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Which Book Are You Reading thread

Mr Cleansheets said:
Haven't tried Reynolds - will look out for it, although space opera is not my thing. Much prefer the high concept novels. Throw in a cracking plot and I'm hooked. Van Vogt is great for that (loved Slan) and Andre Norton is fabulous also. The Zero Stone and Uncharted Stars are two of my favourites.
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Reynolds pretty good with his concepts I'd say.

Adrian Tchaikovsky is probably the modern guy for high concept stuff though. Most people will point to his Children of Time series as a start. Fantastic concepts but for me kinda beige characters. He's prolific too so if you find you like him there's heaps of content.
 
Decentric said:
My better half now stops reading books she can't get into. She does not want to waste time on mediocre books.
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I don't mean that it's mediocre but that it's uncomfortable at the end and throughout and an indictment on the culture of brutal pragmatic militarism. Sure if a book is dull then ditch it, libraries are good for test driving a book.
 
erogenouszone said:
I don't mean that it's mediocre but that it's uncomfortable at the end and throughout and an indictment on the culture of brutal pragmatic militarism. Sure if a book is dull then ditch it, libraries are good for test driving a book.
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I'm not saying others should adopt my wife's views, but she has become less engaged when reading, after being a lifelong reader.

I'm enjoying a few books she hasn't. We really differed on Robert Galbraith's last book. Whilst I thought it was her best ever, she couldn't finish it! She put me on to RG.
 
Decentric said:
Not sure if your other books have the humour element of Mr C? Considering how sensible you are on G and G, the humour is a real feature of Mr C.
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All my books are funny but most are a fair bit darker in their humour than Mr C.

In fact, my most popular book isn't Mr C (that was just the first). My most successful book was Straight Jacket - Ealing Studios optioned the film rights for a while, but...
 
Decentric said:
My better half now stops reading books she can't get into. She does not want to waste time on mediocre books.
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The first time I didn't finish a book caused me profound anguish. It was a point of perverse principle, I suppose - finishing every book I'd ever started was one of the things that made me me.

Then one day - the book I was reading was utterly dreadful. Some 30-odd pages had flowed glacially past and every sentence was a torment. I found myself entertaining this bizarre notion - I didn't HAVE to finish the book.

I struggled on for another five pages or so but then my will collapsed and I put it down - the feeling of disappointment with myself instantly converted to relief, as though I'd been straining to shit for half an hour.

I should have known better. The cover (speaking of sci-fi) depicted a weird looking alien dancing on a beach wearing a diving mask and flippers. I suspect that book is why I gave up on sci-fi for a while.
 
Mr Cleansheets said:
All my books are funny but most are a fair bit darker in their humour than Mr C.

In fact, my most popular book isn't Mr C (that was just the first). My most successful book was Straight Jacket - Ealing Studios optioned the film rights for a while, but...
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Good!

I'm on the lookout for them in secondhand bookshops, or sales.
 
Mr Cleansheets said:
The first time I didn't finish a book caused me profound anguish. It was a point of perverse principle, I suppose - finishing every book I'd ever started was one of the things that made me me.
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For some reason Mrs EZ was reading The Housemaid ( that Sydney Sweeney movie ) so for pure curioisity after 20 pages I flung it like a frisbee across the room. Absolute garbage, it felt great to not read that one.
 
The screen series of Outlander has deviated from the books in the final series 8 and the conclusion. Don't want to create a Spoiler.

Books 8 and 9 are condensed into screen series 8 of Outlander. The screen series has taken a few deviations from the books.

I've thought since about series 5, the books have been better than the screen series. I thought screen series 1 - 4 have been as good as the books.

I've read Outlander books 1-9, which are still ongoing if Diane Gabaldon is well enough to write more. I've viewed Outlander screen series 1-8, which have concluded at the and of the final episode in season 8.
 
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Have just discovered a new quality crime author - Anne Cleeves.

I've seen the screen series Shetland and Vera, based on Ann Cleeves' books. I've started on her last Shetland book and have found it hard to put down.

My better half has read AC books for years!
 
erogenouszone said:
For some reason Mrs EZ was reading The Housemaid ( that Sydney Sweeney movie ) so for pure curioisity after 20 pages I flung it like a frisbee across the room. Absolute garbage, it felt great to not read that one.
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Too funny!
 
A CUT-LIKE WOUND : ANITA NAIR

Setting : Contemporary India, Bangalore area.

Genre :Crime/ murder mystery

Length: 361 pages.

Why I chose this book? A mate of mine, a Prof of English and specialist in Indian literature gave us a few books.

Review:

Whereas so many English writers of this crime genre are formulaic, A Cut-Like Wound is not.

There are heaps of digressions from solving the crime. Nair seems fascinated with eunuchs - which translated appears to be trans- gender.

Protagonists are:
Inspector Borei Gowda- a Harry Bosch, John Rebus, Harry Hole type detective, who hates criminals, wants to bring them to justice at any cost, and disregards police authority trying to stop him doing his job. A lot of Indian police brass hate Gowda.

He mocks and ridicules all others in the police force. He thinks most Indian cops have no interest in solving crimes. However, Gowda, brilliant detective that he is, isn’t as hands on as Bosch, Rebus and Hole. He sends his subordinates to to do the coal face detective work.

Roshan - Gowda’s son.

Mamtha - Gowda’s wife.

Urmila - Gowda’s girlfriend.

Santosh - Sub-Inspector who wants to be like Gowda and solve all crimes. He becomes Gowda’s prodigy and does a lot of the grass roots detective work, with Sergeant Gamdeeja, a police hard man.

Stanley - one very senior cop who is Gowda’s mate. Instead of solving all the murders that Gowda thinks has one perp, he doesn’t want to interrupt a counterfeit ring investigation by solving the murders.

Chicken Razak - a trans crim.

Corporater Anna- older brother of Chicken R. A rich crim.

There are so many twists and turns, which seem irrelevant to the crime theme. There is heaps of sexual infidelity. Moreover, the digressions seem immaterial to the crime theme.

Gowda and Santosh are concerned there is a serial killer, with the same MO, killing victims. They think nobody else in the Indian police force is interested in solving the crimes committed.

Another theme is organised crime has little respect or fear of Indian police institutions - like western crime novels portray.

Having said this I love the deviation from English, Aussie, American, Scottish, Irish and Scandinavian crime writers. This book is culturally different and reminds me of being in India again. Excellent conclusion - a surprise.

Nair is a very fluent writer. Gifted!
 
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Has anybody read these fantasy authors - Cassandra Clare, Sarah J Maas or Rebecca Yaris?

We are pet sitting / house sitting and there are a plethora of books written by them available to read.
 
LYREBIRD : JANE CARO

Genre : Crime/murder mystery.

Setting: Contemporary NSW, Maitland and Sydney.

Length: 354 pages.

Why I chose the book? My wife read it and liked it.

Review:

20 years ago ornithology student, Jessica Weston, panics when she hears a lyrebird repeating a woman screaming for her life at a remote bush spot near Maitland. Lyrebirds are mimics. She contacted police who ignored it. However, newly qualified detective Megan Blaxland did, with no success. She was aged 40.

20 years later a body is unearthed. The case is reopened. 60 year old Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Blaxland is brought out of retirement to head a new investigation into the dead body.

There are plenty of twists and turns. Megan and Jessica, now Professor Weston, became friends over the interim 20 years.

Excellent characterisation.

I was surprised how good this book is.
Definitely one of the best Aussie crime books I’ve read. Satisfactory ending too.

Jane Caro usually writes social commentary, non- fiction books. She should have written more in the crime genre.
 
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Decentric said:
LYREBIRD : JANE CARO

Genre : Crime/murder mystery.

Setting: Contemporary NSW, Maitland and Sydney.

Length: 354 pages.

Why I chose the book? My wife read it and liked it.

Review:

20 years ago ornithology student, Jessica Weston, panics when she hears a lyrebird repeating a woman screaming for her life at a remote bush spot near Maitland. Lyrebirds are mimics. She contacted police who ignored it. However, newly qualified detective Megan Blaxland did, with no success. She was aged 40.

20 years later a body is unearthed. The case is reopened. 60 year old Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Blaxland is brought out of retirement to head a new investigation into the dead body.

There are plenty of twists and turns. Megan and Jessica, now Professor Weston, became friends over the interim 20 years.

Excellent characterisation.

I was surprised how good this book is.
Definitely one of the best Aussie crime books I’ve read. Satisfactory ending too.

Jane Caro usually writes social commentary, non- fiction books. She should have written more in the crime genre.
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Agree it was a top read.
 
I have just finished reading LONDON FALLING by Patrick Raden Keefe.It is a true story about the death of a young man who is mixed up in the seamy side of London-Russian oligarchs,gangsters,corrupt and incompetent police and upper class British sell outs.
 
booney52 said:
I have just finished reading LONDON FALLING by Patrick Raden Keefe.It is a true story about the death of a young man who is mixed up in the seamy side of London-Russian oligarchs,gangsters,corrupt and incompetent police and upper class British sell outs.
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How do you rate the book, B?

Roughly what era was the book written?
 
Currently reading Standing In Another Man’s Grave, the Rebus series, written by Ian Rankin.

Very entertaining so far.
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
Im reading Anna Karenina currently BTW ... Don't ask, I went down a Tolstoy rabbit hole just before Christmas.... was debating Ukraine with my brother .... loooong story. :)
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I've read it twice, it's the Book of Life. War and Peace was just too big for me to tackle though!
I'm reading (Correction: have postponed till after WC final) Colm Toibin's latest book of short stories "News from Dublin"
 
NicCarBel said:
On topic though:

Since getting out of school, I’ve found fiction books hard to read (mostly) and have really only read The Hunger Games series since, so am looking forward to the second prequel book soon.

Generally just sports biographies for me. I have a few I’ve been meaning to hunt down, but my standouts are:
  • Life on the Limit - Professor Sid Watkins, which is a book written in the late 90’s by the longtime Formula 1 head doctor (who since retired and passed on). His 2000s follow up is one of my aforementioned books I’ve been meaning to hunt down
  • How to Build a Car - Adrian Newey
  • I can’t remember the name, but Postecoglu’s book was great
  • The Secret Footballer series was also enlightening
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I was given Vince Rugari's bio of Ange Postecoglou - "Angeball". Well-written, illuminating on the inside world of Australian soccer. Loved it.
 
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