*What book are you reading ?

[foamy]

I will rarely buy a hardback - too cumbersome - but if I really want to read the book, I'll buy it - it doesn't seem a lot to me - I'll spend £15 on a CD, so why not a book?

i think being brought up by my mum whose mantra is 'never pay full price for anything' doesnt help

 

[tastebud]

i do agree with the half the price of music logic, funnily enough
but i try to pay as little as possible for both.
spending guilt... & i'm not sure why i get it probably my upbringing too actually.

e2a: i don't like brand new shiny books at all. they never stay that way so it makes me feel weird. i also like to know that others have read it first & will read it after me... the environment/trees & things...

 

[Orang Utan]

i do agree with the half the price of music logic actually
but i try to pay as little as possible for both.
spending guilt... & i'm not sure why i get it probably my upbringing too actually.

Maybe you're just naturally miserly

 

[tastebud]

Maybe you're just naturally miserly

i'll happily spend heaps on travelling/holidays though... so that cancels out my environment claim above, i guess

stuff... it bothers me and if you can get it cheaper elsewhere then it's worth doing so imo. why waste money?

 

[Orang Utan]

It doesn't bother me if it's a matter of a few quid - I just don't think about it - for instance, I'd rather go to a shop and buy a book for £8 than order one from Amazon for £3.
I'm crap with money and am always skint though

 

[foamy]

It doesn't bother me if it's a matter of a few quid - I just don't think about it - for instance, I'd rather go to a shop and buy a book for £8 than order one from Amazon for £3.
I'm crap with money and am always skint though

but thats not a matter of a few quid - its £5 difference!
and over twice the price!
no wonder you're always skint but why am i always skint too?!

 

[Orang Utan]

A fiver is only a few quid! It's more important to me that I have the book in my hand to read immediately, than the fiver is important to me, IYSWIM

 

[Yetman]

i think being brought up by my mum whose mantra is 'never pay full price for anything' doesnt help

My mums mantra is simply 'never pay for anthing' - she's a scouser

 

[The Groke]

Just finished the new Iain Banks - "The Steep approach to Garbadale"

Bit disappointing really.

Readable enough I suppose, and frankly even at his worst he is better than a hell of a lot of contemporary novelists IMHO, but it was very vanilla and lacked the sinister edge, intrigue and bite that he usually does so well.

The characters were pretty forgettable too - seemed on the whole to be rehashes and watered down versions of other, previous characters of his creation.

Oh well.



I am now rereading "Deadkid Songs" by Toby Litt.

 

[sojourner]

Finished Fried Green Toms, and launched into The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing. Complete change of style, very refreshing. I was getting a bit bogged down in the Deep South; it's good to read without having that accent in me head Am loving Lessing's brisk and chilled turn of phrase, how she manages to convey emotion without it turning into a slushfest, nice clear clean uncluttered sentences.

 

[Bazza]

The Stand - Stephen King (the full, uncut edition).

Wish me luck guys, it's 1400+ pages.

It's meant to be King's best book so I'm giving it a go. So far, so good.

I intend to have it finished by the end of April (I've been reading it for 2 days)

 

[tastebud]

I'm reading the Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker because BA started a thread about it once & I liked the sound of it, so he lent it to me.
It's very amusing in a LOL way, but the footnotes I don't like, I have to say.
I like reading prose about random mundane everyday stuff. I think that was why I wanted to borrow the book in the first place.

 

[ViolentPanda]

"Terrorism, Legitimacy and Power: The Consequences of Political Violence" - Martha Crenshaw (ed).
"The Orientalist" - Tom Reiss

 

[May Kasahara]

The Stand - Stephen King (the full, uncut edition).

Wish me luck guys, it's 1400+ pages.

It's meant to be King's best book so I'm giving it a go. So far, so good.

I intend to have it finished by the end of April (I've been reading it for 2 days)

I wouldn't say it's his best book, not by a long chalk. It is good but I found it went off the boil quite badly about halfway through. Just a heads-up in case you find yourself becoming disappointed. It's still worth reading though.

I'm being really indecisive at the moment and haven't started a new book yet.

 

[yokerist]

em its by ed gilnert cant remember what its called but its all about the east end

its well good full of mental history and general weirdness

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Shit! The book I'm meant to be reading is on the shelf by the downstairs window at Ms T's

 

[Star Dove]

Iain Bank's new novel: The steep approach to Garbadale.

Nothing new, it's the Crow Road revisited, but so far a good read at least.

 

[sojourner]

Just started The Wild Girl by Michele Roberts - a take on the Mary Magdalene story. Rather good so far

 

[Nikkormat]

Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad. Too early to have formed an opinion.

 

[chooch]

Just finished The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break, which somehow kicked me in the heart. Just starting W.G Sebald The Rings of Saturn, though may succumb to reading Bohumil Hrabal Too Loud a Solitude on the bus, if I'm feeling unloved.

 

[madamv]

The Stand *shudders* The only TV mini series I couldnt watch because the first one gave me nightmares...

I have read - Wedding in December and Getting rid of Matthew this weekend. Both chic lit type stuff, hence the super quick reads.

Nothing lined up. I may re-read the last Harry Potter, in readiness for the new one.

I will trawl through this thread later in the week, in search of something I fancy. Its not let me down yet

 

[foamy]

'Lullaby' by Chuck Palahniuk. good but dont like it as much as 'Choke' maybe its because i dont like magic/fantasy but prefer real life? hmm....

 

[rekil]

54 by the Wu Ming Foundation people. Pretty good so far. Lots of interesting Italian post war happenings.

 

[Bazza]

I wouldn't say it's his best book, not by a long chalk. It is good but I found it went off the boil quite badly about halfway through. Just a heads-up in case you find yourself becoming disappointed. It's still worth reading though.

I've only read a handful of his other stuff, what do you reckon is his best, out of interest?

I have a feeling it's all going to go off the boil soon actually, but it is still gripping me at the moment. Coming up to the 300 mark. 1,100 pages to go.

 

[Dillinger4]

I finished Anna Karenina a little while ago, amazing!

Now I am down to about 4 books on the go at once

The Uncomfortable Dead by Subcommandante Marcos and Paco Ignacio Taibo II

Fear & Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard

The Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (for about the seventh time).

There are probably a few more lying around somewhere that I will pick up again

I am also trying to learn Spanish and revise all at the same time

 

[Orang Utan]

dp

 

[Orang Utan]

I've only read a handful of his other stuff, what do you reckon is his best, out of interest?

I have a feeling it's all going to go off the boil soon actually, but it is still gripping me at the moment. Coming up to the 300 mark. 1,100 pages to go.

Carrie or The Shining.
Pet Sematary is pretty good too.
Oh and The Dead Zone is fucking awesome!

 

[Bazza]

When I was about 14 years old, I couldn't finish The Shining. Moving hedges freaked me out too much.

I will bear those in mind though, cheers Orang-U.

 

[Orang Utan]

I haven't read any of his since that age either, mind!

 

[sojourner]

I used to love Stephen King years ago. About 15 or so years ago, I got so fucked off with him meandering on about bugger all that I gave up on him in disgust.

I think The Stand did it for me in the end - I nearly died of boredom