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From the highbrow to the nostalgie de la bou: just finishing David Halpern's 'The Hidden Wealth of Nations' and re-reading Harry Thompson's biography of Peter Cook and dipping into Rabelais' 'Gargantua and Pantagruel'.
'The Three Musketeers' by Alexandre Dumas. Good fun.
not long since finished the girl with the dragon tattoo - thought it was poor, TBH
just finished "of mice and men" which was about the only affordable book i could find in NZ, $30-$40 a book seems a bit steep. so have ordered a load from amazon, even with 30 quid P&P it works out much cheaper.
oh and if you've not read of mice and men then i totally recommend it, funny, moving and also very sad.
Just finished Generation Kill by Evan Wright
Fantastic first hand account of the second Gulf War.
The boy in striped pyjamas.
Bad Science -
Cadel Evans' Autobiography.
Mercia and the Making of England. Superb.
I'm geting towards the end of 'We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families' by Philip Gourevitch. It's the second book about the Rwanda genocide that i've read, and i would recommend it to anyone with an interest in Africa and UN politics. I find it hard to get my head around the fact that this modern day genocide was allowed to happen when it could so easily have been stopped in it's tracks.
I'll probably move onto some lighter reading after i've finished it.
Gawain & the Green Knight (Simon Armitage update).
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not bad but not as good as the rave reviews suggest IMO. Almost finished.
Halfway through On Bullfighting by AL Kennedy.
Next up, the new DBC Pierre.
Just finished reading IT by Steven King. After 1300 pages I was a little underwhelmed by the ending...
Halfway through Bourne Identity which is great, and totally different to the film
Girl with the dragon tattoo is next on the pile
Enjoying some free classics on Kindle - reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes at the mo 🙂
It has taken me about 2 years to read "The Life and Times of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" by Laurence Stearne
The most bizzarre book I have ever read and that's saying something
Very hard work but strangely rewarding
Surf-Mat will laugh, but a Reacher novel by Lee Child. My mum gave it too me and I was so bored with Joel Rose's The Blackest Bird, that I grabbed it off the shelf one night. It's actually a good story building to quite a tense climax.
"Hard Way" is it's rather unoriginal title.
Next will be "Shakey" the Neil Young biography, as recommended by someone on STW 🙂
Kick ass the graphic novel.
I am on the second Millennium Trilogy book and I have to say its entertaining but a bit one dimensional and stereotypical. An easy read so I guess that's why its popular, but I am not chomping at the bit to read the third.
Best book I have read this year was Shantaram, I was sad when I finished it.
Bazzer
Just finished Brasyl by Ian McDonald - most enjoyable read. Now keeping an eye out for other stuff by him.
Seem to have an addiction to depressing existential Swedish crime novels at the moment.
Currently reading the Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo which is pretty dark but weirdly gripping so far.
Just finished "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson - very good but a bit weighty in hardback! Parallel worlds type thing in his typical beautifully descriptive and immersive style, not quite as good as the Baroque Cycle but still excellent.
Now reading "Shades of Grey" by Jasper Fforde - I think its his best work to date and am now eagerly awaiting the next in the series.
'How not to run a club' by Peter Hook, v. amusing and my first Kindle book.
nowt... just finished 're-heated cabbage' by Irvine Welsh..
very droll.. I'd recommend it
Sprocket Jockey - I've just ordered all ten Martin Beck books off a well known auction site after getting a tasted for Scandinavian crime-angst over the summer, wish they'd hurry up and get here!
At the moment though I'm reading a seemingly interminable debate about whether or not we as cyclists should wear helmets. Same old hackneyed characters, using the same old tired arguments, pops up almost daily on here - had to pop in here for light relief before finishing.
Got a few on the go as I usually do.
Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon, very weird but very good, dipping in and out.
Sabbath's Theater - Philip Roth, nearly finished, again, pretty bizarre
Let my people go surfing - Yvon Chouinard, a little sanctimonious at times but overall inspirational stuff for a small business owner in the outdoor industry.
Infinite Jest is one of my favourite books of all time, probably the greatest fiction written in the last 20 years - good call verbal kint.
Dirt music is brilliant no teeth, as is most of Winton's stuff. For another excellent Aussie read check out Peter Temple - The Broken Shore one of my favourite crime books of all time.
simonralli2 - Member
Well if anyone wants to read my dissertation on natural plant hallucinogens, you can download a free copy via my blog
sr2 - are you by any chance Carlos Castaneda? I do hope not!
All the Flashman novels are great.
Roumeli by Patrick Leigh Fermor (again) is my current book - I've just been to some of the places he talks about, so it's even more interesting to me. (I think that ALL of PLF's books are excellent - for me, he's the world's greatest living travel writer, a title which William Dalrymple will inherit eventually - PLF's 95 years old and may he live as long as he wants to!)
a title which William Dalrymple will inherit eventually
really enjoyed In Xanadu a few yr ago
In Xanadu was excellent. Have you tried his later books? I loved them. City of Djinns is both funny and erudite.
i think I also enjoyed the Patrick Leigh Fermor trilogy where he walks from somewhere in England to wherever - perhaps I didn't complete the trilogy - in fact the only title I can remember is 'Between the woods and the water'......
anyway I've also been on a hideously fashionable Scandinavian Crime spree - starting with Mr Mankell - then on to the Millenium Trilogy - 2/3rds through the last one - they've been ok/goodish - then on to Jo Nesbo and I've enjoyed them.....
and pointers for which way next in the ScandoKrimefest.???
...think I tried an Indridarson...not sure if that lit my fire....
Picked up 'Making History' by Stephen Fry. Ok so far.
andy_hamgreen - as per post above, check out the Martin Beck series and see where Mankell got his inspiration.
Anyone else into Don Winslow?
"The Winter of Frankie Machine" is a great surf-noir crime caper - bit like Carl Hiassen, "Power of the Dog" is completely different - quite a heavyweight saga about the Mexican drug trade partly based on real life events. Brilliant book.
Oh yes - and any crime fiction fan has GOT to read David Peace's Red Riding series. Fantastically dark and murky.
Julian
No - Castaneda was a plagiarist and fraud - my writings for real 🙂
Private Eye, Racecar Engineering, D-Day by Antony Beevor.
benman - MemberJust finished reading IT by Steven King. After 1300 pages I was a little underwhelmed by the ending...
Same as every other Stephen King book then. - Great story ...rubbish ending!
Just started Slash's Autobiography, and I'm loving it so far.
SprokJok - thanks for that - may well plump for that Martin Beck series of 10 (bit of a bummer if you don't like the first one though 🙂 ) - I also have the following Skandos jotted down on a scrappy bit of paper :
Karin Fossum
Gunnar Staalesen
Anne Holt
Hakkan Nesser
Lisa Marklund
Helene Tursten
Ake Edwardson
Karin Alvtegen
any thoughts on them ?