What are you reading at the moment?

Mattharrier

I'm reading three books at the moment, and making limited headway with any of them. I don't get the time to read like I used to, sadly.

Waging Heavy Peace - Neil Young. He's an interesting man who's led an interesting life, but I'm finding I reas this in fits and spurts. It took a little while to get going, but he has a relaxed, almost conversational way of writing which is nice.

From A Certain Point of View - various authors. A Star Wars anthology, short stories about various background characters from the first film. Greedo, the twin women with the beehive hairdos, the big furry white alien, the small bat faced alien, and so on. The stories vary in quality but are generally pretty good. Worth the time if you're a SW need.

Moving Target: The History and Evolution of Green Arrow - Richard Gray. I love Green Arrow, and so a book about him should be right up my street. It's not had in any way, but it's a little hard going at first.

proggy

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.
Just read the first couple of chapters, really witty.

pmbomb

VimFuego said:

picked up Cormac McCarthy's "horse" trilogy in a charity shop the other week, near the end of the middle one (The Crossing). Difficult to describe, very spare and tight writing, no fat at all, so there's no wasted words. You really have to focus and think, it's the closest I reckon you could get to poetry in prose form as every word, phrase, paragraph etc. is so carefully chosen.

if you like that style the master is Hemingway, McCarthy picked up the ball and carried it. See A Farewell to Arms for example.

pmbomb

Enders Game, Orson Scott Card. Classic sci-fi, it says on the cover.

bobblehat

Another Fine Mess: Across the USA in a Ford Model T - Tim Moore   

Greatape

'Stoned' Andrew Loog Oldham. 
'The Three Pillars of Zen'

duotone

Together We Will Go - J. Michael Straczynski 

Am 2/3 through this atm: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55711627-together-we-will-go

Mattharrier

duotone said:

Together We Will Go - J. Michael Straczynski 

Am 2/3 through this atm: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55711627-together-we-will-go

The synopsis suggests that will be uplifting and fucking depressing, how's it reading?

AlbertC

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell (the author not the comedian)

Set in London music scene of in the 60s, it's about a fictional band (Utopia Avenue) and their coming together and journey.
Lots of true life artists, bands, venues, music biz people, events are woven into the narrative. 
David Mitchell is a cracking good author - I've enjoyed all his books and this is no exception.

ArchtopDave

Thought I'd try and read up a bit on Cryptocurrency. Bought "The Crypto Book" by Siam Kidd. Forced myself to finish it (it kept me a bit occupied whilst being ill in the last few days), but it's a waste of time and paper, unless you really know absolutely nothing about crypto. I learnt virtually nothing new, and he spends a noticeable amount of the book trying to get you to believe that he has the magic touch in regard to crypto trading, and trying to persuade you to join his online forum.

Going to get back to continuing to read  "Machiavelli : His Life and Times" by Alexander Lee. A modest 700 page book. At the moment I've read the first 75 pages, but it is an interesting book.

RocknRollDave

AlbertC said:

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell (the author not the comedian)

Set in London music scene of in the 60s, it's about a fictional band (Utopia Avenue) and their coming together and journey.
Lots of true life artists, bands, venues, music biz people, events are woven into the narrative. 
David Mitchell is a cracking good author - I've enjoyed all his books and this is no exception.

Yes, I really enjoyed Utopia Avenue.

However, the best novel I have read based around a fictional band is Daisy Jones and the Six. 

GSPBASSES

proggy said:

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.
Just read the first couple of chapters, really witty.

I've read both books now, the first one is a really nice read, very witty very well written. Osmonds ability to write accurately how very old people talk and think it's so accurate. The second book is quite different to the first, same characters but some seen in a different light. There is one storyline in the book were one of the main characters is brutally mugged, and how it totally affects his life, Osman has totally cracked the understanding of what happens to somebody who is traumatised this way, brilliantly written. At the end of the second book there is an interview with Richard Osmond and narrated Lesley Manville, well worth a listen. There's talk of making a film of it for TV, I hope they don't try to do it as a one hour job, I think it needs to be a six parter, to keep in all the little side stories and the chat that goes on between the characters.
Can't wait for book 3.

Greatape

AlbertC said:

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell (the author not the comedian)

Set in London music scene of in the 60s, it's about a fictional band (Utopia Avenue) and their coming together and journey.
Lots of true life artists, bands, venues, music biz people, events are woven into the narrative. 
David Mitchell is a cracking good author - I've enjoyed all his books and this is no exception.

Ok, adding to the list.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Started reading Girl, Woman, Other yesterday. Had it on my Kindle for months but was always put off slightly by my partner telling me it had no punctuation so thought it would be a bit of a slog to read.

Turns out it's remarkably easy to read despite  punctuation. Only 20% through, but enjoying it so far. 

proggy

GSPBASSES said:

proggy said:

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.
Just read the first couple of chapters, really witty.

I've read both books now, the first one is a really nice read, very witty very well written. Osmonds ability to write accurately how very old people talk and think it's so accurate. The second book is quite different to the first, same characters but some seen in a different light. There is one storyline in the book were one of the main characters is brutally mugged, and how it totally affects his life, Osman has totally cracked the understanding of what happens to somebody who is traumatised this way, brilliantly written. At the end of the second book there is an interview with Richard Osmond and narrated Lesley Manville, well worth a listen. There's talk of making a film of it for TV, I hope they don't try to do it as a one hour job, I think it needs to be a six parter, to keep in all the little side stories and the chat that goes on between the characters.
Can't wait for book 3.

That sounds good, looking forward to reading the second one, thanks. Richard Osman is a talented lad.

fob

pmbomb said:

Enders Game, Orson Scott Card. Classic sci-fi, it says on the cover.

Probably safe in this case to judge a book by its cover.

Heartfeltdawn

Dresden: the Fire and the Darkness by Sinclair McKay
The Well of Loneliness by Radcliffe Hall
The Complete Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald

Blueingreen

4 books currently on the go, all more or less getting towards the end:

Sally Rooney: Beautiful World Where Are You.  I find her stuff very readable without necessarily thinking her starry reputation is entirely deserved.  That's even truer of this one than the first two. 

Worth picking up if you liked the first two, but I'd read those first.

Muriel Spark:  Loitering With Intent.  This may be the only major Spark I hadn't already read, and it may also be the most Spark-like: witty, sardonic, polished entertainment.  Highly recommendable if you like Spark, but if you haven't read her before there are others I'd read first.

Sarah Bakewell: At The Existentialist Cafe.  A popular history of the major (and some minor) Existentialist philosophers, looking at their lives as well as their ideas.  It's a bit chewier than this kind of popular introduction tends to be.  I came to it with a basic knowledge of the subject and was expecting an easy-to-read recap of ideas I'd come across before with a few gaps filled in.  But this was deeper and more comprehensive than that and all the better for it.

The Makioka Sisters: Junichiro Tanizaki. Mid 20th century Japanese novel focusing on an extended family, particularly 4 twenty and thirty something sisters.  Wonderful insight into a conservative, privileged social class that was already dying out in the 30s/40s amidst economic change. 

The book has an old fashioned feel, reminding me a little of a more heavyweight Japanese version of Little Women.  Written with great clarity and a deep understanding of character.  It won't be for everybody - for one thing it's long, at nearly 600 pages - but worth checking out if it sounds like your thing.

RebeccaTCM

Currently reading Unsheltered - Barbara Kingsolver, and really enjoying it. 

bertie

Im currently reading  "how to deal with pups that have worked out how to open a child gate"