Author Topic: What books are we reading at the moment ?  (Read 846708 times)

Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4700 on: 06 November, 2016, 01:20:47 am »
Rather Be The Devil ~ the new Rebus.
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4701 on: 06 November, 2016, 11:40:46 am »
Just given up on the latest Scarpetta outing. Fully deserving of the poor review on Amazon. Being parsimonious I'm waiting for the library system to deliver up the latest Rebus and Bosch, as well as the new Grisham and Aaronovitch. Meantime I'm starting Peter May's "Chinese" series that have just been reissued (no doubt on the back of the success of the Lewis trilogy and following novels) with The Fire Maker. So far so readable. I just wish Mo Hayder would pen a new Jack Caffery.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4702 on: 06 November, 2016, 02:25:52 pm »
Picked up a digital copy of Tony Morgan's book 'Remember Remember the 6th November' as suggested in this place. Enjoying it so far.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4703 on: 06 November, 2016, 02:26:52 pm »
Armadale by Wilkie Collins, and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by whoever wrote it.
Armadale is great, particularly Lydia Gwilt
(click to show/hide)
  You might need to draw a family tree or spider diagram to keep track of who the characters are
(click to show/hide)
I didn't think is was quite in the same league as No Name or The Moonstone, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
Lydia Gwilt is brilliant. I am unconvinced by
(click to show/hide)
though. And Miss Milroy is a total sap.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4704 on: 06 November, 2016, 06:52:04 pm »
I am contemplating subscribing to Audible books for, well, audible books. Can the great hive mind of YACF (and especially Fboab) recommend any good ones that specifically benefit from being read aloud? So not good reads per se, but rather ones that take advantage of the spoken word. I am thinking Alan Partridge's Nomad might be a good start.
Sorry, I just caught this.
Chris says: The Martian, because RC Bray. I don't entirely concur, but, thought it fair to pass it on.

I have (checks) 617 books on audible.

Harry Potter is better read by Stephen Fry than by me.
A Walk In The Woods is better read by William Roberts. He reads Bill Bryson better than Bill Bryson does. (Sorry Bill)
Michael Jayston reads John Le Carre pretty blimmin well.
I cannot imagine me doing a better job of We Are Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler than Katherine Mangold does
The Chaos Walking Series (Patrick Ness, young adult trilogy) is read brilliantly by Humphrey Bower.
Kobna Holbrook Smith does a fantastic job for Ben Aaronovitch- he *is* Peter Grant.
The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins) is read by a trio of women who really really bring the characters to life.
Nicholas Hoult (who I cannot bear on screen) does a great job on Nick Hornby's Slam
Gone Girl - Julia Whelan & Kirby Heyborne make it incredibly funny,

Helen MacDonald does an appalling job of Hawk. Bill Bryson mangles his own books. Generally, getting an actor in is a much better idea.

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4705 on: 06 November, 2016, 07:29:09 pm »
tony robinson reads the disc world books very .  :)
the slower you go the more you see

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4706 on: 06 November, 2016, 09:34:54 pm »

A Walk In The Woods is better read by William Roberts. He reads Bill Bryson better than Bill Bryson does. (Sorry Bill)
...
Helen MacDonald does an appalling job of Hawk. Bill Bryson mangles his own books. Generally, getting an actor in is a much better idea.

Agreed, I like bill brysons books, but am not a fan of him reading them.
I downloaded a book from audible and it plays just fine on my iPod with headphones, but when I play it through the car stereo it sounds like pinky and perky. Its way too fast and high pitched. Ive tried downloading in different formats, with no luck.  Anyone else found this and got a fix ?

Book: Need to hurry up and finish an adrian mole book and get started on Tim moore, "The cyclist who went out in the cold"

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4707 on: 07 November, 2016, 09:57:43 am »
There's a speed control on the audible app that allows you to play at different speed, check its on the correct speed

IanDG

  • The p*** artist formerly known as 'Windy'
    • the_dandg_rouleur
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4708 on: 09 November, 2016, 08:11:32 pm »
Just finished the last of the Glasgow Trilogy -'Sudden Arrival of  Violence' by Malcolm Mackay (a Stornoway author) a very enjoyable series.

Now on 'Moon over Soho' by Ben Aaronocitch

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4709 on: 09 November, 2016, 09:57:14 pm »
There's a speed control on the audible app that allows you to play at different speed, check its on the correct speed

Bryson does have a rather squeaky voice.  It's one of those voices that sounds as though it's been put in the wrong body.
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

red marley

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4710 on: 09 November, 2016, 10:58:44 pm »
I remember being somewhat surprised the first time I heard Julie Birchill speak.  It's not a voice you'd associate with her writing.

Mrs Pingu

  • Who ate all the pies? Me
    • Twitter
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4711 on: 09 November, 2016, 11:14:41 pm »
I'm reading The Quiet War by Paul Macauley. Not sure under whose recommendation I bought it but I'm not really enjoying it.
I'm finding there's a lot of description of random stuff just for the sake of it. Having just looked up the reviews of it on Goodreads it seems like it annoys a lot of other people too.
Although it's anathema I might give up and read something more interesting instead.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4712 on: 10 November, 2016, 08:03:12 am »
The March by E. L. Doctrow. W.T. Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea and north into the Carolinas.  Nasty as expected, but magnetic.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4713 on: 10 November, 2016, 10:14:58 am »
Just finished Politics by Nick Clegg.

It was better than expected - pleasingly light on self-justification (actually, there's a fair bit of self-flagellation, which is odd given that he isn't a Tory) but candid about some of the challenges of being the junior party in a coalition.

He's resisted the urge to do a kiss and tell but there are some illuminating anecdotes about the in-fighting and, in particular, some of the ways in which the LibDems were shafted by (in particular) Osborne and Cameron.

Unfortunately, towards the end there's a little too much hand-wringing about how we fix what he sees as a broken political system, but the intentions seem good. 

Probably one to wait to come out in paperback unless you're a political junkie. 
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4714 on: 10 November, 2016, 10:28:09 am »
I think I'll wait for the illuminated version on vellum with Morocco bindings.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Dibdib

  • Fat'n'slow
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4715 on: 10 November, 2016, 03:47:37 pm »
More Discworld, because what I need the most right now is kindness and silliness with my satire.

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4716 on: 11 November, 2016, 04:41:27 pm »
My local library had a copy of the latest Tim Moore on their new books shelf, so I grabbed it. If you've enjoyed any of his previous books you'll enjoy this, though I did find the pose of mechanical incompetence a little silly at times; if you're going to ride 10,000 km across Europe on a bike, wouldn't you try and learn the skills to keep you going? Still, fair play to him for doing that kind of distance on a small-wheeled shopper...

Steph

  • Fast. Fast and bulbous. But fluffy.
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4717 on: 11 November, 2016, 07:01:09 pm »
I remember being somewhat surprised the first time I heard Julie Birchill speak.  It's not a voice you'd associate with her writing.

Grating and unpleasant? Fits for me!
Mae angen arnaf i byw, a fe fydda'i

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4718 on: 11 November, 2016, 07:31:07 pm »
The Hanging Tree:D :D :D
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.


Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4719 on: 11 November, 2016, 09:15:43 pm »
Just beginning to explore electronic books when daughter No 2 introduced me to this!

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4720 on: 11 November, 2016, 09:21:35 pm »
The Hanging Tree:D :D :D

Tis good.  I was worried that it would be crap after the delays...
Not fast & rarely furious

tweeting occasional in(s)anities as andrewxclark

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4721 on: 14 November, 2016, 09:08:56 am »
I still haven't finished [Lolita] - up to about 80% on the Kindle. This is partly because I haven't done much reading at all in the last few months - well, not reading for pleasure. I've done plenty of reading for work, which is why I don't have the energy/enthusiasm for other reading.

It's also partly because I find it so uncomfortable to read. At times, it's even more uncomfortable than American Psycho.

You're closer to the end than you may realise - the Penguin Kindle version I've got finishes at 93% - the remainder is Nabokov's notes and afterword guff.  It's worth persevering!

Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4722 on: 14 November, 2016, 09:17:58 am »
Before Watchmen
The prequel to the 'Watchmen' graphic novel. It's quite grim and depressing.
I had to follow it by watching the watchmen film. It's v odd when the most likeable person in a film is a psychotic sociopath.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4723 on: 14 November, 2016, 10:27:09 am »
Rather Be The Devil ~ the new Rebus.

Finished this now.

(click to show/hide)
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Eccentrica Gallumbits

  • Rock 'n' roll and brew, rock 'n' roll and brew...
Re: What books are we reading at the moment ?
« Reply #4724 on: 14 November, 2016, 12:48:18 pm »
The Hanging Tree:D :D :D

Tis good.  I was worried that it would be crap after the delays...
It was good. I want the next one now please!
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.