The 'Currently Reading' Thread.

[BomberPat]

currently reading Ben Goldacre's Bad Science. Picked it up on a whim from a second-hand book shop down the road from me, and it's decent enough; it's an easy read, looking at stuff like Homeopathy, and various other bits of popular pseudoscience, and explaining why we know these things don't work, and how science proves things one way or another. It reminds me of the sort of stuff Martin Garner used to write, that I love, though a little less fun because (kind of like we touched on in the conspiracy thread) the bonkers beliefs of the past felt slightly more fun and harmless - it's easier to laugh at psychic spoon-bending and phony spiritualists than it is at anti-vaxxers.

After that, I've got a pretty hefty "To Read" pile. I'm always buying books quicker than I can read them anyway, but one thing I'm really looking forward to being able to do is get back to reading more for pleasure, after a lot of the reading I've done over the past few years being for research purposes. I'd particularly like to read more fiction. Only I stupidly stumbled into another minor obsession and idea for a book I'd like to write, so have ended up with a load of non-fiction books on broadly the same topics again.

The pile in maybe something like the order I'd like to read them is something like this:

Spoiler

1. A history of Lucha Libre
2. A history of vaudeville
3. A collection of wrestling-themed short stories
4. "City Of The Beast: The London Of Aleister Crowley" by Phil Baker
5. "Beautiful Star" by Yukio Mishima
6. The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien
7. "Death In Venice" by Thomas Mann
8. "Rare Books and Rarer People" by O.F. Snelling
9. "The Making of the English Working Class" by E.P. Thompson
10. "Content Provider" by Stewart Lee - which I'm pretty sure I've actually already read, then given away, then bought again at a gig
11. "Personality and Power" by Ian Kershaw
12. A biography of a 19th century wrestling/boxing promoter
13 - 16. Four different books about the Cambridge spy ring
17. A book about Ernest Hemingway's work as a spy/secret agent
18. A very '90s encyclopedia of THE UNEXPLAINED found in a Florida honesty box
19. The Reader's Digest Folklore, Myths and Legends of Great Britain
20. "The Priory Of The Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon, which seems to be a weighty high-fantasy book that I allowed a friend who worked in Waterstones to upsell on me

I'm trying to hold off on buying anything else for a while, for obvious reasons, but don't really see that working out. I'd also like this to be the year that I start reading John Le Carré, because I'm in my late 30s and sooner or later that urge gets us all.

[Merzbow]

I'm slowly making my way through de Sade's Justine and it's not the easiest read ever but it's definitely interesting trying to work out where exactly he's coming from here. The book starts with a pretty generously sized biography and how different people read what the message of the book is, I could do with more of this in the classics.

[Accident Prone]

13 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

@Accident ProneAll great IMO, especially Of Mice And Men. Let us know what grade you get in your Eng Lit GCSE

I've just finished High Fidelity for what must be the 50th time. It's still my ultimate comfort book, and one that I read in times of distress and it makes me feel much, much better. I really love Nick Hornby.

Haha, I'll deliver the essay to your inbox as soon as it's read, Mr.Bacon! As I added that one to the basket I was getting recommended pencils and school books to go with it! The books I read at English GCSE/A-Level were Pride & Prejudice and Handmaid's Tale, so I'll be steering clear of those as they're permanently etched into my head. I got a B and C respectively in both those, but I have no desire to reread them!

Good job you mentioned High Fidelity there, as I love the film and I'll be adding that book to my list.

 

13 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

Not overkeen on Catcher In The Rye but I think it’s because edgelord bellends overrate it and I always associate them with it. Two of my favourites are A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre. For me, they’re better “Outsider” novels with the first one being hilarious. If it’s real hilarity you’re after, anything by Cormac McCarthy has them rolling in the aisles, especially The Road. 

I've added those to the list too, cheers Keith! Yeah I've heard that Catcher has a rep with the same Joker avatar crowd who love Breaking Bad, Fight Club and Goodfellas but for all the wrong reasons. It's not put me off but I probably won't be reading any thesis' about it afterwards, at least none from the past two decades. The Road made my initial list too, seems like a laugh riot that one!

 

11 hours ago, Tommy! said:

Much like you I tried starting to read more stuff a few years back. I really enjoyed Fahrenheit 451, I wasn't sure going in and did it 3rd after 1984 & brave new world but it was really good. 

 

I had 1984 drafted on my initial list but I was slightly put off by all the COVID-conspiracy nuts rallying behind it like a bible of sorts. I'll get round to it eventually though, as it's always high in those ESSENTIAL BOOKS list, even the lists that predate 2020.

1 hour ago, Factotum said:

Would advise to maybe set yourself goals with this (re: Infinite Jest). I did a 100 pages a week, but possibly best to maybe do 50 if you're starting off into it. I say this as its a helluva book to get through and I think actually taking your time and reflecting on it is better than just trying to read through it. I know that sounded incredibly poncy ha but just an idea

Oh for sure, the thing looks bloody massive! I came across Infinite Jest after falling down a Wiki rabbit hole starting with In Bruges and somehow ending up there within a few articles. It does sounds right up my alley though, and probably the book I'm most looking forward to.

Thanks for all the help and advice everyone! I look forward to re-reading this post with melancholy in six months time as a stack of half-read books lies dormant in my cupboard, gathering dust and shame as a wasted £40 gift card purchase.

 

[Factotum]

Finished THE SHARDS by Bret Easton Ellis. I must say I'm a fan of early Ellis' and this is a return to classic him. I would have said he was finished as a novelist a few years ago, but this roared back. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea and he can be hit and miss, but would advise picking it up. Its 600 pages and it will fully immerse you in 1981 LA.

[Tommy!]

22 minutes ago, Accident Prone said:

I had 1984 drafted on my initial list but I was slightly put off by all the COVID-conspiracy nuts rallying behind it like a bible of sorts. I'll get round to it eventually though, as it's always high in those ESSENTIAL BOOKS list

It's been a while but I read animal farm around the same time and that was great too, a bit lighter than 1984 but still with some depth around some similar political themes, it also has less shagging in junk shops and toothless prostitutes.

[Sphinx]

I'm reading The Body by Bill Bryson. It took a little to get into it but it's good fun. The chapters are broken up by parts of the body and has lots of facts but easily digestible and it's easy to dip in and out of for a quick read on a lunch break or a train journey.

[Carbomb]

My reading backlog has increased exponentially recently, as I made the decision to start a Zettelkasten (in short, a personal knowledge management system using a slip-box), because I felt it would finally help give me the focus I've needed for years. This means I'm ramping up my non-fiction/academic reading, and am more likely to be taking notes while I do so. I've always wanted to read more philosophy, as it's an area I was interested in, but never really had the mental wherewithal to get into outside taking a university course (and I had other things I wanted to study there).

I've started with A Brief History Of Thought by Luc Ferry. Still reading through it at the moment, but already it's made such a difference. The most fundamental understandings of philosophy feel like such a revelation to me now. One note: Ferry is very Eurocentric, very typical "Enlightenment classical Liberal" (an actual one, prior to all these right-wing crypto bros trying to lay claim to the moniker), so he makes some questionable statements regarding history, so I've taken quite a few things he's said with a pinch of salt. But I'm not really reading him for history (though he breaks down the history of Western philosophy quite concisely and succinctly), and I'm getting so much out of his writing on the nature of philosophy, its mechanisms, its place in the world, and its application.

I seriously recommend it to anyone starting out. It's also encouraged me to pick up A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, and also to dig out the copies of Plato's Republic and Rousseau's The Social Contract that I bought years ago and never read. 

I'm also reading The Last Gundir by Nayef Din - it's a historicised novel about the aborigines just before the English arrived to colonise Australia. It's self-published, so the proof-reading is not the absolute best, and it is a little dense, but it's a fascinating look at a culture which we've only ever really seen through the lens of their oppression by white Australia. The author has made a point that he's worked extensively with the head song-woman of Queensland to ensure authenticity and accuracy, which is encouraging.

For a bit of my staple sci-fi/fantasy, am about to start reading First And Last Men by Olaf Stapledon, under the "Masterworks" series. Had it recommended to me as a classic, so looking forward to that.

[Jazzy G]

Our local Tesco has a couple of bookcases where you can leave a book, take a book, and make a donation to the local cats' shelter. I've obtained some crackers from there. Haven't started reading them yet, but I have Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which I've listened to on Audible, but couldn't resist for a pound. American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and The Wrestling, which I remember owning years ago, but has probably been cast asunder following my separation last year. I am reading Rude Kids, the biography of the chap who founded, and a history of, Viz. Its an entertaining read, interspersed with drawings of characters. 

[Carbomb]

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a very fun read, and, rarely, possibly a better experience in print, because, as the writing is deliberately a pastiche of the Regency/Georgian style, it's beautifully supplemented by the physical style of the book - it's printed as though it were an old copy, or at least one of those Wordsworth books where they used the original and unchanged print format from a hundred or so years ago, complete with that old-fashioned, formal font, em-dashes, tiny footnotes with lots of abbreviations, etc.. Adds to the "flavour" of the experience.

[Jazzy G]

The audio version was brilliant. I loved all the world building. The narrator was perfect. 

[HarmonicGenerator]

I absolutely loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell for exactly those reasons @Carbomb and @jazzygeofferz, a fantastic recreation of that style with a brilliant alt-history story too.

One of my aims for this year is to try and stop my 'to read' pile getting any bigger, so I have to start working through all the books I've picked up that I haven't got round to yet. A Confederacy of Dunces is on there, Currently reading the Terry Pratchett biography (interesting, but Pratchett himself doesn't always come across that well in some of the stories) and The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, which is a fantasy-and-dragons novel with some more excellent world-building that grabs you very quickly. That one's been on the pile for about two years but she's about to release the sequel so I thought it was time to get up to date.

Edited January 18, 2023 by HarmonicGenerator

[Keith Houchen]

51 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

One of my aims for this year is to try and stop my 'to read' pile getting any bigger

We both know that isn’t going to happen! I saw a quote about not getting new books because you have loads to read is like a wine enthusiast not buying any bottles of wine because they still have ones to drink. 
 

 

56 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

. A Confederacy of Dunces is on there

Ignacious is such a great literary creation. He’s an unemployable unlikable man who thinks he is morally and intellectually superior to everyone and holds them all in contempt for not acknowledging him as their better, but for some reason or other I really like him!

[Carbomb]

20 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

Ignacious is such a great literary creation. He’s an unemployable unlikable man who thinks he is morally and intellectually superior to everyone and holds them all in contempt for not acknowledging him as their better, but for some reason or other I really like him!

Well, I checked Wiki for a précis of the book, and it took me down a rabbit-hole, as Wiki does, because I had to know what a "picaresque" novel meant.

I found out numerous things, including that Don Quixote is considered a picaresque, and that there was a whole period of Spanish literature when the genre was particularly fashionable, of which Cervantes was only one notable author.

And now I also want to read The Golden Ass by Apulius, which is considered the original picaresque, and is apparently the one that almost all others take inspiration from - and, coincidentally, is also the only Latin-language Roman novel to survive in entirety.

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

[Just Some Guy]

7 hours ago, hallicks said:

I received A Psalm for the wild built by Becky Chambers for Christmas, a novella so only took me a few train journeys to get through. The story is interesting enough, a nice take on sentient AI/robots, but what I really love about it is the exploration of what humanity could be in a post-capitalist/super advanced tech world. It makes you hopeful and optimistic but without laying anything on too thick.

 

The sequel, A crown for the prayer shy is also wonderful. I also heartily recommend To be taught, if fortunate.

If anyone fancies a bleaker bit of speculative fiction, I'd point you to We shall sing a song into the deep by Andrew Kelly Stewart. Imagine a Christan death cult aboard a nuclear sub.

I've blitzed Mick Herron's Slough House books. Very good for espionage fans.

Gone through one of my semi regular Cthulhu Mythos phases but as usual the short story format burns me out.

I'm faking intelligence at the moment by reading Ancestors by Professor Alice Roberts. I do like a history book aimed at the layman.

[Daaaaaad!]

Based on an extract I'd read before, I've started to read 'Man and Boy' by Tony Parsons, which was a Christmas present I requested. Really enjoyed its perspective on a dad forced to confront his failings as a parent when he makes a poor decision that causes him to become a single father, especially as a man in my mid thirties with a toddler son at a similar age to the protagonist.

I was, of course, gutted to then discover after the fact that the author is in fact a massive Tory, but I've still been enjoying the story nonetheless.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Daaaaaad!