what are you reading (thread 4) - Page 5

SIMON ADEBISI · 27-02-2011, 13:53

Irvine Welsh's Crime

Excellent but very grim read.

Gizmo · 28-02-2011, 09:00

Currently reading a chapter a night of Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell. It's nice to read a book about the actual games rather than the business/history side of things (Game Over by David Sheff deals with the history of Nintendo via Atari et all brilliantly) - and Bissell's essays do relate both his enthusiasm for the medium, his thoughts on the artistic merits and his annoyances with the cliches and various pitfalls of games. Each chapter is on one particular game or genre. He is very wordy and skilled at vividly describing the 'feel' of playing a particular game. He also has me firing up the dictionary of my kindle every few pages such is his capacious vocabulary.

And just downloaded for the kindle, after reading a sample, "It's All About The Bike" by Robert Penn which follows Penn's worldwide hunt to build the perfect bike and takes in the history and cultural impact of the bicycle. He brilliantly transfers his enthusiasm and knowledge of cycling into the pages. I think I'm really going to enjoy this one a lot.

Guest 12859 · 28-02-2011, 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by SIMON ADEBISI

Irvine Welsh's Crime

Excellent but very grim read.

I've yet to read this. Am a big fan of his other books so maybe I'll pick it up.

Just started The Polish Officer

Guest 32525 · 28-02-2011, 21:08

Just finished up Infinite Jest.

An incredibly complex and dense book that proved very readable and rewarding with perseverence. Very funny, totally heartbreaking and more thought provoking than anything else I've ever read.

Absolutely incredible.

ljp · 28-02-2011, 21:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sproaty88

I'm reading a few atm I'm going through Harry potter and the deathly hallows again because of the films, the strain by Guillermo del toro and life the universe and everything by Douglas Adams

Have you finished The Strain yet? Any thoughts about it?

statto · 28-02-2011, 21:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaime

Just finished up Infinite Jest.

An incredibly complex and dense book that proved very readable and rewarding with perseverence. Very funny, totally heartbreaking and more thought provoking than anything else I've ever read.

Absolutely incredible.

Strange you mention that, as I've popped that into my "to read" pile only this week (along with Cryptonomicon).

Anyone else read the Jasper Fforde books? I was thinking of picking those up too, but don't want to get sucked into a whole series of books unless it's really good.

Guest 78654 · 01-03-2011, 00:46

The world of Karl pilkington

should only take me an hour or two but it's funny

Neil B · 01-03-2011, 06:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by statto

Strange you mention that, as I've popped that into my "to read" pile only this week (along with Cryptonomicon).

Anyone else read the Jasper Fforde books? I was thinking of picking those up too, but don't want to get sucked into a whole series of books unless it's really good.

I've read the majority of Jasper Fforde's books (Thursday Next and Nursery Crime Adventure series) and personally I found them very good, definitely worth reading.

Guest 752 · 05-03-2011, 18:57

Finished Holy Machine - brilliant. I also read the short story Field by Tom Fletcher (published as a chap book by Nightjar press) which I found to be excellent - I will try and fit his two novels into my reading in the near future. Currently re-reading Wilt by Tom Sharpe, it a little bit slow in the set-up (first hundred pages or so) but once the police get involved it is laugh out load funny. Anyone remember the film with Mel Smith and Griff-Rhys Jones?

Niceguygeoff · 06-03-2011, 12:03

True Colors (Star Wars: Republic Commando) by Karen Traviss. Been working my way through these RC novels - True Colors is the third - and they're terrific. Lucasfilm pulled the carpet from under Traviss regarding the continuity of the stories and she ignited a massive flame war among the nerd community as a result, but these books are rivetting reads regardless of whether they're canon or not.

paulsaz · 08-03-2011, 19:07

Working through Dan Simmons Hyperion after trawling the SF recommendations thread. It's a bit OTT for me I think, technobabble a go go and excruciating love scenes that seem written for thirteen year old boys.

Got the Victoria Coren biography to read after this, lots of good reviews so looking forward to that.

roddy · 09-03-2011, 00:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by statto

Strange you mention that, as I've popped that into my "to read" pile only this week (along with Cryptonomicon).

Strange you mention that, as I've been reading Cryptonomicon. It's excellent stuff but damn Stephenson makes his books long. There's a hell of a lot going on and he does have a verbose (but brilliant) style so I can understand how it happens, but I feel like I've been reading this for a million years and I'm still just half way through.

Guest 58450 · 09-03-2011, 08:50

Just finished Iain Pears' Stone's Fall and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Had a really strong atmosphere (for me) of the three time periods in the book (1909, then 1890, then 1867) and a great plot. Worth a read.

chopperwilson · 09-03-2011, 12:16

The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant part 3

dunkle · 09-03-2011, 13:49

Just finsihed the latest Simon Kernick - THE PAYBACK

An easy read as always but did not rate it compared to his previous books.
His talent before has always been the UK setting and as such this book suffered from the move abroad, it also felt rushed and a lot more cliched than usual stuff

Decided to give Robert Crais a go and just started THE MONKEYS RAINCOAT. Not far in but does remind me a little of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

cedge · 12-03-2011, 14:35

Just finished reading Lee Child's 'Without Fail' (Jack Reacher 6). It was OK, if a little slow and a weaker story then others in the series so far although the ending was quite satisfying. Now onto the 'Persuader' (Jack Reacher 7).

The 'Killing Floor' (Jack Reacher 1) has so far been the best in the series IMO.

I normally like to read something else in between books of a series but nothing else takes by fancy at the moment or it is too expensive still on the kindle store. I'm still in the mindset that �4+ for an ebook is too expensive when I can get a 2nd hand version delivered for about �3 via Amazon's own marketplace

SIMON ADEBISI · 12-03-2011, 15:58

Persuader is my fave of all the Reacher books.

cedge · 12-03-2011, 16:05

I'll get right onto it then.

Guest 752 · 12-03-2011, 16:51

Angels of the Silences by Simon Bestwick a sweet revenge story let down a little by poor proof reading (anybody else find spelling mistakes jarring when reading?).

The Leaping by Tom Fletcher. Not as good as the short story I mentioned earlier in the thread but good enough that I look forward to his next offering later in the year.

Picked up Wilt in Nowhere while I was in town earlier. As with Wilt its a bit of a slow build up, but I am sure it will be worth it.

Guest 32525 · 13-03-2011, 08:08

Read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman over the past week. It was a fun, easy read, but it failed to leave any real impression. It felt like it was covering ground Gaiman's been over before and the relied on too many coincidences with the ancillary characters brining things to an easy conclusion while the main protagonists did nothing. Not bad by any stretch, but it was very 'meh' by Gaiman standards.