#958872 - Wed Jan 02 2013 10:42 AM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Forum Champion
Registered: Sun May 18 2003
Posts: 7738
Loc: Arizona USA
|
I think the first half dozen Reacher books were great; I haven't been impressed with the last few, though.
_________________________
That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#960611 - Sat Jan 12 2013 12:43 AM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: agony]
|
Forum Champion
Registered: Thu Oct 16 2003
Posts: 7866
Loc: Burlington Ontario Canada
|
LOVE Sanford. He got a little stale for a bit but his last few, in both Davenport and Flowers series, have been awesome. Glad to know there's another one to look for.
I have just started 'The Painted Girls' by Marie Buchanan. Haven't gotten very far into it but so far it's good. It's at least partially about Degas painting and sketching ballerinas.
_________________________
Editor: Movies/Celebrities/Crosswords
"To insult someone we call him 'bestial'. For deliberate cruelty and nature, 'human' might be the greater insult." - Isaac Asimov
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#961269 - Tue Jan 15 2013 09:25 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Learning the ropes...
Registered: Sat Dec 01 2012
Posts: 3
|
I like to read educational books. I recently finished with Homeopathic Remedies for Cats and Dogs. I will take that info with a grain of salt.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#961780 - Fri Jan 18 2013 04:08 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Enthusiast
Registered: Sun Dec 22 2002
Posts: 342
Loc: Scotland
|
I have just finished reading Bloodstream by Tess Gerritsen. I found it a bit slow to start but in no time I was hooked, will be reading more of her books in future.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#961791 - Fri Jan 18 2013 05:26 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Mainstay
Registered: Sat Apr 25 2009
Posts: 638
Loc: Minnesota USA
|
I'm about two thirds done with Salman Rushdie's "Joseph Anton: A Memoir". I'm not a fan of the work...it's much, much too long. It's also quite difficult to follow at some times, as he intermixes stories of people that only come up once in his life, with people that he meets often, and stories of some Muslim history as well. He also writes in a fashion I'm not very familiar with...3rd person? 2nd person? I'm not sure if it's truly 3rd. Instead of saying, "I found the way..." he writes "He found the way..." talking about himself. That can get confusing and hard to follow if he's talking about himself or another man that he's talking about.
Anyway...I had planned on reading "The Satanic Verses" after this, but if the writing style is the same, I don't think I will. Has anyone read it? Or anything else by Rushdie?
_________________________
This space for rent
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#961906 - Sat Jan 19 2013 09:43 AM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Forum Champion
Registered: Sun May 18 2003
Posts: 7738
Loc: Arizona USA
|
I just finished reading Twin Harvest by Lynn McMahon Anstead  .  This is much darker than her first two books. A good murder mystery/psychological thriller. If you have a Kindle, I recommend this highly.
_________________________
That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#961928 - Sat Jan 19 2013 02:02 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Mainstay
Registered: Tue Mar 09 2010
Posts: 625
Loc: Pennsylvania USA
|
Just read a short story by Clare Wigfall entitled "Before Their Very Eyes." I was pulled in by the story of a man who vanished from a magic show, but there wasn't a clear-cut ending. So, the reader's left to wonder "what happened to Henry?" That and, "what happened to Frances?"
_________________________
(1) Young I may be, but even young people are entitled to their opinions. (2)Attempting to silence me doesn't hurt me, but the silencer. (3) I must remain true to myself.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#962032 - Sun Jan 20 2013 06:01 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Star Poster
Registered: Thu Sep 30 1999
Posts: 10246
Loc: Fanling Hong Kong
|
Charles Dickens- A Life, by Claire Tomalin. She has written some really good biographies and this one looks promising. I recently tried to read John Forster's, I thought it would be good and no doubt it was, as he was a close friend of Dickens, but oh dear it was dry, and not really relaxing bedtime reading. So I abandoned it and am going to try this. Anyone read it yet?
_________________________
Wandering aimlessly through FT since 1999.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#962707 - Wed Jan 23 2013 03:36 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Forum Champion
Registered: Mon Apr 14 2003
Posts: 7627
Loc: France
|
Have just finished Terry Pratchett's "Snuff", not a favourite, I have to say, and have finally come to the last delicious word on the last delicious page of Zola's "au Bonheur des Dames", and thoroughly enjoyed every page of it.
Next up book 5 in the Game of Thrones series, RR Martin. Pretty rough stuff, but a rip-roaring good political drama/fantasy adventure. I can't wait to get stuck in!
_________________________
It's hard to be perfect when you're human
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#965440 - Mon Feb 04 2013 02:41 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Forum Champion
Registered: Mon Apr 14 2003
Posts: 7627
Loc: France
|
George RR Martin's 'Game of Thrones', book 5. It's all coming together nicely, a vast panorama of political machinations, individual struggles, wars on all fronts, set against a fantasy background complete with dragons, shapchangers, evil baddies and bad spells, and the good guys who struggle right to the bitter end, but are probably going to knock the socks of the nasties by the final page  A great bit of escapism, in any case, and detailed enough to satisfy my desire to get my teeth into something juicy (if somewhat rife with bloodlust, gore and depravity).
Edited by Santana2002 (Mon Feb 04 2013 02:42 PM)
_________________________
It's hard to be perfect when you're human
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#965453 - Mon Feb 04 2013 03:40 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Star Poster
Registered: Thu Sep 30 1999
Posts: 10246
Loc: Fanling Hong Kong
|
Your enthusiasm for Zola's "Au Bonheur des Dames" shines through , Toni. I am going to get that next.Did you read it in French?
_________________________
Wandering aimlessly through FT since 1999.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#965532 - Mon Feb 04 2013 07:58 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Mainstay
Registered: Sat Apr 25 2009
Posts: 638
Loc: Minnesota USA
|
I went through a couple more memoirs.
"Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison" by T. J. Parsell and "Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead" by Frank Meeink. Both had very horrific content, as you might expect, but both had redeeming stories as well. I always find it interesting to get a perspective from 'fringe' (for lack of a better word) groups in society and neither of these books disappointed. If you find sociology, true crime, or memoirs interesting, I'd recommend both books, keeping in mind the content is what you'd expect it to be and can be stomach churning (and anger inducing) at times.
_________________________
This space for rent
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#966285 - Sat Feb 09 2013 12:15 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: pyonir]
|
Forum Champion
Registered: Thu Oct 16 2003
Posts: 7866
Loc: Burlington Ontario Canada
|
"Red Mist" by Patricia Cornwell. She has had some really good books but I lose interest when she starts presenting her lead character as a superwoman. This book is shaping up to be one of those.
_________________________
Editor: Movies/Celebrities/Crosswords
"To insult someone we call him 'bestial'. For deliberate cruelty and nature, 'human' might be the greater insult." - Isaac Asimov
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#966296 - Sat Feb 09 2013 01:22 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Mainstay
Registered: Tue Mar 09 2010
Posts: 625
Loc: Pennsylvania USA
|
Just started “Luca and the Fire of Life” by Salman Rushdie the other day. It was one of those I almost didn’t read, afraid I wouldn’t like it, but once I started… The novel tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy who tries to save his father from “the big sleep.” One of the funniest parts is how he has two friends—they startecd out as pets but grew to be so much more—named Dog the Bear and Bear the Dog. Very well-written, and quite enjoyable for those who like magic and related themes.
_________________________
(1) Young I may be, but even young people are entitled to their opinions. (2)Attempting to silence me doesn't hurt me, but the silencer. (3) I must remain true to myself.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#966335 - Sat Feb 09 2013 03:47 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Star Poster
Registered: Tue May 15 2001
Posts: 13806
Loc: Australia
|
I seem to barely read a proper book these days but for Christmas I got "Danny Baker Going to Sea in a Seive". (He's a English radio personality). It's good fun and I'm getting through it slowly but surely.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#966373 - Sat Feb 09 2013 07:35 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: Santana2002]
|
Forum Adept
Registered: Sun Nov 14 2010
Posts: 186
Loc: Alabama USA
|
have finally come to the last delicious word on the last delicious page of Zola's "au Bonheur des Dames", and thoroughly enjoyed every page of it. I also found it an absolutely delightful book! So un-Zola like. It's recommended for anyone who usually passes on Zola's books because they find them too dark. Per usual, Zola did plenty of research prior to writing Au Bonheur des dames. It's a good primer for the history of the first gigantic department stores. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall to see Zola shopping for hours with his wife.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#967070 - Tue Feb 12 2013 12:42 PM
Re: What are you Reading mark2
[Re: ren33]
|
Forum Champion
Registered: Mon Apr 14 2003
Posts: 7627
Loc: France
|
Your enthusiasm for Zola's "Au Bonheur des Dames" shines through , Toni. I am going to get that next.Did you read it in French? Yes, I borrowed it from a friend and read it in French. I have to admit that the 'dated' language threw me a bit at first, but it definitely contributes to the charm of the read. I didn't look up every single word that I didn't know, and am even pleased that there were so (relatively speaking) few of them. I kept getting reminded of the classic descriptive prose encountered in books like 'The Coral Island' and 'The Water Babies' while reading Au Bonheur. I guess the long, charming passages are approached in a similar way. Edit: I've just checked the dates for all three books, and coincidentally they were all written in the same era, between 1858-62. And guess what? I'm now rereading the Coral Island, which I haven't read since I was a kid! I suppose I'll move on to the Water Babies afterwards, just to please my fancy as reading Au Bonheur has rekindled all the enjoyement the other two brought to me at the time.
Edited by Santana2002 (Tue Feb 12 2013 04:38 PM)
_________________________
It's hard to be perfect when you're human
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|