What book are you reading...

No1newts · 29 Oct 2015 at 16:22

I'm really struggling to get into anything at the mo, got a few books on the go;

Killing Floor - first Jack Reacher book, pretty enjoyable and easy read so far.

Killing Suki Flood - rated by a fair few people as one of the best ten noir books ever but I'm not quite feeling it. Reads like a cheesy 80's film at times though the initial chapter is perhaps the best noir chapter I have ever read.

Wasp Factory - never finished it first time so going again but again I'm failing to be sucked into the story.

Gardens of the Moon - re-read with the two new books out in the new year and enjoying it as before.

Meditations - collected writings of Marcus Aurelius one of the old Roman emperors, very nice stuff he sounds like a very wise and sober man who lives by what some would consider some philosophical leanings but he portrays as mere common sense that is still relevant 1500 or so years later. Not a one off read though, quick and short chapters to pick through.

Got a few short stories an some odds and sods on the go to, been a strange year reading for me this year, gone from 2-3 books a month and I'm not sure if I'll even finish 12 by the time the year is out.

melmac · 29 Oct 2015 at 17:20

No1newts said:
Got a few short stories an some odds and sods on the go to, been a strange year reading for me this year, gone from 2-3 books a month and I'm not sure if I'll even finish 12 by the time the year is out.

It happens like that for me too. I didn't read anything for about a year then I found the Dresden files and I read all of them in a few months.

No1newts · 29 Oct 2015 at 18:30

melmac said:
It happens like that for me too. I didn't read anything for about a year then I found the Dresden files and I read all of them in a few months.

I've pretty consistently for about 15 year read between 24-50 books a year and this last year has just died. I'm looking for something to grip me again but struggling to find anything.

Hopefully something will creep up on me but I have tended to find myself reading short stories and quirkier books this year as nothing big has really grabbed my attention.

pepp77 · 29 Oct 2015 at 19:27

I would recommend The Last Rune series by Mark Anthony, 6 books of about 600 pages each. I got so addicted to them I spent almost all my downtime reading them and doing nothing else.

melmac · 30 Oct 2015 at 12:25

Hero in Shadows. David Gemmell.

I just finished this, again. Great book. I would love if he had written more Waylander novels. But I guess that would have ruined the mystery.

The_One · 1 Nov 2015 at 14:55

Not meant to be released until 5th November

Slamhamster · 2 Nov 2015 at 22:14

Currently reading The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu, the sequel to The Three Body Problem. It's quite an interesting read, probably because it is a translation of a Chinese novel and covers topics that you wouldn't expect their government not to censor, being quite scathing in regard to the persecution of intellectuals during the cultural revolution and the way it betrayed its most ardent supporters by exploiting and discarding them.

Less interesting was Armada by Ernest Cline which was like a really tedious fan-fiction mashup of The Last Starfighter and Ender's Game and managed to make it a dull cliche packed with stale pop culture references.

Unfortunately Armada was like Shakespeare compared to the unremitting drivel that is Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong. I loved the lovecraftian lunacy of John Dies At The End and This Book Is Full of Spiders but his latest is so bad it beggars belief. The characters barely qualify as one dimensional and I had to force myself to finish it. Absolute garbage.

Annoyingly the new Scott Lynch book I'd been hoping to get my hands on has been knocked back from November to July

leemk · 3 Nov 2015 at 09:14

leemk said:
Swan Song : Robert McCammon.
Had this sitting in the garage for the last 20 years at least , after a recent garage clean up i found it and gave it a go.
Normally like my scifi but this has got to be one of the best books i have read in years .
Pretty similar to The Stand from what i can gather , have not read that yet so will give that a go after this.

Hmm , last 1/4 of the book didnt live up to the rest .

melmac · 4 Nov 2015 at 13:54

The Dwarves by Markus Heitz. Just halfway through this book and haven't decided yet if it's good or bad. I like some of the ideas but not sure how everything fits together just yet.

SpeedFreak · 4 Nov 2015 at 16:16

The Trouble with Physics - Lee Smolin

Well written and good if you are interested in Quantum Gravity.

Glaucus · 4 Nov 2015 at 16:32

^
will have to add that to the ever growing back log.

Breaking the chains of gravity -Amy Shire Teitel
History of rocket, but concentrating on pre nasa, especially ww1. Ww2

leemk · 5 Nov 2015 at 14:04

The Stand uncut: Stephen king.
After reading Swan Song thought i would give this a go.
Not really a king fan as he seems to go on a bit and i end up skipping pages.
Well cant say i have done this yet with this book , on page 550 of 1007 and it has got me hooked .
Also found the 4 part Stand TV series on Youtube so have watched the first 2 parts.
Pretty good seeing the characters , cast pretty well apart from Harold and Frannie.

Andybtsn · 5 Nov 2015 at 14:06

The Stand if my favorite King book, loved the TV series too!

HungryHippos · 5 Nov 2015 at 14:16

On the last book of The Dark Tower series, very good overall in my opinion (also King

).

Need a new series to get stuck into next. I'd quite like to read some good sci-fi next I think, anyone got any recommendations along the lines of the excellent Peter F.Hamiltons' Night's Dawn trilogy? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night's_Dawn_Trilogy

dannyjo22 · 5 Nov 2015 at 16:08

Trying to find something along the lines of the Conn Igeldon books but on the crusades. Anyone ready any good books on the crusades?

Meridian · 5 Nov 2015 at 21:15

HungryHippos said:
On the last book of The Dark Tower series, very god overall in my opinion (also King ).

Need a new series to get stuck into next. I'd quite like to read some good sci-fi next I think, anyone got any recommendations along the lines of the excellent Peter F.Hamiltons' Night's Dawn trilogy? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night's_Dawn_Trilogy

Nearest thing to Hamilton's Space Operas these days is another Brit, Neal Asher. I'd start with his first book, "Gridlinked".

dannyjo22 · 6 Nov 2015 at 16:31

Anyone read anything by Jack Ludlow? I'm considering some of his historical fiction. Or any other authors that do good historical fiction?

I quite like reading them and then doing my own research into the facts.

Thekwango · 6 Nov 2015 at 17:24

just finished World War Z - didn't think I would enjoy that style of book with the short stories but have to say I absolutely loved it

Scipio_127 · 6 Nov 2015 at 20:02

dannyjo22 said:
Anyone read anything by Jack Ludlow? I'm considering some of his historical fiction. Or any other authors that do good historical fiction?

I quite like reading them and then doing my own research into the facts.

The Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris. Imperium, lustrum and the recently released Dictator. Obviously set around ancient Rome and its politics.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/381/dp/B0041RRH7W/ref=pd_rhf_gw_s_cp_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1T6G6VDK4FP59F2Y7WB0

Thekwango · 7 Nov 2015 at 01:10

Andybtsn said:
The Stand if my favorite King book, loved the TV series too!

gotta agree with the tv series bit - never got round to the book