Author Topic: What books are we reading at the moment ? (Read 846713 times)

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #2200 on:** 09 January, 2012, 03:18:27 pm »

Finally got round to reading Camilla Lackberg's The Gallows Bird as for some reason the other four of hers available in English made it into Sainsbury's but this didn't.

microphonie · « **Reply #2201 on:** 09 January, 2012, 07:14:17 pm »

Just started Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi.

bodach · « **Reply #2202 on:** 09 January, 2012, 07:46:26 pm »

Just finished The Uttermost part of the Earth by Lucas Bridges. A brilliant adventure of a missionary couple who settled near Usuiaia in Tierra Del Fuego to civilise and take christianity to the Yaghans there. They saw they population drop from some few thousands to a mere handfull mainly due to introduced diseases. They endured great hardship and raised a family there, witnessing the disappearance of the indigenous culture and managed to farm large tracts of the land. Brought back memories of Patagonia a few years ago.

citoyen · « **Reply #2203 on:** 10 January, 2012, 10:04:41 am »

Quote from: citoyen on 09 January, 2012, 02:37:48 pm

Just started on Julian Barnes's The Sense Of An Ending, which is a pure joy to read.

Having finished it this morning, I'm revising that opinion. I don't think "joy" is the right word at all. It's actually quite painful. But it's bloody brilliant. It's very "literary", with all that entails (good and bad - I can see why it won the Booker), but I'm a white, middle-class, middle-aged man, so it speaks volumes to me. Hell, apart from a few details, it could almost be about me. And I wanted to go back to the start and read it all over again immediately, which is not something I say about a book very often.

d.

Quint · « **Reply #2204 on:** 10 January, 2012, 05:51:31 pm »

Now on Bill Bryson - A short history of nearly everything, so far seems quite good

arabella · « **Reply #2205 on:** 10 January, 2012, 07:04:21 pm »

I agree. Enjoyed it immensely.
I'm not really reading anything at the moment though.

Wascally Weasel · « **Reply #2206 on:** 11 January, 2012, 12:08:07 am »

Recently finished Reamde by Neal Stephenson. Interesting in places but a disappointment after.Anathem.

her_welshness · « **Reply #2207 on:** 11 January, 2012, 10:00:58 am »

Quote from: citoyen on 10 January, 2012, 10:04:41 am

Quote from: citoyen on 09 January, 2012, 02:37:48 pm
Just started on Julian Barnes's The Sense Of An Ending, which is a pure joy to read.

Having finished it this morning, I'm revising that opinion. I don't think "joy" is the right word at all. It's actually quite painful. But it's bloody brilliant. It's very "literary", with all that entails (good and bad - I can see why it won the Booker), but I'm a white, middle-class, middle-aged man, so it speaks volumes to me. Hell, apart from a few details, it could almost be about me. And I wanted to go back to the start and read it all over again immediately, which is not something I say about a book very often.

d.

It is a bloody brilliant book, I could not stop thinking about the characters for a long time. I think one of the main 'joys' of the book is the character of Tony, who is so 'normal' and thinks that he has been leading this normal life can exact such extraordinary events/consequences. And never underestimate the power of suggestion!

citoyen · « **Reply #2208 on:** 11 January, 2012, 12:04:36 pm »

Quote from: her_welshness on 11 January, 2012, 10:00:58 am

I think one of the main 'joys' of the book is the character of Tony, who is so 'normal' and thinks that he has been leading this normal life can exact such extraordinary events/consequences. And never underestimate the power of suggestion!

I love the way he misreads the signals from Veronica when they meet again. He is such a twat!

Now on to New Grub Street by George Gissing. Really enjoying it but slightly disconcerted by the fact that I already know the main characters, Edwin Reardon and Jasper Milvain. Well, I already know the radio comedy version of them...

I'm reading it on my wife's recommendation, and it wasn't until she read it last year that either of us realised that's where the characters in Ed Reardon's Week came from. Now I'm beginning to understand just how closely Christopher Douglas based them on Gissing's characters. It adds an extra level of humour and pathos, though I keep wondering when we'll get to the bit where the journeyman Victorian hack scripts an episode of Tenko.

d.

lou boutin · « **Reply #2209 on:** 11 January, 2012, 01:38:51 pm »

I've been given a copy of 'Jane Austen's Heroes and Other Male Characters: A Sociological Study' by Reeta Sahney. I can't wait to start it.

clarion · « **Reply #2210 on:** 11 January, 2012, 02:57:13 pm »

A book by Sun Yat-Sen. If I give the title it'll give away the premise of a future ride.

clarion · « **Reply #2211 on:** 13 January, 2012, 11:50:12 am »

I just received a copy of Barring Mechanicals by a Mr Allsopp, about a little jaunt he rode on. Not had a chance to get started on it, but it has a good review from a Sue Archer.

Tim Hall · « **Reply #2212 on:** 13 January, 2012, 01:06:40 pm »

Cyclebabble, a digest of the Guardian Bike Blog, a present from my sister.

Great fun spotting people who I know in the comments. So far Wowbagger, elyob (of urc), vorsprung x 2. And there's mention of a woman towering above the crowds on a penny en route for Dunwich.

SandyV · « **Reply #2213 on:** 14 January, 2012, 11:46:46 am »

Quote from: clarion on 13 January, 2012, 11:50:12 am

I just received a copy of Barring Mechanicals by a Mr Allsopp, about a little jaunt he rode on. Not had a chance to get started on it, but it has a good review from a Sue Archer.

It is indeed a very good read!

Juan Martín · « **Reply #2214 on:** 14 January, 2012, 06:27:43 pm »

To that London today on a trip to the British Museum. To read on the train I took Sabor a Chocolate by Jose Carlos Carmona, a novella in Spanish. I have had this on my bookshelf for some time waiting for the right time to read it (and it fitted easily into my jacket pocket). I do not think that this has been translated but I would recommend it as an ideal read for someone with Spanish at around A Level standard. It is a story about a Swiss boy in the 1920s who falls in love with a girl that he sees returning from her music class; his attempts to form a relationship with her fail until he opens a chocolate shop in order to win her - and of course his plans do not procede smoothly. I suppose it could be described as charming and has enough sharp edges to avoid being drippy.
Each chapter is around a page, sometimes less, so at 150 odd pages it isn't too daunting a prospect. Two hours on the train and I am about half way through without the aid of a dictionary - so it might be suitable as a first novel for someone studying Spanish at school. I have had a quick look on a couple of Spanish bookworm websites and it seems to be quite well thought of. Available from Amazon.

DrMekon · « **Reply #2215 on:** 14 January, 2012, 08:44:27 pm »

Just finished Cocaine Nights by JG Ballard, and started Humboldts Gift by Saul Bellow.

The ending of Cocaine Nights annoyed me. I felt like the twist wasn't justifiable, or at least only weakly justified by what went before.

citoyen · « **Reply #2216 on:** 17 January, 2012, 04:35:23 pm »

Quote from: Flying_Monkey on 05 September, 2010, 08:58:34 pm

Quote from: Bledlow on 03 September, 2010, 05:45:03 pm
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

It's started well, & I like the cover. But I've just seen Flying Monkey's comment about how it goes on. Oh dear.

It's okay - you will probably disagree with me anyway! 99% of the world seems to; it's mostly only the 1% who know much about Japan who even see what I am getting at.

This is next on my "to read" pile. I know nothing about Japan...

d.

citoyen · « **Reply #2217 on:** 21 January, 2012, 08:28:51 am »

I left Jacob de Zoet to one side and instead picked up...

The Pickwick Papers.

Which is surprising me by being laugh-out-loud funny.

d.

tiermat · « **Reply #2218 on:** 21 January, 2012, 08:32:00 am »

I am in the last 250 pages of The OtherWorld saga, and am thinking what to read next, maybe work through last year's Booker prize nominees or just read some trash.

Shall update when I have decided

If I could find it, I would read "Two Wheels Over Catalonia" again, but I can't remember where I have put it

Nor, even, any of the other cycling books I had....

her_welshness · « **Reply #2219 on:** 21 January, 2012, 06:22:13 pm »

Am reading the last of the 4 book series by Christopher Paolini, which is called 'Inheritance'. I am now more than happy to forgive the 3rd book.

On my Kindle I am reading the chronicles of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. They are so well written!

Juan Martín · « **Reply #2220 on:** 21 January, 2012, 06:31:39 pm »

El Zorro by Isabel Allende. Elegant, crisp prose. I do enjoy reading her books; this should last me about a month on the train - sometimes I really enjoy commuting!

microphonie · « **Reply #2221 on:** 22 January, 2012, 09:45:08 am »

Just started the Endymion omnibus by Dan Simmons. Trying to handle this breezeblock of a book is making me warm to the idea of a Kindle...

GruB · « **Reply #2222 on:** 22 January, 2012, 09:56:59 am »

Still reading Racing in the Dark by David Millar on my Christmas Kindle.
It is well written but quite sad in places, so I can't just plough through it as I would a fantasy novel.

Tom B · « **Reply #2223 on:** 22 January, 2012, 03:10:45 pm »

"The House of Silk" (Sherlock Holmes) by Anthony Horowitz

Andrij · « **Reply #2224 on:** 22 January, 2012, 09:24:51 pm »

A friend has recommended S@motność w Sieci (Loneliness on the Net) by Janusz Wiśniewski, letting me borrow a translation into Ukrainian she just finished reading.

As one could guess from the title, it's not coming across as a cheery bit of writing. I'm persevering because of her recommendation (though I have my suspicions) and because it's been ages since I've read any proper literature.