What are you reading and book reviews

[Glaucus]

Nothing , I'm in one of my no read states.
Got two books started and another three ready to go and a stack on amazon wish list. I don't understand me and reading. I won't have the feeling to read for months, then I'll pick a book up and read about 3 books in two weeks.

[Glaucus]

Originally Posted by Kitten

Thought some of our readers might be interested in this...been available for a while in the US & you never know, we might get some decent titles, especially at the beginning when they're publicising it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.h...cId=1000577623

Thanks purchased.

[Jonny69]

I just finished Glamorama by Brett Easton Ellis. I'd read all his previous books and got American Psycho before it was released because my friend's dad published it over here. I enjoyed all his books up to then, especially the way they all cross over with the plots and characters. I really struggled with Glamorama though and, finally, 12 years after I bought it, I have finished it. Not sure whether I enjoyed it or not. I didn't really 'get' what was going on. I couldn't quite make out what was supposed to be real and what was imagined. I know that was the intention of the plot, but for me it didn't work.

Easton Ellis has published two more books in the meantime. I thought I'd skip Lunar Park, which is his attempt at a ghost story; not really my thing. I've gone straight in for a copy of Imperial Bedrooms which is a sequel to Less Than Zero, revisiting the characters 25 years after Less Than Zero ended.

[Kitten]

Tony and Susan

Odd book - Just looked at the Amazon reviews, and people either love it or hate it.

Fifteen years ago, Susan Morrow left her first husband Edward Sheffield. One day, comfortable in her home, and her second marriage, she receives, entirely out of the blue, a parcel containing the manuscript of her ex-husband's first novel. As Susan reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of his character Tony Hastings. And as we read with her, so are we.

Tony and Susan is a dazzling achievement: simultaneously a riveting portrayal of the experience of reading and a page-turning thriller, written in startlingly arresting prose. It is also a novel about fear and regret, revenge and aging, marriage and creativity. It is simply unique.

The 'book' that Susan receives and you begin to read with her is gripping, I couldn't put it down, but I feel that it lost the way a bit, and wasn't quite as good as it could have been. It's a very clever idea, and I'm glad I read it (I read it in one afternoon).

Hmmmm. Jury's out.

[semi-pro waster]

It's been a very long time since I've updated what I've been reading and I can't remember all the books I've read in the meantime but the last five or so have been.

White Male Heart by Ruaridh Nicoll - a book about a strong and somewhat disfunctional friendship between two teenage boys in the Highlands of Scotland that ultimately destroys them both in different ways after one of them has a love affair with a woman that moves into the area. It's well written and interesting but somewhat unsettling at the same time, I enjoyed it in some ways but won't be in a hurry to read it again.

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch - the follow up to Rivers Of London, still entertaining and along broadly similar lines to the original but doesn't have quite the same charm for me. Worth reading and I'll probably get the next when it is published to complete the set but my expectations have been somewhat dampened.

Fire Season by Philip Connors - a sort of auto-biography of a man who spends his summers in a fire lookout tower in New Mexico. Some good social commentary and a fascinating potted history of how the approach to fire has changed in the forestry service. Very well informed and with good points to make about what must be an immensely rewarding job if you can hack it.

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami - I'm not quite sure where to start with this one, it's deeply weird but involving, well written and explores ideas that most people probably don't even consider. Highly recommended.

Calum's Road by Roger Hutchinson - a biography of sorts about a man who built a road in Raasay because no-one else was going to do it for him. To state it so baldly does it somewhat of a disservice as it's a great little story about a mans determination and achievement yet at the same time to describe it thus is functional in a way he'd probably have approved of. A intriguing character was Calum MacLeod and someone who just didn't seem to believe that things couldn't be done, he just got on and did them.

[Kitten]

Recent reads:

About read this again as, one of my favourites, I was giving it out for World Book Night :


The Book Thief

I just love this book. Still have a few copies if anyone wants one or I'll be leaving them Treasure Hunt stylee in random places in a few days (Sam & Si, I have your copies safe!)

This is from Amazon about the book & I think sums it up perfectly. Sounds like a bundle of laughs, I know, but it is beautiful and if you can stick through the first few chapters, and the unusual way it is written, I think you'll be glad you did:

Nine-year-old Liesel lives with her foster family on Himmel Street during the dark days of the Third Reich. Her Communist parents have been transported to a concentration camp, and during the funeral for her brother, she manages to steal a macabre book: it is, in fact, a gravediggers’ instruction manual. This is the first of many books which will pass through her hands as the carnage of the Second World War begins to hungrily claim lives. Both Liesel and her fellow inhabitants of Himmel Street will find themselves changed by both words on the printed page and the horrendous events happening around them.

Despite its grim narrator, The Book Thief is, in fact, a life-affirming book, celebrating the power of words and their ability to provide sustenance to the soul. Interestingly, the Second World War setting of the novel does not limit its relevance: in the 20th century, totalitarian censorship throughout the world is as keen as ever at suppressing books (notably in countries where the suppression of human beings is also par for the course) and that other assault on words represented by the increasing dumbing-down of Western society as cheap celebrity replaces the appeal of books for many people, ensures that the message of Marcus Zusak’s book could not be more timely. It is, in fact, required reading -- or should be in any civilised country. --Barry Forshaw

Game of Thrones #1 - A Song of Fire & Ice

Probably read it/seen it. Enthralling! Blurb doesn't do it justice. If you've seen the show, the book adds so much to it because you learn a lot more about the characters, situations, how they they feel etc. I watched the first Series, then read the book, then watched the Series again and I loved it.

From Amazon:

The first volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. GAME OF THRONES is now a major TV series from HBO, starring Sean Bean.

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

The Hunger Games

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been clse to death before-and survival, for her, is second nature. The Hunger Games is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever...

You've probably seen it/read it/heard about it, so I won't go into detail, but as above, it gives you a much better insight into some of the things covered in the movie. Well written, I really enjoyed it. There's some great YA fiction about at the moment (and an even greater amount of snobbery around it!) and this is a great example of it.

[vix]

I've just read The Woman in Black and I wasn't that impressed. Seems like nothing really happened. I cam see how it would make a jumpy film though

[Pheebs]

Kitten - Game of Thrones is on my book list!! Glad to see it's good

Sam has just introduced me to Terry Pratchett.... I think I have a few books to keep me occupied for a loooong looong time!

Vix - Great theatre play... saw me Pa leap about 3 foot in the air a few times

[Dymetrie]

Originally Posted by vix

I've just read The Woman in Black and I wasn't that impressed. Seems like nothing really happened. I cam see how it would make a jumpy film though

The book isn't actually that good.

BUT!

The play is awesome, and I saw it several times about 10 years ago. Definitely looking forward to see what Mr Potter does with it

Originally Posted by Pheebs

Kitten - Game of Thrones is on my book list!! Glad to see it's good

Sam has just introduced me to Terry Pratchett.... I think I have a few books to keep me occupied for a loooong looong time!

Vix - Great theatre play... saw me Pa leap about 3 foot in the air a few times

Currently reading Game of Thrones and (despite the length) I'm finding it to be an amazing read

Much heavier than Pratchett, of course, but they're both fantastic!

[Pheebs]

I think I'll read both a pratchett and game of thrones at same time so depending on how dozy I feel I can chill out or indulge!