3171 on:** 04 January, 2014, 01:22:14 pm »

Quote from: mattc on 04 January, 2014, 01:15:21 pm

[ Before Kindles, did everyone talk about how much their books cost them? Or even where they got them from?

Before the internet, did people talk about funny cat photos?

mattc · « **Reply #3172 on:** 04 January, 2014, 01:42:37 pm »

Quote from: citoyen on 04 January, 2014, 01:22:14 pm

Before the internet, did people talk about funny cat photos?

No-one talks about them now.

citoyen · « **Reply #3173 on:** 04 January, 2014, 01:58:09 pm »

Yeah, that'll be why a google search for "funny cat photos" returns 170 million results.

mattc · « **Reply #3174 on:** 04 January, 2014, 02:02:11 pm »

OK, my fault for being deliberately vague. I meant this:

talk
verb
3rd person present: talks

1. speak in order to give information or express ideas or feelings; converse or communicate by spoken words.