Topic: Books! The "What are you reading?" thread

[Parky]

After avoiding Americans for a long time, I have found myself over the last couple of years being drawn into:

Don Delilo
Brett Easton Ellis.


Looney Park is very unnerving.

[benarentoft]

Don't know much about American writing myself.I think I once read some Ellis,but can't remember it.Delilo?Any good?Looney Park - a metaphor for SJP?!

I've been trying,when work allows,to read Pilger's The New Rulers of the World recently but holiday reading it ain't,so I'm looking for something lighter to put in my suitcase.That's what drew me to this thread!

[DJ_NUFC]

Douglas Adams - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Hermann Hesse - Siddhartha

George Orwell - 1984 (if you haven't read it, what have you been doing?)

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude

I'm looking to pick up Truman Capote's In Cold Blood sometime in the next decade.

[Nicos Papavasiliou]

I never read now. Same reason I never write anything for the site or do any uni work till about 20 minutes before hand in: cos I'm a lazy f***ing b****** who doesn't seem able to shake himself into anything or concentrate on anything for longer than 10 minutes.

Annoying tbh.

f***ing hell that sounds exactly like me, if you ever find out it's because of a disease, or something, let me know.

Laziness is not so much a disease as a character flaw.   

Still, Shola has managed to do ok for himself with it.

[madras]

the age of reason gets a couple of mentions,is this sartres (sounds like it given parky's description of the cover--picassos's "weeping woman"),hope you read the others in the series "the reprieve and "iron in the soul".also  "nausea" is a good rerad if into that sort of thing.try also camus "the outsider"

haruki murakami's "wind up bird chronicle" and "norwegian wood" are both quite leftfield but probably the best ones for anyone starting into murakami.

will selfs books are canny if you are struggling for a 3rd in a 3 for 2 type scenario.

not fiction but norman davies "the isles"(social and political history of the british isles)is a must read,any of antony beevors books,john simpsons are quite entertaining,and harry pearsons "the far corner" is the funniest football book ever,set up here aswell.

[indi]

the age of reason gets a couple of mentions,is this sartres (sounds like it given parky's description of the cover--picassos's "weeping woman"),hope you read the others in the series "the reprieve and "iron in the soul".also "nausea" is a good rerad if into that sort of thing.try also camus "the outsider"

haruki murakami's "wind up bird chronicle" and "norwegian wood" are both quite leftfield but probably the best ones for anyone starting into murakami.

will selfs books are canny if you are struggling for a 3rd in a 3 for 2 type scenario.

not fiction but norman davies "the isles"(social and political history of the british isles)is a must read,any of antony beevors books,john simpsons are quite entertaining,and harry pearsons "the far corner" is the funniest football book ever,set up here aswell.

The Age of Reason, I'm on about is Tom Paine's one.

See here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0486433935/qid=1141038458/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl/026-4220445-5550026

Or here, for an online version:

http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/thomas_paine/age_of_reason/

[Parky]

I was on about Sartre. Lovely cover. Yes I have read the others in the trilogy.
I have developed an illogical phobia about Murakami. Keep been given his books.
Well hidden.
I like Self, but a little too oft self congratulatory to gain my total devotion.
Lot of people have mentioned the Davies book.

[Aphrodite]

It's non-fiction, but I have to get this book into another literary thread cos it's so good!
The Far Corner by Harry Pearson.

[alex]

Self is incredibly clever but not the easiest person in the world to read. I've just read 'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates which is a sort of Great Gatsby for the late 50's/early 60's. All about the American suburban dream going sour. It's brilliantly executed and well worth a read.
Another couple of writers I've discovered lately are Richard Brautigan and Denis Johnson who write poetic but readable prose. Also, if you like realist stuff a la Bukowski I'd give John Fante a go.

[Nicos Papavasiliou]

I'm reading less and less fiction these days.  I read The Satanic verses to see what the fuss was about and it totally whooshed me.  Midnights Children on the other hand was a cracking read.

WRT Will Self, I quite liked How The dead Live, but can't imagine reading him again,  I did too much staring past the text getting through Great Apes.

The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe was great. As was The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon and My Little Blue Dress by Bruno Maddox.

[Nicos Papavasiliou]

And I forgot, if you are going to buy a load of books make sure to get them at the best price available by using this link...

http://www.find-book.co.uk/

 blueyes.gif

[alex]

Inicidentally, despite winning the Booker and being hailed as the new 'Catcher in the Rye', I wouldn't touch Vernon God Little with a barge pole.

[Nicos Papavasiliou]

Inicidentally, despite winning the Booker and being hailed as the new 'Catcher in the Rye', I wouldn't touch Vernon God Little with a barge pole.

 blueyes.gif

I agree.  Steaming turd.

[alex]

Inicidentally, despite winning the Booker and being hailed as the new 'Catcher in the Rye', I wouldn't touch Vernon God Little with a barge pole.

 blueyes.gif

I agree.  Steaming turd.

Apparently the shockingly bad ending is post-ironic and not just plain s****. Or something.

[NewcastleRocker]

Like the 1945 film 'The Woman in the Window'. Great film until the end.


That was offtopic, apologies.

[indi]

Life of Pi is really good and all.

[Nicos Papavasiliou]

Inicidentally, despite winning the Booker and being hailed as the new 'Catcher in the Rye', I wouldn't touch Vernon God Little with a barge pole.

 blueyes.gif

I agree.  Steaming turd.

Apparently the shockingly bad ending is post-ironic and not just plain s****. Or something.

I don't even remember the end, I can't imagine I'd have stopped reading, but all I remember is a load of unbelievable s*** about his mother getting it on with the reporter and her mates annoying him while he was on his way to clink.  It was just tedious.

[DJ_NUFC]

Life of Pi is really good and all.

T'was the greatest successful experiment in plagiarism ever executed wasn't it, if I recall the press correctly? After Martel won the Booker (or whatever award he clinched) he had to acknowledge that the story was based on another novel as the press was all over it, as the original book wasn't nearly as famous.

[indi]

Life of Pi is really good and all.

T'was the greatest successful experiment in plagiarism ever executed wasn't it, if I recall the press correctly? After Martel won the Booker (or whatever award he clinched) he had to acknowledge that the story was based on another novel as the press was all over it, as the original book wasn't nearly as famous.

Never knew that.

Still really enjoyed it anyway, having never read, or heard of, the original.

[Parky]

If you're going to steal, art is the best thing to nick.

[Jimburst]

erm, bill bryson books are always class, especially his science one (if you like that kind of thing)

"the parsifal mosaic" by robert ludlum is a good spy thriller.

[Parky]

I froth when I see someone with a BB book.
In my last job I had to endure a couple of girls reading extracts to each other at lunchtime. :violent5:

[walkerboy]

philip k dick
martyn millar
carl hiesen
iain m banks
iain banks
tom robbins
maya angelou
spike milligan

[benarentoft]

Maya Angelou,though an admirable old cob,cannot write poetry to save her life.She's an autobiographical speechifyer.

[Parky]

Love that word..."speechifyier". Marvelous.