True Grit by Charles Portis on my kindle
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What ya reading? Return of the occasional STW book club thread...
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Posted 7 months ago #
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Snow - Orhan Pamuk (translated from Turkish to English by Maureen Freely)
A novel set in the Turkish city of Kars. An opening (and recurring) theme concerns reasons behind a suicide epidemic among teenage girls (which actually took place in the city of Batman)..
Heavy snow cuts off the town for about three days during which time Ka (a poet and journalist investigating the suicides) is in conversation with a former communist, a secularist, a fascist nationalist, a possible Islamic extremist, Islamic moderates, young Kurds, the military, the Secret Service, the police and in particular, an actor-revolutionary. In the midst of this, love and passion are to be found. Temporarily closed off from the world, a farcical coup is staged and linked melodramatically to a stage play. The main discussion concerns the interface of secularism and belief but there are references to all of Turkey's twentieth century history.
It's quite compelling, humorous, and good for lulling me to sleep in the evenings
Posted 7 months ago # -
Have just had a run on Harlan Coben books. Will definitely be reading some more of those!
Have now just started lord of the rings, have seen the films but never read the book so thought I should
Posted 7 months ago # -
I'm at a bit of a loss trying to find something decent having finished the Flashman series.
Try Julian Rathbone's historical stuff - Kings of Albion, The Last English King, Mutiny and a few others. I thought they were very good indeed.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Just finished Reamde by Neal Stephenson. A massive story about gold farming, Russian organised crime, jihadists and online role plying games. Tremendous.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Just started on Rebreast by Jo Nesbo too which was recommended to me after finishing and really enjoying the Millenium trilogy.
Posted 7 months ago # -
It's a little bit shoddy in places and the author keeps the plot flowing with a few too many convenient happenings for my liking, but overall not too bad. Apparently Ridley Scott has snapped up the film rights too, and I reckon it would make a decent one in an "early Cold War Russian Jason Bourne" type affair.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Just finished The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry and started The Liar also by him. Not read either before, pretty decent.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Just finished the Stalin Epigram by Robert Littell, he of The Company fame. Very good - if you like Bernard Cornwell I think you'll like it. Puts across the 1930's Stalin era in a very believable and scary way. The Company is just superb, so I'm going to find more of his...
Posted 7 months ago # -
The City and the City is great. Read it on the Eurostar last year and couldn't put it down.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Reading this:
http://www.pulitzer.org/works/2011-General-Nonfiction"The Emperor of Maladies", by Siddartha Mukherjee. A history of cancer and its treatment. Its a brilliant read.
I have "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel to get into next, and should finish "Blood's a Rover" by James Ellroy soonish.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Just read the first one of Erikson's Malazan books - very good, in an amps up to 11, Ima dungeons and dragons the shit out of you, style. World-building the best I've read for a long time - I can see why they're so popular. I'm in for the rest of the series (another nine of them I think!).
[Mieville is a good reference point for Malazan - interesting to compare the two styles].I bought Franzen's last opus, but my wife has filched it to read. Might go for the latest Stephenson that Riksbar mentions - thought his last one was bang on form.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Finished 'White Mughals' by William Dalrymple last night. Read it back to back with his later book 'The Last Mughal' during/after a trip to India earlier in the year. Both excellent, but the former edges it.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate
It's early days but I think I'll enjoy it: heavy, Russian, battles, lots of characters.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Try Julian Rathbone's historical stuff - Kings of Albion, The Last English King, Mutiny and a few others. I thought they were very good indeed.
I read Last English King a few years ago, it's in my all time top 10 and a defo re-reader.
Maybe you'd like Grave's I Claudius, similar dysfunctional family intrigues, better to read than on the TV, which was a bit dry. If it's for action, try Gale's 4 Days in June, a near blow by blow account of the battle of Waterloo from several personal perspectives. Gripping.
Posted 7 months ago # -
i have
the only problem is that i have yet to read them 
Posted 7 months ago # -
I couldn't give a monkeys for Guns N Roses or the music of the Slash fella.. (not since about 3 months after Appetite For Destruction was released) but I'd be interested to see how he measures up in the rock n roll heavyweight stakes.. especially after such a swaggering title..
Keefs book is a very interesting and informative read..
Posted 7 months ago # -
Currently the Vivisector by Patrick Whyte, which is very good. I'll then be moving on to Underworld by James Ellroy.
Posted 7 months ago # -
Snow - Orhan Pamuk
I loved My Name is Red.
Posted 7 months ago #
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