[Misc] What Book are you Currently Reading?

[Frutos]

As I suddenly have some time on my hands, I'm working through John Julius Norwich's full trilogy on the Byzantine Empire.

I've read the abridged single volume version multiple times, and a month or so ago I managed to get hold of the original trilogy (all out of print now) online.

I'm about two thirds of the way through Part 1, and am very much enjoying it. I love his ability to convey the information but in a very readable manner, with a light touch on occasions as well, quite a contrast to some of the very dry history books I've read by other authors.

 

[Palacefinder General]

In a panic 20 book borrow from my local library before they closed I got out various by Baladacci, CJ Box and one by Chris Ryan ‘Death List’ which, if you can ignore ridiculous lines like ‘His slit throat looked like a Chinaman’s smile’ is a decent read. Anyone else done any Chris Ryan? The only one of his I’d read before was his non-fiction ‘The One That Got Away.’

 

[BadFish]

Cured - The Tale of the Imaginary Boys - Lol Tolhurts

The story of The Cure told from Lol's point of view. Very interesting so far.

Also got these bad boys waiting in the wings

 

[Peteinblack]

Cured - The Tale of the Imaginary Boys - Lol Tolhurts

The story of The Cure told from Lol's point of view. Very interesting so far.

Also got these bad boys waiting in the wings

Have read the two Hookie books - very informative and entertaining. He has also been one of my favourite bass guitarists, and along with Simon Gallup, the master of the cool-looking low-slung bass!

The other two are also on my 'want to read' list.

 

[Peteinblack]

Half-way through Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light; nearly 900 pages, a 5½-pages list of characters before its starts, and about 15 of them are called Thomas!

I feel about Mantel the same way as I do about Dickens: on the one hand, a brilliant writer with a fantastic way with words, and great at describing things with style and eloquence, but on the other, over-does it; over-eggs the pudding. What could simply be a interesting, richly-descriptive, paragraph becomes 5 increasingly tedious pages describing the same thing in different ways: "Yes, Yes, Hilary/Charles, we've got the point by now. I can picture this bowl of fruit or filthy backstreet. Yes, you are very clever with words, but please just get on with it; get to the damn point."

She also has an annoying habit of referring to 'He' -- leaving the reader to wonder 'Who; who you are referring to now?'

On the basis of the first half, I've decided that The Mirror and the Light is over-descriptive, over-complex, introduces too many unnecessary characters, and could easily have been 300 pages shorter. I gave Wolf Hall 10/10; this is heading for 6/10.

 

[Beach Hut]

Last Days Of The Bus Club - Chris Stewart

 

[Surf's Up]

Half-way through Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light; nearly 900 pages, a 5½-pages list of characters before its starts, and about 15 of them are called Thomas!

I feel about Mantel the same way as I do about Dickens: on the one hand, a brilliant writer with a fantastic way with words, and great at describing things with style and eloquence, but on the other, over-does it; over-eggs the pudding. What could simply be a interesting, richly-descriptive, paragraph becomes 5 increasingly tedious pages describing the same thing in different ways: "Yes, Yes, Hilary/Charles, we've got the point by now. I can picture this bowl of fruit or filthy backstreet. Yes, you are very clever with words, but please just get on with it; get to the damn point."

She also has an annoying habit of referring to 'He' -- leaving the reader to wonder 'Who; who you are referring to now?'

On the basis of the first half, I've decided that The Mirror and the Light is over-descriptive, over-complex, introduces too many unnecessary characters, and could easily have been 300 pages shorter. I gave Wolf Hall 10/10; this is heading for 6/10.

As a matter of interest, I struggled a bit through "Wolf Hall" (I found that too wordy!!) and have got a copy of "Bring Up The Bodies" - am I going to be struggling again? Re: your views on Dickens, yes, some books are too wordy and he tends to over-indulge in places but others (Pickwick Papers, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Little Dorrott to name but four) are just fantastic stories with crazy bold charactisations and because they were written in monthly episodes they nearly always proceed at pace with not too much unnecessary verbiage....imho!

 

[The red pepper kid]

just started Ken Follett----Pillars of the earth

 

[zefarelly]

my bass and other animals - Guy Pratt ( again

Mod Ghosts - Andy Morling.

 

[Peteinblack]

As a matter of interest, I struggled a bit through "Wolf Hall" (I found that too wordy!!) and have got a copy of "Bring Up The Bodies" - am I going to be struggling again? Re: your views on Dickens, yes, some books are too wordy and he tends to over-indulge in places but others (Pickwick Papers, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Little Dorrott to name but four) are just fantastic stories with crazy bold charactisations and because they were written in monthly episodes they nearly always proceed at pace with not too much unnecessary verbiage....imho!

Ah, I haven't read Bring Up The Bodies yet - it's on my ever-lengthening 'want to read' list. I will definitely read it fairly soon, in spite of my criticisms of The Mirror and The Light - if nothing else, it's considerably shorter!

I would never say to anyone "Don't read a book because I didn't like it" - it's so subjective, and someone might get something out of a book which I overlooked, or just didn't feel.

 

[Beach Hut]

The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson

Haven't read this for a few years and Bryson never disappoints

 

[CHAPPERS]

I'm reading some Murakami book in which he bangs on about how dreamlike everything is as usual. Gonna finish the ****er tonight so I can move on to something else.

 

[jakarta]

Non-Fiction: Men of the Battle of Britain on my Kindle, basically a potted biography of all 3000 plus Allied BoB pilots. Both fascinating in looking at a bygone age and tragic to see how many died before they were 21, many on their first sortie. Research for something I'm hoping to do for my local Church as we have a BoB pilot buried at St.Mary's Storrington before you ask!

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I have returned to my read through of all the discworld novels. For some reason I stopped at th Night Watch so it's a real treat.

 

[Palacefinder General]

End Game - David Baldacci. Some of the dialogue is excruciatingly bad and the writing not always great. You do wonder whether there’s any truth behind the speculation that once they establish a name these authors have a team writing for them, the success of the book and sales guaranteed regardless due to the ‘brand.’ Such criticism has been levelled at John Grisham, each of his book’s yielding diminishing returns in terms of quality. That Baldacci turns out 600 page tomes year on year does make you wonder...

 

[wunt be druv]

Sketches from a Hunter's Album by Ivan Turgenev,have read it a few times now and is one of my "go to" books when I want to cast off and drift away from the World books, thoroughly recommend it!

 

[Is it PotG?]

Started a few Dickens books recently.

Astonished to find out that 'A Tale of Two Cities' was first published in England via two newspapers.
It was the Bicester Times, it was the Worcester Times.

 

[Beach Hut]

The Travellers Tree - Patrick Leigh-Fermor

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Stole some classics from the school library where I work on the last day I was there - finished Brave New World and Great Gatsby, got Tale of Two Cities and East of Eden to go.

Amazon delivery tomorrow with some of my own choices.

 

[Gwylan]

The Travellers Tree - Patrick Leigh-Fermor

I've just started The Broken Road, the third of the walk to Constantipole trilogy. I mentioned it earlier in this thread as next in line to read ... and then misplaced the book. I'm glad I've found, it's as interesting as the other two