What are you reading at the moment?

Snap

Forge of Darkness, Steven erikson. I've got the follow on, Fall of Light, but forgot all the first book, so re reading. I've just completed a full re read of the whole Malazan series, including the Esslemont books, and his new one, Dancer's Lament. Great stuff, all of it. I think Esslemont has become as good as Erikson now.

goldtop

Just finished "The Woman in Black" - a holiday read, picked up in Lisbon for 1 euro. Terrible book, with a twist so obviously  signposted that I had to keep reading just to see if I'd be as annoyed about it as I thought I would be. I was. Grrr...

And the constant borrowing of atmosphere and style from Dickens/etc classics was outrageous, made worse because the author actually references it directly when you've already spotted it. Bah!

I've got "A Man Called Ove" to read next.

Zoolooter

Springsteens new book and
Slow Horses 

mikeyrob73

Wastelands - Stephen King , Part 3 of the Dark Tower Series :-) 

boogieman

mikeyrob73 said:

Wastelands - Stephen King , Part 3 of the Dark Tower Series :-) 

I just started his 11/22/63. Pretty good so far. 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

goldtop said:

I've got "A Man Called Ove" to read next.

Think I read that in one sitting last when I had it! Very readable, heart-warming-verging-on-overly-sentimental stuff. I'm sure everyone knows a miserable old sod like Ove!

Just finished Lincoln In The Bardo - definitely one of the cleverest and most original books I've ever read, but took a little while to get into it as it's so bonkers! Fascinating approach to historical fiction though, if you like that sort of thing.

Flink_Poyd

Finished American Gods, all 700 or whatever pages. I really enjoyed it, quite long but had enough going on to keep me interested. I like that dark, weird world that I created in my mind for it.

I'm now onto https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27824826-the-dry
          
I'm only a few chapters in and not fully immersed yet but there are a few glimmers of hope that it will be worth reading.

I'd forgot how much fun it is to read, I read for 30 mins or so in the canteen before work and have had people speak to me about stuff and I haven't even noticed them, not out of blanking them but Ive so deep in my own world that I miss out on all the boring football chat and moaning about how crap work is. Bonus!

HAL9000

Flink_Poyd said:

Finished American Gods, all 700 or whatever pages. I really enjoyed it, quite long but had enough going on to keep me interested. I like that dark, weird world that I created in my mind for it.

American Gods is probably Gaiman's best book, but if you enjoyed it you'll also enjoy Neverwhere and Stardust. Neither is quite as dark as Gods but they are, nonetheless, both excellent reads.

If you like dark weird worlds then the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake is superb.

Nitefly

@HAL9000 do you mean the book or the whole trilogy?

I only ask because I was misled into reading the book "Gormenghast" first, when of course I should have started with "Titus Groan".

It didn't ultimately spoil my enjoyment of them, but it would have been better to have read them in the right sequence!

I remember the BBC doing a dramatisation for TV, but it met with a pretty derisory reception from the critics, most of whom clearly hadn't read the books - shame, really.

HAL9000

@Nitefly I meant the trilogy. Good spot. I've amended my post now.

Flink_Poyd

HAL9000 said:

Flink_Poyd said:

Finished American Gods, all 700 or whatever pages. I really enjoyed it, quite long but had enough going on to keep me interested. I like that dark, weird world that I created in my mind for it.

American Gods is probably Gaiman's best book, but if you enjoyed it you'll also enjoy Neverwhere and Stardust. Neither is quite as dark as Gods but they are, nonetheless, both excellent reads.

If you like dark weird worlds then the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake is superb.

I'll.add that to the list. I've got The Ocean At The End Of The Lane after The Dry. The Dry is OK but it's taken about 200 pages to get going really and by that time when a character is bought back in I've half forgotten who the are. It's a murder mystery/crime thriller so I guess I'll avoid them for a while after this 

breakstuff

A Dark So Deadly by Stuart McBride.

Pretty much one of his Logan McRae novels with similar but different characters,although the odd character from said McRae novels do turn up throughout the book.

Enjoying it so far.

ourmaninthenorth

March Violets -  volume one of the Berlin Noir Trilogy - Philip Kerr

Like Philip Marlowe does Munich pre WW2. 

m_c

Currently on the third Lincoln Rhyme novel from Jeffrey Deaver, The Empty Chair.

I'd previously finished the two latest Rebus novels, and as good as it is to read novels set in your local city by a local author, they just aren't as polished or as gripping as Jeffrey Deaver or Jo Nesbo.

EricTheWeary

I read Suggs' autobiography on Saturday. It's alright. A lot of autobiographies take an opportunity to slag people off but not Suggs, he's a lovely man. Well, okay, there's a bit of Oasis acting like knobs. 

On A Good Read on R4 they had A Very English Scandal so just reserved that at the library. The story of the Jeremy Thorpe scandal which is something I half remember from my yoof. 

quarky

Reading "The Biology of Belief" by Bruce Lipton.

To be honest, I am about 50% of the way though and don't buy the theory behind it.

"Prokaryotes display intelligence" or matter=energy and cells respond to external sensory stimuli therefore they are influenced by thought? Divining for water works, or rife machines cure cancer, etc?

A shame because the conclusions (that positive thoughts can make a positive difference to you life) do have some validity, but not because of that.

AlexC

HAL9000 said:

Flink_Poyd said:

Finished American Gods, all 700 or whatever pages. I really enjoyed it, quite long but had enough going on to keep me interested. I like that dark, weird world that I created in my mind for it.

American Gods is probably Gaiman's best book, but if you enjoyed it you'll also enjoy Neverwhere and Stardust. Neither is quite as dark as Gods but they are, nonetheless, both excellent reads.

If you like dark weird worlds then the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake is superb.

Peake's Titus Groan/Gormenghast books are my favourite novels of all time. I was eleven when I first read them. Probably explains a lot about the way I am nowadays, Ha!

boogieman

breakstuff said:

A Dark So Deadly by Stuart McBride.

Pretty much one of his Logan McRae novels with similar but different characters,although the odd character from said McRae novels do turn up throughout the book.

Enjoying it so far.

It's a nice idea, combining some of the McRae characters with the new detective. I enjoyed it. His next one is going to be just about Steele apparently, looking forward to it. I really hope he drops the Ash Henderson series, they're his weakest books IMO. Utterly bleak and brutal with none of his usual black humour to lift the mood occasionally. 

Paul_C

I'm getting towards the end of The Atrocity Exhibition - JG Ballard.

It reminds me a little of some of M John Harrison's work so maybe he's a Ballard fan.

Other than that it's odd and occasionally silly and feels very much of it's time, as a lot of Science Fiction seems to.

hungrymark

I'm reading 'It can't happen here', by Sinclair Lewis, about a vain, fear-mongering demagogue who assumes the US presidency by railing against immigrants and promising to make America great again.

It was written in 1935.