what are you reading?

stealthbanana · Post by **stealthbanana** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:12 pm 0

Just finishing off all of Raymond Feist, then I think its time to re-read Tom Sharpe again.

One of the few authors that I actually have to laugh out loud while reading.

gravy · Post by **gravy** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:13 pm 0

Just started 2 novels and got hardly any distance through them at all as yet:

In Cold Blood : A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences by Truman Capote

A Perfect Spy by John LeCarre

Got a dirty big load of plane flight in the next week so let's hope that one of them sticks

/morten · Post by **/morten** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:59 pm 0

currently reading the second edition of "Code Complete" and Stephen Kings "Cell"

both very enjoyable books

grue · Post by **grue** » Mon May 08, 2006 7:01 pm 0

stealthbanana wrote:Just finishing off all of Raymond Feist, then I think its time to re-read Tom Sharpe again.

One of the few authors that I actually have to laugh out loud while reading.

I only read the Magician trilogy. Are the rest any good?

TwistedScrote · Post by **TwistedScrote** » Mon May 08, 2006 9:17 pm 0

I think its time to re-read Tom Sharpe again.

Oh blimey... I forgot all about Tom Sharpe!

Hmmm.. he did a couple of books based on a corrupt police force in south africa.. I larfed my face off reading those...!

Time to hunt them down!

Kemper_Boyd · Post by **Kemper_Boyd** » Mon May 08, 2006 9:51 pm 0

gravy wrote:In Cold Blood : A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences by Truman Capote

That's a brilliant book, one of my all time favourites.

spinlizard · Post by **spinlizard** » Tue May 09, 2006 12:28 am 0

Re-reading Weaveworld by Clive Barker. Intricate blend of fantasy and horror. Really enjoying it again.

Was reading Lord of the Rings. Gave up in the end after getting about a quarter of the way into the 3rd book. Am I the only one who thinks this trilogy is a great piece of imagination, but not terribly well written? It turned into a chore for me to read.

DarkElf · Post by **DarkElf** » Tue May 09, 2006 2:05 pm 0

Reading, Ludlum's Bourne Supremacy, with Banana Yoshimoto 's Furin to Nanbei (the italian title is Piccola Ombra) waiting in the lane. I just ordered Bourne Ultimatum (the third chapter) and Nightwatch from Luk'janenko, I've got the sequel, DayWatch covered in dust while waiting for the first piece of the trilogy...

stealthbanana · Post by **stealthbanana** » Tue May 09, 2006 6:04 pm 0

TwistedScrote wrote:
I think its time to re-read Tom Sharpe again.
Oh blimey... I forgot all about Tom Sharpe!

Hmmm.. he did a couple of books based on a corrupt police force in south africa.. I larfed my face off reading those...!

Time to hunt them down!

Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure, very funny.

And Grue, yes, The rest of Feist is as good, all (mostly) set in the same universe, and continueing on, so you get to find out if Jimmy the Hand does get to be Duke of Krondor or not.

grue · Post by **grue** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 10:59 pm 0

American Tabloid - James Elroyd

Great reading. And Kember Boyd is in it

mutantcamel · Post by **mutantcamel** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:08 pm 0

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang.

It's part biography and part history of China from 1900, and bloody brilliant with it, interesting to see how historical events and figures manage to criss-cross each other through the years. For example, the author recounts in one chapter how she used to have some of her meals cooked by the stepmother of Deng Xiaopeng.

What sets it apart from other books that I've read is that the stories are so personal, obviously from first hand accounts. When you read passages about the famine during The Great Leap Forward, it seems to be more real, somehow. A short description of foot-binding at the start of the book almost made me feel physically sick. The most gripping part is when the Cultural Revolution kicks off, the author dosen't shy away from feeling that she wanted to devote herself to Mao and communism - at the age of fourteen.

Orava · Post by **Orava** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:11 pm 0

The Oxford Book of Travel Stories - Patricia Craig

TheGoodbyeGirl · Post by **TheGoodbyeGirl** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:14 pm 0

mutantcamel wrote:Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang.

It's part biography and part history of China from 1900, and bloody brilliant with it, interesting to see how historical events and figures manage to criss-cross each other through the years. For example, the author recounts in one chapter how she used to have some of her meals cooked by the stepmother of Deng Xiaopeng, and the feeling of wanting to devote herself to Mao and communism at the age of thirteen during the Cultural Revolution.

I have read that, awsome, try Red Azalea by Anchee Min, similar type book.

Rod_S · Post by **Rod_S** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:15 pm 0

Loving this so far, if I'm reading a novel I prefer it to be based in London and Arnott is one of the most skilled London novelists I've read. This is the Sweeny cross bred with Pulp Fiction, I suppose.

I'm about half-way through this, very much an eye-opener that's helping me to understand the fanaticism and dedication of radical Islamists. Terrifying, but a worthy education which paints a very different picture of the Al-Q that we're used to seeing on the news.

Kemper_Boyd wrote:
gravy wrote:In Cold Blood : A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences by Truman Capote
That's a brilliant book, one of my all time favourites.

Yep, Capote's best I reckon.

_TinOmen_ · Post by **_TinOmen_** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:42 pm 0

Bret Easton Ellis: "Lunar park".
Begins very promising. This guy can really write.