What books are we reading at the moment ?

[Feline]

I just finished Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory. Thought is was pretty good really, and will definitely read some more of his 

I've pre-ordered the next book in the 'Wool' trilogy now too, looking forward to it being published.

[fuzzy]

Finally finished my umpteenth reading of Chickenhawk- took me a long time this time round, due to other stuffs getting in the way. Each time I remember what a cracking book this is.

About to commence The Land of Painted Caves, book 6 in the Jean M Auel Earths Children series.

I hadn't realised this book was out- 12 years between the release of books 5 and 6. I stumbled across it whilst trawling a charity shop book shelf.

I will need to read a Wiki synopsis of The Shelters of Stone to remind me what was going on.

[tiermat]

Reading "Unorthodox", one woman's rejection of her Hasidic roots.

Listening to the Librevox rendering of "History of the Inquisition of Spain" by Henry Charles Lea.  Boy is it heavy going...

[mark]

"The Best and the Brightest" by David Halberstam. A description of how John F. Kennedy's supposedly elite group of advisors dragged the US into Vietnam.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

There's a Kate Atkinson book called Emotionally Weird in which the main character is doing a degree in English and she and her classmates have to write stories of their own. She describes one of the characters as writing a fantasy epic, the plot of which can best be described as And the Murk will fall upon the land. And the beast Griddlebart will roam the land and the dragons will flee.

I was powerfully reminded of this yesterday when I began reading Game of Thrones book 1.

[tiermat]

Finished "Unorthodox" and now have moved onto "The Witches Daughter".  This is the story of a girl who is saved from the plague in the 1600's by her mum's deal with the devil.  Having already lost the rest of her family she didn't want to lose her last surviving child.  It switches between the 1600s and the modern day.  It's quite good in a pulp fiction type of way ("Penny Dreadful" as my mum would call them), but I dearly wish that authors would a) fact check (there are a number of historical inaccuracies) and b) only write about what they know about (it is obvious that the author is American, but the book is set in the UK)

[Ham]

Just finished the Long War, the new Terry Pratchett/Steve Baxter collaboration.

Confession: I am a Pratchett fanboi, and I also thought Good Omens - his collaboration with Neil Gaiman was one of his best books.

When it plopped through the door, I suddenly realised I had missed The Long Earth, the precursor. Only one thing for it, whip out the Kindle. This does make it the only Pratchett I don't (yet) have in print. No spoilers follow.

The two were not overly dissimilar, as you might have expected. Both felt as if they were constructed to be a series as is often the case with SF world books. You can feel Pratchett's hand quite strongly in the construction of the characters and the humour, but the two write quite well together. I romped through the Long Earth, but the Long War could (in my view) have benefitted from stronger editing. There is a much better sense of narrative in LE as well, LW is a little confused - too many characters, too self consciously woven together, too much chopping and changing from chapter to chapter. The LW has a better.

All in all, an interesting combination of fantasy & SF, with enough science plausibility within the confined of the imagined world to be reasonably SF satisfying, combined with the anarchic humour if somewhat cardboard cut-out characters that are intrinsic to Pratchett. Reading reviews on Amazon, there are fans of both Pratchett and Baxter who dislike the result, it has more to do with their broadness of vision than the quality of writing.

[LindaG]

My only problem with The Long Earth was the fact that you could pretty much see the joins between the writers' work.

[Nuncio]

Domestique by Charlie Wegelius (and Tom Southam).  His account of his life as a pro cyclist.  He's an interesting chap. All he ever wanted to be when he was growing up was a pro, then when he became one - with Quickstep of all teams - all he ever wanted to do was to be the best domestique he could be.  And he was probably the last decent British rider to do it the old way rather than under the wings of UK Cycling.

He doesn't meet the doping issue head on but nor does he shy away from it entirely.  The incident of the over-50% haematocrit 'failed' test hit him hard.  Although having informed the UCI and provided evidence that he had an unnaturally high level - he used to use the same methods to bring it down to an acceptable level as the EPO dopers - it didn't count for anything when he was 'caught'.

And he gets a bit tied up in knots when acknowledging that he (and Tom Southam) did the wrong thing when riding for GB (or, not riding for GB) in the 2005 World Championship road race, and then trying to justify his actions.

Nevertheless, a fascinating read.  I look forward to when he writes about his experience as a DS.

[pcolbeck]

OOh I'll have to get that. I know his mum (she lives in the same small village as me) and have met Charlie a few times.

[LindaG]

Fifty Shades of Grey, to see what everyone's going on about, and because it was free.

My word it's awful. One of the least erotic things I have ever read. I had to go and get a Haynes Fiat Punto manual and read that so I could get a bit more aroused.

Now, being hit during sex is not, and never will be, my thing. You slap my arse, you lose an eye. There's your hard limits right there, Mr Grey. Sir. But the really bewildering thing is  - the huge popularity of this potboiling, talentless trash. Okay I am not the target market. But are there really so very many women with such impoverished inner lives that this terrible book was a revelation to them?

That really is tragic.

[Guy]

Last night, after getting fed up with messing about achieving Not Very Much At All I decided to sit down and re-read "Where's My Cow?"

What a splendid book that is.

[tiermat]

Last night, after getting fed up with messing about achieving Not Very Much At All I decided to sit down and re-read "Where's My Cow?"

What a splendid book that is.

Is that my cow?
*cough* *cough* *PTUI*
No, it's Foul Old Ron.

A brilliant book, for all ages.

When (if) you get bored of that, get "The Book of Poo"

[Guy]

I've read The Book Of Poo.  I got it for my Mum for her birthday last year

She thinks it's good too

[Mrs Pingu]

The book of poo actually is a real thing??

[Mrs Pingu]

Fifty Shades of Grey, to see what everyone's going on about, and because it was free.

My word it's awful. One of the least erotic things I have ever read. I had to go and get a Haynes Fiat Punto manual and read that so I could get a bit more aroused.

Now, being hit during sex is not, and never will be, my thing. You slap my arse, you lose an eye. There's your hard limits right there, Mr Grey. Sir. But the really bewildering thing is  - the huge popularity of this potboiling, talentless trash. Okay I am not the target market. But are there really so very many women with such impoverished inner lives that this terrible book was a revelation to them?

That really is tragic.

I suggest the Guardian digested read version instead - http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/29/fifty-shades-grey-digested-read

[Mrs Pingu]

Got the sample version of the first Jo Nesbo Harry Hole book last night to try.
Glad I didn't pay for it, the writing seems a bit wooden.... do they get better?

[tiermat]

Mrs P, it depends...

The last one is much better than any of the others, but they are most definately in the populist style of detective novels.

I have red much, much worse (and, obviously, much better) ones.  The Phantom and The Snowman are better than The Bat.

[Ham]

Mrs P, it depends...

The last one is much better than any of the others, but they are most definately in the populist style of detective novels.

I have red much, much worse (and, obviously, much better) ones.  The Phantom and The Snowman are better than The Bat.

I'd love to say it blue me away, but he oranges the plots in a very predictable manner, the hero is always all white at the end and as I remember there's not much humour to let you green at the jokes. Some purple say he is the next  ‎Stieg Larsson - he is Scandinavian but his books are basically black to basics, the sort where you know if he absolutely must drive his car he won't find the khaki.  I struggled through one, I tried to like it but his books leave me gold.

 

[Mrs Pingu]

Not impressed thus far, it's a bit like Ian's 'an apology ' thread..... I need to find something new to read. I got fed up with the Umberto Eco one, needed a rest from Quantum Physics to Your Dog and I'm saving The Hydrogen Sonata for my hollybobs. What to try next...?

[Feline]

I've just finished Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory, and then The Crow Roads. They were very different but both really good reads. Simon insisted I should read them, and some of the places they are set in are very familiar 

I'm now reading World War Z, a book about the Zombapocalypse. Unsure how good it is at yet, but it does have me despairing at the human race given some bits seem all too believable.

[Lady Cavendish]

I read the 50 shades trilogy last year too just to see what the fuss is about. I'm a sucker for peer pressure. I actually thought the first was just about ok- it was readable. 2nd was pretty crap, 3rd was awful, and it just stopped, like she'd just run out of story!

So. I'm off work for the next month. I'd like recommendations on things to download to my kindle...... nothing that requires too much concentration- I'm up to the eyeballs with morphine and fall asleep quickly so have the attention span of half a flea. Pretty much anything but sci-fi/fantasy, which I hate. Simple things are fine- hell, I even read the kids Hunger Games trilogy the other week!

My favourite book is Pillars of the Earth/World without End- anything similar would be great. And I'm quite happy to read chick lit.

[mattc]

Your favourite book is about building cathedrals?

[Lady Cavendish]

Correct. I got so immersed in the building of them I couldn't differentiate between the book and real life whilst I was reading it.

[citoyen]

I've just had a bit of a Kindle binge and bought:

Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel
The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
An Unsuitable Attachment and Quartet In Autumn by Barbara Pym

I wasn't planning to go mad like that but the Hilary Mantel and Rachel Joyce ones are available for knock-down prices at the moment, and Peter reminded me of Barbara Pym after mentioning her in another thread, so I had a look at what stuff of hers was available on Kindle and those two were just £2.39 each, so well worth a punt.

Peter - I can tell I'm going to enjoy An Unsuitable Attachment just from the description of the Vicar and his wife...

Set in St Basil’s, an undistinguished North London parish, An Unsuitable Attachment is indeed full of the high comedy for which Barbara Pym is famed. There is Mark Ainger, the vicar, who introduces his sermons with remarks like ‘Those of you who are familiar with the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.’ His wife Sophia with her cat, ‘I feel sometimes that I can’t reach Faustina as I’ve reached other cats.’ Rupert Stonebird, anthropologist and eligible bachelor. The well-bred Ianthe Broome who works at the library and forms an unsuitable attachment with a young man there. The sharp-tongue Mervyn Cantrell, chief librarian, who complains that ‘when books have things spilt on them it is always bottled sauce or gravy of the thickest and most repellent kind rather than something utterly exquisite and delicious.’ There is also Daisy Pettigrew, the vet’s sister, another obsessional cat person, and Sister Dew who bears a strong resemblance to Sister Blatt in Excellent Women.