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The UKFF's Summer Reading List


Kookoocachu

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This is going to sound ridiculous, but I can only read non fiction. Since my late teens I lost the ability to concentrate on fiction at all, reading in general has got very hard but I now know that it's down to my MS. I can write fiction, and re-read that, but trying to read anything else is impossible. It's a pretty common symptom and MSers have either forced their brain into training itself to concentrate on fiction or unfortunately it's something they've never gotten back.

 

So, I need some book recommendations and want you to all share what your summer reading lists consist of.

 

Mine currently only consists of all of Michio Kaku's books, all of which I re-read on a regular basis, but as I said I want some fiction! Preferably sci-fi.

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I can't read fiction because most the time I find it boring and can't get into it. Don't know why. I'm probably just more more of a "real life is more interesting" kind of person. I spend most of my reading time cracking off a sporting autobiography or a Viz annual while I'm sending Sailor Brown to sea. If I'm reading a fictional book it's probably To Kill A Mockingbird or All Quiet on the Western Front each for the thousandth time.

 

I suppose The Gobbler by Ade Edmondson is alright until it gets fucking stupid towards the end.

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I can totally relate to finding real life more interesting. A story has to be pretty damn gripping for me to ignore the pigeon on the garden wall. Nice to know normal people have this problem too.

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This is going to sound ridiculous, but I can only read non fiction. Since my late teens I lost the ability to concentrate on fiction at all, reading in general has got very hard but I now know that it's down to my MS. I can write fiction, and re-read that, but trying to read anything else is impossible. It's a pretty common symptom and MSers have either forced their brain into training itself to concentrate on fiction or unfortunately it's something they've never gotten back.

 

So, I need some book recommendations and want you to all share what your summer reading lists consist of.

 

Mine currently only consists of all of Michio Kaku's books, all of which I re-read on a regular basis, but as I said I want some fiction! Preferably sci-fi.

 

Don't know if I can recommend any of them, as some are non-fiction, and none are sci-fi, but I'm reading Rage, by Stephen King/Richard Bachman, Christian Nation, by Frederic C. Rich, and Detroit City is the Place to be, by Mark Binelli.

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I'm currently working my way through Silver by Andrew Motion, it's a sequel to Treasure Island, and it's really quite good, it feels like a natural follow-on from Stevenson rather than a cash-in.

 

Next on the list is The Sisters Brothers which is a Western novel (nominated for one of the book prizes at some point, I think) I was lent in April and haven't got round to reading yet, and then I'll probably attempt Gormenghast again - which I started about three years ago, put down, and haven't gone back to yet.

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I've generally only read reference books for the last 5 years or so, and when I tried to read some sci-fi this year (Neuromancer and Burning Chrome), they've struggled to hold my interest.

 

I also read the shittest, worst written, possibly-erotic-I-was-never-sure, book on a Kindle simply because it was free, and I was curious just how much worse it could get. This completely proved Woy's blog post about why self publishing is looked on with derision.

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Neuromancer struggled to hold my attention too, it starts off quite well but I'd lost track of what was going on about a third of the way in. I understand how important William Gibson is to the sci-fi/cyberpunk genres but I just wasn't keen. Loads of overly phallic symbols like 'pink cobra' in there too.

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Me too, and I was probably only just over halfway through when I abandoned it because I was just looking at pages of words and not absorbing any of it.

Considering it was only a couple of months ago that I was reading it, I'd struggle now to tell you much about it. Character names, plot, etc... I can remember that he lives in a pod hotel, and the girl has mirrored lenses implanted over her eyes, but that's about it.

 

Sadly I can remember almost everything about that Dirty Sparkle shite.

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