All booked up

[Sybarite]

It seems we haven't got somewhere to discuss what we're reading – so I thought I'd start a thread.

I've recently finished reading Martin Cruz Smith's Gorky Park. A thriller set predominantly in Moscow in the 1970s, it features the debut of Arkady Renko, a Soviet investigator, who finds himself landed with three corpses , all of whom have had their faces and fingertips removed to prevent identification. Yet even the KGB don't want to touch the case.

Very well written and a great sense of atmosphere – you can almost taste the vodka – it also manages to be genuinely chilling.

I'm now reading the first of John Mortimer's books about his much-loved barrister, Rumpole of the Bailey, a character imortalised on British TV by Leo McKern.

I never really saw the TV programme and I've never read the books before – but they're very, very funny, in a very dry English way.

So what are other members reading or have read recently? Would you recommend something or was it dismal?

 

[Sybarite]

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote.

Beautifully written novella about Holly Golightly, a young and enigmatic woman who becomes friends with a writer who lives in the same block.

Holly is naive and worldly wise, vulnarable and fragile, yet outrageous and promiscuous, a liar/fantasist with a past that is, at best, hazy. In many ways, it's possible to see Capote's creation as very similar to Sally Bowles in Christoper Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin – not least as both stories are written from a first-person perspective, about would-be writers, and both authors were gay.


What are other members reading?

 

[rojo]

Hi Sybarite,

Great topic! Unfortunately I haven't been reading much these days; mostly just pages of sheet music. :grin: (Oh, and the posts around here.)

I've got a copy of Daniel J. Levitin's ''This Is Your Brain On Music, The Science Of A Human Obsession'' that I look forward to reading, when I get the time.

 

[Corno Dolce]

Hi Ms. RoJo,

That sounds like an interesting book. Christmas break is soon upon us - hopefully I can *visually ingest* it then. :grin::grin::grin:

Cheers,

Corno Dolce

 

[marval]

Hi

Am in the middle of reading The Rainbow by DH Lawrence, it is quite good. I mostly prefer classics, it gives me a good read plus a little history thrown in. Get most of my reads from the library.

As they say
Outside of a dog man's best friend is a book, inside of a dog too dark to read

 

[Sybarite]

Hi Rojo, thank you for the comments. I was doing a course earlier this year and, for a number of reasons, gave it up. One of those was that it cut my leisure reading time to nothing – and that was something that I really missed.

... As they say
Outside of a dog man's best friend is a book, inside of a dog too dark to read

 

[methodistgirl]

I was reading the 2008 Guiness book of world records and not once was
a picture of the world's biggest organ or smallest playable musical
instrument. There was the biggest bug in the world, the fattest, the
skinnest, the one who could break the most concrete blocks and more.
As popular as Bejeweled and bejeweled 2 was it should have went into
the record book. So go figure! I saw the guy and gal with the longest
fingernails, and the biggest escargo or snail. This book even glowed in
the dark. I wonder if you ever read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
I find the series to be quite humorus.
judy tooley

 

[Krummhorn]

. . . Daniel J. Levitin's ''This Is Your Brain On Music, The Science Of A Human Obsession'' that I look forward to reading, when I get the time.

Small world, Rojo ... I'm currently reading this same book. It's easy reading and enjoyable. I'll not reveal any of its contents here so as to not spoil your reading adventures. Oddly enough, I was able to borrow this book from our local library - I didn't think they would have the title ... surprise, surprise ..

 

[rojo]

Ah, some day... soon I hope!

Sybarite- Well, one can't do everything in life, at least not at the same time...

 

[toejamfootball]

Small world, Rojo ... I'm currently reading this same book. It's easy reading and enjoyable. I'll not reveal any of its contents here so as to not spoil your reading adventures. Oddly enough, I was able to borrow this book from our local library - I didn't think they would have the title ... surprise, surprise ..

Hmm that book sounds interesting, I will have to check my library, I havent had a chance to go there yet. Maybe look for some good Baroque CD's aswell.

The last book I tried to read was a book on Franz Liszt, but it was dull. I thought it would be more about his music, but it was mostly about his personal life besides music.

Rojo and Krummhorn give me some good Classical music book titles and authors.. or anything to do with music in general. You guys seem like you have read quite a few books on those subjects. :grin:

 

[Mat]

I've been reading 'Miles Davies Autobiography' recently. I have like 50 pages left.
Great book, however written in a informal language, if you know what I mean.
Nevertheless worth to be recommended.

 

[NEB]

The last book I read was titled - the book of general ignroance. a light hearted and generally informative read if total trivia is your thing. I just found it amusing...

 

[Sybarite]

Nana by Émile Zola

Part of the massive Rougon-Macquart cycle, Nana tells the story of a Parisian tart whose meteoric rise destroys several French families. Ending with Nana's death and the start of the Franco-Prussian war, Zola uses the novel as an allegory of the decline of the Second Empire.

Told in Zola's characteristic naturalistic style, it's a heady and sensual journey, with descriptions that leave you thinking you were there – you can almost smell the greasepaint in the opening chapter's description of Nana's theatrical success that launches her on Paris.

But Zola is not simplistic – his portrayal of Count Muffat, perhaps Nana's greatest 'victim', is poignant and multi-faceted, but also shot through with a sense that there are great similarities between his overt religiosity and his masochistic relationship with Nana.

Excellent stuff.

 

[rojo]

I thought this one sounded interesting, although I haven't read it.

Alex Ross, 'The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century'

 

[Muza]

What a great thread!!! Sybarite, the Gorky Park sounds great - I will be sure to read it, as soon as I get my hands on it.
I havent read a lot of thoughtful books lately (mostly suspense/murder investigation books to relax on my way home), but I have reread Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 - It is amazing. Simply amazing - soo much food for thought and deliberation.

 

[Sybarite]

What a great thread!!! Sybarite, the Gorky Park sounds great - I will be sure to read it, as soon as I get my hands on it...

I'm glad that you like the thread, Muza. If you find it, I hope that you enjoy Gorky Park – I've just started Polar Star, the sequel, after a 'busy' few days relaxing with books.

So my most recent reads have been:

Live from Golgotha by Gore Vidal

Well, having decided that I wanted to try some Gore Vidal, this was one of two that I selected from Amazon.

The story of Timothy, early father of the Christian church, and 'Saint' (Paul), and some time travel and the TV battle to film the crucifixion and ...

An extraordinary piece of imaginative fiction – iconoclastic and very, very funny. This works on so many levels, including as a look at the nature of religion, the nature (from a vaguely historical perspective) of what Christianity is and where it comes from, and the nature of memory.

Huge fun.

Scouse Mouse by George Melly

The first volume of George Melly's memoirs, set between the wars in Liverpool, England, makes for fascinating and highly entertaining reading – not for any great escapades on the part of this legendary and late lamented jazz musician, but because he creates such a vivid picture of life at that time, in that place, in his slightly Bohemian and middle-class family, that there are moments when you can almost smell it all.

Quite coincidentally, this book, like the Vidal before it, touches on the nature of memory, as Melly points out that he had 'memories', really strong and clear ones, that cannot possibly be memories because he knows that such conditions as he 'remembers' (his mother driving) could not occur (she never drove). How much of memory is what we're told/taught and what we wish or imagine had happened?

Evocative indeed.

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

Semi-autobiographical novel from the literary Mitford sister, this tells the story of an upper-class, landed family between the wars, concentrating on the romantic exploits of one daughter, Linda, who is partly based on the author herself.

Beautifully written, wryly amusing and really quite sharp in its description of the foibles of the class from which she herself came, Mitford's 1945 novel is a fascinating picture of a way of life that is now gone.

And since I seem, entirely coincidentally, to be finding links between books, this is set in pretty much the same period as Scouse Mouse and, like that, is partly about the foibles of a particular class.

 

[Mobi]

Greetings to all you booklovers.
I thought I'd pop in and tell you what I've read since I quite like reading all kinds of books and also I thought I might find some excellent suggestions for future readings.

I mostly like to read Terry Pratchett's books, or more like devour them, about Discworld and everything wonderful, magical, funny etc. stuff happening to its large variety of main characters. I think I've read over 20 of them and theres is no end in sight because there's at least 20 I haven't read and Pratchett is very productive Almost every book can be read independently or part of a larger story and still you would know what discworld series is all about, laughter. Wintersmith is the latest one I've read from him and again I have to tip my hat to Terry for writing such a wonderful book. Telling a story about a young witch, Tiffany, along these little blue scottish looking 'n talking men called feegles who are dumb as a boot but can fight like a superbarbarian giant :grin: Tiffany chooses a wrong place and a time to dance and mixes things up real good which almost leads to never ending winter and the story can begin.
I recommend Terry Pratchett's books to everyone who like a bit weird witty twisted humour and fantasy combined, you can't go wrong with any of them.

Next book I want mention is The Star Rover by Jack London.
I think I've read this old classic for 3 times now and my mind still keeps wanting to get back to it for fresh memories.
It's a story about a man who gets sentenced for life in prison for murder. While in prison he gets harsh treatment and most of the time he lies in his cell in a old fashioned straitjacket. He learns from another inmate how "shut" his body and mind and go into a trance. In this state he can travel amongs stars and into his past lives. These travels take him from castaway to a begger in early times of china and to many other places and times. It's really interesting and well written book that makes you think about possible past lives that you might've had and the whole reincarnation subject.I know its possible to go into that kind of trance and be able to control and understand your dreams which I believe in and it gives a whole another perspective for this story.
A book you'll never be tired of reading again.

Whew, that looks like a lot of text
I hope some find this helpful although I don't think I should be a book reviewer just yet I have many many other interesting books I would like to share with you but I think this is good length for one post :grin:
I'll write some more reviews later when I feel like I'm not taking over this thread

 

[Muza]

I have also recently read two great books by Paolo Coehlo, which had quite an effect on me. Devil and Ms. Prym discusses the general nature of a man (human that is) - are we essentially good or will we give in to temptation and take the first chance to let our inner "evil" shine through? The topic as old as time....
The second book is The Alchemyst, of which I am sure most, if not all, of you have heard before. The book deals with ability to "communicate" with the universe. The universe sends us signs all the time, and it is up to us to see them or ignore them. Although this story is much more mellow and less suspenseful than the first one, the topic is quite interesting.

 

[Sybarite]

Mobi, Terry Pratchett is a superb writer – very much underestimated by some people who assume that, because his novels are set in a fantasy world and are funny (do not read them while traveling on public transport – people will look very peculiarly at you when you can't stop laughing out loud), but aren't 'literature'. They're not only literature, but they're also some of the best satires that the UK has produced in years – Pratchett is the best satirist (and a far more prolific and consistent one) since Tom Sharpe and probably since PG Wodehouse (and he's more versatile than Wodehouse too). Witches Abroad remains a favourite, together with Jingo and Thud (who else dare take on religious fundamentalism?), while Reaper Man shows another part of Pratchett's gifts – he can shift from making you laugh to making you cry very quickly indeed – a master of genuine pathos, because you really do care about his wonderful characters, from Granny Weatherwax to Sam Vimes to Death.

Unfortunately, Terry recently announced that he has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's. However, he says that he's still got plenty of writing in him.

I've been reading Pratchett's books since 1987 when, after reading The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, I went to a book signing in a tiny sci-fi/fantasy shop in Lancaster in the north of England to meet him and buy Equal Rights. He was so little known at the time that nobody else was there. Not only did I get three books signed (I still have them all), but we have a great and very funny chat.

 

[methodistgirl]

Do you ever take a songbook and read it like a novel. I do as well as
a cookbook. Some songs tell a story. As for cooking, once in a while,
I will come upon an idea on fixing something different.:grin:
judy tooley