What Book Did You Read Last Night??? (3 Viewers)

[David Kronenbourg]

pretty sure i first heard of this book from this thread.

the devil all the time by donald ray pollock. bloody brilliant.

I posted about this here. Very good book.

 

[dunderhead]

it sure is. cheers for that. must check out that collection of shorts called knockemstiff

 

[Jim Daniels]

Just started this yesterday. Excellent so far.

The Faster I Walk The Smaller I Am

 

[Lili Marlene]

What's it like? I've never heard of the author

Nice artwork on it there.

 

[Jim Daniels]

What's it like? I've never heard of the author

Nice artwork on it there.

Just finished it and really liked it. Narrated by an elderly lady who is slightly neurotic, anxious and childlike. Funny, sad and full of observations on how lonely and strange life can be.

It's the debut novel from Kjersti A Skomsvold - from Norway. The translation appears to hold up well. Nice short paragraphs and chapters. And yeah, the design is lovely - by someone called Richard McGuire.

 

[IFF]

i got that book last week. haven't started it yet though.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Almost finished N-W by Zadie Smith - her latest.

Really like it, particularly the mid-section onwards.
Nice soft paper back edition, which I'm parading in front of the Kindle readers on the bus.

 

[David Kronenbourg]

Just finished Bullet Park which was great

Moved on to The Lime Twig which is pretty odd so far

 

[IFF]

Just finished Bullet Park which was great

it is bad that at the mention of John Cheever, I think back to the Seinfeld episode he was mentioned in.

currently reading "alone in berlin" by hans fallada. good so far.

the previous two books i read was "the memory of love" by aminatta forna and "nazi literature in the americas" by roberto bolano.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Maybe about to start Canada by Richard Ford.

Not entirely tempting. It's number three of a three-for-two.
Looks too serious for this time of year. 515 pages. Unappealing cover. Hmmmm

 

[Scientician 0.8]

I'm still tackling The Heretics by Will Storr.

I found it immensely enjoyable. Very much in the Jon Ronson mould but I think transcends that to a degree. Storr gives you a lot of food for thought while remaining fantastically readable throughout. Got another 100 pages to go but going give this two thumbs up already.

 

[David Kronenbourg]

One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash. Lyrical, gorgeously written tale of murder and betrayal in a small town from one of my favourite Southern Gothic authors. He's not very well known over here which is a crying shame. Recommended for fans of Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O'Connor, Dennis Johnson, James Lee Burke.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

The Longest Journey by E.M. Forster
This is the first of his books that I've read. I was expecting it to be deadly but it wasn't great. I find it hard to take seriously scandals about illegitimate children. Has anyone read any of his others? are they good?

The Death of Grass by John Christopher. A post-apocalyptic novel set in Britain. All the grass died and society broke down. I enjoyed it initially, I liked it less as it went on. I was surprised that a book written in 1956 could be so violent.

 

[Jim Daniels]

A few chapters into The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner

Very good so far. Seriously well written.

 

[David Kronenbourg]

Honeymoonser: A Cautionary Tale. Fictionalised account of the author's booze and weed fueled friendship with Raymond Carver. They were a right pair of miscreants. Very funny.

 

[IFF]

One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash. Lyrical, gorgeously written tale of murder and betrayal in a small town from one of my favourite Southern Gothic authors. He's not very well known over here which is a crying shame. Recommended for fans of Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O'Connor, Dennis Johnson, James Lee Burke.

i've been thinking of reading something of his.

i finished alone in berlin by hans fallada. it was extremely good.

i also read in the intermediary period northlin by willy vlautin. this is about a girl Allison who is an abusive relationship and finds that she is pregnant by her partner. she decides to leave las vegas to go to reno with her imaginery friend and confidante the actor Paul Newman to start her life afresh. it is a superb novel and highly recommended.

the third book i read was what happened to lani garver by carol plum-ucci. lani is the new student in school and some interest is taken in lani for various reasons, where did they come from? why are they there? are they male or female? interested in the third question, macy and claire go to talk to lani to find out more. its a story of friendship between claire and lani told from claires perspective. lani becomes a victim of bullying by some other people in school while claire is in remission from leukaemia. it was very good though some what sad.

the next book i will start is "transatlantic" by colum mccann and i am also currently at lunchtime reading "david copperfield" by charles dickens. interestingly, both of those i got in my local book shop.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Dirty Wars: The World Is A Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill. This is a great read, it's all about covert operations by the US in Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. I knew drones and proxy wars and such things existed before but it's crazy to get the details on how they're planned and carried out and what it's like having drones following you around.

 

[rettucs]

First book I'll have read by him. Its a short book but an enjoyable (if somewhat bleak) read.

I reckon I'll check out more of his work based on this.

 

[David Kronenbourg]

An Evening of Long Goodbyes by Paul Murray. It's about a young, wealthy layabout in Dublin who has to deal with the bank trying to repossess his family's house after his dad dies and his mum has a nervous breakdown. I loved Skippy Dies and this is proving to be equally as funny.

 

[Jill Hives]

Maybe about to start Canada by Richard Ford.

Not entirely tempting. It's number three of a three-for-two.
Looks too serious for this time of year. 515 pages. Unappealing cover. Hmmmm

That's been sitting in my queue too for a while.