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*What book are you reading? (part 2)

I'm re-reading The Seabird's Cry, Adam Nicholson. It's factual but lyrically written, a complete delight and if you read nothing else this year, this is definitely worth a whirl.
 
Just started Tony Tulathimutte's Private Citizens. Four Stanford graduates who know each other but don't know each other struggle through San Francisco at the height of the tech boom. Looks at them as their expectations are lowered then dashed...the guardian hated it.
 
The final chapters of Last Argument of Kings.

Can anyone recommend the 3 standalone books? I am very much enjoying the First Law universe.
I though the standalones were better than the First Law (and I liked the First Law), the first two (Best Served Cold and The Heroes) were particularly good. I want to re-read all of them before I start A Little Hatred.
 
I though the standalones were better than the First Law (and I liked the First Law), the first two (Best Served Cold and The Heroes) were particularly good. I want to re-read all of them before I start A Little Hatred.

Thanks that's good info.
Will start Best Served Cold next - good value for money these books - they last for fucking ages.
 
Am halfway through The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman. I had to re-read La Belle Sauvage first to brush up. I do like both books, but they seem a little...longwinded.
 
Finished Viv Albertine's 'To Throw Away Unopened'. Absolutely loved it.

Now reading 'Jane Eyre', and being totally surprised that I love this also! Wuthering Heights always been one of my faves and for some reason, I didn't think the other Brontes would be as good. Wrong.
 
Finished Viv Albertine's 'To Throw Away Unopened'. Absolutely loved it.

Now reading 'Jane Eyre', and being totally surprised that I love this also! Wuthering Heights always been one of my faves and for some reason, I didn't think the other Brontes would be as good. Wrong.
Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are two of the greatest ever written.
Can I also recommend Viv Albertine’s Clothes... Music ... Boys...., if you haven’t already read it.
 
Anthony Bourdain - “Medium Raw”

I loved his “Kitchen Confidential” as it took me back to my catering days and the completely crazy booze and drug fuelled atmosphere of macho violence that was pretty standard 30 years ago. Hopefully things have improved a bit since then.
 
Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are two of the greatest ever written.
Can I also recommend Viv Albertine’s Clothes... Music ... Boys...., if you haven’t already read it.
Yeh Sprocket. - for some strange reason, I thought the other Brontes wouldn't be as good. Stupid. I read Wide Sargasso Sea at crimbo and thought I'd better now read JE - arse about tit I know, but better late than never.

Yes! I bought the CMB book yesterday haha :D
 
sojourner, Jane Eyre has been a favourite of mine for years and being honest I didn’t appreciate Wide Sargasso Sea much at all. For me, Wuthering Heights is one of the best ghost stories ever created.
I hope you enjoy Viv’s book as much as I did.

Have you read The Italian by Ann Radcliffe? another absolute classic.
 
sojourner, Jane Eyre has been a favourite of mine for years and being honest I didn’t appreciate Wide Sargasso Sea much at all. For me, Wuthering Heights is one of the best ghost stories ever created.
I hope you enjoy Viv’s book as much as I did.

Have you read The Italian by Ann Radcliffe? another absolute classic.
Unusual choice for a bloke, has to be said Sprocket. but tells me a lot about you as a man, and I like that :) :)

Wide Sargasso Sea made me furious, on behalf of the female protagonist, as well as revealing not-very-nice stuff about Rochester. Might be worth another read. Always a time and place for a book, and not necessarily when you're reading it first time.

Oh, WH is up in my top 10 of all time.

Yeh I'm looking forward to reading the VA book! My to-read pile is increasing all the time at the mo - the MaddAdam trilogy by Margaret Attwood that my daughter got me for crimbo, a solar system one by Brian Cox, two Norah Ephron books mentioned in VA's book (I Feel Bad About My Neck, and I Remember Nothing), the new VA book, and A Game Of Birds And Wolves by Simon Parkin :cool::cool::cool:

I haven't read that Ann Radcliffe one, but shall stick it on the list ha :D Cheers!
 
You'll have already read The Woman in Black by Susan Hill and Turn of the Screw by Henry James then, Sprocket. ?

Yes sojourner, read both of those. I think there are about three copies of Woman in Black, in the house.

Thanks for the comments regarding Jane Eyre, my cousin gave me a copy, I still have when I was about fourteen. She said it would make me a better person!

:D
 
I'm reading 'The book of dust part two-The secret commonwealth' by Philip Pullman. I reread 'His dark materials' (read 15 years ago) and then 'Belle Sauvage. Really really enjoying it.
 
Just finished Iain M Banks Against a Dark Background, loved it. Felt a bit like Douglas Addams in some places. Left it open for a sequel but alas, not to be.
Currently reading Colm Toibin's The Heather Blazing, which I'm sure will have me in tears like most of his other novels.
 
Dictator Literature by Daniel Kalder. The sub-title is 'a history of bad books by terrible people' - each chapter is on a dictator and goes into detail about their lives and what nonsense they produced. Got through Lenin and Stalin so far - the next chapters are on Mussolini, Hitler and Mao.
 
Enjoying (for the second time) The Belle Fields and its sequel Ashes of Roses by Lora Adams. Anyone into romantic fiction will enjoy these - twists and turns from beginning to end and an emotional roller coaster of a read. Sad, happy, moving and unexpected end to the first book - could not expect that and had to wait a whole year for the sequel to see what happened next - it was well worth the wait! If anyone tries these am sure you will enjoy - was unable to put them down!
 

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Been reading several Saul Bellow novels recently. Herzog was my favourite. Hard to summarize, but a middle aged divorced man struggling through life and maybe going a little bit mad in the process. The odd snippets here and there, recollections from childhood or an observation are amazingly well written. The guy is a genius.
 
Spartacus by Howard Fast. Wayyy more homosexuality in it than the film :D Although I do believe there was that famous scene with Tony Curtis that was cut...

A Game of Birds and Wolves by Simon Parkin. Premise is great - very interesting and a fab slice of history. Shame the writing's fucking dreadful.

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron. I bought this cos Viv Albertine quoted her. It's absolute fucking tat, with the (very) odd funny line in it.
 
Doxology by Nell Zink

Like Franzen but better, maybe.

In the tradition of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Gessen's A Terrible Country, Harbach's The Art of Fielding, and Paula Fox's Desperate Characters I'm reading it slowly as I don't want it to end.
 
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