So what Books are forumites currently reading?

YeehaaMcgee

jndb72 wrote:

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Reading Steven King's "The Stand".
It's ok, I guess. I was expecting a bit more from such a well known author though.

Read this many years ago. I then also read the extended version. Though it was a brilliant read.

I'm on the "extended" rerelease.
The thing that's annoying me about it is that he seems to feel the need to describe, and offer a simile for everything.
I'm paraphrasing, but... She walked past a garden hose, it's contents spurting forth like a light june mist on a summer's breeze, she thought back to misty mornings in her childhood, yadayadayada.

Now, that's ok and all, but not for every single action that a person makes. Once I picked up on it, it just kept bugging the hell out of me.

jndb72

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

jndb72 wrote:

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Reading Steven King's "The Stand".
It's ok, I guess. I was expecting a bit more from such a well known author though.

Read this many years ago. I then also read the extended version. Though it was a brilliant read.

I'm on the "extended" rerelease.
The thing that's annoying me about it is that he seems to feel the need to describe, and offer a simile for everything.
I'm paraphrasing, but... She walked past a garden hose, it's contents spurting forth like a light june mist on a summer's breeze, she thought back to misty mornings in her childhood, yadayadayada.

Now, that's ok and all, but not for every single action that a person makes. Once I picked up on it, it just kept bugging the hell out of me.

I suppose that one of the elements I enjoyed about it. The actual detail of the story. Could almost picture myself being there...in the midst of the story. Very vivid in places.

stubs

Just started Hilldiggers by Neal Asher. Someone on here put me onto Neal Asher I cant remember who but thank you I absolutely love the books only got about 5 to read now.

t0pc4t

I thought Hilldiggers was Ok but not his best

the 3 spatterjay books though, man, I loved those.

His new series (the 'owner' books) seems promising, I read the first and really quite liked it

stubs

Got the Spatterjay books on my shelf waiting for me to get to them. Havent got any Owner books yet I feel a visit to Amazon is going to be next.

t0pc4t

read Spatterjay and the Agent Cormac series first before you start on the owner series, not least as he's completed the Agent Cormac books and Spatterjay but he's still writing the Owner series.

Barrelmaker

I'm a fan of epic fantasy. A song of ice and fire is currently up to date, i'll just have to wait for another 5 years for the winds of winter. I have just finished Joe Abercrombies First Law trilogy and i have just this day started on the Riftwar saga of novels by Raymond Feist, so far so good.

anj132

It's not about the bike.

What a truly inspiring story.

kieranb

Oh I see an add for a new Ian Banks book! I might get it but whilst I have read and really liked most of his books (both Fiction and Sci-Fi) I was disappointed by his last few books and although I started to read them I didn't finished them.

Northwind

I hear this one is better. He's kinda lost it IMO but Surface Detail did have some good stuff.

t0pc4t

I heard about that off a mate. I'll definitely check it but got that China chap to read first. My wife writes reviews for an urban fantasy blog and occasionally gets Ian M Banks sent free (no idea why as they don't review sci fi) so I'm sort of hoping it turns up in the post

grandad3

'Reputations' by the Open University, cos I'm doing a history degree :?

kieranb

Northwind wrote:

I hear this one is better. He's kinda lost it IMO but Surface Detail did have some good stuff.

oh, thanks, I will check the web for some reviews then, but no hurry as currently reading 3 books with more on the waiting list.

Richie63

After reading about Perdido Street Station I went out and kindled it.

nearly done - loving it will get some more.

Ouija

Richie63 wrote:

After reading about Perdido Street Station I went out and kindled it.

nearly done - loving it will get some more.

Read that and Kraken. Gotta say, wont be reading anything else of his. Seems like a bit of an ideas guy. In that he sits around and thinks up cool ideas and concepts but rights boring characters you couldn't give a monkeys about and prose that's a bit long winded and tedious to slog through. Complete opposite of a writer like Chris Woodings, who's prose is perfunct and keeps you on the edge of your seat and writes genuinely engaging characters and books that you almost don't want to end.

Time.to.ride

Hey all im currently reading two books, first is Twilight series, and i am reading Chris Hoy's Bio as well

t0pc4t

I also kindled Perdido Street Station and am going to read it once i have finished the last Game Of Thrones, two different takes on it here which is interesting, I'll report my thoughts!

CommyAdam

Just finished The Great Gatsby (been meaning to read it for years...) and thought it was amazing but that the ending is very strange, it just sortve....ended. I presumed i was about halfway through when i noticed it was the last chapter.

Thinking of continuing the American Classics and going for Catch-22 as i've never read that either, anyone recommend it?

If you want something a bit more non-fiction and hard-hitting i reccomend 'The Shadow World:Inside the Global Arms Trade', by Andrew Feinstein - fascinating look at the arms trade around the world. Originally read for my degree but now its something i come back to pretty often...

i'm also getting into autobiographies (my favourite books were/are/used to be lance armstrongs...) and would reccomend Hitch-22, amazing story of Hitchens life, wish i'd done/will do half the things he has...

YeehaaMcgee

Just finished reading Stephen King's "The Stand" (extended re-release).
Wow.
I was expecting something impressive given the popularity, but there's just no story worth telling here. Every scene, every description, every action is overly wordy, and the events that unfold have ultimately no impact.
If some force of "good" sends men over to deal with a situation, then at least make their lenghty journey worthwhile, don't just end it with a coincidental event that could have and would have happened anyway.

I can't actually think of anything positive to say about it.
Bloody terrible.

lostboysaint

Reading the Graham Hurley "DI Joe Faraday" books in sequence at the moment. I'm about halfway through. I like them because Portsmouth is the city closest to where I was brought up so I recognise all the settings (and most of the characters if the truth were known!).

stubs

CommyAdam wrote:

Thinking of continuing the American Classics and going for Catch-22 as i've never read that either, anyone recommend it?

I have read Catch 22 4 times over 30 years and everytime I read it I find something new in it. Its not for everyone but well worth the read. If you want to read some American Classics I can reccomend anything by John Steinbeck particulary Grapes Of Wrath if it doesnt make you angry about poverty then you didnt read it. Also try Raymond Chandler, Margaret Atwood and Willa Carther three totally different authors but brilliant in there own way.

YeehaaMcgee

"their"

Ahem.

Proutster

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

"their"

Ahem.

Pedant

YeehaaMcgee

I know, but this is a thread based around literature, eh?

Proutster

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

I know, but this is a thread based around literature, eh?

Good point, well put. It also takes one to know one - I have to stop myself correcting all bad spelling and grammar, think it's borderline OCD :oops:

YeehaaMcgee

You mean CDO?
It's like OCD, but the letters are in the correct alphabetical order.

stubs

Watch it' or I wil'l start' putting Grocers' appostrophe's everywher'e

YeehaaMcgee

stubs wrote:

Watch it' or I wil'l start' putting Grocers' appostrophe's everywher'e

Keep making jokes if you will, the rest of us will just talk behind your back about you being an illiterate prick.

Lagrange

An accountant reccommended a book called Shantaram because it included observations on Indian culture. Turns out to be 930 pages of an Australian jailbreaker who joins the Mafia in India and then goes to fight in Afghanistan. Some of the true bits are excruciating and some of the fake bits are quite good. It is a big adventure story that accountants like.

YeehaaMcgee

What does it have to do with accountants?