What Book Did You Read Last Night??? (5 Viewers)

[David Kronenbourg]

i ordered this off amazon. have been hearing great things.

so this is deadly. not even a quarter of the way in and you know it's going to head down some very dark roads indeed.

next up is this. love his first book 'then we came to the end'

 

[rettucs]

reading The Ginger Man by J P Donleavy.

an uncomfortable read so far - something unsettling about an American making such disparaging comments about Ireland. And a very strange writing style which I haven't quite attuned to as of yet. Will bare with it for another while but I reckon I'm happy to abandon it if it doesn't improve.

 

[Moods For Mallards]

Reading Invisible by Paul Auster. I'm surprised to say I'm really enjoying it.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Reading Invisible by Paul Auster. I'm surprised to say I'm really enjoying it.

Paul Auster is great! Why are you surprised?

 

[Moods For Mallards]

Paul Auster is great! Why are you surprised?

Because I was told he was insufferably boring and always writes about writers. Which he does in this, but entertainingly.
I've never read anything by him before, see.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I was talking to someone doing her PHD on him recently, her summary was as follows:

"I HATE HIM FOREVER"

understandably.

 

[Moods For Mallards]

Don't worry, I'll read something good next.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Because I was told he was insufferably boring and always writes about writers. Which he does in this, but entertainingly.
I've never read anything by him before, see.

Ah fair enough. But Music of Chance is great, as is Moon Palace. Neither of those is about a writer. And Timbuktu, narrated by a dog is also a fine read.

 

[rettucs]

And Timbuktu, narrated by a dog is also a fine read.

Yes. Mr.Bones. Its a quality read.

 

[dunderhead]

the darkest room by johan theorin

hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason

must check out more stuff from these guys. both brilliant crime fiction with fairly gloomy supernatural themes kicking around for good measure. cold, dark, gloomy settings just adds to their greatness.

 

[Gambra]

Picked this up yesterday, pretty easy read and finished it earlier this evening. It's funny in places but each chapter is just more like a overlong anecdote rather than a solid autobiography.

 

[Kermit McDermott]

Reading for the second time.

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Reading for the second time.

This reminds me that I meant to order that byouk. Thanks. Has anyone read the Stieg Larsson Girl With trilogy? They're selling like hotcakes of late and I haven't heard a bad thing about them yet.

 

[Kermit McDermott]

Recommend it. Tis Really good.

 

[hugh]

This reminds me that I meant to order that byouk. Thanks. Has anyone read the Stieg Larsson Girl With trilogy? They're selling like hotcakes of late and I haven't heard a bad thing about them yet.

I have. Both my sister and my sister-in-law told me they were pretty much rubbish ....

 

[Unicron]

I have. Both my sister and my sister-in-law told me they were pretty much rubbish ....

I read the first one and it was a perfectly fine mystery/thriller but I felt in no way compelled to read any of the others. Whoever did the translation didn't do a great job. There was a lot of references to things that might be second nature to Swedes but for an anglophone they could have done with a bit of exposition.

 

[rettucs]

whats the consensus on abandoning books? Generally I'd have a stubborn streak and would be fairly determined to finish any book I start. I've only abandoned 2 ever - Roy Keane's autobiography (the narrative style was a bit too much for me), and Proust, The Way by Swann, which was boring beyond belief (still made it halfway through though). I'm currently reading a book and am 30 pages from the end. I know those 30 pages will take me the same amount of time as the first 300 pages took, so unmotivated am I. I want to abandon. But its not right, is it? BTW, whoever it was said they read Finnegan's Wake, looks like you have to start over. They've only gone and changed it all...

 

[rettucs]

double post

 

[Jill Hives]

I'm terrible for throwing books aside. I often read a few chapters and I've I'm not engaged I'll stop. I'm sure I'm missing out on lots of good books because I give up too quick.

I just finished Let The Great World Spin (chosen by a bookclub) and I rather enjoyed it. It's like a bunch of little short stories interwined to form a book and beautifully written, imho. I also thought Colum McCann wrote women very well, especially as an African American hooker. Lot of LOLs from me during that section.

 

[rettucs]

I'm terrible for throwing books aside. I often read a few chapters and I've I'm not engaged I'll stop. I'm sure I'm missing out on lots of good books because I give up too quick.

there are some books that you know aren't going to get any better though. Or if the writing style is something you can't get comfortable with you know thats not gonna change. Persisting with books can be good - an example being Herzog by Saul Bellow, which only really gets going in the last third. 2 examples of books I hate/hated are Lolita by Nabokov (most uncomfortable read ever) and the one I'm tempted to throw aside now, The Gingerman. But seeing as its only 30 more pages, I'll force myself through it (in the same way you force yourself to drink lemsip when you're sick).