What are you reading at the moment?

Paul_C

Paul_C said:

I've moved from weird sci-fi to Swedish detective fiction:

The Laughing Policeman by Sjöwall and Wahlöö (Book 4 of the Martin Beck series)
 
The BBC are broadcasting some (or all) of the Beck books at the moment, but I haven't seen any.

. . . and back to sci-fi with The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds.

I've read it before and enjoyed it, but long enough ago to not remember the full story, so it's worth another try.

HAL9000

Hitman Anders And The Meaning Of It All by Jonas Jonasson. Very funny and an easy read from the author of The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared. Excellent.

jellyroll

Notwithstanding by Louis de Bernieres.  Whimsical, touching, funny. 

Nitefly

"A Man Called Ove", by Fredrik Backman.  Funny in parts (some genuine laugh-out-loud moments), but something must have got in my eye near the end.

Paul_C

Paul_C said:

Paul_C said:

I've moved from weird sci-fi to Swedish detective fiction:

The Laughing Policeman by Sjöwall and Wahlöö (Book 4 of the Martin Beck series)
 
The BBC are broadcasting some (or all) of the Beck books at the moment, but I haven't seen any.

. . . and back to sci-fi with The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds.

I've read it before and enjoyed it, but long enough ago to not remember the full story, so it's worth another try.

I picked up Beastings by Benjamin Myers the other day, but before that I'm re-reading A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge. 

EricTheWeary

boogieman said:

Just finished Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. Interesting story but it's written in a slightly weird stilted style. I'd swear it had been translated from another language but the author is English. Hadn't heard of the film version until I saw the book, must check it out... anyone seen it? 

@boogieman yes I've seen the film. Can't remember that much about it other than sort of old school thriller and quite grim. 

EricTheWeary

Back on track..

Started The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Such a clever author although not completely grabbed me as yet.

Got The Girl With All the Gifts incoming, see how I get on with a supposedly sophisticated zombie book. 

boogieman

EricTheWeary said:

boogieman said:

Just finished Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. Interesting story but it's written in a slightly weird stilted style. I'd swear it had been translated from another language but the author is English. Hadn't heard of the film version until I saw the book, must check it out... anyone seen it? 

@boogieman yes I've seen the film. Can't remember that much about it other than sort of old school thriller and quite grim. 

Cheers. Saw it today in sainsburys for £4 so took a punt. 

JookyChap

Shock & Awe - Glam Rock - Simon Reynolds

Only started it today, but it is really well written and seriously nerdy (which I like)

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31daLmEv3uL.jpg

Blueingreen

"The Whole Harmonium", a biography of Wallace Stevens by Paul Mariani. For Stevens fans only - he didn't have a very interesting life. But Mariani is an experienced biographer and critic, who writes very well. Slowish going because I keep breaking off to re-read some of the poems and get some different critical perspectives.

Also reading "The Latecomers" by Anita Brookner.

jonnyburgo

Reading the Walking Dead comic books on my tablet, interesting to see the differences between the tv version and this. About 400 pages into the first compendium. It is very engaging.

TheMarlin

Where did the towers go? By Dr Judy Wood. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Towers-Evidence-Directed-Free-energy-Technology/dp/0615412564

Marlin

quarky

Currently reading Admirals, about butterflies. No, it is actually about Admirals.




No Nelson, because he is Nelson, but the *next* 11 after Nelson in terms of merit/impact. There were some remarkable men that most people would never had heard of!

HAL9000

Just finished Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarré. Absolutely superb cold-war spy story set mostly in a drab grey post-war Britain. MI6 are looking for a mole in their midst, but no James Bond stunts and flashiness here - rather looking for clues by going through dusty old files and piecing together old half-remembered stories where the little details and omissions all mean something. Would definitely recommend.

snakemanStoo

http://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1294291906l/8864550.jpg

d8m

The girl on the train.

Picked it up out of boredom and am actually into it!

quarky

Just finished To Kill a Mockingbird. I didn't read it at school, but I was really impressed by it.




Thought this was great:

"There's nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro's ignorance. Don't fool yourselves—it's all adding up and one of these days we're going to pay the bill for it. I hope it's not in you children's time."

quarky

Next up in my list:


I read Of Mice and Men last year which wasn't too bad. I have heard great things about this though.

Grunfeld

I've really enjoyed this:
Olivia Laing, "The Lonely City: adventures in the art of being alone"



Where to begin?
Ever been dumped?  Divorced?  Not even coupled? 
Found yourself in a relationship and wondered what the fuck you're doing there?
Because you felt alone?
Really alone.
This is not a casual book.  It is a wonderful and insightful examination of loneliness.  The way loneliness can set you apart.
What does that mean?  It means I've come away more knowledgeable than when I started.  So it's a good book.
So what's it about?  It is non-fiction and it examines the life of the author who's an English woman living in New York going through these thoughts.  She takes you through the lives of some interesting people.  People like Andy Warhol, Henry Darger, Edward Hopper, David Wornarowicz -- basically mostly people I'd never heard of. 
But because the book is fascinating and I wanted to know more I used YouTube to watch documentaries on them, their pictures, their writings, their lives.  And all of that filled out what Olivia Laing is writing about.  I have really enjoyed the extra detective work.  Even though it has made the book ten times longer to read.
Not a book for everyone.  If, reading this, it strikes a chord, then you know it's a book for you.
Highly recommended.

Olivia Laing, "The Lonely City: adventures in the art of being alone"

EricTheWeary

EricTheWeary said:

Back on track..

Started The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Such a clever author although not completely grabbed me as yet.

Got The Girl With All the Gifts incoming, see how I get on with a supposedly sophisticated zombie book. 

Finished the Buried Giant. Didn't really get it at all. 

Have started Girl With All the Gifts. Bit teen fiction really but at least I can follow it....