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*What book are you reading? (part 2)

Yeah I'm reading the New International one so that I could get through the endless 'begatting' bit. I normally give up there. I do wonder if I'm missing out on some of the language though. I'm worried I might miss out on all the smiting with this version.

Oh yeah it crops up in the most unlikely places doesn't it? Nick Cave is a different listen after you've read The Bible. Just one example.

The fella's got a posh leather-bound King James which I intend to read at some point (for the language), now that I know what actually happens :)

God yeh, Nick Cave and a hundred others! Also - all those weird names :D
 
Just finished 'The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden' by Jonas Jonasson. Definitely recommend it. Well written & very funny in parts.
 
"Bloody Nasty People" by Daniel Trilling. It's a history of late 20th/early 21st century British nationalism (to put it politely). It's pretty workaday, essentially a left-liberal take on the whole "BNP in electoral politics" saga, but doesn't really dig beyond the usual Guardian-esque tropes in my opinion.
 
The girl with all the gifts.. So far its about children strapped into wheelchairs as they have some kind of infection..
Finished this, quite an amazing story with interesting characters some of whom will utterly frustrate you, and others who will challenge your sympathy etc etc. Some interesting fungal science and a bitter sweet ending..
 
High Rise, by JG Ballard. Never read any Ballard before, only doing so now because of Hawkwind and someone on the challenge thread singing its praises [apols to sad poster for forgetting who you are temporarily]. What a fool I was, it's blooming brilliant.
 
High Rise, by JG Ballard. Never read any Ballard before, only doing so now because of Hawkwind and someone on the challenge thread singing its praises [apols to sad poster for forgetting who you are temporarily]. What a fool I was, it's blooming brilliant.

:cool:
 
I'm reading Beloved by Toni Morison. Afraid to say that I'm not loving it as much as everybody else I've spoken to seems to. I think there are parts that are beautifully written and the tension is excellent but I find the pseudo-mystical tone a bit wearing to be honest.
Only a third through it so I will reserve judgement.
It's one of my mothers favourite books and I can see which parts appeal to her and why, which is enjoyable.
 
A Little Lumpen Novelita by Roberto Bolano
Puppetmasters: The Political Use of Terrorism in Italy by Phillip Willan
In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I by David A. Yallop
Harlem Is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America by Shafira Rhodes-Pitts
Lanark by Alaisdar Gray
Theory of the Avant-garde by Peter Burger
The Pike: Gabriele D'Annunzio Poet Seducer and Preacher of War by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
Oh!: A Mystery of 'Mono No Aware' by Todd Shimoda
The Walker's Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs by Tristan Gooley
The People's Platform: And Other Digital Delusions by Astra Taylor
The Philosophy of Marx by Etienne Balibar

currently reading My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
 
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Your breadth of reading is breathtaking, Dillinger4
If you were a girl, I'd be trying to get into your pants.
What's The Pike like? I gave that to my dad for his birthday and saw him falling about laughing about it at one point.
 
The Pure Society from Darwin to Hitler by Andre Pichot.
My second attempt at reading it, and while it's seriously-scholarly, it also contains some hilarious put-downs of sociobiology in general, and Dawkins's "selfish gene" in particular.
 
H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald. Only page 38 but already very engaging, it's a keeper.
 
High Rise, by JG Ballard. Never read any Ballard before, only doing so now because of Hawkwind and someone on the challenge thread singing its praises [apols to sad poster for forgetting who you are temporarily]. What a fool I was, it's blooming brilliant.

Read Super Cannes or Cocaine Nights next.
 
Just finishing The Kindly Ones (Les Bienveillantes) by Jonathan Littell, first book by a non-native French speaker to win the Prix Goncourt. Written as a memoir by an SS Officer who served in Eastern Europe in WWII. Really interesting but utterly chilling..
 
Your breadth of reading is breathtaking, Dillinger4
If you were a girl, I'd be trying to get into your pants.
What's The Pike like? I gave that to my dad for his birthday and saw him falling about laughing about it at one point.

One of the reviews describes it as "a magnificent portrait of a preposterous character" which is about right. D'Annunzio is the kind of character you couldn't really make up. It's long but it is well worth a read.
 
I started reading Ghost in the Machine by Ed James but I'm not sure of it so far. It's Edinburgh coppers. Have a choice between To Rise Again At A Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris or Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. I'll get back to you.
 
I read that Roy Keane book, The Second Half. I thought it might be funny as it was written by Roddy Doyle but it wasn't. It's not even blog stuff, more bog stuff; very tedious and repetitive. It's like Saipan all over again.
 
Edge of Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan

A series of short sci-fi stories, all good, one slightly less interesting.
 
"Bloody Nasty People" by Daniel Trilling. It's a history of late 20th/early 21st century British nationalism (to put it politely). It's pretty workaday, essentially a left-liberal take on the whole "BNP in electoral politics" saga, but doesn't really dig beyond the usual Guardian-esque tropes in my opinion.

One would expect Verso to publish something a bit more critical, no?

Anyway, bookmarked, cheers.
 
I'm reading Beloved by Toni Morison. Afraid to say that I'm not loving it as much as everybody else I've spoken to seems to. I think there are parts that are beautifully written and the tension is excellent but I find the pseudo-mystical tone a bit wearing to be honest.
Only a third through it so I will reserve judgement.
It's one of my mothers favourite books and I can see which parts appeal to her and why, which is enjoyable.

I had a similar experience with it, but persevered and am glad I did. I'm not sure it's a book you can really say you enjoy, it's pretty grim reading, but it is worth finishing.
 
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan. A Christmas present. It's the life of an Australian POW survivor and doctor told at different times, including his experiences on the Burma Railway. I'm only about a third of the way in but I was immediately hooked - it's written in a lyrical but very humane style, the ordinary in the appalling and extraordinary.
 
I finished A Christmas Carol by Dickens over the hols, which was lovely to finally read, and there were a couple of extra bits in there that I've never seen on any tv/film adaptation.

The fella got me all 4 of the David Peace Red Riding books for crimbo so I started and finished the first one, and have now almost finished the second.

Fuck ME. That first one left me feeling breathless, shit-scared, dirty, physically tired and emotionally overwhelmed. That's some powerful writing. Incredibly well-written actually - I'd say poetic in many places. I didn't know quite what to do with myself when I finished it. All out of sorts. Immense writing.

Having recently re-watched the tv adaptation, I was aware of certain things going on, but the books have so much more to them, so many more characters, and stuff in a different time order etc.

I have not been able to put them down. Totally recommended :cool:
 
High Rise, by JG Ballard. Never read any Ballard before, only doing so now because of Hawkwind and someone on the challenge thread singing its praises [apols to sad poster for forgetting who you are temporarily]. What a fool I was, it's blooming brilliant.

Read Super Cannes or Cocaine Nights next.

And Empire of the Sun, which is just fantastic and hugely educational, plus gives you a proper insight into a lot of his works
 
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