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Started re-reading the Slough House series, as I definitely missed bits / can't remember who did what the first time around.
Taking a break from science fiction until some paperbacks are released.
Just finished 'Trespass, crossing the lines that divide us'. Thought provoking and anger inducing. I am proper radicalised now!
Before that I raced through Dune so I could finish it before seeing the film. Loved them both.
Currently reading World War Z. I never saw the film but I hear it's nothing like the book. The oral history interview format was a bit weird to start with, but I'm really getting into it now. It's well written and nothing like the slightly trashy horror I part imagined it to be.
Currently reading Jimmy the Hand one of the Rift War spin offs by Raymond E Feist then having a break from that series as it has 23 books
Looking forward to reading With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge
Vietnam Perkasie by W D Ehrhart
Pilgrim Days by Alastair Mackenzie
Then back to the Rift War Saga
The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi
Been on my Kindle for 3 years, so thought I'd better give it a go. Seems good
The “old mans war” series by John Scalzi some fine military SF with a lot of of humour. Some of the best I have read for a long time. aliens are weak tho – they just behave like people
Yeah, agreed. The first one was entertaining and a quick read - just the thing to slip in between more heavyweight books. Like an amuse bouche. 😀
I'm currently reading Elvis Priestley's book about being an F1 pit crew. Entertaining and written well enough for what it is. I have a huge stack of books - paper and electronic - to read next, but I'm not sure what it will be.
I've been reading this on and off for a very long time. I really like it.
Currently coming to the end of "The Moth and the Mountain".
A book written about a chap injured in, but survives the first world war. Post war in the 30's when there is a lot of hype around being the first to conquer Everest, he comes up with a plan to be the first to reach the summit.
His method of doing so is to buy a tiger moth aeroplane, fly it there (despite not knowing how to fly, nor having permission from any authorities to use their air space). Then land on the Lower slopes of Everest before climbing in his hobnail boots (despite never claiming any hills, let alone mountains before).
You'd think this fiction, but no - true story. Not reached the end yet, but somehow I think he's about to perish on the mountain.
Quite a good read as it happens. As you'd expect, he's quite the eccentric chap!
I feel like I'm vaguely familiar with that story @scruff9252 might give it a whirl at some point.
Year Of The King, by Anthony Sher - his account of playing Richard III at Stratford in (I think) '84. Cracking read. 🙂
More Joseph Stiglitz, this time "People Power and Profits" -he speaks so much sense!
Also more Herman Melville, this time "Bartleby" - quite a mysterious and charming short story.
If audiobooks count, The Beastie Boys book. Written by the surviving members and read by all sorts of celebs from LL Cool J to Ben Stiller and Jarvis Cocker.
The descriptions of NYC around 81 for music obsessed teens are superb. Lots of punk, then discovering Hiphop. Also stories of crazy antics, studio innovations and maturing from obnoxious ****s.
Really enjoying it.
Recently finished Anxious People by Frederik Backman. Really enjoyed it, found his style of writing quite refreshing. A comedy based on odd personality traits. Some proper laugh out loud moments in a really rather bizarre setting.
Currently half way through Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. First science fiction novel in ages and it’s a great read so far. Didn’t know what to expect, but some really interesting theories based on evolution of our, and other, species.
Diddly Squat by Clarkson. Not really a book, just a collection of his column stories but it is quite amusing.
tjagain sed> aliens are weak tho – they just behave like people
Aliens are peoples too.
I'm currently reading Tom McCarthy's Making of Incarnation. It's possible he's trying too hard to appear clever again but I'll reserve judgement 'till I finish.
wordnumb. The best SF IMO has aliens that do not behave like people. See the Dwellers in Iain M Banks for an example. Its a really difficult thing to write but opens up loads of possibilities. Or Nivens Puppeteers
They're still people, just not your sort of people. Best not objectify them or they might abduct and probe you, like in that documentary Fire In The Sky.
Year Of The King, by Anthony Sher – his account of playing Richard III at Stratford in (I think) ’84. Cracking read. 🙂
Really really enjoyed this, thoroughly recommended if you have any interest in actors and acting. 🙂
Next up - Pirates, Punks And Politics, about the radical left-wing German football club FC St Pauli. 🙂
Full Tilt....from Ireland to India by bike.
Dervla Murphy.
A journey undertaken in the early sixties, entertaining and unbiased by recent events of history.
While searching for a copy of 1984 that's somewhere in the house (I think...) I came across "Dark Alchemy", a fantasy short story collection which I apparently bought in 2007 but have no memory of... So that. It's fairly lightweight, must be said - another amuse bouche as @IdleJon so aptly puts it 🙂
These days I tend to go to the BT phone booth library in a neighbouring village. Slim pickings on last visit, so it’s ‘Origins’ by Dan Brown.
Romesh Ranganathan’s latest one
Finished Charles Stross’ ‘Quantum Of Nightmares’ his latest in his new series based in the world of ‘The Laundry’, and I really enjoyed it, but then I like everything of his I’ve read.
Just started re-reading for the umpteenth time William Gibson’s ’Pattern Recognition’, just love Gibson’s books, (who’d a thunk it!) and never really get tired of reading them, particularly the ‘Blue Ant’ series.
Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion - Michelle Janikian
Secret Santa gift. Bit of a stretch to say I'm reading it, the intention is there, sort of.
Finished No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood....very witty, it'd probably do everyone posting on here good to read the first part of it. It was fairly abstract though, I just didn't get certain parts of it at all. Should be plenty of room for discussion of it at book club this Thursday though.
Just picked up Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo and she doesn't use full stops ffs 😭 I might try something easier to read!
Tour de Force - Mark Cavendish.
Very easy to read.
The usual insight into his mind and how the races (plus Le Tour itself) lead him up to Last years Green jersey win.
I have ovecome the lack of full stops, brilliant start so far. Very fast paced.
@roger_mellie trying to get into Slow Horses, having seen a recommendation on another thread on STW that it's the best thing since Le Carre - but I'm finding it heavy going- page 100 and almost nothing has happened. Is it worth pursuing? Does it get somewhere?
and never really get tired of reading them
I had a go at Virtual Light a while back, and it's really bad. Pretty incoherent, clunky, and the "tech" has aged really quite badly.
Just finished River of Time by John Swain.
I've read a lot about Vietnam over the years but not a lot about the end of the war and the disaster that befell Cambodia in the late seventies. South east Asia also seems to draw all sorts of romanticism out of writers.
Half way through Life After Dark by Dave Haslam. Billed as a ‘history of British nightclubs and venues’. It’s well researched but more a collection of facts rather than telling any sort of history or story at all. Needs a damn good edit tbh!
Waterlog by Roger Deakin
A wonderful book to dip into, so relaxing. I am trying to savour a chapter every few days, which is a difficult for me to do as I usually binge-read if I'm enjoying a book!
@susepic Yes, it is worth pursuing in my opinion - there is a climax/ showdown to the central crime (not sure if its been introduced to you yet in the first 100 pages) so there is a conclusion. With a bit of a twist IIRC. Mick Herron does introduce a lot of characters in the first book, setting the scene subsequent books, so I did find myself back-tracking a bit, but I found it worth it.
Currently trying to read this:
But my wife keeps stealing it to read her self because it's excellent (not my usual sifi)
One from the pile of Xmas books.
Interesting read,although at times he can 'go on a bit'.
monkeyboyjc
Full MemberCurrently trying to read this:
But my wife keeps stealing it to read her self because it’s excellent (not my usual sifi)
That looks good, I do like a good non-fiction social history book.
Excellent thread. I've read a few that were recommended on here recently.
The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong (thanks @stevenmenmuir) Very much in the vein of Irvine Welsh (who he credits) for a new generation. Lacking some of the tension of Welsh in my opinion but still an interesting read and I'll be interested to see how he develops as an author. This one is clearly quite autobiographical, which lends authenticity, but will he be able to step outside his own experiences?
Accordion Crimes by Annie Proulx (thanks @BillMC) Very much the essence of Proulx; a book where the "plot" is just a device on which to hang lots of sketches about life in difficult circumstances. In this case we follow the journey of an accordion as is passes from person to person and on the way meet a vast cast of interesting characters. Beautifully written and with lots of trademark Proulx moments as characters suddenly die in strange ways or have their whole lives summed up in a paragraph.
I've just ordered Disgrace and This way to the gas ladies and gentlemen after recommendations on here too and have quite a few more on the list to consider.
Thanks @roger_mellie I'll keep persevering
If you like a bit of espionage, The Spy and The Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a great true story of an 80s mole in Russia
Ooh I'll add that to my list @roverpig. You'll love Disgrace!
Try Shuggie Bain...sounds like it could be up your street. Won the booker prize in 2020.
Couple of hundred pages into A house for mr Biswas by V S Naipual and have just finished re-reading Babylon's Ashes to see how it compared to the last series of the Expanse (lots of things in the tv final series that would have made no sense unless read the last few books)
@mogrim it really is a great book, author is Babita Sharma (BBC journalist) - I missed that from the photo.
Just got this in the post. I'm looking forward to reading it later this week
@Tom-B I've picked up Shuggie Bain in Tesco a few times. Sounds as though I should actually stick it in the trolley next time 🙂
Forgot to mention that I also read Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar which was mentioned earlier. It is very much a book about the life of Stalin. So it goes into great detail about who might have said what at a dinner party he was at then just glosses over the fact that so and so was shot and so were all his family, as Stalin wasn't present. Great for getting an insight into the man and the events he was directly involved in but if you want to get a feel for what it was like living through the terror I think fiction does that better. For example, Gorky Park, Child 44, The Holy Thief and the other books in those series, plus Solzhenitsyn of course.
Yep, Roverpig as I remember it (1992), the idiom changes with every ethnic group the accordion passes through. Damned clever stuff.
Yes, she's a talented writer for sure. Sometimes too clever for her own good maybe. I find all of her books are amazing at giving a real sense of place and time but there isn't really that narrative thread that keeps you hooked. Accordion Crimes is really a collection of novellas that are linked. Not just by the accordion itself, but also by references to characters from other segments of the journey. But you can easily read any part on its own.
Yeah definitely give Shuggie Bain a whirl. I think that he's (Douglas Stewart) got a new book out in a few months too.
Ok, will do. Thanks. Although I notice it’s now disappeared from the shelves of my local Tesco. Typical. I’ll just have to add it to the next World of Books order.
It's on buy one get one half price in waterstones still. Some really good stuff in that offer.
The Go-between by L. P. (not to be confused with J.R.) Hartley.
Been on the list for ages as 'sounds vaguely interesting' but it's beautifully written and very aware, which is what it's all about of course.
This thread is great. Life isn't long enough. Also reading about six other books at the moment, including my uncle's which is quite revealing.
Just finished Alistair Moffatt's Britain: A genetic tour and Daniel Finn's book on the IRA
Both incredibly well researched and expertly written. Blimey, now got to find something to match them.
Just finished Spectre by Willaim Shatner
Quite like the Star Trek books.
4/5
Next
"Expert judgment on markers to deter inadvertent human intrusion into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant"
PS
If anyone is interested you can download it here:
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1279277/
Book group next choice is Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. Apparently it's going to change my life.
The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (of Sharpe fame). First of a trilogy placing the Arthurian legend at the period of Saxon invasions following Rome's withdrawal.
I've read loads of his books and these are a cut above. In essence a well written, beautifully researched look at what the Arthurian legend might have originated from in terms of a real-life story. An excellent insight into life in post Roman Britain, the cold war between christianity and the old religion and what Arthur's story might actually have been (there is some evidence that a British warlord called Arthur may have temporarily halted the on-going Saxon incursion).
A great read and quite educational too!
TAken on a couple more.
Researching for a:
Major-General Nowell FitzUpton Sampson Way of the Royal Marine Light Infantry
Suez 1882
Battle of Tofrek
The White Nile by Alan Moorehead
The Regiment by Christopher Nicole
Hoping for a Sharpe type here 🙂
Currently coming to the end of “The Moth and the Mountain”.
Was telling Mrs Pondo about this when it popped up a few days ago - bless her gentle, warm, loving soul, she bought it for me as a thank you for effectively doing a bit of housekeeping and being supportive as work is tough!
Corking read, fair races along - I badly want to buy a Gypsy Moth and fly to India... 🙂
look at what the Arthurian legend might have originated from in terms of a real-life story.
If you're interested in this, check out 'The Sword at Sunset' by Rosemary Sutcliff.
cb200 I found Entangled Life a fascinating read, maybe a little long winded for one topic.
Currently on with Breath by James Nestor. Another "life changer", it might be that actually!
If you’re interested in this, check out ‘The Sword at Sunset’ by Rosemary Sutcliff.
Read a lot of her stuff when I was younger, might have a dabble.
Just finished "The Man Who Died Twice", by Richard Osman. Was foisted on me by my parents who probably fancy being characters in it.
Surprisingly enjoyable crime romp, mainly light hearted but surprisingly poignant at times. Easy to bash through in an evening. Reminded me a lot of my dad's Dick Francis novels I read as a teenager.
No doubt coming to a charity shop near you soon in large numbers!
there is some evidence that a British warlord called Arthur may have temporarily halted the on-going Saxon incursion).
I don't want to derail the thread, but Arthur is definitely unhistorical. Enjoy the book, but understand it's just as made up as Celebrity Ghost Trip.
After much prodding by my brother, I've read the fist of the Expanse. Fun, a bit trashy...what's the male equivalent of chic-lit? bro-reads? lad-lit?
The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (of Sharpe fame). First of a trilogy placing the Arthurian legend at the period of Saxon invasions following Rome’s withdrawal.
I read the trilogy 20 years ago and it’s great. I don’t care how much of it is ‘unhistorical’. I also very much enjoyed Helen Hollick’s Harold the King around the same time.
Fast forward to now and currently I’m working through these on Audible:
- The Korean War (Max Hastings)
- The Blade Itself (Joe Abercrombie)
- Dark Matter (Michelle Paver)
Book group next choice is Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. Apparently it’s going to change my life.
I read it a few weeks ago after being mentioned on here. It's very interesting, but describing it as life-changing is perhaps a little much. 😀
After my initial misgivings about Girl. Woman. Other and it's lack of full stops and capitals, I have to say that it was absolutely fantastic. Incredibly well written, and tells a history of Britain that is incredibly interesting. It's mainly different BAME experiences across the past 2 centuries in Britain, with a conclusion in present day. Touches on the internal struggles we all face throughout life, and although it covers mainly BAME and LGBTQ+ characters, it's for me just a great humanist novel.
Hi to all. I'm new to the forum. As everyone just sharing the book I'm reading now.
Inferno by Dan Brown. An exciting story.
I gave my bro Merlin Sheldrake : Entangled Life For Xmas (I highly recommend) and he bought me Oliver Milman : The Insect Crisis which is also highly recommended.
A mate bought me Joe Sacco : Journalism and it’s a brutal read in places but his writing and understanding gives me hope for proper reporting
Me, a week ago:
[i]The Whisperer by Donato Carrisi... Been on my Kindle for 3 years[/i]
Now I know why, it was shit. Gave up half way through.
Now reading the second of the Killing Eve books "No Tomorrow". They're a decent read
Alan Garner - Treacle Walker. Brilliant and utterly mystifying. I'm waiting until lunch time until I can finish off the last 20 pages or so. I'm not expecting to know what's going on when I do.
I've just finished Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
Very good, very witty and thought provoking. There are obviously lots of comparisons etc with 1984, Huxley himself talked about it at length. For me, Brave New World is slightly less hard work, but I much preferred 1984. I didn't really find Brave New World a book that I couldn't put down.
Next up for me is Normal People by Sally Rooney I think. I've heard very good things about her writing.
Just finished Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, it was pretty good although a bit contrived in places. Still good fun though.
On to Chickenhawk by Robert Mason just now, that definitely didn't sound like much fun from where the author was sitting at times.
Patrick Bishop - Fighter Boys. It's really interesting reading about the introduction and subsequent development of Hurricanes and Spitfires at the beginning of WW2 and how they compared to their German counterparts (Me 109 and Me 110). Still on the part about Dunkirk and looking forward to the main event (Battle of Britain).
I've just finished The Muse by Jessie Burton. It's pretty good, not a standout read but enjoyable and I'd read her again.
Pyramids by Pterry Pratchett...
...for perhaps the 8th time...
After enjoying Ready Player One as some fun and easy reading, I’m a quarter of the way through Ready Player Two. God it’s shit so far
Johann Hari's new book, Stolen Focus
Johann Hari’s new book, Stolen Focus
Very apt title for his work
@alice.hp
Free Member
Hi to all. I’m new to the forum. As everyone just sharing the book I’m reading now.
Inferno by Dan Brown. An exciting story.
The miserable devil's not even saying hi back. (They aren't really.)
Welcome to the forum.👍
Double post
Working my way through the Harry Potter books at the moment. About halfway through number 4.
They're all on Amazon Kindle Edition Unlimited, so I signed up for a 3 month trial for 99p. Bargain.
The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin. It's a trilogy (now of 4 books!) originally written in Chinese and translated into English, covering the whole 'alien life/first contact' scenario but without bending the laws of physics too much with hyperspace or whatnot. Well, they are bent a bit. Actually quite a lot thinking about it. Anyhow I'm half way through the third book and
The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin
I'm half way through the first book and if it doesn't pick up the pace soon I'll be dropping it.
In other news I picked up "Alanbrooke War Diaries" cheap on Kindle the other day. Riveting stuff so far!
I’m half way through the first book and if it doesn’t pick up the pace soon I’ll be dropping it.
Yeah it does take a while. Assume you're still in the whole weird video game/Red Coast base bit which does plod on. If you're looking for a cliff hanger on every page it's probably not the book for you 😀
Assume you’re still in the whole weird video game
Pretty much. Just when I thought things were moving on he's joined some sort of self help group for game enthusiasts. I was interested to see how the Cultural Revolution stuff was handled but other than that there's been little in it for me. Not my sort of thing I guess.