What Book Did You Read Last Night??? (8 Viewers)

[Denny Oubidoux]

Iran: Empire of the Mind: A History from Zoroaster to the Present Day by Michael Axworthy
Fascinating, loads of stuff I never knew anything about and not just about Iran but about the surrounding areas down through the millennia. I have "Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic" by the same author lined up, it focuses on 1979 and it's aftermath but first I'm going to read Girl In A Band by Kim Gordon and maybe some short books to get my goodreads challenge back on track.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Excellent! Haven't read him before, and I really liked the look of this..

It's actually a prequel to Skellig. I'm sure it works on its own as well but I read it after so it'll be interesting to see.

 

[pavlos]

I am re-reading Alan Garner's Stone Book Quartet which I read a few years ago for college and could barely follow at the time.

Reading with a bit less pressure now and it's really blowing me away. It unapologetically drops in all the language (jargon?) of stonemasonry and just expects the reader to go along with it.

It's probably everything an MFA program would discourage in writing and all the better for it.

The Stone Book Quartet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This was an excellent recommendation, thanks. Just finished it last night. Best thing I've read in ages.

 

[Lili Marlene]

This was an excellent recommendation, thanks. Just finished it last night. Best thing I've read in ages.

Wow, someone actually listens to my rambling! I'm not sure any of the stories quite live up the first one in it but yeah it's fairly amazing. I keep getting the feeling there's something in it that's just beyond my understanding.

 

[pavlos]

Wow, someone actually listens to my rambling! I'm not sure any of the stories quite live up the first one in it but yeah it's fairly amazing. I keep getting the feeling there's something in it that's just beyond my understanding.

I have the feeling it will reward revisits alright! I must have a read of some of his other books.

 

[rettucs]

Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon.

Not great so far. Shes just listing lots of famous people she knows and all these great places shes been

I'm only getting to the part where she moves to New York though, so maybe it'll start to get good.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon.

Not great so far. Shes just listing lots of famous people she knows and all these great places shes been

I'm only getting to the part where she moves to New York though, so maybe it'll start to get good.

I read this the other day. I really liked the first bit about her younger days in LA and moving to new York. Not that there was anything mad interesting in it but I liked the way she wrote it.

Spoiler

It got a bit odd and random when she started covering the sonic youth years by covering the albums chronologically, picking various anecdotes along the way and skipping almost everything. Lee and Steve barely got a mention, she skipped Nycg&f altogether and covered the last few albums in one page. It was like she got tired of it a she went along.

She totally dishes everything on Thurston in a way that surprised me. I reckon we can forget about any sonic youth reunion (unless they badly need money). It ends quite abruptly and strangely.

 

[nooleen]

i wonder if she includes the time she guest starred on gossip girl, that would be rad

 

[Jim Daniels]

It's actually a prequel to Skellig. I'm sure it works on its own as well but I read it after so it'll be interesting to see.

Loved Mina - it's been a long time since a book has had such a positive impact on me while reading it. Pity it (and hence the feeling) only lasted a couple of days! Will follow up with Skellig and the others straight away...

 

[Lili Marlene]

I love his writing

 

[rettucs]

Ok I'm gonna get in on this David Almond thing after I'm done being bored by Kim Gordon.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I'd recommend any of them (that i've read) bar The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas which I felt kind of missed the mark a bit.

Although I apparently gave it 4 stars on goodreads so it must have gotten better as it went along.

 

[jonah]

Loved Mina - it's been a long time since a book has had such a positive impact on me while reading it. Pity it (and hence the feeling) only lasted a couple of days! Will follow up with Skellig and the others straight away...

View attachment 10437

How beautiful is that cover?

Also love him. Listened to his Desert Island Discs the other day, nice guy!

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

In the Heart of the Heart of the Country by William H. Gass. I didn't really enjoy this at all and I expected to love it. It had it's moments but it was mostly tedious, trying too hard. I'll have to reconsider adding The Tunnel to my to-read list. To be fair to it, it did have a nice cover.

I'm now about halfway through In the Light of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman. It's very engrossing as far as the plot goes but I'm not sure how mad I am about the way he's writing it. Its an easy read, page turner kind of a thing which is what I'm in the humour for after the tiresome Gass book.

 

[rettucs]

I read this the other day. I really liked the first bit about her younger days in LA and moving to new York. Not that there was anything mad interesting in it but I liked the way she wrote it.

Spoiler

It got a bit odd and random when she started covering the sonic youth years by covering the albums chronologically, picking various anecdotes along the way and skipping almost everything. Lee and Steve barely got a mention, she skipped Nycg&f altogether and covered the last few albums in one page. It was like she got tired of it a she went along.

She totally dishes everything on Thurston in a way that surprised me. I reckon we can forget about any sonic youth reunion (unless they badly need money). It ends quite abruptly and strangely.

I ended up enjoying this in the end. I'm not sure I still like Kim Gordon though.

Reading this now;

cos you lot all said hes great. Its decent to good so far.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I ended up enjoying this in the end. I'm not sure I still like Kim Gordon though.

Reading this now;

cos you lot all said hes great. Its decent to good so far.

Just FYI, most of his stuff is hidden away in the childrens section in bookshops, that's one of his few grownup books. I still think it's really great but maybe, MAYBE, suffers a little from the self conscious constraint of having to be an IMPORTANT WORK FOR SOPHISTICATED ADULT READERS.

 

[pavlos]

In the Heart of the Heart of the Country by William H. Gass. I didn't really enjoy this at all and I expected to love it. It had it's moments but it was mostly tedious, trying too hard. I'll have to reconsider adding The Tunnel to my to-read list. To be fair to it, it did have a nice cover.

I had a go at this a while back, but I really struggled to finish the first story, I found it incredibly irritating. Been meaning to get back to it so I can finish the rest... someday.

Just finished this last night, I enjoyed it, but as with most fiction these days I find, could probably have done with being about a third shorter than it was.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I had a go at this a while back, but I really struggled to finish the first story, I found it incredibly irritating. Been meaning to get back to it so I can finish the rest... someday.

The first one was the best unfortunately. The last one was vaguely ok too but he kept wrecking it.

 

[Jim Daniels]

Shame about In the Heart of the Heart of the Country.
Great title, lovely cover, and I had a very nice perception of it.

Might give it a miss now. Highly regarded though, isn't it?

 

[pavlos]

Shame about In the Heart of the Heart of the Country.
Great title, lovely cover, and I had a very nice perception of it.

Might give it a miss now. Highly regarded though, isn't it?

Yeah, Nicholas Lezard had it in his paperback of the week a while back (here) and he's usually a good bet. Didn't click with this one at all though!