The 'Currently Reading' Thread.

[insert_name_here]

See my sig. I'm reading it in preperation for the film coming out and if it turns out to be even 1/10th as good as the graphic novel then it will be one hell of a good movie.

 

EDIT: Finished reading it last night and all i can say is WOW!

Edited January 27, 2009 by insert_name_here

[SpursRiot2012]

 

A dark tale of racist violence and its aftermath, from British academic and critic Bigsby (Still Lives, 1996, etc.). In Tennessee, at an unspecified moment in the 20th century, various elemental characters are brought together in a heavy moral fable of humanity, racism, redneck violence and dogged lawmaking. False accusations of rape in a country store lead to the lynching of Johnson, an innocent black man whose 14-year-old son James is struck dumb after witnessing the murder. Poor local field hand Jake Benchley, who tried to defend Johnson, is punished, too: beaten, burned and branded on the chest with letters to signify that he's a "nigger lover." James helps Jake to recover, then defends him when two of the lynch-mob's inbred brothers threaten to shoot him, gunning them down instead. Now the mismatched pair goes on the run, with the rest of the brothers in hot pursuit as well as the sheriff, whose miraculous powers of deduction are on a par with the lynch-mob's tracking skills and instinctive logic. Bigsby's parable is melodramatic and breathless, generally more heavily focused on the bloody and busy, sometimes superhuman foreground action than the motivation behind events, although there are moments of introspection and lyrical, even sentimental reverie. All points of view are expressed, and all with some sympathy, although sometimes (especially in the dialogue) not all that authentically. The author's message lies partly in the bond that develops between James and Jake, partly in the mood of inescapable doom that plays itself out in the final scene in Indian territory. A brief, intense, self-conscious stab at an American tragedy. (Kirkus Reviews)

 

I wasn't expecting much from it, and picked it up last night just to have a quick flick through and it grabbed me. It's very engaging. I'm almost through it now, it's only 180 pages.

[NEWM]

I just finished reading 'How to Talk to a Widower' by Jonathan Tropper. It's brilliant, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Funny, sad, dark, inspirational and at times, mind-blowingly intelligent, it's one of the best books I've read in years.

 

Also Ring of Hell, which was a pleasant surprise. Not just rehashed internet garbage, but a scathing biography of Chris Benoit which trumps everything else currently written on the matter. I learnt a lot, some of the stories were shocking, and though the whole thing was a little sensationalist at times, it was fascinating reading all the same.

[Whinehouse]

A dark tale of racist violence and its aftermath, from British academic and critic Bigsby (Still Lives, 1996, etc.). In Tennessee, at an unspecified moment in the 20th century, various elemental characters are brought together in a heavy moral fable of humanity, racism, redneck violence and dogged lawmaking. False accusations of rape in a country store lead to the lynching of Johnson, an innocent black man whose 14-year-old son James is struck dumb after witnessing the murder. Poor local field hand Jake Benchley, who tried to defend Johnson, is punished, too: beaten, burned and branded on the chest with letters to signify that he's a "nigger lover." James helps Jake to recover, then defends him when two of the lynch-mob's inbred brothers threaten to shoot him, gunning them down instead. Now the mismatched pair goes on the run, with the rest of the brothers in hot pursuit as well as the sheriff, whose miraculous powers of deduction are on a par with the lynch-mob's tracking skills and instinctive logic. Bigsby's parable is melodramatic and breathless, generally more heavily focused on the bloody and busy, sometimes superhuman foreground action than the motivation behind events, although there are moments of introspection and lyrical, even sentimental reverie. All points of view are expressed, and all with some sympathy, although sometimes (especially in the dialogue) not all that authentically. The author's message lies partly in the bond that develops between James and Jake, partly in the mood of inescapable doom that plays itself out in the final scene in Indian territory. A brief, intense, self-conscious stab at an American tragedy. (Kirkus Reviews)

 

I wasn't expecting much from it, and picked it up last night just to have a quick flick through and it grabbed me. It's very engaging. I'm almost through it now, it's only 180 pages.

Heh, sounds like a hefty read. You're gonna need to go hug some bunnies after that. But it seems that such intense books are often that short, and that's partly what makes them engaging. All that intensity crammed into a meagre few pages, it's like a literary orgasm.

 

I'm, er... 'reading', as I have been for the past 5 years, Crime & Punishment. Some day in the distant future, I imagine I will finish this. Many a tale has come and gone whilst I've attempted this and the satisfaction of finishing this mighty task promises to be overwhelming. Or so I tell myself...

[Chest Rockwell]

I found C&P to be a bit of an odd one.. Although it is massive and I found that really daunting at first, I found myself flying through it pretty compulsively once I got stuck in.

 

Although thinking back, my old job didn't have the flextime that this one does, and I didn't like any of the people I worked with so I ended up spending big chunks of time reading it at work.... So I guess that probably helped.

 

 

 

As for me... today I started reading Superman - For Tomorrow. I'm not a huge fan of Superman, but I'm enjoying it so far.. The reason I picked it up is because it's Jim Lee drawing it, and the guy who writes 100 Bullets writing it.. seems to be paying off so far.

[Carbomb]

I'm, er... 'reading', as I have been for the past 5 years, Crime & Punishment. Some day in the distant future, I imagine I will finish this. Many a tale has come and gone whilst I've attempted this and the satisfaction of finishing this mighty task promises to be overwhelming. Or so I tell myself...

I found C&P to be a bit of an odd one.. Although it is massive and I found that really daunting at first, I found myself flying through it pretty compulsively once I got stuck in.

 

Yer, Cut & Paste's a bit clunky to get into, and there are certain parts that you just zoom through like a greased Scotsman, and then other parts where you just feel like you're wading through treacle.

 

Hell of a read, though - intense, dark and insanely gripping.

[Miamivenis]

Raskolnikov > all of you.

 

Currently reading "For Esme - with Love and Squalor: and other stories", a collection of short stories by J.D. Salinger. Very amusing in parts, surreal in others, natural throughout. Yet to reach the title piece but if it's comparable to the quality of the shorter stories it should be a doozy.

[Chest Rockwell]

Shit.. that reminds me. I saw an graphic novel of Crime & Punishment in a bookshop recently.. I've gotta ask the library if they can track a copy down for me.

 

 

edit: I have no idea why anyone else needed to know this. I'm tired... I am going to go home now.

Edited January 27, 2009 by Chest Rockwell

[Egg Shen]

currently reading Slash's book, i have about 20 pages left. I'm a big Guns N' Roses fan so it was a must read for me. Fantastic stuff, some great stories and a first hand insight into the crazy world that was Gn'R. It's one of the best autobiography's i've read.

 

 

If you're a fan of Slash's or a fan of rock/metal in general, a must have.

 

I think i might be starting that book about the Benoit case next, i so many to read though i may change my mind.

[Steveo2007]

currently reading Slash's book, i have about 20 pages left. I'm a big Guns N' Roses fan so it was a must read for me. Fantastic stuff, some great stories and a first hand insight into the crazy world that was Gn'R. It's one of the best autobiography's i've read.

 

 

If you're a fan of Slash's or a fan of rock/metal in general, a must have.

 

I think i might be starting that book about the Benoit case next, i so many to read though i may change my mind.

Does Axl have a biography out?

 

As a bit of a fan of GnR it would be interesting to read about the main mans side of things.

 

Edit: Also, now reading.

 

 

Pretty good so far although I'm not that far through to be able to properly comment. A mans memoirs about being addicted to heavy metal.

Edited January 27, 2009 by Steveo2007

[ThatsRightILikePeterKay]

Completely caught up with the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, started reading Les Mis

[thejeffjarrettone]

I'm currently re-reading A Clockwork Orange. I love that book, it really made me question if I know anything about human rights (and wrongs!). Anyone else read it?

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

Just finished "No time for Goodbye" by Linwood Barclay.

 

Product Description

On the morning she will never forget, suburban teenager Cynthia Archer awakes with a nasty hangover and a feeling she is going to have an even nastier confrontation with her mom and dad. But when she leaves her bedroom, she discovers the house is empty, with no sign of her parents or younger brother Todd. In the blink of an eye, without any explanation, her family has simply disappeared. Twenty-five years later Cynthia is still haunted by unanswered questions. Were her family murdered? If so, why was she spared? And if they're alive, why did they abandon her in such a cruel way? Now married with a daughter of her own, Cynthia fears that her new family will be taken from her just as her first one was. And so she agrees to take part in a TV documentary revisiting the case, in the hope that somebody somewhere will remember something - or even that her father, mother or brother might finally reach out to her... Then a letter arrives which makes no sense and yet chills Cynthia to the core. And soon she begins to realise that stirring up the past could be the worst mistake she has ever made...

 

Now reading Dan Brown's "Deception Point" because it was going cheap in WH Smiths.

[Ro_y Disco]

I'm currently re-reading A Clockwork Orange. I love that book, it really made me question if I know anything about human rights (and wrongs!). Anyone else read it?

 

Read the book, got the t-shirt, watched the (sucky) film. I only read the book once, but it's one I mean to get round to reading again. It's a must-read for everyone.

 

The 'made-up' language is what makes the book for me. "The red, red krovvy" etcetera. It really helps paint the image of a distopian future, controlled by the youth.

 

Just today I described Road Rash for the SNES as "...riding around, tolchocking random people..."

 

 

I'm currently close to finishing Chris Jericho biog. Good, interesting read, but the man has an absolutley shocking mouth on him! Also, just started a light-reading book I got for my birthday called "Stuff White Poeple Love", which is high-larious.

[CW Saton]

Yesterday, I just finished reading this;

 

 

Now I need to read this for class;

 

 

Which is apparently dull as sin.

 

Then I'd like to move on to;

 

 

Which I bought over a month ago an haven't gotten around to reading yet.