What are you reading?

[Holly]

I was interested to read F's posts on reading the Stig Larson books and thought it would be good to share and discuss our reading... I haven't yet got around to the 'Girl who...' series and it's intriguing to see what others think of various writers/writing styles.

To get things started: during my 6 days in Lanza I read a collected short stories of Guy de Maupassant; James Joyce 'Dubliners'; Hilary Mantel short stories and a thriller (can't remember the title) by Susan Hill that some nice person had donated to the 'library' at Atlantic Gardens. Since my return I have read
'Sputnik Sweetheart' and 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami and 'Reaper Man' by Terry Pratchet (love the Death/Bill Door character  ).

Any other Murakami fans out there? What is everyone else reading? Any special recommendations?

[Steve Cash]

i am reading Bill Bryson's Down Under , and its great , but think i maty have read it before

[Silly Gilly]

not sure if I've mentioned on here but I've got a Kindle and I've got the Stig Larsson books on there ready to read - but someone has lent me a paperback book (an actual book) and I just cant seem to get through it!

I love my Kindle and soooo want to get back to it but I'm determined to finish the paperback before I go back to my Kindle!  Its only a chic lit, but "the girl who" series are definitely my next in line!

[smokie]

I loved Bill Bryson's "Small Island", (I think it was called that) and his articles that he used to write in The Times (I think, it was too many years ago) so much that when I was next in a bookshop I bought every book that he had written.
Ok, they were pretty good but not as good as I expected and when I came to the last one it turned out to be almost a textbook on the history and development of language or some other dull stuff.
There wasn't a laugh to be had from start to finish, well from start to- when I flung it.

I sometimes do wonder when I'm reading books, about whether any detective exists who isn't divorced and yet is such a really great guy, or widowed (but he'll meet the cause of his wife's death years ago on his very next case)
Obviously, all these detectives have a maverick streak about them and their superiors are all hidebound desk jockeys who know nothing about real police work.
All and I repeat all, serial killers are super intelligent and will ensure that they plan years in advance and without fail establish a personal connection with this really great, divorced/widowed copper.
You just know that somehow the maverick cop will ultimately vanquish the baddie, rub the  Chief Constable's nose in it and get the girl.
What ? sorry, did I not mention the girl.
OK, if the book is a one off, the good cop gets the girl. (sometimes it's the exwife, she never stopped loving him really)
However, if the book is part of a series, the girl is gonna die. Sorry, that's just how it is.
Good news though, the dog ALWAYS survives.


Sorry if anyone is halfway through such a book and I've spoiled the ending.

[smokie]

i am reading Bill Bryson's Down Under , and its great , but think i maty have read it before

I forgot to say that if you enjoy Bill Bryson's books it might be worth trying a book called "McCarthy's Bar" by a guy called Pete McCarthey, if you haven't already read it.
It's the author mooching around Ireland working on the premise that if you see a bar with your name on it, you just have to go in.

It made me laugh out loud, a lot.
(he did a follow up around Australia but it wasn't quite as good)

[Steve Cash]

cheers , i will see if the local library has got it in ,

[Steve Cash]

just reserved it so will give it a go

[smokie]

I've always tended to shy away from books that win awards.
I don't know why but that's just how I am.
Until, I saw a book called "The Life of Pi" which just sort of intrigued me so despite winning a seriously big award I thought I'd give it a go.
On the cover some critic wrote that it was the first book he'd ever read and then as soon as he finished it, he started at the beginning and re-read it.
"yeah, 'course you did, mate", I thought.

So I read the book and on finishing it, I immediately started again at the beginning.

I would normally say that such and such a book is worth a read.
This time, I'll say that the book is worth two reads.

[Holly]

Agree with the 'Life of Pi' obervations Smokie - I didn't actually read it twice but it was that good (I did watch Gladiator twice in exactly that way - came to the end and watched it again from the start without even getting up to make a cuppa...) Your comments on the detective stereotype are hilarious - you forgot to mention the alcoholism tho'  I've just been skimming through some amazon reviews about narrative structure and 7 basic plots etc. Seems there's a lot of Jungian analysis going on... oh - and of course serial killers are super-intelligent - else how would they outfox the mavericks for long enough to keep our attention? Speaking of which, Dexter is extraordinary I think. I read the first 2 Jeff Lindsay books and have seen the TV series 1, 2 and 3. Seems like the scriptwriters have done the loaves and fishes thing there - squeezed an enormous amount of material from just the one first book alone. Now that Dexter character is really interesting - a serial killer we like and undestand? 

[Holly]

not sure if I've mentioned on here but I've got a Kindle and I've got the Stig Larsson books on there ready to read - but someone has lent me a paperback book (an actual book) and I just cant seem to get through it!

I love my Kindle and soooo want to get back to it but I'm determined to finish the paperback before I go back to my Kindle!  Its only a chic lit, but "the girl who" series are definitely my next in line!

Which c-lit (ahem) is it Silly? Kathy Lette? She's pretty good and funny but I find that genre hard to engage with generally (need more grist for my grey matter to mill over - sad but true). Kindle - sounds exciting but...not that I'm a techno-phobe or anything  - for me, there's something about actually holding a book. Same with newspapers...

[Celtygirl]

Just finished 'The White Queen' by Phillipa Greggory. An excellent read, off to buy the next in the series, 'The Red Queen', as soon as the shops open again. Whoever thought the Plantaganent's would be so interesting

[Silly Gilly]

Which c-lit (ahem) is it Silly?

Its by Dorothy Koomson, called Marshmallows for Breakfast - I was lent it because I'd been seen reading another Dorothy Koomson before I got my Kindle!

I love the Kindle because I can sit on the bus in the freezing cold with my gloves on and not struggle to turn the pages 

[Holly]

Just finished 'The White Queen' by Phillipa Greggory. An excellent read, off to buy the next in the series, 'The Red Queen', as soon as the shops open again. Whoever thought the Plantaganent's would be so interesting

Love that Early Modern England stuff CG - like Tracy Chevalier's 'The Other Boleyn Girl'. And 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' was fab. But for utterly believable imagining of that era - Hilary Mantell's 'Wolf Hall' totally blew me away. Smokie made me think about that when he was saying he doesn't like to read stuff that's won awards - I tend to feel similar -but 'Wolf Hall' is really something else and absolutely deserved the Booker in my opinion. If you haven't already done 'Wolf Hall' Celty I reckon you'd enjoy that too 

[Holly]

Haven't actually bought it yet - but thinking about reading a book by motivational workshop leader Paul McGee: S.U.M.O (Shut Up and Move On) . It's got some brilliant reviews and I just love that title 

[smokie]

My daughter gave me a book for Christmas called "The Strangest Man", a biography of Paul Dirac, quantum genius.

I don't know what to make of it being given to me as I've never shown any interest in quantum physics or is the title a subtle "dig".

Anyway, I'll let you know if it turns out to be something we all need to read.