what are you reading at the moment?

[Angela]

Will definitely be bumping it up on my list then :)

[Laurel]

I'm reading The Croning by Laird Barron which is interesting and creepy in parts but should have been written more tightly and been shorter because the padding is breaking the tension - I think he usually does short stories (which are very highly praised, although I haven't read any yet) and was trying to expand this into a novel when really it would have been better as a short or a novella.
I also started Therese Raquin on my lunch break but am only 2 chapters in so no real opinions yet....

[Hilary]

I gave myself the afternoon off today and have read The Shock of the Fall . I started off thinking it was a bit derivative of both The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and We Need to Talk About Kevin and although I enjoyed the book, I haven't really changed that opinion. Having said that, however, it was an enjoyable read and an insight into mental illness in the same tragi/ comic way that Curious Incident is and some parts I did feel very moved by. Won't write a review of it as I'm unsure as to whether I'd actually recommend it - but I enjoyed it myself.

[[deleted user]]

Started and set aside The Professor of Poetry - couldn't get interested in the characters - and the author seemed to be trying too hard to write in a poetic style .

I've embarked on Book 2 of A Man of No Qualities and have also just started A Time of Gifts which I'm really enjoying.

[Anna]

@Hilary, @Jenny. How ignorant am I? I always thought "Goodbye to All That" was a novel by Hemingway!!! Clearly need to improve my literary education. Tried to read I Claudius years ago - don't think I managed to finish it. But will give it another try sometime, and the autobiography.

[[deleted user]]

I see where you're coming from - it does sound like it could be a sequel to A Farewell to Arms :0)

[Jenny]

LOL, yes it does!!

[Hilary]

@Anna - I'm always getting confused by book titles and I never have a clue about authors - you're definitely not alone! I loved I Claudius and the follow on Claudius the God.

[Laurel]

I'm reading Faulkner's Light in August as well as the Zola for the group read. Then once I'm done with these two, I'm going back to The Man Without Qualities and Dante.

[Hilary]

@Laurel -What a coincidence. I picked up Light in August at the Oxfam shop and was thinking of reading it next. What I really want to read by Faulkner is As I Lay Dying but I haven't managed to get a cheap copy and there seems to be a huge waiting list at the library for it for some reason.

[Laurel]

I've got a copy of As I Lay Dying as well but decided to read this one first, am really enjoying it so far, it's not an easy read but not as difficult as I thought it would be.

[Howard]

Started Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child, another Jack Reacher novel. This one was a number 1 NY Timers bestseller a while back. Very good so far, first 50 pages.

[georgiabread]

Tigers on the Beach by Doug McLeod

[Joy]

I'm reading Americanah and really enjoying it.

[[deleted user]]

Just about to start book one of the Pilgrimage series - Pointed Roofs

[[deleted user]]

About half way through Claudine at School which I'm loving .
My first Colette experience :0)

[Laurel]

Let us know how you like it Lee - I've been reading to read Colette for ages!

[Hilary]

I should have carried on with Pepys biog but have temporarily left it because I couldn't resistThe Naked Civil Servant any longer. The dramatisation of it starring John Hurt eons ago was one of the best things I've ever seen, funny and moving all mixed up together. I couldn't resist buying it when I saw it second hand.

[Anna]

@Hilary - that was one of my mother's favourite books because she met Quentin Crisp several times during a brief bohemian period in London after the war. When we were in our teens she told us some of her experiences, such as 'dear Quentin' dying his hair first blue, then pink.
She thought that John Hurt was brilliant in the role. I still have her 1977 copy of the book somewhere. Sadly she died not long after it came out.

[Anna]

Finishing off Therese Raquin and just starting Atonement by Ian McEwan which I've been meaning to read for years now.

[Angela]

I am on Salome by Oscar Wilde :o)

[[deleted user]]

@ Anna - wow - How wonderful to be able to say " my mother knew Quentin Crisp". My mum once bumped into (literally) David Essex - but that's not quite the same :0)
Would you recommend the book Hilary?
Angie, I got the idea that Salome was a bit naughty and decadent - I hope you're not being corrupted.

[Laurel]

I'm reading Jo Nesbo's The Redbreast - don't usually read a lot of crime/thriller type stuff but am enjoying it so far.

[Hilary]

@Laurel - I love Jo Nesbo. I read The Snowman first which is almost at the end of the Harry Hole series and then worked my way backwards. I enjoyed every one of them.

@Anna - Wow from me too. I bet he was the most amazing character to meet. Absolutely unique.

@Lee - I'm not too far in but if you ever saw the dramatisation whole chunks of the book were used as the narration. It's very wry, sad and funny all at the same time. On page 6 he says

As the years went by, it did not get lighter but I became accustomed to the dark. ........ These crippling disadvantages gave my life an interest that it would otherwise never have had. To survive at all was an adventure; to reach old age was a miracle. In one respect it was a blessing. In an expanding universe, time is on the side of the outcast. Those who once inhabited the suburbs of human contempt find that without changing their address they eventually live in the metropolis. In my case this took a very long time.

[Angela]

@Lee - was disappointingly UN-corrupting. But I still love a bit of OW. I am now reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

[[deleted user]]

Must get some more Miss Marple
@ Hilary - it's gone straight on to the to read list - in fact I might just have to pop over to Amazon....

[Howard]

Starting Acts of God by Ellen Gilchrist.

[[deleted user]]

Just started Captain Blood and A Canticle for Leibowitz

[Laurel]

I'm almost done with The Redbreast which I'm really emjoying - will defo be reading the rest of this series at some point! Also started S. by J.J. Abrams (yes the star trek guy) and Doug Dorst which is really intriguing. And still chipping away at the Zola but am reading that on my lunchbreaks so going slowly but surely on that one ;)

[Angela]

I am tackling 30-Second Philosophies: The 50 most thought-provoking philosophies, each explained in half a minute by Barry Loewer.

I've also started Theo's Odyssey by Catherine Clément

[[deleted user]]

Expanding the old mind tank eh?

[Angela]

Helps me maintain perspective :)

[Ellie]

After the furore of alleged bannings, I thought I'd read Of Mice and Men. It's beautifully written - Steinbeck can describe a scene brilliantly, so you can really see it on your mind'a eye - and it's a sad tale, well told. But it's length makes it very shallow too, the characters feel quite one-dimensional. Apparently it's been studied by
90% of UK Eng Lit pupils; I can't help thinking that there are numerous other books that would make a more in-depth topic of study.

[Angela]

I remember studying it too Ellie. When coupled with the film, I think I actually got more out if the story. Have you seen it?

[Ellie]

No, I must admit it's my first experience of this book and of Steinbeck. His writing is excellent, but I wish Of Mice and Men was longer and had developed some more depth!! I probably would never had read it if it hadn't hit the headlines this week, but I'm glad I have

[[deleted user]]

I missed the news of the bannings - what was that about Ellie?

[Ellie]

A lot of hype over nothing. Apparently, over 90% of Eng Lit school pupils study Of Mice & Men at school, and in many cases it's the only novel they study (given it's length I personally feel that's pure laziness on the part of teachers.

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has stipulated that the syllabus be widened, and that more emphasis be placed on pre 20th century British classics (compared as is the case currently to a bias toward 20th century American novels). The left-wing media cherry-picked the elements of the story and made it sound like Gove was banning the American classics, and blew it out of all proportion. So, there was never really a ban, just a lot of hot air!!

[Hilary]

I have to admit I found this book unbearably depressing! I'm surprised it's studied so widely.

[Howard]

@Ellie - I cannot recommend highly enough Steinbeck's East of Eden. It is in my top 5 novels of all time. Absolutely Steinbeck at the top of his game. A masterpiece.

[[deleted user]]

Keep meaning to read this - must bump it up the to read list.

[Howard]

Just started my latest Jack Reacher escaped, The Affair. For me this is just good ol' relaxin' and gettin' totally lost in it entertainment reading at about its best.

[Ellie]

@Antipodes - thanks for the recommendation; I did actually buy both East of Eden and the Grapes of Wrath today :-)

[Laurel]

Yeah me too - have heard such good things about Steinbeck. I'd suggest a readalong guys but I'm always starting them and not finishing - still need to get back to Dante, Musil Dickens...

[Angela]

I'd be in on a Steinbeck read along later in the year :-)

[[deleted user]]

We could have him as a monthly author - he's sure to be in the Bloomsbury Good reads book.

[Howard]

I'm all for that and would join in on a readalong whenever.

[[deleted user]]

Ok - I've named Mr Steinbeck as our August monthly author - here's a link to a selection of his novels.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Joy]

I'm re-reading some easy old favourites, among them Even Money. I'm trying to economise at the moment so I think I'll have to see what's being offered for free on Kindle!

[Anna]

Just finished the brilliant Atonement by Ian McEwan and just started reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath on my Kindle.

For my book-at-bedtime I'm going to read Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett as I think his books are really funny.

I was going to devote August to Middlemarch but I'll now go for East of Eden as per Antipodes's recommendation. I've already read Grapes of Wrath - one of my all-time favourites - and if the Guardian don't include Steinbeck in their 100 Classics series I'll be disgusted!

[Hilary]

I loved Atonement but hated the Bell Jar. I'm glad to meet another Pratchett fan, I always read him when I need a lift!