RedM Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Read a good book lately? Tell me about it. I read books like some people smoke fags or drink or eat. Usually have three or four on the go at any one time and read about 10-15 each month. I'm looking for non-fiction at the moment. Five modern faves: A Staggering Work of Heartbreaking Genius by Dave Eggers Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk The Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami Like Douglas Coupland, Rollins, Mishima (and a whole load of Japanese authors), and pretty much anything else with an ounce of soul. So, what are you reading? Is it good? Why? Anything you've read in the past that has stayed with you? Need to feed an appetite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Delai Lamas Road to Happiness I've got Neil Gaiman - Smoke and Mirrors and some Terry Pratchett books to catch up on this holiday. Only time I get to read really (other than graphic novels and Judge Dredd Megazine) I'm reading V for Vendetta at the moment - original Alan Moore story. Excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Very warlike at the moment, I've just read Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose and am now reading his earlier blow by blow account of D-Day. Birdsong by Sebastien Faulks is a stunning read about a young man's experience of WW1. Very very grim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeordieSteve Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Big fan of British crime autobiographies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Nope. Used to read all the time as a kid but then I didn't have a million and one things to do then. I now only read books for reference. Shame really, used to really enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 I read lots of different stuff. I recently got into an author called Joseph Finder but also read Patterson, Grisham etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobSheffield Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Terry Pratchett i absolutely Love the discworld series! i read fiction by tom clancy (red october, patriot games etc etc), discworld, and anything else i can lay my hands on. i had thought books were going out of fashion, but i love a good read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 i absolutely Love the discworld series! Always consistantly entertaining. Got them all sat on my shelf. Many signed - but then he is a signing whore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Currently reading: 'The Shite History of Everything' by A Parody 'The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response' - Peter Balakian (taking me a while!) The Night Stalker - Philip Carlo I tend to be more of a magazine reader I suppose, I go mad on books when I'm on holiday though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merckx Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 "Bravo Two Zero" , was very good! Only book I've read since leaving school twenty years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 Currently reading: ' 'The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response' - Peter Balakian (taking me a while!) That's the sort of thing I used to read when I was getting the train to work. There I am, half past seven, deep inside books like Rogue Nation or one of Chomskys light reads. Used to get some strange looks but once, when I was reading that days Guradian (sic), a woman who I saw every day, said "bit of light reading then?" For some reason I decided to look at her like she'd asked me to eat sh*t. In Flemish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobSheffield Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Always consistantly entertaining. Got them all sat on my shelf. Many signed - but then he is a signing whore. i have about 5 or 6, none signed, but have at one time read them all i dont know about the rest of you guys, or if im a freak, but i have probably 40-50 books, and i read them all over and over, and each time i get a lot from them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 Got to be honest I find Pratchett to be a bit, erm, twee. Some nice ideas (the monks who can not only here a penny drop from miles away but can also tell which side it landed on) but on the whole not really worth his reputation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopite Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Do CJ's technical manuals count? Not read a book for years, not including autobiographies that is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 I've just finished American Psycho, that was good. Looking for a bookshop that sells books in English this weekend, can't really appreciate Japanese TV yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannhauser Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Chomsky, eh? Goodness me. Good thread, makes a change. Always interested to see what people read. My last five were: Waiting for Godot (Samuel Beckett) Empire (Niall Ferguson) The Mystery of Things (A.C. Grayling) The Idiot (Fydor Dostoyevsky) Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolf) 'Empire' - about the rise and fall of the British Empire -was unfailingly interesting and I recommend to anyone with even a vague interest in History. I'm currently reading a dull book on literary criticism and I'm about to start Philip Roth's American Pastoral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muffleman Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Er, currently reading 'The World according to Clarkson' Not a big reader I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew7 Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Apparently 90% of the population never read a book after they leave school.....which is probably why only about 5% of people actually fulfil their ambitions... Sad what people miss in life.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Got to be honest I find Pratchett to be a bit, erm, twee. Some nice ideas (the monks who can not only here a penny drop from miles away but can also tell which side it landed on) but on the whole not really worth his reputation. I tend to agree, but still find it consistant and entertaining. I hate picking up a book to find I can't relate to it. I really liked the Neuromancer trilogy too - Vampyr stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Apparently 90% of the population never read a book after they leave school.....which is probably why only about 5% of people actually fulfil their ambitions... Sad what people miss in life.... I really hope that's not true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Read Peter F. Hamilton's the Neutronium Alchemist a while back, that was ok, there's another two in the series. Sci-fi, set in the far future, man colonised most of the galaxy, living starship's etc. Read Dan Brown's Angel's & Demons and just started reading the Da Vinci Code (I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie). Didn't think much to Angel's and Demons, seemed predictable, the ending annoyed me as well the characters would not believe that "the bad guy" was the most obvious person for it to be in the book even when it looked like it was him, then they were all too quick to believe that it was in fact the person least likely for it to be. From what I've read of the Da Vinci code so far it's as if he was practially having a second attempt, so many similarities in characters and story lines between the two. Plus I think it's bloody obvious he's ripped off the idea's of those other authors, and probably the same goes for his other books. Still, I'm enjoying the Da Vinci code much better so far, probably would have even more if I'd not read the other. Next up I'll probably either buy the next two Peter F. Hamilton books or Ian M Banks' the Algebraist, that sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Er, currently reading 'The World according to Clarkson' A very good toilet / bed book - short chapters, no thought involved and amusing to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edd_t Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Am reading 'The Dark Tower part 1 - The Gun Slinger' by Stephen King, for the 2nd time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Read Peter F. Hamilton's the Neutronium Alchemist a while back, that was ok, there's another two in the series. Sci-fi, set in the far future, man colonised most of the galaxy, living starship's etc. Read Dan Brown's Angel's & Demons and just started reading the Da Vinci Code (I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie). Didn't think much to Angel's and Demons, seemed predictable, the ending annoyed me as well the characters would not believe that "the bad guy" was the most obvious person for it to be in the book even when it looked like it was him, then they were all too quick to believe that it was in fact the person least likely for it to be. From what I've read of the Da Vinci code so far it's as if he was practially having a second attempt, so many similarities in characters and story lines between the two. Plus I think it's bloody obvious he's ripped off the idea's of those other authors, and probably the same goes for his other books. Still, I'm enjoying the Da Vinci code much better so far, probably would have even more if I'd not read the other. Next up I'll probably either buy the next two Peter F. Hamilton books or Ian M Banks' the Algebraist, that sounds good. Mate, Hes not ripped anything off. Basically hes taken a popular belief about christ and done something that other authors havent done.... turned it into an amazing story. I've read all 4 of Dan Browns books, and there all awesome. I would hihgly recommend any of them.. Also i would recommend "Life of Pi" awesome book to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harps Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Another Prachett fan here Also like Bernard Cornwell's books, in particular the Sharpe series. Recent reads were The Duke of Wellingtons biography by Richard Holmes, If Chins Could Kill, teh autobiography of Bruce Campbell (which is great fun) and Bollocks to Alton Towers, which was surprisingly good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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