What are you reading at the moment?

Snap

kjdowd said:

Philly_Q said:

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

I'd put off reading this until I'd read all Dickens' other novels, because I thought I might be frustrated by its unfinished state, but it is very good and well worth reading.  Dickens is really more about the characters than the plots anyway, and as always this has some great ones.

It did make me curious about other authors' attempts to complete the book, and I've now read one by Leon Garfield (1980) and another by David Madden (2011).  Both very enjoyable.

Try Drood by Dan Simmons. Novel based on this with Dickens as a character. V good, if a little dark in places 

Yes, IMO the last good book he wrote. After that his books became unbelievably dull. Hyperion Cantos and Ilium/Olympos are superb.

Currently reading Abbadon's Gate, book three in the Expanse series. I like them a lot.

Also recently finished the R Scott Bakker books - Prince of Nothing series and the follow on Aspect Emperor series. All 7 books are brilliant, if you like that sort of genre.

bloodandtears

Mort by Terry Pratchett (currently reading them in order for the first time)

JerkMoans

Williams, Mortimer and Sunnucks on Executors, Administrators and Probate  

Philly_Q

JerkMoans said:

Williams, Mortimer and Sunnucks on Executors, Administrators and Probate  

I might tap you up for some advice, I'm trying to sort out my dad's estate at the moment...

Fucking hell, I've just seen how much that book costs!

ArchtopDave

Recently finished reading another couple of the Rebus detective series of books. Last night made a brief start on Debbie Harry's biography "Face It". 

Limehouse_Blues

Just finished Fire and Fury and now on Woodward’s book on Trump. Terrifying 

JerkMoans

Philly_Q said:

JerkMoans said:

Williams, Mortimer and Sunnucks on Executors, Administrators and Probate  

I might tap you up for some advice, I'm trying to sort out my dad's estate at the moment...

Fucking hell, I've just seen how much that book costs!

My condolences.
 
You should try my bible, the 'White Book', Civil Court Practice.  They chunk out a new edition annually  

Philly_Q

JerkMoans said:

Philly_Q said:

JerkMoans said:

Williams, Mortimer and Sunnucks on Executors, Administrators and Probate  

I might tap you up for some advice, I'm trying to sort out my dad's estate at the moment...

Fucking hell, I've just seen how much that book costs!

My condolences.
 
You should try my bible, the 'White Book', Civil Court Practice.  They chunk out a new edition annually  

Thanks.  It's been just over a year, I've sorted out inheritance tax and probate without really thinking ahead to distributing the estate.  It's going to be more complicated than I thought.  There are trusts involved, I fucking hate trusts.

JerkMoans

Philly_Q said:

Thanks.  It's been just over a year, I've sorted out inheritance tax and probate without really thinking ahead to distributing the estate.  It's going to be more complicated than I thought.  There are trusts involved, I fucking hate trusts.

Ugh.  Never understood them when studying this stuff.  Barely do now  

In truth, they're like a wrapper for the asset(s) within, governing how and when it is to be applied.  But a minefield for the unwary...

Back in the spirit of the thread, got two lovely vade mecums on the topic right here: Lewin on Trusts, and Snell's Equity.  

Thumping good reads both, albeit that the odd car chase and deviant sex angle might liven 'em up just a smidgeon.

Grunfeld

pmbomb said:

RaymondLin said:

Listening to Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.

I'm reading this....

Also The Naked Mind by Annie Grace which is about what alcohol does (and doesn't) do to us and how to be the master of it.

Cheers for the heads up on Never Split The Difference.  Just d/l'd it.

About five years ago I read Stuart Diamond, Getting More -- another hostage negotiator, and I remember being really impressed with the info in the book.  I got the Voss book to compare. 

I really didn't like The Naked Mind.  I like the sentiment however I got the impression that her understanding of the science was not good.  I thought she'd done a copy/ paste job from something she'd read on the Great Courses.

boogieman

Holy thread revival. 

I just finished Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club”. I thought it might be one of those things where he’d got a book deal due to just being a celeb but the bloke can actually  write and it’s rather good. Nicely plotted, some gentle wry humour, well developed characters and enough intrigue to keep you reading to the end. There’s a sequel on the way apparently. 

pmbomb

Homo Deus a Brief History of Tomorrow.  YN Harari

I read Sapiens (twice) found it very insightful. Had decided not to bother with Deus as I'm a techie and get it with AI, nano tech etc but at about 1/2 way through I'm glad I picked it up. A lot is about how Sapiens treats animals, which gets justified, very possibly falsely, on the premise they have no consciousness. I'm already on this page somewhat so it's fascinating.

pmbomb

oh and recently the first 2 of Ursula K Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy - fantastic, can't believe I overlooked her work all these years! I'm saving book 3 as a future treat.

HerbieTheRadDorklift

Good Omens

EricTheWeary

I so rarely read a book. On holiday I read My Life With Murderers by David Wilson. It's roughly his professional memoir meets attempts to categorise  types of murdidlyerderers. If you like your criminology interesting but not too academic. 
If I haven't mentioned it before Anti Social by Nick Pettigrew which is not dissimilar in it's way but ASBOs and a worker driven to despair.

boogieman said:

Holy thread revival. 

I just finished Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club”. I thought it might be one of those things where he’d got a book deal due to just being a celeb but the bloke can actually  write and it’s rather good. Nicely plotted, some gentle wry humour, well developed characters and enough intrigue to keep you reading to the end. There’s a sequel on the way apparently. 

Film in the works as well. The sequel to the book comes out in September. I hardly read and even less so fiction but it does seem to be a much loved book so I might give it a go at some point. 

boogieman

EricTheWeary said:

I so rarely read a book. On holiday I read My Life With Murderers by David Wilson. It's roughly his professional memoir meets attempts to categorise  types of murdidlyerderers. If you like your criminology interesting but not too academic. 
If I haven't mentioned it before Anti Social by Nick Pettigrew which is not dissimilar in it's way but ASBOs and a worker driven to despair.

boogieman said:

Holy thread revival. 

I just finished Richard Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club”. I thought it might be one of those things where he’d got a book deal due to just being a celeb but the bloke can actually  write and it’s rather good. Nicely plotted, some gentle wry humour, well developed characters and enough intrigue to keep you reading to the end. There’s a sequel on the way apparently. 

Film in the works as well. The sequel to the book comes out in September. I hardly read and even less so fiction but it does seem to be a much loved book so I might give it a go at some point. 

Ah didn’t know about the film. No doubt it’ll have Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy in it.

It’s a very easy read with a knowing chuckle every now and then. Quite gentle ….. Agatha Christie rather than the stabby murderporn or stereotypical policeman with a history and drink habit that seems to dominate at the moment. 

The David Wilson sounds interesting, might have a look at that. 

equalsql

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig.

A strange epidemic forces victims to walk across a torn America to an unknown destination. It leverages the delusional fears and hysteria of a large section of the US population to alarming effect. It's a cracking read.

HAL9000

Right now I’m re-reading the Gormenghast Trilogy - rather more wordy and slow than I’d remembered, and took quite a while to get going. Now that it’s hit its stride I’m enjoying it but I can fully understand  anybody giving up on it earlier on. The (usually somewhat grotesque) characters (and descriptions of them) are superb.

Next up is The Thursday Murder Club.

Philly_Q

I'm reading the same thing I was reading the last time this thread was active (edit: actually mentioned at the top of this page!):

Drood by Dan Simmons.

All my reading used to be on my daily commute so I've hardly read anything for over a year.  Now I'm going in once a week so I'm getting though a couple of chapters.

Blueingreen

Brief Lives by Anita Brookner.  I've been really enjoying the literary podcast Backlisted. I seem to share a lot of their enthusiasms (although not all).  They got me re-reading Brookner's Look At Me and now I've started this one, which I've never read before.  Just finished Pelelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop, also a film although I'm not sure I'm tempted to watch it - reviews suggest it's pretty insipid.