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I have been reading quite a bit more recently since joining Goodreads.
Recently read "All the pretty horses" by Cormac McCarthy, this is probably one of my favourite books to date.
Currently reading "No beast so fierce" by Edward Bunker who was a long time serving prisoner in the USA. Tells the tale of how a person who has served a great deal of time in prison has difficulty in adjusting to normal life.
It's written very well and is quite obviously based on his own experiences.
Be good to have a diverse thread on books being read.
Singletrackworld Forums
Just finished chrimbo prezzie no.1 'Letters to my grandchildren' by Tony Benn. Very enjoyable and timely despite being written around 2009 I think.
Just started reading prezzie no.2 Eric Hoffer's 'The True Believer' after recommendation on the EU Referendum thread
Got a Graham Greene 'Travels with my Aunt' and a Heseltine book lined up after that.
scotroutes - Member - Block User - Quote
Singletrackworld Forums
I'm reading SR's reply to Denis99's question.
The City and City
China Mieville
Just finished Zen and the Art of... and just started The Bourne Identity. There is always a book on the go in la casa de capitansasquatch.
Reading this at the moment.
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Then gonna re-read this, which I haven't read for ages but is great:
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On the Map, by Simon Garfield. History of cartography. Rather good.
Babylon's Ashes by James SA Corey. The expanse stuff is brill.
I thought I'd had my fill of sailing books, theory and rhyme, tales and travels.. but no, I had this handed to me at Christmas and it's a thoughtful read.
Ideal for whiskey, warm living rooms and piece and quiet.
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Captainsasquatch - was it the first time you've read Zen and the Art...? What did you think? I first read it when I was 18 and it really profoundly effected the way I thought about things. I go back to it periodically and read it again. Changed my life.
Skunk works by Ben rich.
Prior to that was the hanging tree by Ben aaronovich which is really good, and the first of the new national geographic series on maths which cooked my poor brain
Crisis, by Frank Gardner. Pretty good.
Essels' reply.
Ulysses - I've got a lot of time on my hands at the moment
We found a hat by Jon Klassen.
Very funny . Final part of a trilogy which has gripped our household.
The Iliad.
It's really good.
The Devil's Chessboard - David Talbot.
All about Allen Dulles, the CIA and the rise of America's secret government.
This guy Dulles is a real piece of work!
Gomorrah: Italy's Other Mafia by Roberto Saviano
Rereading Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, I reread the whole trilogy every couple of years, love it...
Just started this today. It's about the organised crime, smuggling and total chaos that sprang up after the collapse of the USSR. I'm not far in but it's eye opening stuff.
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Just finished To The Sea in Ships by Horatio Clare.
Moving on to Death And The Penguin by Andrey Kirkov
+1 for bikebouy
Warm living room, Whisky and some peace and quite to get into a book.
Would it be worth setting up a group on Goodreads to see what Singletrackers are reading?
My next book will be Descent into chaos by Ahmed Rashid, really interested in getting some insight into some background on 9/11.
Some smashing current reads in this thread.
Fortunately I can read for about 2 hours a day these days, since having a recent cataract op and new reading glasses.
I always have a few books on the go so the first two are from a recommendation on the chat forum before xmas :
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And from my bro for xmas (along with a bottle of Balvenie 21yr old port wood which is finished 🙁 )
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Five on Brexit Island.
For some light relief The Brothers Karamazov - but not in Russian.......
Hell and High Water by Alastair Macintosh. Thought provoking book on climate change and how we live. It's, eh, [b]unlikely[/b] to be on Clarksons reading list
Just finished
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About to start on 'If this is a man' tonight...
Just read through the thread and noticed reference to "Zen And The Art of....."
My fav book of all time, with perhaps "Fear And Loathing - Hunter S Thompson" running it a very close second.
I first read it 25 odd years ago and didn't understand it but it tweaked something in my subconscious mind that would carry through to my daily interactions with the outside world so every so often i would pick it up and read it again.....and again. I dunno if i fully understand everything he talks about or the subtle meaning of every word or phrase but I'll get there...eventually...... and i'll never tire of reading it.
After seeing it pop up a few times on here.
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I really enjoyed Chickenhawk but probably loaned it to someone.
*must read it again*
Chickenhawk is awesome.
Along that them low level hell is another one, about the recon scouts in Vietnam abs is seriously nuts
Found a few old books when we cleared my Aunt's house a few years back. So, having just finished "Cities of the Plains", the 3rd in Cormack McCarthy's series (fantastic books, all of em) currently half way through the quite well known "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville. Quite hard going in places with the olde worldy language (1851!), but very entertaining, many laugh out loud (huh, lol) sections. Two sailors meet for the first time and sleep in the same bed together like it's a normal thing! Great stuff.
A collection of stories by Fritz Leiber, called The Black Gondolier. Got a shit-load of books to read, but I've also got loads on my phone, which I've always got with me, handy fo those occasions when I've got some spare time available.
Large hardcover books are heavy, and easily damaged, just too cumbersome to carry around in my bag all day, just in case.
Raw Spirit, Iain Banks
An interesting / amusing tour around Scotland, visiting whisky distilleries.
Some interesting books that folk are reading on here.
I have added a few to my to read list.
Also created a group on Goodreads , imaginately called Singletrackers.
If you want to join and share your opinions on the books you have read / currently reading /want to read, then join the group.
redthunder - Member
The Iliad.It's really good.
Which translation?
The Iliad and Oddysey are both excellent reads, and often overlooked as being too academic or something.
A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson.
I'm not a Bryson fan, but this is Brian Cox at a level that I can understand! Truly illuminating.
I only read on once or twice a month train journeys, so a book lasts me 6 months at a time. I normally forget what happened in the first half by the time I get near the end 🙁
In addition to earlier post..... The North Water by Ian McGuire; the Red Riding quartet (again) by David Peace; with these you can almost feel the grubbiness and sleaze oozing off the page and into your skin so read and then shower.
No, I'm not being funny; they are worth reading but......visceral?
For those wot like rhyme - Piccadilly Bongo by Jeremy Reed.
Just finished 'Carrier Pilot' a first hand account of a WWII Royal Navy pilot serving in the pacific, very easy and enjoyable read though no Liad...though some action is set in the Mediterranean and being the Navy there is the odd Homer encounter.
IGMC
I don't want to reveal what I'm reading, as it's so deep, it would be beyond you all, and make me seem pretentious.
@frankconway: what do you think of The Brothers Karamazov?
I've been re-reading Terry Pratchett Discworld. Taking a break ATM and trying something different. Fatherland by Robert Harris. Enjoying it.
Must be weird but I'm reading 'Ask your father' by Emma Cook, it prepares you for all the embarrassing questions kids have like 'what were the noises coming from your room last night'...
The newest ST mag.
My 4 year old (who likes to interrupt me whilst I'm on the throne) recently said, "Daddy, all your stories have bikes on the front of them. Did you know Mammy's stories don't have any pictures [i]at all[/i]!"
I really like these threads - my Amazon wish list always grows on the back of these!
I've got a couple on the go at the moment;
The unlikely voyage of Jack de Crow - a tale about an unlikely English and drama teacher who sets off quite unintentionally and ends up rowing a mirror dinghy from Shropshire to the black sea. His writing is full of quirky observational description and wry humour.
Also just stated "As I walked out one midsummers morning" by Laurie Lee. A take of a chap who walks to / accoss Spain in the 1930's during the great depression and a description of the folk he meets along the way.
Just finished Fight Club last night - hadn't read it for 15 years
Incredible book
Just finished Fight Club last night - hadn't read it for 15 years
What's Fight Club?
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was it the first time you've read Zen and the Art...? What did you think? I first read it when I was 18 and it really profoundly effected the way I thought about things. I go back to it periodically and read it again. Changed my life.
Just read through the thread and noticed reference to "Zen And The Art of....."
I first read it 25 odd years ago and didn't understand it but it tweaked something in my subconscious mind that would carry through to my daily interactions with the outside world so every so often i would pick it up and read it again.....and again. I dunno if i fully understand everything he talks about or the subtle meaning of every word or phrase but I'll get there...eventually...... and i'll never tire of reading it.
also read it around 20 years ago and thought what a load of tosh, like you, i didnt understand it.
i maybe just wasnt ready for books like that, i ought to give it another go.
The Railways: Nation, Network and People, excellent history of British trains/stations/etc. Lots of fascinating bits of history, and well written:
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Also re-reading The Player of Games and some Pratchett stuff.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The secret history by Donna Tartt, although I've all but given up on it as I just can't stand any of the characters. I guess this is the intention of the author, but I just can't get past it.
Chickenhawk is great. You really don't see the ending coming.
at the moment I'm reading this
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and this
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All my reservations at the library turned up at the same time so:
William Waldegrave's political memoir, A Different Kind of Weather
Tim Shipman's highly rated first cut of the history of Brexit, All Out War
Svetlana Alexievich's story of post Soviet Russia, Second-Hand Time
If you like Fatherland, Robert Harris's Cicero Trilogy is very good - not a fan of his work set in the present, The Ghost is mediocre and the The Fear Index is tripe.
Just finished Fight Club last night - hadn't read it for 15 years
What's Fight Club?
First rule of Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club....
Chuck Palahniuk's first book - incredibly dark & twisted and very fitting with the randomness of Brexit & Trump over the last 12 months
Also a very good film - but as with most film adaptations - the book is far better
[i]Chuck Palahniuk[/i] - I've read everything by him I can get my hands on. He's fantastic.
Which translation?
We had to read the original in ancient Greek at school....
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Forgot I also have this one on the go.
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hairyscary - MemberThe secret history by Donna Tartt, although I've all but given up on it as I just can't stand any of the characters. I guess this is the intention of the author, but I just can't get past it.
I started that years ago, and gave up on it as its just a load of whining, self-pitying, boo hoo, poor me, bleating!
There must be loads of people on here who'd absolutely love it! 😀
kimbers - Member
The City and CityChina Mieville
Me too, I'm finding it well-written but rather slow going. I'm about 40% through.
And Cairngorm John, I saw it recommended on here so much I thought I'd give it a go, got the hardback in great nick for 1p from Amazon. So £2.81 really. Enjoying it so far.
We had to read the original in ancient Greek at school....
Quite right too, it is very difficult to do justice to the essential poetic qualities of Homer in translation.
[i]The secret history by Donna Tartt[/i]
That was recommended to me years ago (did it win some award?) - I bought and read some or all of it, but cannot remember a single thing about it. Or whether I actually finished it.
Just finished Ready Player One, a fun entertaining read, though a little lightweight. Still, I enjoyed the Hunger Games books too so maybe I should find some more "young adult" stories.
Actually, no, that was the book before. Just finished Flash Boys, about high frequency trading on the US exchanges.
Seveneves is going to get started in the next 2 minutes.
Ready Player One is brilliant! Read it on holiday and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Presently being made into a movie by Speilburg with a mahoosive budget, which should be worth a look.
The Last Temptation (of Christ)
despite not having any affiliation with Christianity, I'm finding this a lot more interesting than I thought I would, Nikos draws the line between Christ as man and divine in a very different place from the bible.
Basically Jesus as philosopher has the decency to show his commitment to said philosophy by dying for it.
I may not have sold this one as well as I could.
iOS Apps for Masterminds.
It's rather predictable
Feet in the Clouds was about the only sporting book I've ever read that conveys the passion and need to do the sport.
Recently re-read 'Life & Fate' by Vasily Grossman its a bit of a marathon but well worth it.
I feel very low rent. Just finishing Girl on a Train and then I will start on The Springsteen autobiography.
Also re reading the Godfather by Mario Puzo. Not read it for a very long time.
Into Thin Air
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wasn't expecting much from this but was really impressed. Highly original.
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I still miss the Night Circus. One for the dreamers.
TM
The Bees is a quality book - really clever!
The Bees is a quality book - really clever!
Indeed. I started it expecting some overly poetic hippy nonsense but its so well written that you slowly get immersed.
TM
Currently reading "Shadows on the road".
After recently finishing" Watching the wheels". Damon Hill's autobiography.
After SotR, I may go read "Catcher in the Rye".
[i]I feel very low rent. Just finishing Girl on a Train...[/i]
Sometimes "best sellers" are worth a read. Unfortunately that one isn't. (I've read it.)
The Education Debate
The Education Debate
Interesting psychological thriller
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Not quite what I expected but good background and some debunking.
Tortillas to Totems.
Travel book by a guy called Sam Manicom about his travels North from Mexico into the USA and Canada in the late 90s. Met him a few times, really nice unassuming guy and a nice writing style