Books you're currently reading??? - Page 57

piercehawkeye45 · 05-25-2007, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

I'm impressed with your staying power...

Thanks, I really like the first book so its only natural to go onto the sequel. After "My Ishmael" I don't know if I will read other books by Quinn or move onto the list of 10 or so books I have.

Quote:

Currently reading about 5 - my flat is such a mess I keep losing the ones I've started.

I tried four at once and that didn't work. I usually try to go one at a time, maybe two if one book isn't that interesting.

The Eschaton · 05-25-2007, 08:48 PM

I do the same thing. Usually three at once. 1 literature, 1 sci-fi and one non-fiction. Usually with the literature after a chapter or 2 i feel i just have to sit and absorb what i've read. Non fiction my eyes start to glaze over after few chapters. Than i usually go finish half the fiction book! :-) lol

wolf · 05-26-2007, 12:44 AM

I typically have two going at once ... one that I carry around, and one that I leave in the special reading room with the porcelain chair.

The book in the reading room is usually one with short segments that lends itself to intermittent reading. Currently I'm reading Mars and Venus in the Workplace.

The best book so far that I had for that kind of occasional reading was The Encyclopedia of Mystic Places ... had a page or two on all kinds of cool sites, both real and fabled, like Glastonbury Tor, Stonehenge, Atlantis, the Piri Reis Map, etc.

Urbane Guerrilla · 05-26-2007, 04:15 AM

Right now it's The Bomb, A Life by Gerard J. DeGroot. It's a look at how it "dominated the psyches of millions, becoming a touchstone of popular culture, celebrated or decried in mass political movements, films, songs, and books." That is, it's a social history of The Bomb.

He does bend over too far backward to give the Soviet Russians the benefit of any possible doubt, and such effort towards the US is not evident, but keeping this in mind allows one to gain much from the book.

Aliantha · 05-26-2007, 06:06 AM

Sunday...we have a copy of Suzannah's Song you could borrow.

Don't miss it. You'll love it. It was my favourite one of the dark tower series...well, kind of. Maybe not. They were all awesome although I found the first book a trudge. Ripped through the rest though.

Sundae · 05-28-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

um---is most of the stuff ya'll read Sci-Fi? None of the above books for the past 5-6 posts rings any bells...

Don't worry about not recognising the ones I mentioned - Graham Masterton writes middle-of-the-road horror, although as I said he turns a thought-provoking phrase from time to time. Also I guess he lived in England for a while - for an American author he has included some valid British episodes. This always pleases me, which I know is a little sad.

The Dark Tower series is horror/ fantasy by Stephen King rather than sci-fi. Although it is rambling enough to create it's own genre...

The only name you should have picked up on was Pynchon (as in Gravity's Rainbow), but as I hadn't read any of his books until I saw Mason Dixon in the charity shop I'm hardly one to point the fingerer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

I'm reading the memoirs of Laetitia Pilkington--a Lady of the 18th C... Really fascinating--this woman is completely relatable to a modern day reader. I feel sort of secure knowing that nothing really ever changes in this world.

Sounds great! I will look out for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Sunday...we have a copy of Suzannah's Song you could borrow.

Don't miss it. You'll love it. It was my favourite one of the dark tower series...well, kind of. Maybe not. They were all awesome although I found the first book a trudge. Ripped through the rest though.

If it's not too much to send (it will count as printed papers, but any shipping from Oz to here costs the earth) and you can spare it I'd love to borrow it! I'll keep looking in the charity shop, but PM me if you think it's viable - I'm about to start cataloguing my books for sale on eBay so if there's anything I have you want I'm happy to return the favour.

I'm loving theDark Tower so far - about halfway through the book and have just had a good cry. I won't say why in case anyone else is intending to read it, but you'll know why.

Cyclefrance · 05-28-2007, 05:08 PM

Hi SG - I suppose I'm a selective Stephen King fan - loved 'The Stand' and have read a couple of others by him (titles are in the loft/attic as I write, sorry). For SciFi, though, I like surreal Mr Robert Rankin - but there's no way he is anything like Stephen King - Rankin's an acquired taste - more of the 'if you like Marmite, then maybe' ilk....

Currently reading my fifth Mark Billingham - crime novelist - stories are usually based in London. I never read crime novels so he can't be that bad - latest is called 'Lifeless' and is set in the world of the homeless and rough sleepers.

Next in line, post Billingham, is/will be 'Londonstani' - written by a young Asian, Gautam Malkani. Written in current Asian youth-speak - looks like being a good read - one for the plane next week. Initial page-flicking felt a bit like when I picked up 'Clockwork Orange' all those years ago, before it was well known, and read the first page. Iain E Banks 'Feersom Engin' is another in that mode that springs to mind.

Bought Lifeless and Londonstani as two of a 'buy two, get one free' offer at W H Smith. The freebie is a Rankin 'The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse'..... (well I did say he was surreal). It's set in Toy City (used to be Toy Town, but it grew bigger), and the hero's a private eye, named Eddie Bear (I think you're getting the picture) - I'll let you know in due course....

Aliantha · 05-26-2007, 06:08 AM

I"m reading the second book in Ian Irvines 'mirror' series. I'm enjoying the story although I find his writing a little bit immature in style in some ways. It's a great story, but I don't get the same visual images as I get with other authors.

Trilby · 05-26-2007, 08:49 AM

um---is most of the stuff ya'll read Sci-Fi? None of the above books for the past 5-6 posts rings any bells...

I'm reading the memoirs of Laetitia Pilkington--a Lady of the 18th C. who was a close friend of Swift, was divorced by her Parson husband who was having an affair with an actress (the nerve!) but who divorced her on grounds that SHE was the adulterer, lost custody of her children, was so poor and hungry she very well MAY have prostituted herself to survive (the jury is out on whether she really did or not), wrote poems and ditties for other people who claimed them as their own (for cash) and was sent to Debtor's Prison for a two pound debt. Really fascinating--this woman is completely relatable to a modern day reader. I feel sort of secure knowing that nothing really ever changes in this world.

Urbane Guerrilla · 05-27-2007, 02:16 AM

I mean, really! This DeGroot (see post 840) visibly approved MAD over Reagan and SDI. Well, SDI f*#@n' BROKE the Soviets. Put that in your pipe, DeGroot. With the Soviet effort broken, nuclear tensions declined.

Sundae · 05-28-2007, 05:18 PM

Ooh - I've read Scaredycat!
I must write down his name (and Robert Rankin/ Gautim Malkani - hadn't heard of them). The only disadvantage of the charity bookshop is that it's so large. Therefore it's laid out as a proper bookshop, which is an advantage of course, but you need to remember author's names rather than relying on browsing.

I loved The Stand. Although I'm currently looking for a copy of Rose Madder - I read it when my (ex) husband and I were in Cuba and gave it away when we divorced because it reminded me so specifically of the time in my life. Now I'd quite like to read it again - just not enough to want to pay bookshop prices!

I'll let you know when I'm in Greenwich anyway - I'm hoping we can at least have a drink and a bookswap.

Cyclefrance · 05-29-2007, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

....I'm hoping we can at least have a drink and a bookswap.

Have to be a Sunday, girl....

Cyclefrance · 05-28-2007, 05:30 PM

Be careful with Rankin - choose the wrong one and you'll be put off him for life - The 3rd book in the Brentford Trilogy (9 books in total), 'The Brentford Triangle' is still my favourite, although I did quite enjoy his 'Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls' - same heroes in both books: Jim Pooley and John O'Malley. His Armageddon Trilogy is also quite good if you're into time-travelling Brussel Sprouts and firmly believe that Elvis Presley is alive and kicking.

Up to you now...

05-28-2007, 11:58 PM

Just got my first issue of The Smithsonian.

Aliantha · 05-29-2007, 01:58 AM

Sundae, I'll organize a copy for you. PM me your address and I'll get it in the post shortly.

05-25-2007, 08:48 PM	#2
The Eschaton Vivacious Vivisectionist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: The Future Posts: 36	I do the same thing. Usually three at once. 1 literature, 1 sci-fi and one non-fiction. Usually with the literature after a chapter or 2 i feel i just have to sit and absorb what i've read. Non fiction my eyes start to glaze over after few chapters. Than i usually go finish half the fiction book! :-) lol __________________ "All i say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed." - Montaigne

05-26-2007, 12:44 AM	#3
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I typically have two going at once ... one that I carry around, and one that I leave in the special reading room with the porcelain chair. The book in the reading room is usually one with short segments that lends itself to intermittent reading. Currently I'm reading Mars and Venus in the Workplace. The best book so far that I had for that kind of occasional reading was The Encyclopedia of Mystic Places ... had a page or two on all kinds of cool sites, both real and fabled, like Glastonbury Tor, Stonehenge, Atlantis, the Piri Reis Map, etc. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

05-26-2007, 04:15 AM	#4
Urbane Guerrilla Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,674	Right now it's The Bomb, A Life by Gerard J. DeGroot. It's a look at how it "dominated the psyches of millions, becoming a touchstone of popular culture, celebrated or decried in mass political movements, films, songs, and books." That is, it's a social history of The Bomb. He does bend over too far backward to give the Soviet Russians the benefit of any possible doubt, and such effort towards the US is not evident, but keeping this in mind allows one to gain much from the book. __________________ Wanna stop school shootings? End Gun-Free Zones, of course.

05-26-2007, 06:06 AM	#5
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	Sunday...we have a copy of Suzannah's Song you could borrow. Don't miss it. You'll love it. It was my favourite one of the dark tower series...well, kind of. Maybe not. They were all awesome although I found the first book a trudge. Ripped through the rest though. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

05-28-2007, 05:08 PM	#7
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	Hi SG - I suppose I'm a selective Stephen King fan - loved 'The Stand' and have read a couple of others by him (titles are in the loft/attic as I write, sorry). For SciFi, though, I like surreal Mr Robert Rankin - but there's no way he is anything like Stephen King - Rankin's an acquired taste - more of the 'if you like Marmite, then maybe' ilk.... Currently reading my fifth Mark Billingham - crime novelist - stories are usually based in London. I never read crime novels so he can't be that bad - latest is called 'Lifeless' and is set in the world of the homeless and rough sleepers. Next in line, post Billingham, is/will be 'Londonstani' - written by a young Asian, Gautam Malkani. Written in current Asian youth-speak - looks like being a good read - one for the plane next week. Initial page-flicking felt a bit like when I picked up 'Clockwork Orange' all those years ago, before it was well known, and read the first page. Iain E Banks 'Feersom Engin' is another in that mode that springs to mind. Bought Lifeless and Londonstani as two of a 'buy two, get one free' offer at W H Smith. The freebie is a Rankin 'The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse'..... (well I did say he was surreal). It's set in Toy City (used to be Toy Town, but it grew bigger), and the hero's a private eye, named Eddie Bear (I think you're getting the picture) - I'll let you know in due course.... __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears

05-26-2007, 06:08 AM	#8
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	I"m reading the second book in Ian Irvines 'mirror' series. I'm enjoying the story although I find his writing a little bit immature in style in some ways. It's a great story, but I don't get the same visual images as I get with other authors. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

05-26-2007, 08:49 AM	#9
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	um---is most of the stuff ya'll read Sci-Fi? None of the above books for the past 5-6 posts rings any bells... I'm reading the memoirs of Laetitia Pilkington--a Lady of the 18th C. who was a close friend of Swift, was divorced by her Parson husband who was having an affair with an actress (the nerve!) but who divorced her on grounds that SHE was the adulterer, lost custody of her children, was so poor and hungry she very well MAY have prostituted herself to survive (the jury is out on whether she really did or not), wrote poems and ditties for other people who claimed them as their own (for cash) and was sent to Debtor's Prison for a two pound debt. Really fascinating--this woman is completely relatable to a modern day reader. I feel sort of secure knowing that nothing really ever changes in this world. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

05-27-2007, 02:16 AM	#10
Urbane Guerrilla Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,674	I mean, really! This DeGroot (see post 840) visibly approved MAD over Reagan and SDI. Well, SDI f*#@n' BROKE the Soviets. Put that in your pipe, DeGroot. With the Soviet effort broken, nuclear tensions declined. __________________ Wanna stop school shootings? End Gun-Free Zones, of course.

05-28-2007, 05:18 PM	#11
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Ooh - I've read Scaredycat! I must write down his name (and Robert Rankin/ Gautim Malkani - hadn't heard of them). The only disadvantage of the charity bookshop is that it's so large. Therefore it's laid out as a proper bookshop, which is an advantage of course, but you need to remember author's names rather than relying on browsing. I loved The Stand. Although I'm currently looking for a copy of Rose Madder - I read it when my (ex) husband and I were in Cuba and gave it away when we divorced because it reminded me so specifically of the time in my life. Now I'd quite like to read it again - just not enough to want to pay bookshop prices! I'll let you know when I'm in Greenwich anyway - I'm hoping we can at least have a drink and a bookswap. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

05-28-2007, 05:30 PM	#13
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	Be careful with Rankin - choose the wrong one and you'll be put off him for life - The 3rd book in the Brentford Trilogy (9 books in total), 'The Brentford Triangle' is still my favourite, although I did quite enjoy his 'Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls' - same heroes in both books: Jim Pooley and John O'Malley. His Armageddon Trilogy is also quite good if you're into time-travelling Brussel Sprouts and firmly believe that Elvis Presley is alive and kicking. Up to you now... __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears

05-28-2007, 11:58 PM	#14
rkzenrage Guest Posts: n/a	Just got my first issue of The Smithsonian.

05-29-2007, 01:58 AM	#15
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	Sundae, I'll organize a copy for you. PM me your address and I'll get it in the post shortly. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

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