Author Topic: What books are we reading at the moment ? (Read 846633 times)

Canardly · « **Reply #1675 on:** 02 January, 2011, 08:38:03 pm »

Oh gave up on Jonathan strange half way grew tiresome. However in a similar vein hugely intrigued by Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman daft but good ripping yarn read.

citoyen · « **Reply #1676 on:** 02 January, 2011, 09:12:11 pm »

Haven't started it yet but next on my "to read" pile is What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly.

My interest in this book was piqued by a podcast (Little Atoms, iirc) in which Kevin Kelly broadly outlined his premise, namely that technology evolves in much the same way as living organisms, according to its needs. It's a fascinating idea and I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops it.

After that, I've got another volume of non-fiction: An Edible History Of Humanity by Tom Standage. It's the follow-up to his History Of The World In Six Glasses, which I enjoyed immensely, even if at times I felt it was lacking a little depth.

I've not in the past been much of a non-fiction reader, but my appetite seems to have changed recently. Though having said that, I've got a stack of novels to work my way through after these two books.

d.

itsbruce · « **Reply #1677 on:** 03 January, 2011, 05:41:52 pm »

Quote from: Nightfly on 28 December, 2010, 09:30:10 pm

Quote from: Sergeant Pluck on 28 December, 2010, 08:23:45 pm
Stephen Fry's Moab is My Washpot. Disappointing so far - he does seem to be getting bogged down somewhat (about 1/3 of the way through so far); not as enjoyable nor as informative as S Fry in America.

Next up is Franzen's Freedom.

I think I gave up about a 1/3 of the way through. It was ....... disappointing.

I was unimpressed by "The Liar", which was very slight and superficial. More superficial and rather less clever than it thinks it is. Mr Fry is over-indulged, not least by himself.

itsbruce · « **Reply #1678 on:** 03 January, 2011, 05:46:51 pm »

Quote from: Flying_Monkey on 29 December, 2010, 01:57:31 pm

Just finally got round to reading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, which was really rather good, in fact a classic piece - well maybe more of a lump given its size - of whimsical British fantasy, which put me in mind of Mythago Wood, The Anubis Gates or Little, Big, as well as all those William Morris novels of Victorian faerie.

I wouldn't class Mythago Wood as whimsy; it's a more ambitious and sombre work, which treats the emotions and plight of its protagonists seriously (this is even more true of the sequel). The fact that the author has a sense of humour doesn't make it a humorous book.

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #1679 on:** 03 January, 2011, 06:08:54 pm »

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. I've read it several times before. I just wanted something comforting and familiar.

Bledlow · « **Reply #1680 on:** 04 January, 2011, 11:08:56 pm »

Travels in France during the years 1787, 1788 & 1789, by Arthur Young. Some Americans have put the 1909 edition online for anybody who wants to download it, which is nice.

Very interesting book, apparently very popular in France for many years, where many editions were published, starting in the early 1790s when the Convention had 20000 printed - probably because of the line 'Whenever you stumble upon a grand seigneur, even one that is worth millions, you are sure to find his property desert'.

Flying_Monkey · « **Reply #1681 on:** 05 January, 2011, 12:37:47 am »

Quote from: itsbruce on 03 January, 2011, 05:46:51 pm

I wouldn't class Mythago Wood as whimsy; it's a more ambitious and sombre work, which treats the emotions and plight of its protagonists seriously (this is even more true of the sequel). The fact that the author has a sense of humour doesn't make it a humorous book.

Oh, I'd agree entirely, and I didn't mean to say that Mythago Wood was whimsical - that's not the reason it came to mind; it was more to do with its 'Britishness'.

Feline · « **Reply #1682 on:** 05 January, 2011, 03:44:58 am »

My second hand copy of The Complete Book of long Distance Cycling arrived from an ebay seller today. I had really wanted to buy this book for my Kindle but it isn't yet in ebook form

I haven't read a book made of real paper in weeks

interzen · « **Reply #1683 on:** 05 January, 2011, 07:09:53 am »

I read "Into The Wild" by John Krakauer in one sitting on New Years Eve (yeah, that's me, the party animal). It's an interesting read - the story behind it is true, but I still haven't decided whether or not the protagonist, if he can be called such, was misguided, plain stupid or some combination of the two. It doesn't have quite the same "OMGWTF?!" feeling of something like "Touching The Void" but it's worth a punt.

Got a couple of books on iPhone programming beside me, but they'd hardly count as reading for pleasure, and a couple of books on travel in Australia as preparation for my epic road trip (which do count as reading for pleasure)

There's a whole bunch of 'Golden Age' sci-fi on my iPad, too

Regulator · « **Reply #1684 on:** 05 January, 2011, 07:17:54 am »

I'm reading 'Heartstone', the new CJ Sansom book in the Shardlake series.

Very good!

interzen · « **Reply #1685 on:** 05 January, 2011, 08:53:00 am »

Also read a couple of books on North Korea recently - "Nothing To Envy" by Barbara Demick is an absolute must-read, especially if you want the living bejeezus scared out of you. Makes "1984" look like a fairy story yet the stuff she writes about is still happening. Also, "This is Paradise!" by Hyok Kang - more of the same kind of stuff.

Both books are the literary equivalent of a road accident - you want to look away, yet you just can't seem to. Demick's accounts are, quite frankly, scary.

Quint · « **Reply #1686 on:** 05 January, 2011, 02:11:48 pm »

The stuff various British governments have got up to undercover of secrecy and the disgusting way they have turned our police into a paramilitery government protection force is enough for me. Feel sad for people living in places like North Korea.
The Angels Game Carlos Ruiz Zafon, superb read

Nightfly · « **Reply #1687 on:** 06 January, 2011, 02:36:24 am »

Re-reading Alistair Humphrey's RTW books Moods of Future Joys and Thunder and Sunshine which I read before Christmas. Just as good second time around, infact better.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #1688 on:** 06 January, 2011, 11:38:35 am »

Innocent ~ Scott Turow

Came recommended by Dr Larrington. Not bad, but I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy more of his stuff any time soon.

BrianI · « **Reply #1689 on:** 06 January, 2011, 03:46:20 pm »

I caught the following title out of the corner of my eye today: "Vampire Daleks". I thought that would be a good read until I actually re-read the title as "Vampire Diares"

geoff · « **Reply #1690 on:** 06 January, 2011, 04:49:35 pm »

"The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen. Meant to read it a while back but it got stuck in a box in our garage. It's solemnly hilarious and savage at the same time. I'm just on the Gunnar Myrdal at the moment, with my heart in my mouth.

her_welshness · « **Reply #1691 on:** 10 January, 2011, 07:46:32 pm »

Have just finished 'The Duchess' by Amanda Foreman, a biography of the Duchess of Devonshire, best mate of the Prince Regent and the leader of the ton in the tail-end of the 18th century. I don't really know that much about the history and politics (apart from seeing 'the Madness of King George III') of that era and it was a real period of female emancipation. Good read.

interzen · « **Reply #1692 on:** 10 January, 2011, 08:03:58 pm »

"Long Way Down" - but the big hardback version with far more pictures, and only cost me a tenner from Go-Outdoors in Leeds

Whoever did the abridging of the text did a mighty fine job. The photos are, naturally enough, pure awesome. Unfortunately, there wasn't a mega-illustrated version of "Long Way Round"

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #1693 on:** 11 January, 2011, 11:05:35 am »

Surface Detail ~ Iain M Banks. Is it a bit slow, or is it just me?

Jacomus · « **Reply #1694 on:** 11 January, 2011, 11:07:38 am »

Finished 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Steig Larson, about to start 'The Girl who Played with Fire' by Steig Larson.

Flying_Monkey · « **Reply #1695 on:** 11 January, 2011, 11:17:30 am »

Finally reading The Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. It's okay. He's clearly an interesting guy but it's basically diary ramblings plus later additions from Wikipedia. I was hoping for better.

interzen · « **Reply #1696 on:** 11 January, 2011, 11:38:58 am »

Quote from: Mr Larrington on 11 January, 2011, 11:05:35 am

Surface Detail ~ Iain M Banks. Is it a bit slow, or is it just me?

It's not just you - I've found all of the Culture novels to infuriatingly slow going at times.
They're generally very good, but boy do they take a while to warm up.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #1697 on:** 11 January, 2011, 11:59:26 am »

"Consider Phlebas" seemed OK from the off, but maybe that was just coz it was the first one.

Dinamo · « **Reply #1698 on:** 12 January, 2011, 11:37:02 am »

Inside Out

A Personnal History of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason

Furious · « **Reply #1699 on:** 12 January, 2011, 11:54:08 am »

The Redbreast
by Jo Nesbø