The what are you reading at the moment fred

[269miles]

Just started The Circle by Dave Eggers. I've read 130 pages in one sitting and it's hard to put down. I spent nearly all my working life with giant US IT corporations ans it's like a trip down memory lane. Chuck in the advent and impact of social media and it is fascinating.  It makes you think long and hard about the point of social media on your everyday life and whether it has any real value and how it is used by big business.Not sure where the plot is taking me but it's a great read. 

 

I read The noise of Time by Julian Barnes on holiday. It's a short read (2 days easy). I've read a lot about "The Terror" and purges during Stalinist Russia but this novel shows the psychological terror at work every day in peoples lives in everyday situations. It's hard to  say why I liked it and looking back at some of the book reviews it makes it sound more highbrow than it really is IMO. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jan/17/the-noise-of-time-julian-barnes-review-dmitri-shostakovich

 

Would definitely recommend. 

[Haken]

Finished Six Four?.  Not so much a thriller as a political procedural.  At 600+ pages, it was a bit of a slog at times.  Maybe not having an in depth understanding of the cultural relationships between the Japanese Police and press resulted in me missing a few key points.  But it was decent enough.

 

Now reading Hekla's Children, a horror set in the Midlands.  Decent enough so far.

[Morgan]

The Black Widow by Daniel Silva.

[Haken]

Finished Hekla's Children. Pretty good wee horror story, if nothing fantastic.

 

Now onto I See You by Clare Mackintosh which was given to me as a pressie. It has the feel of a Richard & Judy book to it, if you know what I mean. S'alright so far.

[elvoys]

Great Expectations. Dikens needs to be read aloud pantomime style to your self to really get it.

[elvoys]

I'm enjoying the story, just not the grammar. Not using apostrophes because they are a mess is just bullshit.

Less so this, but The Roads dialogue couldn't work as well with speech marks. Believe he got the idea from a civil war book called Andersonville. Joyce and Faulkner also dabbled in it believe.

[Haken]

Finished I See You on holiday.  It was an ok holiday book, but you could drive a cart and horses through the plot. 

 

Onto the Kindle, re-read Stephen King's Bag of Bones because I'd forgotten what it was about.  Turned out the reason I'd forgotten was because it is really dull.

 

Then realised I had all the Harry Potter books on my Kindle in the off-chance that my daughter would want to read something.  I've always wondered at adults who read these books and froth about them.  So I read the first one in under a day.  Not seeing the fuss.  But it was an easy read and something that I didn't need to concentrate too much on.  So I read the second one.  This left me thinking that the second one is a slightly longer version of the first one in terms of construction.  And everyone's a year older - yay!  But I'm still not seeing what the fuss is.  I'm currently half way through the third one (everyone's another year older - yay!) and it's turning out to be a slightly longer version of the first two.  I'm struggling with it, but will persevere. 

[Elias Henry Furst]

I found you by Lisa Jewel.

 

The couple next door by Shari Lapena

 

See how they run by Tom Bale.

 

Read all 3 during a weeks holiday, all easy to read, decent holiday novels.

 

Just started Hekla's children by James Brogden.

[Captain Slog]

Currently well through a book called "1000 Years of Annoying the French".

 

It is an irreverent look at the shared history of England (initially) and Britain (latterly) with France.

 

It basically pokes fun at everything the French have ever done and what a bunch of tossers they have been since 1066.

 

If you ever thought the Murphy that Murphy's Law is named after was Irish: not so, he was French. Anything that France could have cocked up, they did.

 

(I accept that the book may contain a lot of anti-French pickiness.)

Excellent book.  The author also did a couple of semi-autobiographical ones about living in Paris. One chapter had him dancing with a fit bursd in a nightclub, only to later find out it was a man.  Reminds me of when we played Paris SG in the eighties.  One guy on our coach went upstairs with a girl, and returned to say he'd had the best, er, kissing on a certain area from her ever.  Turns out she was a he.

 

I'm reading Wheel of Time.  Read this and the next ten in the series from 1990 onwards.  Then the author (Robert Jordan) died before he'd written the last one.  Just found out his estate commissioned another author to complete the series.  Better than the books Game of Thrones is based in imo, though even now the special effects required render an imminent TV series unlikely in the near future,

Edited July 11, 2017 by Captain Slog

[Haken]

I found you by Lisa Jewel.

 

The couple next door by Shari Lapena

 

See how they run by Tom Bale.

 

Read all 3 during a weeks holiday, all easy to read, decent holiday novels.

 

Just started Hekla's children by James Brogden.

Presumably after reading my in depth review above. 

[Elias Henry Furst]

Presumably after reading my in depth review above.

 

Dunno how I missed that mate

 

It'll do for a couple of days I suppose

[Haken]

Finished I See You on holiday.  It was an ok holiday book, but you could drive a cart and horses through the plot. 

 

Onto the Kindle, re-read Stephen King's Bag of Bones because I'd forgotten what it was about.  Turned out the reason I'd forgotten was because it is really dull.

 

Then realised I had all the Harry Potter books on my Kindle in the off-chance that my daughter would want to read something.  I've always wondered at adults who read these books and froth about them.  So I read the first one in under a day.  Not seeing the fuss.  But it was an easy read and something that I didn't need to concentrate too much on.  So I read the second one.  This left me thinking that the second one is a slightly longer version of the first one in terms of construction.  And everyone's a year older - yay!  But I'm still not seeing what the fuss is.  I'm currently half way through the third one (everyone's another year older - yay!) and it's turning out to be a slightly longer version of the first two.  I'm struggling with it, but will persevere. 

Have finished the third Harry Potter.  The last third of it is ok.  Well, until you get to the paradox that a time-travelling future HP travels three hours back in time where, among other cunning stunts, he does something that preserves the life of the present-day HP, but the present-day HP would only be in a position to time travel if he survives his present-day ordeal, which he does because he is saved by a future HP...... 

 

This is known as a 'predestination paradox', and apparently it's a thing.  Or, imo, a crock of shite.  It was also used in a Matt Smith Dr Who episode where he's locked in a big box called a Pandorica. 

 

In need of some sanity, I'm just about to crack on with the latest Rebus, Rather be the Devil

[269miles]

Just finished D-Day by Stephen Ambrose (he wrote Band of Brothers).  It's unashamedly written from an American perspective and you can understand why when you read about what the Yanks went through on D-Day  compared to the Brits. Great insights into the courage and planning of Eisenhower , the doubts of Churchill and the vanity of  de Gaulle but mostly just great stores from the archives of people who endured it and what it meant to survive that day.  There's also a withering criticism of the German high command and "tactics" and general command structure. 

 

Looking forward to reading Citizen Soldiers now. 

[chico1874]

Can anyone recommend a book about the Bosnian/Croatia/Serbian conflict?

I'm heading to Croatia soon so thought it might be an interesting read.

Cheers

 

 

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[269miles]

Can anyone recommend a book about the Bosnian/Croatia/Serbian conflict?

I'm heading to Croatia soon so thought it might be an interesting read.

Cheers

 

 

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Have a look here - some decent suggestions.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1hsrff/whats_the_best_book_about_the_yugoslav_wars_of/

 

Susan Woodward - Balkan Tragedy

Even though it's been written years ago, it still remains the most profound, overarching, in-depth analysis that explains the origins and workings of the early part of the wars, paying particular attention to economic and social history. It examines how international factors (IMF, EC, US) as well as local factors (crumbling communist party, nationalist movements, economic transition) helped foster an atmosphere of inter-ethnic hatred and violence. It is the No 1 on Eastern Europe reading lists for the section on Yugoslavia.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Balkan-Tragedy-Chaos-Dissolution-after/dp/0815795130

 

 

I might move on to this subject myself.

[Riddley Walker]

Can anyone recommend a book about the Bosnian/Croatia/Serbian conflict?

I'm heading to Croatia soon so thought it might be an interesting read.

Cheers

 

 

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I didn't realise there was also a book of this until I went to find this link but this is a six-part documentary series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Yugoslavia

 

It's extremely in-depth and made by Norma Percy, who has made loads of excellent documentaries about modern-day conflicts. Well worth a watch, you can get them all on Youtube.

[Haken]

Finished the latest Rebus, Better the Devil.  Standard fine fare from Rankin who seems to be doing his best to endear character Malcolm Fox to  his readers before Rebus finally has to bow out.

 

Now onto Stephen King's End of Watch, the third instalment of a trilogy featuring retired detective Bill Hodges.  The first one (Mr Mercedes) was good; the second one (Finders Keepers), not so much; hopefully this one turns out to be decent.

[chico1874]

I didn't realise there was also a book of this until I went to find this link but this is a six-part documentary series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Yugoslavia

 

It's extremely in-depth and made by Norma Percy, who has made loads of excellent documentaries about modern-day conflicts. Well worth a watch, you can get them all on Youtube.

Cheers pal, I'll check them out.

 

 

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[JamboX2]

Loving The Noise of Time. Great but short read.

 

Have the first George Smiley novel Call for the Dead lined up and the First 15 Lives of Harry August and Swing Hammer Swing lined up to follow.

 

A week in Spain next week shoukd help get through 1 or 2.

[lauriesrank]

Excellent book. The author also did a couple of semi-autobiographical ones about living in Paris. One chapter had him dancing with a fit bursd in a nightclub, only to later find out it was a man. Reminds me of when we played Paris SG in the eighties. One guy on our coach went upstairs with a girl, and returned to say he'd had the best, er, kissing on a certain area from her ever. Turns out she was a he.

 

I'm reading Wheel of Time. Read this and the next ten in the series from 1990 onwards. Then the author (Robert Jordan) died before he'd written the last one. Just found out his estate commissioned another author to complete the series. Better than the books Game of Thrones is based in imo, though even now the special effects required render an imminent TV series unlikely in the near future,

Far better tHan grrrrrrrr martin and jrrrrrrrr Tolkien. Sanderson who finished the wheel of time is actually worth a shot after you finish it all. Only problem I have with Jordan is of course he likes a waffle too... although I reckon elayne is probably a dirty. Pmsl. Anyway, have great fun reading through the 14 of them!

[Sharpie]

Presently reading Ian Rankins Black and Blue, I don't know how I missed it when it first came out I know I have read all his books since. This one is particularly interesting as he is stationed at Craigmillar the area where I spent a long time of my Edinburgh police career. 

[Marvin]

Currently re-reading Robert Sabbag's Smokescreen travelling up from Bristol.

[Haken]

Far better tHan grrrrrrrr martin and jrrrrrrrr Tolkien. Sanderson who finished the wheel of time is actually worth a shot after you finish it all. Only problem I have with Jordan is of course he likes a waffle too... although I reckon elayne is probably a dirty. Pmsl. Anyway, have great fun reading through the 14 of them!

I never managed to finish WoT. Got to the stage where I just didn't care as the later books in the series spent about 900 pages doing nothing. I'd like to read how Sanderson's finished it, but feel I'd need to stat from scratch again.

 

Steven Eriksson's Malazan books are good. The first three read as a set are fantastic. But it's anothe long series (10) which seems to fizzle out a bit.

[Lobey Dosser]

Finished Hey, Nostradamus! by Douglas Copland a few days ago. Absolutely amazing read. Based on Columbine Massacre and narrated by 4 different people who were involved in some way. Would recommend.

[Johnny D]

Reprints of Classic Dan Dare.

[Craig Gordons Gloves]

Just finished "No Good Deed" by John Niven, quite good not as good as The Amateurs but easy, funny and enjoyable read al the same.

 

I'm also rereading all of the Rebus novels in order, on The Falls right now,its great to go back through them all.

[Haken]

Finished King's End of Watch.  Not brilliant.  Within this trilogy, there was probably one decent story.

 

Now reading The Pigeon Tunnel, which is John Le Carre's memoir.  Only started it this morning on the train and found myself sitting in an empty carriage at Waverley reading it before realising everyone else had got off! 

[Boof]

Clockwork Angela - Kevin J Anderson

[Haken]

The Pigeon Tunnel ended up being a bit meh.

 

So, onto Fool's Quest, the second of Robin Hobb's trilogy called Fitz and the Fool.  Thought the first book was pretty slow, and this one's more of the same (though only 100 pages in).

[Haken]

Fool's Quest turned out to be a lot better than the first volume, thankfully.  Will defo get the third one when it comes out in paperback.

 

Now reading Zodiac, a crime thriller set in a world where people's lives are determined to a large extent by their starsign.

[Jamhammer]

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Enjoying it no end

 

 

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[Haken]

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Enjoying it no end

 

 

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Read it a wee while back and posted this: Finished American Gods.  I think I've concluded that I find Neil Gaiman a bit dull.

 

But Neil Gaiman is hugely popular; he just doesn't do it for me.  For that weird horror/fantasy sort of thing, I think Clive Barker does it a lot better. 

[Riddley Walker]

Currently reading Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner. Excellent social commentary about a black man arrested for murdering a white land-owner, set in Mississippi in the 30s or 40s. I love Faulkner's style and not disappointed by this one so far.

[GforGallo]

Finished war and peace. Definitely long but worthy of being a classic. Didn't drag which is impressive given the size of it .

[Haken]

Finished Zodiac.  It was shite.

 

Now onto In the Light of What we Know.  It's a 'serious' book and has had some mixed reviews.  Will see how it goes.

[Haken]

Had to give up on In The Light of What We Know after 200 pages.  Turgid stuff written by someone who wants to tell us he's a very clever fellow.  When I get to the stage where I could not care less what happens to the characters, it's time to admit defeat and bash onto the next one...

 

...which is The Bone Season.  No, not a 50 Shades type effort, but a fantasy set in London in the middle of the 21st century.  Only just started it, but it's promising.

[millerjames398]

I've just started reading an autobiography by a south London bank robber, Noel 'razor' Smith called "a few kind words and a loaded gun" interesting guy who used some of his 30 odd yrs inside to take English literature lessons and found a gift for writing...he was noticed by Will self, another interesting character who was once tony Blair's aide..whilst battling an heroin and crack addiction at the same time..and got Smith a gig writing columns in the guardian,from behind bars...quite an emotional and funny book.

 

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[Haken]

Finished The Bone Season, and while flippantly saying above it was nothing to do with 50 Shades, it kinda was...!  It also put me in mind of Pulman's 'Dark Materials' trilogy, insofar that it is set in a parallel England and much of the action takes place in Oxford.  The 50 Shades element comes from the 'master and slave' relationship between the main character and her captor.  It's actually decent, and I'll probably pick up the next book in the series when I get round to it.

 

Now onto Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled.  This has been on the bookshelf for absolutely ages, so I've finally got round to it.  It's a bit weird.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Im reading " Film stars dont die in Liverpool".by Peter Turner   Its the true story of the last months of the great  Oscar winning American actress Gloria Grahame who spent her last days in a friends council house in Liverpool. Very moving as well as funny.  Its been made into a film with Annette Bening as Grahame. 

 

Ive just finished Kevin Twaddles book " How to lose a million and much more"....Not as illuminating about the effects of gambling that i hoped it would be. In fact very repetitive.

[Debut 4]

I'm reading 'Deal with the Devil' by Peter Lance.

 

It's about Greg Scarpa. Snr , who was a Capo in New York's LCN Colombo family but also a Top Echelon informant for 30 years to the FBI. Some startling revelations, relationships and transcripts from Intels relayed to top brass in the FBI.

 

A double life which also raised concerns over his FBI handler who was accused of turning a blind eye to a lot of serious crimes committed by Scarpa.

 

All about the same timeline as the days of John Gotti and Henry Hill depicted in Goodfellas.

 

One early and interesting revelation in the book was reading that Lefty Rosenthal was also an Informant. ( he was the character Robert De Niro played in Casino but was called Sam Rothstein in the film.)...

Edited September 22, 2017 by Debut 4

[22HMFC22]

Reading The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead ,really to see what all the fuss is about, Pulitzer , Man booker awards etc

Edited September 22, 2017 by 22HMFC22

[EIEIO]

Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, tale of a group of eco warriors/ saboteurs in America. Well written quite humorous in parts covers the end of the wilderness at the expense of industry.

 

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[MacDonald Jardine]

Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, tale of a group of eco warriors/ saboteurs in America. Well written quite humorous in parts covers the end of the wilderness at the expense of industry.

 

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That sounds quite interesting.

 

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[¼½¾]

Soldier Spy by Tom Marcus.  A supposedly autobiographical account of the authors recruitment and work as an undercover M15 operative, working against the IRA and Islamic Extremists.  Supposedly cleared for publishing by M15.

 

It was an enjoyable read, and if to be believed, more than a bit reassuring, that there are folk like this looking out for us, the way things are today.  You might have guessed though, that I'm more than a bit sceptical as to the authenticity of it all.

 

As I said though, I enjoyed reading it.

[King Of The Cat Cafe]

Now reading "Perfidia".  By James Ellroy.  Guy who wrote "L.A. Confidential".  And "The Black Dahlia"

 

It's about corrupt Los Angeles cops. Investigating murder of Japanese family.  At time of Pearl Harbor.

 

Very long book.  700 pages.

 

Fecking short sentences.  

[Haken]

Have given up on The Unconsoled after 191 pages.  Ishiguro is undoubtedly a very gifted writer and probably has lots of important things to say about the human condition.  But the trick for me is writing something that still entertains.  I don't want to be continuously trying to work out what the message is or to consider what this may or may not be a metaphor for.  That sort of thing borders on self-indulgence in a see-what-a-clever-fellow-I-am sort of way.  You can be clever and say important things in a way that entertains - To Kill A Mockingbird, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Catch 22 being three examples.

 

Anyway, having proven to be too intellectually challenged for Mr Ishiguro, I'm now dumbing down and back into genre fiction territory with The Fireman by Joe Hill.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Haken

[Riddley Walker]

Currently reading Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner. Excellent social commentary about a black man arrested for murdering a white land-owner, set in Mississippi in the 30s or 40s. I love Faulkner's style and not disappointed by this one so far.

Finished this a while ago. Really enjoyed the first half but the 2nd half was a bit laboured for me. Reading a few pages was tiring, he just packs so much in to his writing.

 

Started reading The Little Drummer Girl by John Le Carre. Only about 50 pages in but enjoying it a lot.

[Haken]

Finished The Fireman.  Tbh, if this had been the first Joe Hill effort I'd read, I wouldn't be rushing to get any more.  Long, slow and largely uneventful.

 

About to start The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  Have read both her previous novels. She's a bit of a literary critics' darling, but she often leaves me wondering what I'm missing.  No doubt says more about me than it does her.

[superjack]

2 hours ago, Haken said:

Finished The Fireman.  Tbh, if this had been the first Joe Hill effort I'd read, I wouldn't be rushing to get any more.  Long, slow and largely uneventful.

 

About to start The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  Have read both her previous novels. She's a bit of a literary critics' darling, but she often leaves me wondering what I'm missing.  No doubt says more about me than it does her.

I really liked the fireman and keep meaning to download more of his books. 

[Haken]

1 hour ago, superjack said:

I really liked the fireman and keep meaning to download more of his books. 

I've read NO54R2 and Horns, both of which were very good.  NO54R2 is packed with references to his dad's books.  I just thought that The Fireman plodded along.  When danger appears it's dealt with really quickly and whatever tension was created quickly disappears.  He's a good writer, though, and his style flows.