*What book are you reading? (part 2)

[Throbbing Angel]

atm I are reading

on paper
The Wasp Factory (again)
The Shards (Bret Easton Ellis's new novel)
Cassino: The Hollow Victory (John Ellis)

ebook
Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder (Gabor Mate)

 

[rubbershoes]

Bit of history recently

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen. It's stodgily written but gosh, what a story. Mutiny, storms, scurvy and a complete unawareness of how fucking huge the Pacific ocean is all made this a very perilous journey. Not many made it home alive. The trip was funded by the king of Spain who wanted to find a way to the spice islands and the incredible wealth that could come from trading spices in Europe. The king and Magellan didn't realise that his arch rival, the king of Portugal had been trading with the islanders for 10 years.

Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914 by Max Hastings is a much better book. The first third sets out what led to the war starting and how easy it would have been for it not to happen, if anybody had really had the will. The knowledge we have now of the horrors that were about to envelop Europe (and beyond) make it almost frustrating to read. It's like watching a slasher film and willing the teen not to take the steps down into the basement. The rest is the story of the fighting in 1914 and is a fairly standard military history. If I pick up this book again in 20 years, I'll just read the pre-war bit.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Vaxxers by Sarah Gilbert and Catherine Green, about the development of the astrazeneca covid vaccine.

 

[Nikkormat]

Now on The Plague by Albert Camus. I was so engrossed in it yesterday morning that I missed my tram stop.

That was excellent. Tomorrow I will start Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman.

 

[rubbershoes]

Milkman by Anna Burns

What a brilliant book . Stream of consciousness (presumably ) set in 1970s Belfast.

I can imagine some people may find aspects of the book irritating. The chapters are really long; not a single character in the book has their actual name used; and there are lengthy discursive passages. But the book gets inside and explains the community so well, though I've got no idea how accurate it is.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Blood Storm by Colin Forbes.

 

[DotCommunist]

Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin. A book that answers the question no-one asked 'what if in the future all war and conflict was decided in the octagon by a caste of born MMA fighters?

its a book by a guy who is trained in BJJ and has a background in combat sport. While its not the most amazing prose its effective and really comes alive for the fight writing. Excellent fight writing.

 

[flypanam]

Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting.

the details of small town Ireland are perfect. It’s funny, harrowing and an easy read.

 

[pbsmooth]

If on a winter's night a traveller by Italo Calvino

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Island on Fire, by Alexandra Witze and Jeff Kanipe - about an 18th century eruption in Iceland.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

The Red House by Mark Haddon. An estranged brother and sister have recently lost their mum and try to bury the hatchet by taking their respective families on holiday to the brother's holiday cottage on the Welsh border, where everyone's secrets come out.

 

[furluxor]

The Red House by Mark Haddon. An estranged brother and sister have recently lost their mum and try to bury the hatchet by taking their respective families on holiday to the brother's holiday cottage on the Welsh border, where everyone's secrets come out.

How are you finding it? I'd only ever read Curious Incident and it's the sort of book that could be a one time success.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

How are you finding it? I'd only ever read Curious Incident and it's the sort of book that could be a one time success.

Oh, it's very different from Curious Incident! I won't give too much away if you've not read it yet, but I think you'd find it interesting.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Caro Fraser's Familiar Rooms In Darkness. An elderly playwright is dying of cancer and asks a journalist to write his official biography. The journalist falls in love with this man's daughter, discovers some gossip about the family's past and is forced to choose between her love and his big career break.

 

[DotCommunist]

Leech by Hiron Ennes. Its topping the lists of 'this years good sf' books because its very good. A parasite that been with us for 500 years on the sly suddenly realizes that it has a competitor. this is a solid 9/10 from me.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel. More modern than her usual novels, and quite amusing in a dark way.

 

[izz]

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel. More modern than her usual novels, and quite amusing in a dark way.

It is most definitely very dark but as with everything else she wrote, I quite like it. Rest in peace Hilary, I miss you dearly.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

It is most definitely very dark but as with everything else she wrote, I quite like it. Rest in peace Hilary, I miss you dearly.

I didn't even know she'd died until I was discussing the book with my housemate after I'd chosen it at random in a charity shop (so that must've been some time in October). He said "She's one of my favourite authors, God rest her soul" and I was like "She's dead?! How did I miss that?" Turned out she'd passed away the week before. Sounds like she had an interesting life.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

John Grisham's The Reckoning, about a much respected pillar of the community who murders the local pastor and refuses to give a reason. Needless to say, there's a deep dark secret behind it!

 

[Ranbay]

Not in that order !!

 

[DotCommunist]

I've started a collected book, Jack Vance 'Tales of A Dying Earth'.

 

[Nikkormat]

Half way through The Glass Pearls by Emeric Pressburger. It's brilliant.

 

[stockwelljonny]

Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett

 

[belboid]

Half way through The Glass Pearls by Emeric Pressburger. It's brilliant.

I’ve never read a Pressburger novel. Considering how much I adore his work with Micky P, this is really remiss of me.

 

[Nikkormat]

I’ve never read a Pressburger novel. Considering how much I adore his work with Micky P, this is really remiss of me.

It was this review that put me onto it (All Our Yesterdays is great too). Maybe I am imagining it, but as I read it I get the same feel as from some of the Archers films.

 

[rubbershoes]

Marathon Man by William Goldman. That's Princess Bride William Goldman not Lord of the Flies William Golding.

It's the most 70s book I've read for years and takes a while to shake itself into a routine goodies and baddies scrap

 

[krtek a houby]

Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann

If the book is anything to go by, the film deserves to be massive.

It's a fascinating and disturbing read, and the horrors of the treatment of the Osage is beyond words.

Reckon this is the sort of history certain people would preferred to stay forgotten.

 

[krtek a houby]

Marathon Man by William Goldman. That's Princess Bride William Goldman not Lord of the Flies William Golding.

It's the most 70s book I've read for years and takes a while to shake itself into a routine goodies and baddies scrap

Is it safe, though?

 

[rubbershoes]

Capital by John Lanchester

I was disappointed by this. Has he ever done anything as good as The debt to pleasure?

 

[krtek a houby]

Children of Dune

So far, so Dune