The 'Currently Reading' Thread.

[David]

1 minute ago, Chest Rockwell said:

I've read a lot of complaints abbot the book saying it's trashy / twilight for nerdy boys, etc. And fair enough it does rely on some cliches. But it's just damn good fun!

Yup, that's my view on it. It's not going to go down in history as a classic, but it's a lot of fun to read! Anyway, it's about time that we got a Twilight of our own!

[tiger_rick]

I've just read The Big Sleep. Don't know why I hadn't before. I've got a friend who has recommended it a few times. I really loved it. Wonderfully written story that unfolds but with well-rounded characters and a great setting. Obviously the setting is because the book is old, not in retrospect. Funnily the next book I picked up is a random Peter Robinson that I've have unread since a couple of Christmases ago and it referenced the Philip Marlowe character and his meeting with General Sternwood near the start of The Big Sleep. Wouldn't have got it if I hadn't just read it.

Finished Liam O'Rourke's book on Brian Pillman as I mentioned on-topic. It's very good.

I'm trying to read more this year. That and not being a fat cunt are my self-improvements. I've always loved reading but it's too easy to stick the telly on. Trying to change that.

[Grecian]

If I can chuck in a couple of recommendations... 

American War by Omar El Akkad is worth reading. It's set in the future at the end of the second American Civil War, the level of intricate details in it are great. 

Aravind Adiga's White Tiger. I only read it a couple of years ago, but it's stuck with me. Just brilliant. 

 

[wordsfromlee]

7 hours ago, Carbomb said:

Not to ignore what you've written about LeGuin (was an interesting post, and I've been getting into non-fiction a fair bit recently), but I didn't know Miyazaki had written something about that. That's great, thanks for the reccos.

 

On the Stephen King subject, I was discussing with a friend the other day that, in terms of individual titles, he must be the most cinematised author ever. If not, I imagine only Agatha Christie would beat him. Off the top of my head:

Carrie
Firestarter
Christine
Misery
Needful Things
It
The Shining
The Mist
The Running Man
The Green Mile
The Shawshank Redemption
Cujo
Pet Sematary
The Dark Tower
Creepshow

I'm sure there's a load more I've forgotten.

And the rest:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by_Stephen_King

[Carbomb]

You killjoy 

[NoUseforaUsername]

Christine is a great movie.

[Undefeated Steak]

Halfway through Springfield Confidential by Mike Reiss and it's great. Some nice trivia in it and it's the right amount of funny.

Also taken advantage of my new library membership and got a stack of books out. Re-reading Thinking, Fast and Slow; Long Walk to Freedom, and a couple of work-related books. 

[wordsfromlee]

3 hours ago, Undefeated Steak said:

Halfway through Springfield Confidential by Mike Reiss and it's great. Some nice trivia in it and it's the right amount of funny

I listened to the audiobook of this read by him and it was great. I haven’t read the book but I reckon it’s on of those that’s even better in audiobook format. 

[BomberPat]

I'm about halfway through Lost Acre, the last book in Andrew Caldecott's Rotherweird trilogy.

The basic premise of the books is that there's an isolated town that's been cut off from the rest of England since Elizabethan times, that nobody in England is allowed to study its history, and no one in the town is permitted to study history pre-1800. Paintings and photographs of previous generations of people are forbidden, outsiders only allowed under strict conditions, and they've developed their own set of advanced - but non-electric - technologies, with a little bit of what's probably magic. Many of the people are descended from a group of Elizabethan child geniuses who were isolated and raised by a mad aristocrat.

The story of the three books basically flits between present day and past, with hybrid human-animal creatures stemming back from Elizabethan times, as you try and work out how it all ties together. Some of it is standard fantasy fare, some of it has a feel of Mervyn Peake about it in that it feels almost like a society farce in the middle of a fantasy story. It's imaginative, with some real inspired moments.

 

Sadly, I'm struggling with this third book. Partly because it's not great at playing "catch up", so I'm having to pause to remind myself who characters are, and what happened in the previous book I read over a year ago. It's not bad by any means, but proving a slog to get through, and I can't help eyeing up my pile of books and wondering what to read next, rather than focusing on this one.

[Carbomb]

Am currently on the first of the Rosewater trilogy, by Tade Thompson. Sci-fi set about thirty-plus years from now, in a fictional city in Nigeria that has sprung up around a gigantic alien biodome which landed and formed without any explanation. No-one has seen the aliens or knows what they're doing on Earth, but it's caused a whole portion of humans to become "sensitives" - a bit like telepaths, but their ability to connect with other people's minds stems from the "xenosphere", a field formed in the atmosphere by microbial spores released from the biodomes that appeared all over earth. The story is told from the perspective of Kaaro, a man working as a security sensitive for a big bank (as with every new development in technology and ability, criminals have kept up), but this is primarily a cover for his work as a government agent.

Am enjoying it immensely so far. As a sci-fi piece it's very creative, and Thompson does a good job of giving it dimension with its Nigerian setting while at the same time making it accessible to anyone who's not particularly au fait with Nigerian culture. 

[hallicks]

Might have to check that one out, @Carbomb. 

@BomberPat, had that recently where I tried to pick up book 2 of a series (sequel to Children of blood and bone) months after I finished the first one and I had no clue what was going on. Coupled with the fact that I was coming straight off Becoming Superman by J. Michael Stracyznski, probably the most compelling book I've ever read and all of it real life, I just couldn't get into it. Book 1 was great, so I'll probably come back to it later. 

Just started Children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (need to get some books without "children" in the title, this getting a bit noncey). The writing is brilliant, super crisp, but unfortunately the bad guys are massive, mutant, super-intelligent spiders and I'm not sure I can cope. 

[SuperBacon]

@BomberPat That book sounds right up my 10yo’s street. How appropriate would it be? (She’s currently enjoying Mist Over Pendle for reference)

I am finally reading American Gods. It is incredible. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a novel as much since I first read The Corrections.

I am itching to watch the TV show but am going to wait.

Also read Gotta Get Theroux This which was a really good read but would’ve preferred to listen but it was a present so.

[ElCece]

46 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

@BomberPat That book sounds right up my 10yo’s street. How appropriate would it be? (She’s currently enjoying Mist Over Pendle for reference)

I am finally reading American Gods. It is incredible. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a novel as much since I first read The Corrections.

I am itching to watch the TV show but am going to wait.

Also read Gotta Get Theroux This which was a really good read but would’ve preferred to listen but it was a present so.

I read American Gods for the first time about 6 months ago and loved it and that's without me being much of fan of Gaiman including his comics work.

Edited January 29, 2020 by ElCece

[BomberPat]

16 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

@BomberPat That book sounds right up my 10yo’s street. How appropriate would it be? (She’s currently enjoying Mist Over Pendle for reference)

It might be a little much for a 10 year old. There's a few puzzles and so on that are reliant on a working knowledge of a few periods of history, and of Shakespeare, and in general it can be difficult to follow at times. I don't fully remember, but I think there's at least a couple of (non-explicit) sex scenes in the earlier books, too. 

[Jazzy G]

As shameless a plug as it sounds I'm making my way through "So Excited, So Scared" by our very own @Astro Hollywood. Its a great read. If you like his blog stuff it's like the feature length version of that, but with a lot of information about Saved By The Bell. A few times I've found myself quaking with laughter on the bus to and from work, and have even laughed out loud. I'm nearly finished now, so I'll stop badgering you on twitter and drop a review on amazon for it soon.