A simple thread: post what you've been reading lately and a few words and/or a rating if you feel like it.

Me:



I'm about halfway in and it's living up to its reputation so far. I have a few issues with the way it's structured (reading it is kind of like being the ball in a game of ping-pong), but despite its somewhat exhausting nature it's very, very entertaining and erudite. Pretty stunning for a first novel.



Gene Wolfe is a god among writers, and deserves to be ranked up there with Borges, Calvino, Eco, etc. I've heard this is his best collection and thus far I'm not disappointed.

Recently read:
The Genocides, by Thomas Disch (8/10)
Envy, by Yuri Olesha (6/10, but might have been the translation)
The Coma, by Alex Garland (5/10)
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, by Philip K. Dick (7/10)

I have a Goodreads account here in case anyone feels like friending me/obsessively tracking what else I've read.

Currently: Great Apes by Will Self. He's quite a selfish (no pun intended) author and his full-length novels are generally over-indulgent and tend to be a bit weak on the narrative side, but the language is so unique and the situations so preposterous yet well-realised that I find myself glued to them in spite of his disregard for me as a reader.

The last book I read was Joseph Heller's Closing Time, which was very disappointing. I thought it was a grand effort but ultimately a failure, sadly. The old cynical voice was still there, but dulled by apathy. The "underworld" was represented well, but the finale dragged and eventually fizzled out.

At this very moment I'm reading my keyboard!

I need to read a book for an English test. George Orwell's 1984 was the book I picked. I've heard and read a lot about it, so it should be good

Currently: The Bourne Legacy

Recently (last 12 months):

• Half a dozen James Patterson 'Alex Cross' books (these books are sweet!)
  
• Drug Lords: Rise and Fall of the Cali Cartel (very interesting read)
  
• The Bourne Ultimatum (far far better than the movie, which wasn't too bad, just had nothing to do with the plot in the book )
  
• Tenko (based on the old BBC1 series)
  
• Muscle (Carlton Leech (Essex Boys) autobiography) (great read)
  
• The Guv'nor (Lenny McLean autobiography) (another great read)
  
• Killer: Autobiography of a Hitman (mafia related, back in the 60s-80s in the US)
  
• Firefox (cool read, far better than the movie)
  
• Firefox Down (cool read, but not as good as the original)
  
• A few others I can't think of the titles for now

Generally I prefer non-fiction, but I enjoy the James Patterson books from the fiction genre



Regards,

Ian

1984 rawks!

Last book i read was "Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster", well worth a read - although before that i have read nothing in aaaaaaaaaaaaages.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Currently: Great Apes by Will Self. He's quite a selfish (no pun intended) author and his full-length novels are generally over-indulgent and tend to be a bit weak on the narrative side, but the language is so unique and the situations so preposterous yet well-realised that I find myself glued to them in spite of his disregard for me as a reader.

Cool, I recently picked up a book of his for $1.50 at the Goodwill, was hoping it wasn't squandered pennies. The one I got is Grey Area, which is a collection of short stories, iirc.

Quote :

The last book I read was Joseph Heller's Closing Time, which was very disappointing. I thought it was a grand effort but ultimately a failure, sadly. The old cynical voice was still there, but dulled by apathy. The "underworld" was represented well, but the finale dragged and eventually fizzled out.

I got about halfway into this years ago and just couldn't go on. Similar to my experience with Vonnegut's Timequake, actually.

Halfway through Clarkson's Don't Stop Me Now. Gotta love how he describes stuff.

After that I will read Ricky Gervais' The Story So Far...

Other books I've read recently are Richard Hammond's On The Edge book which was a pretty good read. Shows how much he went through and for him to pull through is amazing.

Before that I read Just Joey: The Joey Dunlop Story, which was pretty good too. Great biography of a true legend.
Also got Joey Dunlop: His Authorised Biography which again was good.

I'm not much of a reader, but before I read these books I actually read the first Harry Potter book and got into. Never read any of the others after that though, it just got me into reading more.

Have to say I do enjoy a few chapters before I get to sleep.

About to start either Hammond's book or Clarkson's.

7/10. Mildly entertaining.

I got a book called Chicken Hawk for Christmas about Huey pilots in Vietnam. Excellent read so far, would recommend to anyone interested in helicopters/the Vietnam conflict.

Michael Schumacher: Life on the Edge by James Allen. There's a lot of stuff F1 fans will already know in there but also some interesting stuff I didn't know about Schumacher growing up, and details from throughout his career, as well as a lot of quotes from those involved in F1.

Quote from hrtburnout :

I need to read a book for an English test. George Orwell's 1984 was the book I picked. I've heard and read a lot about it, so it should be good

Orwell's a bona-fide literary heavyweight, and he backed up his political rhetoric with action too. Hope you enjoy it.

Quote from DeadWolfBones :

Cool, I recently picked up a book of his for $1.50 at the Goodwill, was hoping it wasn't squandered pennies. The one I got is Grey Area, which is a collection of short stories, iirc.

Actually his short stories tend to work better than his full-length novels. I haven't got Grey Area but I was going to read it after Great Apes. His first book I read was The Quantity Theory of Insanity, which is a short story collection with a common theme and some common characters, and it was great fun! One of the characters from those stories features in Great Apes too, although in this book he's a chimp, naturally.

One caveat would be that you really have to love the English language to enjoy Will Self. It's not "literary" fiction in the typical sense, not stiff or verbose or antiquated, it's more that he's often playful with language to the point of distraction. I love it, but it's not "easy reading".

'What to Expect in the First Year' by Arlene Eisenberg (baby/parenting book)
'Business Process Execution Language for Web Services' by Matjaz B. Juric (for work)
'The Big Show' by Pierre Clostermann (WWII pilot account)

Reading this at the moment. Absolutely epic Sci-Fi. Brilliant stuff.

The Bible!


I read the first one and omg i've never laughed so much. Great book and a must read!!!

I've read couple of Clarkson's books now, and I find I always end up reading them using his voice in my head

At the moment, I am diggingn my way through Jasper Ffordes work, right now at "Something Rotten".

He is truly a genius.

Quote from ColeusRattus :

At the moment, I am diggingn my way through Jasper Ffordes work, right now at "Something Rotten".

He is truly a genius.

My girlfriend loves Jasper Fforde. Actually she got a work colleague The Eyre Affair for christmas, having not read it for a few years and forgotten that the love interest is an amputee. Her colleague's boyfriend has only got one leg...

At the moment I'm reading 'We Come Unseen', a history of the Royal Naval submarine service during the Cold War.

Fiction is for sissies

Quote from StewartFisher :

Fiction is for sissies

Funny, that's what a major character in The Magus thinks, too.


I bought a Fforde book the other day as well, dunno when I'll get around to it though. I think it's the second in the "series."

Quote from hrtburnout :

I need to read a book for an English test. George Orwell's 1984 was the book I picked. I've heard and read a lot about it, so it should be good

The second half of this book is a blast

I bought 1984 before Christmas but I've not got round to reading it yet. It's my next once I finish my current book I think. I've read the first chapter or two and it does look really good so far.

Its one of those books I've been meaning to read for years.

Quote from DeadWolfBones :

I bought a Fforde book the other day as well, dunno when I'll get around to it though. I think it's the second in the "series."

You should definitely read The Eyre Affair first. It's a pretty bonkers little universe and getting the books in the right order will help. A lot.

Quote from BuddhaBing :

'What to Expect in the First Year' by
'The Big Show' by Pierre Clostermann (WWII pilot account)

Great book! The attrition rate among pilots of the RAF (even at the end of the war) was just enormous. Clostermann was a great pilot and his description of his sorties with the RAF is great. If you liked that book I recommend 'Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader DSO, DFC'

I'm reading 'Nemesis: The Battle for Japan 1944-45' by Max Hastings.