What Are You Reading Now.

Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by Writing Forums Staff, Feb 22, 2008.

  1. Urocyon

    Urocyon Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2020
    Messages:
    51
    Likes Received:
    47
    Location:
    Montana
    @Krispee 6th or 7th re-read. I've read lots of his stuff, but never my dad's favorite, "Circus". Guess I'll jump on alibris and find a copy.
     
    Krispee likes this.
  2. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Messages:
    1,430
    Likes Received:
    1,145
    Location:
    UK
    I haven't heard of Circus, although my memory of his titles has disappeared and I'm thinking of some of the books they made into films. I do remember reading an article about Maclean, how he died mysteriously, not unlike his novels.
    I'm sure they have his books on Amazon.
     
    Urocyon likes this.
  3. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,742
    Likes Received:
    3,088
    Location:
    Texas
    I read Shawshank a couple of years back. I forgot about that one. This other though sounds exactly, one hundred percent what I was looking for. I'm just sad there's no audiobook. I'm going to have to read actual text.
    :cry:
     
    Iain Aschendale likes this.
  4. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,742
    Likes Received:
    3,088
    Location:
    Texas
    I haven't picked this one up yet, but I love Grady Hendrix. I especially loved My Best Friend's Exorcism.
     
    MusingWordsmith likes this.
  5. More

    More Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2019
    Messages:
    234
    Likes Received:
    164
    I have only recently discovered Raymond Chandler . The book I have started with is The High Window . Hard boiled crime fiction is not something that has interested me in the past .
    The writing is very good . It is rich and thick . Highly descriptive and enchanting . His style is distinctive , an education , a master class of skill in the art of writing . Some books have a captivating story Chandler is a captivating writer .
     
    Seven Crowns likes this.
  6. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2017
    Messages:
    1,345
    Likes Received:
    1,191
    Location:
    San Diego
    The Writer's Lexicon, Descriptions, Overused Words, and Taboos – Kathy Steinemann.
    I just got into it a bit and I think it will add to my limited skills.
     
  7. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,742
    Likes Received:
    3,088
    Location:
    Texas
    I'm finally reading To Kill a Mockingbird.
     
  8. Friedrich Kugelschreiber

    Friedrich Kugelschreiber marshmallow Contributor

    Joined:
    May 8, 2017
    Messages:
    4,744
    Likes Received:
    5,937
    It's a classic for a reason.
     
    J.T. Woody and Rzero like this.
  9. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,742
    Likes Received:
    3,088
    Location:
    Texas
    Done. Not bad. Now on to The Elementals by Michael McDowell
     
  10. Beloved of Assur

    Beloved of Assur Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2013
    Messages:
    204
    Likes Received:
    105
    Location:
    The Sacred City of Ashur
    "Tactics" by William Balck. Trying to get back on track for reading for both a, or so I dream about it ;), series set in the Russo-Japanese War and an RPG of my own design.
     
  11. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2013
    Messages:
    17,674
    Likes Received:
    19,889
    Location:
    Scotland
    Just finished Joe Abercrombie's newest installment in his current trilogy, The Age of Madness. Part II. The Trouble with Peace. Excellent. Dang. Now I have to wait till the third and final installment comes out. At least Abercrombie does actually produce work at a reasonable pace. In my opinion, The Age of Madness trilogy is as good as his first one, The First Law ...with a few of the same characters in it as well. VERY satisfying.
     
  12. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Messages:
    1,430
    Likes Received:
    1,145
    Location:
    UK
    Good to know, on both counts. :D
     
  13. Larro

    Larro Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2020
    Messages:
    90
    Likes Received:
    159
    Location:
    Bed
    Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. It's giving me Jane Eyre vibes.
     
    EFMingo and jannert like this.
  14. Viridian

    Viridian Member Supporter

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2015
    Messages:
    442
    Likes Received:
    291
    Location:
    New Zealand
    Hmmm, im almost at the end of the blade itself but it’s taken me a good while to get through it. Undecided if i will buy the rest of the books yet.
     
    Krispee and jannert like this.
  15. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2013
    Messages:
    17,674
    Likes Received:
    19,889
    Location:
    Scotland
    Don't force yourself to keep reading if you're not enjoying the series. Life is short. So many books. So little time.... :)
     
    Viridian, Krispee, Larro and 2 others like this.
  16. Friedrich Kugelschreiber

    Friedrich Kugelschreiber marshmallow Contributor

    Joined:
    May 8, 2017
    Messages:
    4,744
    Likes Received:
    5,937
    Life is too short...that's exactly right. If you're supposedly reading for fun, why on earth would you keep reading if you're not having fun? Life's too short for that. Life's too short to not do stuff that you enjoy when you have a choice. Too often you don't even have a choice.
     
    Viridian, Krispee and jannert like this.
  17. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2014
    Messages:
    5,167
    Likes Received:
    6,733
    Location:
    San Diego, California
    I don't know. I reflect a lot, and I find that a lot of the stories or books I hated when I was younger come back around and I appreciate them in a much softer light now. I do find value in struggling against something difficult to understand because there's likely elements at play I don't really understand quite yet. Now, of course, a bad series is a bad series, but I've started looking more into why I don't care for a particular text and I'm establishing grounds where the work kicks off for me or where it doesn't. I guess I just tend to get all the way through a book even if I don't care for most of it because a lot of authors take a bit to kick off. But if the style is something I just can't get used to, then I get close to tossing it out, at least after the first book in a series. But I'm in more of a learning mindset than just strict enjoyment. This may skew my mentality heavily.
     
  18. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Messages:
    1,430
    Likes Received:
    1,145
    Location:
    UK
    It's taken me a while too but I've enjoyed them.
     
    Viridian likes this.
  19. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2013
    Messages:
    17,674
    Likes Received:
    19,889
    Location:
    Scotland
    Actually, that's a very good point. I was being a bit facetious in my reply above.

    It's absolutely true that I've gone back to books I stopped reading earlier, because I found them less engaging than I'd hoped. I then either enjoyed them the second time around or certainly learned from the second encounter. A good example is a recent Forum Book Club selection, Watership Down. When I started reading it back in the 1970s, it just didn't grab me. I don't know what I thought it would be like, but whatever that was, it didn't grab me. This time, when it came up as the selection for the Club, I sighed, started again ...and was totally moved by and engrossed in the book. In fact, it's now a favourite of mine.

    So you're right. A classic book does certainly warrant a bit of extra effort, and a second chance! An open mind and a willingness to learn are good character traits to develop, aren't they?

    I think that attitude probably applies more to classic 'worthy' books than frivolous ones though. I'm not likely to re-read a Mills & Boon romance because I didn't like it the first time, and hope I might change my mind about it. :eek:
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2020
  20. dbesim

    dbesim Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2014
    Messages:
    2,836
    Likes Received:
    2,288
    Location:
    London, UK
    I’m in between books at the moment. Browsing between A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Son of Rosemary by Ira Levin and The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. We’ll see which one catches my fancy very soon!
     
  21. r.ross

    r.ross Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2020
    Messages:
    124
    Likes Received:
    52
    Just started Our Child of the Stars by Stephen Cox. So far it's heartwarming. Not my usual read, but I'm glad I picked it up.
     
  22. Le Panda Du Mal

    Le Panda Du Mal Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2020
    Messages:
    588
    Likes Received:
    623
    Gaspard de la Nuit by Aloysius Bertrand, translated by Donald Sidney Freyer
     
  23. Rzero

    Rzero Reluctant voice of his generation Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,742
    Likes Received:
    3,088
    Location:
    Texas
    For what it's worth, The Picture of Dorian Gray is my favorite book from that entire era. It's so good.
     
  24. Viridian

    Viridian Member Supporter

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2015
    Messages:
    442
    Likes Received:
    291
    Location:
    New Zealand
    I hate leaving a book unfinished. There are only two i have ever done that with, one by Barbara Erskine (so corny I couldn’t take it any longer) and one by Donna Tarrt (The Little Friend). Having said that I was gifted The Goldfinch last Christmas and persevered with that one, took me the longest time though. Not because of the length, because it was so bogged down in detail!
     
    jannert, Rzero and Krispee like this.
  25. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Messages:
    1,430
    Likes Received:
    1,145
    Location:
    UK
    I also started The Goldfinch, actually after I watched the film adaption. Never got that far with the book, but maybe I'll come back to it.
     
    jannert and Viridian like this.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice