What Are You Reading?

[Tiki_Wakka 11]

I tried "how the dead live" again and I can't get into it. It's not entertaining and I don't feel I'm learning anything, it's going back! Not saying he aint a legend though, he still da man.

[Lann 10,846]

The Mrs suggest I read this book, then its probably a good book for you as well!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0769XK7D6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_MTbCBb3CHBTM0

Edited August 12, 2018 by Lann

[Ultramoorine 64]

Huge WarHammer40k fan here. I’m in the middle of Book 33, War Without End, of the Horus Heresy. 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Ultramoorine

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

Damn, I forgot about this topic it’s been so long  

Guess I should add something.  A few of the best books I’ve read this year:

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro -  A fantastic book about a butler with the weekend off who goes to meet the old housekeeper, who used to work for him, to ask her to come back.  Along the way he reminisces about his life of servitude, and his old master, who got embroiled up with the Nazis before WW2 and was then shunned after the war.  Wonderfully written, the voice of the main character is so strong and fully formed, and his almost cold seeming stoicness becomes heartbreaking by the end.

The World of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse - a collection of all (I think) of the Jeeves short stories.  Also about a butler, this is tonally so different from The Remains of the Day.  It’s light, fluffy and inconsequential.  Full of silly characters doing silly things, with the ever present gentleman’s gentleman, Jeeves there to solve everyone’s problems.  I also can’t help but picture Fry and Laurie in the roles as I read, which makes it even better.

Tough Tough Toys for Tough Tough Boys by Will Self - another collection of short stories, this one by one of my favourite writers.  They are all darkly comic stories about crack dealers, babies who only speak business German, peadophiles entering a writing contest, and a man who develops a more meaningful relationship with insects than his girlfriend, amongst others.  Self is an acquired taste, quite hard to get into, but once you do you’re in for a hell of a ride.

 

[djw180 7,005]

On ‎8‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 2:27 PM, LimeGreenLegend said:

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro -  A fantastic book about a butler with the weekend off who goes to meet the old housekeeper, who used to work for him, to ask her to come back.  Along the way he reminisces about his life of servitude, and his old master, who got embroiled up with the Nazis before WW2 and was then shunned after the war.  Wonderfully written, the voice of the main character is so strong and fully formed, and his almost cold seeming stoicness becomes heartbreaking by the end

 

That's on my ever increasing "must get round to reading this one day" list. I love the film version.

I'm currently reading a biography of Freddy Mercury "Somebody to Love" which my sister bought me at Christmas. Even though I am massive Queen fan I would never have bought it myself as I'm not that into biographies. But it's a really good read. Lots of information I never knew about him particularly from the early and pre-Queen days. It also includes a lot on HIV/AIDs, how it got started and spread and what the authorities did, or rather didn't do to help.

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

I’ve never seen the film but it must be good if it stars Anthony Hopkins and is based on the book, which I can’t recommend enough.

I think my dad has the same book, he’s not a reader but a massive Queen fan, I’ll have a look for it next time I’m around.  You seen the trailers for the Queen film yet @djw180?

[Con 5,719]

3 hours ago, djw180 said:

 Lots of information I never knew about him particularly from the early and pre-Queen days. It also includes a lot on HIV/AIDs, how it got started and spread and what the authorities did, or rather didn't do to help.

Truly is amazing how the AIDS epidemic was handled at the start. All the homophobes in authority, the USA took it lightly because it was a disease of the gay. I mean, Ronald Reagan’s first AIDS press conference was more of a stand-up set than a press conference, and yes you can Google it.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Con

[Con 5,719]

I must confess....I do not read any books. I think the last book I read was:

 

I'm more into reading magazines and medical journals. Currently I'm reading:

These articles were very interesting....

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/raging-controversy-border-began-100-years-ago-180969343/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/epic-quest-ride-worlds-biggest-wave-180969351/

Also have this to read next:

 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Con

[djw180 7,005]

18 hours ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

I’ve never seen the film but it must be good if it stars Anthony Hopkins and is based on the book, which I can’t recommend enough.

I think my dad has the same book, he’s not a reader but a massive Queen fan, I’ll have a look for it next time I’m around.  You seen the trailers for the Queen film yet @djw180?

I have now! It looks great. I hadn't kept up with what has happening, last I had heard before now was when Sacha Baron Cohen pulled out.

[Guest]

Finally found this thread.. just finished Madhouse; A Suspenseful Horror by Miguel Estrada. Genre is Horror Fiction.

Next on my Kindle is Autumn Sky by Helen Pryke. ?

[p33t0 26]

Currently working my way through The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy at night and listening to Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky on my commute to work. Both have been excellent so far??

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

44 minutes ago, p33t0 said:

Currently working my way through The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy at night and listening to Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky on my commute to work. Both have been excellent so far??

I've read All The Pretty Horses, absolutely brilliant.  Haven't read the other two yet but am planning on doing it sometime this year.

[Fido_le_muet 5,198]

Millenium 5 but I'm gonna start The Expanse soon ! 

[Danielle 3,007]

I'm currently making my way through the Outlander books on audible. I never have time to sit and read so listening at work has been great for me. I'm only on book 2 and there's at least 7 of them so I have a while to go. If anyone is a fan of norse mythology I recommend American Gods and Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, both are fantastic books.

[djw180 7,005]

I am re-reading (always re-read good books eventually) Time and Chance by Sharron Penman. It's historical fiction, probably my favourite genre. The 2nd part of her trilogy about Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century King & Queen of England as well as Duke & Duchess of about half of France). 

[Spinnaker1981 974]

1 hour ago, djw180 said:

I am re-reading (always re-read good books eventually) Time and Chance by Sharron Penman. It's historical fiction, probably my favourite genre. The 2nd part of her trilogy about Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century King & Queen of England as well as Duke & Duchess of about half of France). 

try this one, then...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1140942.Equador

 

[Guest]

Just finished a short story (I was under the impression that it was going to be a longer read) called "Autumn Sky" by Helen Pryke. 

[djw180 7,005]

Holiday reading.

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caeser -  Tom Holland.

Non fiction book about the beginnings of the Roman Empire, as opposed to the Roman Republic. It's essentially a brief biography of emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. They all got to power by murdering or benefiting from the murder of their predecessor and mostly carried on with murdering anyone else who may have challenged them. Nero's my "favourite" psychopath. He succeeded his step father, who was murdered by his wife, i.e. Nero's mother. He had his step brother killed, blaming it on a epileptic fit. He exiled, divorced and finally executed his first wife, who was also his step sister. He tried to kill off his mother, rumoured to be his lover but the author contests that, in a specially designed collapsible boat. But she survives and tries to carry on as if it were all an accident, so now Nero just sends soldiers to kill her properly. Later after an argument with his new, pregnant, wife he apparently kicked her to death, but still genuinely mourned her and his unborn child claiming it wasn't his fault. He then tried to replace her with various look-a-likes and after no woman was close enough found a slave boy, had him castrated and dressed to look like his ex. What lovely people they all were!

 

Munich -  Robert Harris

Historical fiction based on the infamous Munich conference Hitler hosted in 1938 after which Britain's prime minister, Neville Chamberlin, claimed "Peace in our time". It's told from the point of view of two, fictitious, junior civil servants, one British and one German who both attend the conference. The German civil servant is part of a secret opposition group who want the conference to fail so that Britain and France declare war on Germany leading, they hope, to Hitler being overthrown by a German army fearing defeat. He gets information to the British civil servant, who tries to convince Chamberlin that Hitler has no intention of sticking to any deal made at the conference. But Chamberlin wants peace and is not going to change his mind. It's very interesting because Neville Chamberlin is generally seen very negatively as someone who appeased Hitler and was prepared to allow Austrians and Czechs and others to be sacrificed if that was what it took to avoid war. But what the book makes clear is just how strong public opinion was against another war only 20 years after the first world war. It also implies that because Chamberlin did not fight in the first world war, he was too old, he felt he could not ask others to go to war on his command. It makes clear how some British and French military leaders feared they couldn't win a war with Germany in 1938, so Chamberlin and the French president felt they had no choice but agree to peace for now whilst they built up their forces, but at the same time German and Italian leaders felt they weren't prepared for war yet either so they wanted to get a peace deal to give them time to re-arm.

Edited April 2, 2019 by djw180

[djw180 7,005]

I've just finished Tombland by CJ Sansom. A historical novel set in 1549, latest in series with lawyer Matthew Shardlake investigating crimes. This time a distant relative of the then future Elizabeth I is facing trial for the murder of his wife. It's fairly clear the man has been set up so other landowners can get his lands after he is hanged. But the whole story is against the back drop of rebellions that took place that summer with Shardlake eventually getting willingly involved with a rebel camp outside Norwich. The complaints that led to this were devaluing of the currency so many people could not afford to buy enough food to eat plus many of the aristocracy, and other land owners, evicting their tenant farmers to make more money just grazing sheep on the land.

A good book about a historical topic I had never heard of; the rebellions failed and I suppose get overshadowed by the English Civil war (Charles I vs Oliver Cromwell) a century later. It's quite long, 850 pages, but is worth it - if you like this sort of thing

Edited April 6, 2020 by djw180

[DavidCore89 7,404]

I only enjoy non-fiction. Usually stuff such as murder, police corruption, organised crime, abuse, etc. Anything quite dark and real. If it happened in Wales - I'm even more interested.

Also read a lot of boxing autobiographies.

The last book I finished was co-written by the father of a school friend, Patrick Doyle. I lived on the same street for a few years. I didn't know it existed, my sister found it in a charity shop and noticed the name, obviously I had to read it.

I thought it was a great read, although the level of physical and emotional abuse is undeniably shocking. A real heartfelt story of two brothers who couldn't please their evil mother no matter what they did - and they tried it all. Police, social services, doctors and their own father all failed the boys despite them having clear knowledge and records of what was going on.

This book takes you through their childhood and adulthood and really shows how something like this can have a huge impact on an entire lifetime.

Ireland's Sunday World newspaper once called her "Ireland's Most Evil Mum".

Edited April 6, 2020 by DavidCore89

[doubleg213 746]

I tend to be reading quite a few things in one go depending on my mood.

At the moment:

Bryant and May Off the Rails by Christopher Fowler.

Fairly light reading part of a series about a pair of old detectives (and their staff) who man the Peculiar Crimes Unit set up during the Second World War to handle cases that the Met don't cover. 

 

Vietnam - An Epic Tragedy by Max Hasting:

Pretty obvious based on the title, fairly recent Vietnam book covering from 1945 to 1975. A little different to most as it focuses on every side involved and is more concentrated on just highlighting how much of a cluster f*ck the whole thing was and it generally being a tragedy and a waste all around.

 

Alexander of Macedonia 356-353 B.C. by Peter Green:

Haven't actually started this just yet, I read the 1st edition quite a few years ago when I was at school and recently bought the more recent reprint. It's pretty chunky and in depth.

 

 

With uni I've not been getting as much chance for regular reading as in addition to the above I am also reading Tire and Vehicle Dynamics, Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals and various Fluid Mechanics books. Which are not fun!

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,293]

Currently reading Twelve Years a sl*ve by Solomon Northup.  It's his autobiographical account of how he was kidnapped, taken away from his family and sold into slavery, where he spent the following 12 years being sold from sl*ve-owner to sl*ve-owner, some of them actually compassionate people, the others more how you imagine sl*ve-owners to be.  It's both harrowing, as you would expect, but there's also a beauty in the way he writes, and how he never gave up hope, finding strength from the memories of his wife and child, and from all of the people he meets on his incredible journey who are in the same situation as him.  I'm about halfway through right now and it's been fantastic so far, highly recommended.  I've not seen the film yet, but will check it out when I'm done with the book.

I'm also reading Hitchcock/Truffaut, a transcript of the interview/conversation between young French filmmaker Francois Truffaut and one of his heroes, the legendary Alfred Hitchcock.  The interview was conducted in 1962, so they discussed Hitch's entire career from his silent movie days in the early 20s right up to his most well known film, Psycho, which released in 1960.  After his death, Truffaut added a final chapter where he talks about Hitch's final few films.  If you have any interest in film at all then you need to read this.  It's incredibly intimate, with Hitch openly talking about not only about his successes, but also his failures.  He's also not afraid to talk sh*t about other people too, calling out several people for being bad actors or writers.  Again, I'm about halfway through this, I'm up to the early 50s, but I've been engrossed the entire time, and the book is filled with gorgeous shots from all of his films as well as lots of behind the scenes photos, which I always love seeing.

Edited April 7, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend