Which book(s) are you currently reading?

Discussion in 'BOARDANIA' started by Roman_K, Aug 18, 2005.

  1. Mithras-Kosmokrator New Member

    Just finished Ian Fleming 'Casino Royale', preceded by Boris Johnson (yes, the Tory MP) 'The Dream of Rome', next on to Thackery, 'Vanity Fair'.
  2. Katcal I Aten't French !

    I'm not reading much lately, I've been half way through Equal Rites for the last few weeks.

    Do knitting patterns count ?
  3. Mithras-Kosmokrator New Member

    It depends on how well they've been educated :lol:
  4. Katcal I Aten't French !

    To quote Death : HO HO HO. :cool:
  5. TamyraMcG Active Member

    BuzzFloyd, my aunt used to read the dictionary for fun, and she is a perfectly well adjusted woman.

    I started Old Soldiers, a Bolo book by David Weber ( taking over from Keith Laumer) but it has been mislaid and I have started the Draco Tavern by Larry Niven in the meantime. It has some very nice short stories and some very creepy aliens in it.
  6. Nester New Member

    I was shelving in the humor section today and ended up glancing at Simon Rich's "Ant Farm." I bought it five minutes later because I was laughing too hard to keep working.

    He just writes random little scenes and dialogues including "If everyday life was like Hockey" and "If A murderer repents, I bet its really awkward when they meet the victim in Heaven" He reminded me a lot of Jack Handey (Deep Thoughts) which is really high praise as that man was a genius (and possible psychotic)

    Still the best scene was "Abraham and Isaac's ride back to Beersheeba":

    Abraham: Well Isaac did you have fun.....camping with Dad? Yes, camping. Just us two guys out camping. Just the boys....How about some ice cream? Of course you want some ice cream!

    I cried laughing when I read that whole thing.
  7. Buzzfloyd Spelling Bee

    Nester, that sounds hysterical. I wonder if it's available in England.
  8. missy New Member

    I'm almost done with The World According to Clarkson. Great book, very funny!
  9. Katcal I Aten't French !

    I read that, it was great fun, I really enjoy Clarkson's wit... Damn cable changed and we can't watch top gear any more, damn damn damn !
  10. Nester New Member

  11. Katcal I Aten't French !

    **pulls at a random string** hmm, what does this one do ?
  12. Nester New Member

    Ah, I was wondering why I just told my roommate about the benefits of purchasing a Member Card....
  13. Stercus Stercus New Member

    I'm currently re-reading G!G! but as everyone keeps saying about the two different Granny Weatherwax characters I'm going to read ER and Wyrd Sisters next.

    I've also started a factual book that I've had lying around for years. It's called Witches by Hans Holzer. It tells about the Wicken religion and true witch stories. I've also got to get around to reading the Vampires book by the same author.
  14. Roman_K New Member

    I have recently finished reading Black & Blue and The Falls by Ian Rankin. I like. The man has talent when it comes to writing a police/detective story with a hardboiled theme.
  15. OmKranti Yogi Wench

    I am currently re-reading G!G! as well.
  16. Mithras-Kosmokrator New Member

    Just about to start Beowulf (trans. Kevin Crossley-Holland).
  17. missy New Member

    Dave and I are now reading Good Omens. I havent read it before but its one of Daves favorites. He is reading bits to me and i'm sure i can read a bit for him, if i can get my head around the names in it.
  18. Buzzfloyd Spelling Bee

    Garner's reading Time Enough for Love to me.
  19. fairyliquid New Member

    I just opened a book of short stories called "The Bloody Chamber" by Angela Carter.

    Not more than a few pages in but all the stories are based on classical fairytales...

    I'm also reading "kiss of the Spiderwoman" by Manuel Puig but thats for my english class so I don't have much choice...it's an interesting novel though.
  20. OmKranti Yogi Wench

    Elf lent me a book called "A Bridge Across Forever" aparently it's a love story and I will cry the whole way through. I don't know if I want to read it quite yet.

    I'll finish G!G! and then think about it some more.
  21. Hex New Member

    Started reading the works of HP Lovecraft yesterday at work. I enjoyed the short stories. They're a good way to get through long hours of sitting and doing nothing at the library front desk.

    I'm also hoping to get ahold of a copy of Small Gods today, since I last read that almost five years ago...

    I can't believe I've been reading Pratchett for five years...
    That makes me feel old. But also happy.
  22. Katcal I Aten't French !

    I read my first Pratchett in 1990... actually, I think I read Strata before that but didn't realize there were other books. This could actually be a topic of its own: how old where you when you first... read Pratchett ? :biggrin:
  23. Buzzfloyd Spelling Bee

    I've been reading Pratchett for about 14 years, I think. That feels about right.
  24. TamyraMcG Active Member

    I first read Pratchett at least 16 years ago. it just took me twelve years to find him again, oh the wasted years. I just read John Ringo's Into The Looking Glass. Military s/f is becoming quite a passion for me, who'd a thunk it?
  25. TamyraMcG Active Member

    This is for Sunna , it took a bit of finding. I have been in the business of starting books lately and not finishing them, too much other stuff going on in my life right now. I last looked at a few chapters of The Filth , a graphic novel by Grant Morrison, Chris Weston and Gary Erskine. I have also been reading The Mulligan, by Nathan Jorgenson, Making Money by Terry Pratchett, and Stardust by Neil Gaiman. and just a couple of days ago I started a Mercedes Lackey book I can't remeber the title of, and I was reading Path of the Fury by David Weber, and I need to finish something soon.
  26. jaccairn New Member

    How can you keep track of what's what?:smile:
    If the David Webber one is the same as In Fury Born (don't you just love it when they change titles for different countries) it's a good book.
  27. Roman_K New Member

    I am currently reading both Lovecraft and Doyle stories (the non-Holmes ones now, as I've finished those), with no defined order other than immediate availability. Of Doyle's I would currently recommend 'The White Company', an excellent historical novel of middle-ages Europe. Of Lovecraft's, I quite enjoyed 'At the Mountains of Madness' and 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward' as two of his longer written works, in which Lovecraft has managed to create a much better atmosphere than in his short stories (which makes the tedious parts of them manageable).
  28. missy New Member

    We just started Making Money. Its cool reading it to each other. It sounds different out loud than in your head! Living up to all expectations so far.

    I just started Knees up Mother Earth aswell. Its a bit weird but i am enjoying it. I wanted to read Web Site Story but Dave has that at the moment and i have to wait. Robert Rankin seems ok, as this is my first book by him though, i will have to reserve judgment.
  29. chrisjordan New Member

    Missy, Rankin can be a bit hit and miss. I'd recommend Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse or the Armageddon trilogy. Rinso tells me Dance of the Voodoo Handbag is also very good.
  30. Sunna New Member

    I quite like Ian Rankin's stories.I think we share a similar view on our favorite city,Edinburgh. You both love and hate it at the same time....
    What am I reading at the moment? It's a fantasy story called the Death Gate Cycle and it's been going on for 7 volumes now,starting to see that final gate,finally.It's entertaining.
  31. Maljonic Administrator

    I've never read any of Ian Rankin's work, I'm not even sure what genre they are - but sort of assumed they were fairly serious real-world literature? I have read lots of Robert Rankin books, which are plain crazy and right up my street.

    One of my best friends is actually called Peter Rankin and I can't get him to read either of the above, though he is a little curious about Ian Rankin with him being quite prominent in the book shops.
  32. Roman_K New Member

    Ian Rankin specializes in hard-boiled police detective stories, of the kind that can leave you quite depressed. He's very good at them, which is why I find myself reading his books quite often.
  33. colonesque10 New Member

    I've actually just started to re-read Strata. I fogot what a good little book it is. :)
  34. Sunna New Member

    I was at a Ian Rankin book signing and reading in Reykjavik last year and he is delightful. I told him he didn't sound like the Fly Fifer he was supposed to be and he admitted the lovely Scottish Accent was fading quite a lot. But his character,Rebus,makes you love mankind all over again.
  35. mowgli New Member

    Almost finished laboring through The Satanic Verses (okay, maybe laboring is the wrong word... the text goes down relatively easily, but the story is so convoluted, and in parts, depressing, that I had to stop and decompress repeatedly). Only a chapter left to go. I'll come back to it, but the overall darkness of the book was getting to me, so I switched to Making Money for now :tongue:... Verrrrrrry good antidote!
  36. Cyan Guest

    I'm curently reading again Jingo, and one more time I'm feeling lucky to be a non english reader, because each time I read a Discworld novel, I discover new jokes, some probably pretty obvious. For exemple, I only understood today that alone can be heard like a loan, very good indeed. But most of the time, I don't get it because the joke or pun is a reference to a classic book I haven't read. So, I began reading the classics, like Oscar Wilde, Edgar Poe, Charles Dickens (I'm currently reading Tales of two cities) and William Shakespeare. About the last one, could any of you recommand a good book to help me understand the context ? Is there other autors I should read ?
  37. Katcal I Aten't French !

    You know, Cyan, even as an English reader, there are some jokes that I just don't get the first time, because I don't notice them, or because I didn't have that particular cultural reference at the time... The thing with Pterry is that his references and jokes range from classical mythology to computer games passing through every known point in the universe on the way from one to the other, so you'd really have to be Terry to get all the jokes...

    I don't quite get the last question, do you want a book about Shakespeare or some advice on the first of his books to read ? What do you mean by understanding the context ?
  38. jaccairn New Member

    Lambs 'Tales from Shakespeare' is a simplified story version of the play intended for children which might help. Shakespearian english is confusing even if you have a book of notes to explain all the obscure bits.
  39. TamyraMcG Active Member

    Jaccairn, The Path of the Fury was first published in 1992, it is the first in this (probable, given the fact that the author is Weber) series. I usually don't have that much trouble finding where I left off in any book but if I do I just start over, I am glad to report that I did finish the Filth, but I hardly understand any of it. Maybe my friend James can help me through it , he lent it to me in the first place. The Lackey book is Sorrow To His Music, also one of a series. I have Ty's book, Inferno now, he read one passage to me, it is a good thing I have a strong stomach and that I was listening to his voice as much as the words, because it was truly horrific, just like it was supposed to be I guess.
  40. Cyan Guest

    Thanks for your answers. My question was more of a book about Shakespeare and the time (the history) he lived in. I also need a book explaining the language he used.

    I'll use an example : to understand Oscar Wilde, you have to know a minimum of things about the english society in the nineteen century and of his personnal life, so I suppose the same thing apply to most writers. I know nothing of the history of England at the time of Shakespeare (except for the battle of Azincourt, Saint Crispin day, I think for you). I know nothing of Shakespeare either. So, what book should I read ?
  41. Katcal I Aten't French !

    To actually answer the question in the thread, I am currently reading The Last Hero (the smaller version, the one I got signed by Pterry, yahoo !!) It's not bad, the pictures are great and it's nice to see Rincewind again and mix him in with other characters like DaQuirm and Carrot... I'm also part of the way through Witches Abroad which may well turn out to be my favouritest DW book ever... Three sniggers on the first page is always a good sign.
  42. Sunna New Member

    I really liked Abroad as well. It has that wonderful mixture of childhood stories candy as the fairy good mother and humour.
  43. Roman_K New Member

    I'm currently reading books by the Russian fantasy author Maria Semenova. The first one, Volkodav (literal translation - Wolf-Strangler), is the kind of fantasy novel that I just can't let go of. The sequel, "Pravo na Poyedinok" (Right of Duel) is no less good, and I'm enjoying it immensely.

    Unfortunately, I don't think the books have been translated into English.
  44. mr_scrub New Member

    Problem with me, is I read ridiculouly fast and just when I'm into a book. It's: "What, over already?" Recently read "The Year of Our War" by Steph Swainston and any manga I can get my hands on.
  45. Tephlon Active Member

    I'm reading Hugh Laurie's (Yes, THAT Hugh Laurie) debut novel: "Gun Seller".

    It's good, but I haven't finished it and I expect him to set me up for a huge twist and I hope he doesn't disappoint me.

    Favourite line so far: "I picked up a piece of broken glass and cut myself. Not on purpose, if you were wondering..." Heh...
  46. Hsing Moderator

    I recently read Andrea Maria Schenkel's debut novel "Tannöd", which has not been translated into English yet (and nobody plans to either). Also Christa Wolf's "Cassandra" (a book that needed some chewing on, but was worth it), Kazuo Ishiguro's "When we were orphans" (same here for different reasons, it was also worth having worked through the first chapters), "The Almond" by Nedjma (pity the book was reduced to its explicit content in most reviews, it's wonderfully written - explicity alone always bores me to death in books, for example I found Catherine Millet so boring I fell asleep over the book and never finished it... not so here, a talented writer.)
  47. Roman_K New Member

    Arsene Lupin... Wonderful character, possibly one of the best literary creations of the early 20th century. Gentleman-burglar, criminal genius, and something of hero in a criminal position...

    Not quite Robin Hood, certainly not as noble, and yet... Lupin has a certain charm, the kind of charm that reminded me of Captain Blood. Errol Flynn comes to mind as the perfect actor for Arsene Lupin, but the image doesn't fully fit.

    It probably doesn't fit because Arsene Lupin is a Frenchman, as was the author - Maurice LeBlanc. Perhaps it's because I watched the old Fantomas movies (with amazingly good Russian dubbing, I might add), and see the merit in giving French actors their due. Or perhaps it's simply because, even though I read the Arsene Lupin books in English, I still hear him speaking in French in my head.


    If you read French, then look up Maurice LeBlanc's books in the original form. They've been republished time and time again. As for the translations (which I'm told don't do the books justice), some are available as ebooks, notable on the Project Gutenberg website. I'm going through the translations at the moment, and have even gone to the length of ordering a translated work (having found that the translators are enthusiasts and fans of the old French pulp fiction, I decided that theirs was a translation worth buying).


    Even in the translated form (sadly, I can read no other) Maurice LeBlanc's Arsene Lupin books have my personal recommendation.
  48. Katcal I Aten't French !

    I have only read a couple, but yes, they are good, a friend of ours is a member of the official Appreciation society and I know they have a lot of members, both in France and abroad.

    Oh and there was a film made of one of the books, recently, so if you ever happen across it... don't watch it for the love of all that is sacred (especially pie).
  49. Roman_K New Member

    Yes, I've read the reviews, and the total mess that the plot presents itself as was enough for me to dislike it. Some of the older movies seem promising, though.
  50. Nester New Member

    I just started reading Christopher Phillips' "Socrates Cafe" and have been losing sleep thinking about it. It's just entertaining to ask questions with very little goal in mind to see where you end up. I'm going to be organizing a Cafe soon in town here.
  51. Katcal I Aten't French !

    I have just started American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and I'm enjoying it already...
  52. roisindubh211 New Member

    American Gods is brilliant.


    Cyan: get an annotated copy of Shakespeare's plays, it will have most of the cultural context in it. If you want a children's version that's actually entertaining, I recommend E. Nesbit's "Children's Shakespeare"; there are two versions as far as I know, with different plays in each.


    Just started "The Worm Ouroboros" by E. R. Eddison. The language of it is fantastic- I'd been warned that its archaic, but its also very clear, so I haven't had any trouble with it.

    Also, I feel the need to recommend a new series to anyone who likes Robin Hood/Jack the Thief stories. It's called The Gentleman bastard sequence, and it has two books so far, "The Lies of Locke Lamora" and "Red Seas Under Red Skies". The characters are great- the 'Robin" of the piece is Locke Lamora, who is an excellent thief but terrible in a fight and would be somewhat horrified if it were suggested that he give his winnings away.
  53. Rincewind Number One Doorman


    This sounds interesting. Explain more about it.Now.
  54. Nester New Member


    heh. Please don't hurt me. I'll talk, I'll talk!


    Phillips quit his job as a journalist to try and bring on a new philosophical renaissance by bringing it back to the "everyman." He tours the country (and now he's gone international) visiting coffee shops, bookstores, churches, nursing homes, elementary schools, and even prisons setting up what he calls a Socrates Cafe.

    The meeting starts with a Socratic-style question like "What is Home" and then they just discuss. In the book he records some of the most interesting dialogues and explains why he organizes these and why he thinks it's so important to bring philosophy out of the schools and into the rest of the world.

    The book is a bit repetitive with every chapter harping on the importance of asking questions, but I still find it greatly entertaining. At the end of the book he even gives instructions on how to organize one yourself and lists a few websites and famous works to read.
  55. Silvermoth New Member

    So I promised I would come back to talk about the Silmarillion, so here I am!

    Its quite good, very thick and sometimes quite dense. It helps if you read the novels backwards so that you can recognize some of the characters first and then just move up and down the novel for the stories you're interested in.

    But all in all, quite good. Better than the Hobbit but not as good as LOTR (or Discworld ;) )
  56. wilva New Member

    books

    reading a marilyn french, read jasper fforde the ones after eyre affairs are very funny! humpty dumpty, jack spratt who popped up in one of the thursday nexts is main character hard case books. tried reading robert rankin bit like i imagine pratchett would be on acid? didnt get them so much. thinking about re-reading monstrous regiment.......
  57. Sunna New Member

    I'm stuck in a rut,bookwise. I can't seem to find the energy to seek out new books so I just reread Discworld. Read Night Watch,finished it last night. Need to get off my arse and use the recommendations you guys have provided in various threads here.
  58. Starbug New Member

    I am reading The Handmaid's Tale for uni and also The Dinosaur Hunters oh and rereading Harry Potter too. I really should concentrate on one book ha ha!
  59. sampanna New Member

    Nester, that sounds interesting - I'll go see if I can find that book here in India.

    I've been reading a lot of Rex Stout lately - a character by Nero Wolfe. Anyone read these before? Quite interesting - not a lot of action but the characters themselves are well defined and interesting.
  60. Katcal I Aten't French !

    So, I have finished American Gods, author's preferred text version, and I must say I did enjoy it, I liked the ideas that were thrown up in the book, and the characters... I was of course reminded of Good Omens, pleasantly so as I hadn't read anything else by him, and kind of reminded of Pterry too in some of the themes, I can now see how the two of them worked so well together on that book.

    I was also strangely reminded of Stephen King, of the Stephen King books I loved a few years ago, maybe I'll re-read some of them when I get my books back. The way he paints the characters, the american towns and places, the supernatural quality of the things, the way he deals with sex and what could be called "horror" or "thriller" scenes...

    In any case, I'll certainly read more as soon as I can get my mits on a bookshop, probably tomorrow, and hopefully, I will continue with Stardust, having seen the film I'm curious about the book, or maybe Anansi Boys...

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