Colson Whitehead's Pullitzer-winner The Underground Railroad. This has been so garlanded and lauded that unsurprisingly my expectations were perhaps a little too high, but it is very, very good. Brutal in places though. Really really brutal.
Just finished Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris. A damned funny, acerbic, sharp, and observant writer. Not sure where I will go from here. At this point I'm more interested in reading than writing, so I will probably re-visit another "fun" read, like Bryson or Thurber or Wodehouse. Or maybe PD James' The Murder Room. Dickens would be nice, except once I pick him up I can't set the book down till it's finished. When I commuted to work I would get a book-on-CD every week, sort of serendipitous, whatever the library had that looked good. I discovered a lot of good books that way. That's the about the only part of my job that I miss.
Whoops I meant to say more interested in writing than reading. A Freudian slip suggesting impending writers' block?
I am currently consumed into, Academy of Assassins ( Book 1 ) by Stacey Brutger. It follows a young female adult named Morgan along her quarrels with supernaturals who are escaping their realm, and having to prove herself as she isn't a pure bread, so she thinks. This is a definite have to read for those who enjoy fiction and a bit of romance.
Just started reading Song of Kali by Dan Simmons again. It's one of the few books I actually own, but I've never finished it. Got somewhat deep into it a while back but never completed it cuz a little bit of life got in the way and by the time that resolved... I wanted a fresh start on a fresh book.
Just finished The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it nearly as much as I did. I connected with the main character in a way I didn't think I would. Funny how that works.
I remember being quite bored by the film, and wondering if it was one of those stories that works better in book form.
I didn't even know there was a film version, though I'm not surprised. And, I think you're right. The story isn't particularly exciting or anything, but the prose is excellent. I think a lot of my enjoyment came from being able to connect with Gogol on one particular thing that he goes through (which I won't say because I don't like to be a Spoiling Stan). If it weren't for that connection, I don't know how much I would have enjoyed it. The situation just resonated with me in a very personal way.
Just finished Starless Night by R.A. Salvatore (book 8 of the Legend Of Drizzt series) Most of the books by R.A Salvatore I have read I love. This was a particularly good one. It was tense and kept you wanting to know what happened next chapter after chapter. I had trouble putting it down. With my Daughter we just finished Song of the Poison Dragon by Tracey West (book 5 of the Dragon Masters series) We have been reading this series out of order because she grabs what she can find at the school library. It is a nice fantasy series for kids. You can bet some trouble will happen and the main characters will have to find a way to work together to make everything better again. I think they share some good core values for kids.
I’m reading The Teacher by Katerina Diamond. I wanted to go for a story with a bit of suspense and this story already has it at chapter 1. I’m also fluctuating between that and H.P Lovecraft (yes because of the Lovecraft thread!). I’ve read the call of Cthulhu and am now browsing At the Mountains of Madness.
ATMOM is, in my view, overrated as a horror story. Lovecraft shoots himself in the foot when he introduces those penguins. "One could picture the daemoniac fray between namelessly monstrous entities as it surged out of the black abyss with great clouds of frantic penguins squawking and scurrying ahead." I laughed out loud.
That's a real page-turner, if it had come out a few years later, it would have been a shoo-in for the Mann Booker.
It's been a long time since I read it, but isn't that the one where they encounter... Hang on, should probably put this in a spoiler box, even if it is pushing 90 years old: Spoiler: Lovecraft spoilers ...a cave with alien, alien, actual non-human writing that is eons old, and they're able to kinda sorta understand the whole of the alien culture's rise and fall better than I know my contemporary US history? If that's the one, it's among my least favorite for that simple reason. It took how long to understand hieroglyphics, and these two idiots in a cave with a battery powered flashlight are doing better than Google Translate does on Welsh? So yeah, Lovecraft is an idea man, but a horrible writer, IMHO.
I am reading "Standing: The Final Watch". It's a book by a guy in my writer's group, William Alan Webb. It's military fiction with a sci-fi bend. Pretty interesting so far! And this isn't usually my genre (but knowing the guy prob helps hold my interest a bit).
Currently reading Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange, thank God I know some Russian, makes it easier to understand.
I'm currently reading Gertrude by Herman Hesse. I read Siddhartha 3ish years ago and loved it, I was expecting something similar with Gertrude, judging the author by one book if I'm being honest, but was surprised, and not unpleasantly. I'm really loving Gertrude. Only about 40 pages to go but it's pulled me along and has been a real delight to read. You feel what the main character is feeling, it does touch you, but at the same time it's very gentle. The plot is semi predictable, but it didn't ruin the story or my enjoyment of it. The main man battles with the common emotional/ mental problems: a love he can't fulfill, existential crisis, loneliness etc, but in a refreshing, however unoriginal way. In summary I'd say it's a very pleasant afternoon read. It won't blow your socks off, but it will warm your feet.
Just bought Watchmen - Alan Moore, What is Art? - Tolstoy, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol and other Poems - Oscar Wilde. Joy is me!
They've not arrived just yet, but I recently bought Kafka's The Trial & a collection of John Clare. I can't wait to read Caitlin Doughty's new book when it comes out in the UK. Been waiting awhile for that one.
