*What book are you reading? (part 2)

[threeminus]

I'm nearly finished The Book Thief. A great book.

 

[rubbershoes]

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

Liking it so far

 

[ringo]

The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson.........so far so good. Not the first Victorians using Cyberpunk stuff I've read, I'm too lazy to look up whether this came before or after The Difference Engine.

 

[DotCommunist]

Redshift: Visions of a speculative future

mixed bag of lets re-create New Wave' for this anthology!' authors. Ursula le guin is the best short so far but i'm only three stories in so scope for improvement

 

[Idris2002]

Not bad. Lewis Taylor's Shining Path: Guerrilla War in Peru's Northern Highlands is excellent and worth getting hold of, although focusing on one area of the country. It also gives an easy to understand general overview of PCP-SL history and politics, influences etc for the uninitiated.

Not read that, but you might want to look out for Enrique Mayer's Ugly Stories of the Peruvian Agrarian Reform. He talks about how the semi-leftist military junta of the 70s tried to reform rural Peru's agrarian structure from the top-down, and how it all ended badly, with the PCP-SL waiting in the wings.

 

[seventh bullet]

Not read that, but you might want to look out for Enrique Mayer's Ugly Stories of the Peruvian Agrarian Reform. He talks about how the semi-leftist military junta of the 70s tried to reform rural Peru's agrarian structure from the top-down, and how it all ended badly, with the PCP-SL waiting in the wings.

Yes. And it did little to change the old pattern of Peru's coastal elite neglecting the rest of the country, and regional elites' abuse and exploitation of indigenous peasants. One thing to note is that this so-called 'revolutionary' government left a mark on both, who remained suspicious of the military and its inadequate attempt to redistribute power and wealth, and were cautious in seeking its involvement in later years, something that helped the spread of the insurgency.

Combined with this ingrained neglect and economic crisis, it left ill-equipped and under-staffed rural police forces dealing with the rebels.

 

[renegadechicken]

Gangster squad by Paul Lieberman...its not the screen play is accounts of the RL 'gangster squad' taken from interviews, news reports, grand jury indictments etc

 

[Chick Webb]

More Lovecraft (he's being even more unpleasant than usual in my current one) and some Kafka short stories. It's hilarious how perfect Kafka is for angsty teenagers.​

 

[izz]

reading Heft by liz Moore. rather excellent.

 

[sojourner]

The Grass Arena by John Healy.

I watched the TV adaptation last week with the fella - he'd not seen it before.

Have done some research on him and it turns out that Faber started to refuse his calls, then when he lost his temper with them (as you would) they pulped all of the remaining editions of his book!

 

[idumea]

Climbers by M John Harrison. It's excellent so far. There's a review here that gives a good overview of the reasons why it's very good.

 

[cemertyone]

Shantaram...by David georgy Roberts.......the best read in a very long time.....

 

[yield]

I've read a few since I last posted. Labyrinths by Borges was beautiful probably the best book I've ever read. Challenging, beguiling and thought provoking please read.

Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula le Guin in the Hainish cycle was awesome. Anything after Borges would have been stale but this was uplifing and rewarding. Can't say too much without ruining it.

The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula le Guin. Interesting but too short basically a novella. Interesting ideas but unable to come to fruition. So much potential.

Just finshed the Leviathan Wakes by James Corey. Great ideas proper space opera but weak characters that I didn't care about. It has promise so I may try the sequel but I don't hold out much hope.

 

[Limerick Red]

just finished Alexi Sayle's "stalin ate my homework", was a right good laugh, very sweet book as well, but for some reason I stopped reading the shining path book to read this, so back to the last 20 pages of that!

 

[rubbershoes]

The Grass Arena by John Healy.

I watched the TV adaptation last week with the fella - he'd not seen it before.

It's one of my favourite books. If life feels shit, read it to see how much worse it is for some.

Unless you're reading it in the park, enjoying a nice morning drink of blue jack

 

[Greebo]

Foundation - Isaac Asimov *shrug* Amazing how much can be read when there's not much else to do
Les liaisons dangereuses - Choderlos de Laclos

 

[sojourner]

It's one of my favourite books. If life feels shit, read it to see how much worse it is for some.

Unless you're reading it in the park, enjoying a nice morning drink of blue jack

I knew the book would contain a lot more detail so I'm glad I bought it. Loving the descriptions of rural life in Ireland, and his constant mentions of various girls/women.

I'm already full of admiration for the fella anyway - the way he just changes his life around, the whole chess thing. He's a total one off.

I'm gonna get the documentary on him too at some point. Think it's fucking criminal how Faber treated him.

 

[DotCommunist]

just did Jon Scalzi 'Ghost Regiment' and 'Lost Colony'

cheesy space opera of the first water, avoid

 

[Idris2002]

just did Jon Scalzi 'Ghost Regiment' and 'Lost Colony'

cheesy space opera of the first water, avoid

I thought they were pretty good, but such a throwback to the US Sci-fi of the Heinlein era they verged on pastiche.

 

[DotCommunist]

I thought they were pretty good, but such a throwback to the US Sci-fi of the Heinlein era they verged on pastiche.

good comparison right up to the supersoldiers and homo sapien supremacy vibe, plus the fronteriesm and big government portrayed as evil.

 

[Idris2002]

good comparison right up to the supersoldiers and homo sapien supremacy vibe, plus the fronteriesm and big government portrayed as evil.

And yet if you look at Scalzi's blog, his politics seem to be typical mushy Democratic party liberalism.

 

[little_legs]

The Grass Arena by John Healy.

It's a beautiful book. I only got to know Healy's name last year when he was interviewed on the R3's Night Waves and his story made me well up. So I went and bought the book. The Night Waves link if you fancy giving it a listen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hq373

 

[marty21]

Rebel - Bernard Cornwell -

starting off on another Cornwell series, a quartet about the American Civil War .

 

[sojourner]

It's a beautiful book. I only got to know Healy's name last year when he was interviewed on the R3's Night Waves and his story made me well up. So I went and bought the book. The Night Waves link if you fancy giving it a listen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hq373

Wow thanks for the link! I will deffo have a listen to that later on

I'm also going to find the doc on him, Barbaric Genius, and watch that. I had been aware of him for years - watched the TV adaption years ago, but never followed up to see if there was a book. Then after watching it with the fella the other day, became interested all over again and did a bit of research. I love how the book is written, such a unique style. Poignancy reached through a simple and HONEST telling of the story, and hugely poetic in parts. I fucking love John Healy

 

[May Kasahara]

Paradoxical Undressing - Kristin Hersh. It's really good.

 

[TruXta]

Shantaram...by David georgy Roberts.......the best read in a very long time.....

First half is great, thought it took a downwards turn that got steeper and steeper towards the finale.

 

[TruXta]

Paradoxical Undressing - Kristin Hersh. It's really good.

That Kristin Hersh? From Throwing Muses?

 

[May Kasahara]

Yeah, it's a memoir of her teenage years. Really fascinating and well written. I had no idea she/they were so punk.

 

[belboid]

Paradoxical Undressing - Kristin Hersh. It's really good.

the Guardian review makes it sound quite amazing.

 

[TruXta]

Yeah, it's a memoir of her teenage years. Really fascinating and well written. I had no idea she/they were so punk.

Cool, haven't read a good music bio for ages. Listened to her first solo album obsessively when it came out.