What are you reading
- Thread starter steveindenmark
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Charles Dickens is my fave.I had but gave away a load of his,But i have been buying them back on Amazon or e bay my last was in a local charity shop all of two quid.Dombey and Son.
Oliver Twist –
Nicholas Nickleby –
The Old Curiosity Shop
Dombey and Son –
David Copperfield
Little Dorrit
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a great film 1946 John Mills,brilliant.
John the Monkey
Frivolous Cyclist
- Location
- Crewe
Finished "The Man Who Was Jekyll and Hyde" (about Deacon Brodie).
Now in the middle of "Nothing is True and Everything is Possible" (Peter Pomarantsev) which is very good so far.
Now in the middle of "Nothing is True and Everything is Possible" (Peter Pomarantsev) which is very good so far.
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
This thread 
John the Monkey
Frivolous Cyclist
- Location
- Crewe
Survivor - Brett Battles
The last part of the "Rewinder" trilogy, which I'm reading for free thanks to Ian Amazon's kindle lending library. They're not great art, but they read easy, and I quite like the ideas.
Magician - Raymond Feist
Far better than the other book of his I read, a late entry in the series that seemed old fashioned and plodding. This book, although a monster (707 pages!) is from the start of the Riftwar/Demonwar series, and a bit more pacy and readable. It's old fashioned high fantasy as well (it was, I think, written in the '70s) but moves along nicely (at least, 250 pages or so in, it does).
The last part of the "Rewinder" trilogy, which I'm reading for free thanks to Ian Amazon's kindle lending library. They're not great art, but they read easy, and I quite like the ideas.
Magician - Raymond Feist
Far better than the other book of his I read, a late entry in the series that seemed old fashioned and plodding. This book, although a monster (707 pages!) is from the start of the Riftwar/Demonwar series, and a bit more pacy and readable. It's old fashioned high fantasy as well (it was, I think, written in the '70s) but moves along nicely (at least, 250 pages or so in, it does).
jhawk
Veteran
- Location
- New Brunswick, Canada
Currently reading "The Gulag Archipelago" by Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, after I heard about it during a Joe Rogan podcast.
Initial thoughts after the first few chapters:
Jesus Christ!
When you people say that things were so bad in the Soviet Union that you literally cannot imagine it, they're not wrong. So far, I've been left jaw-dropped by a few things: The man who stopped clapping first, that was a lovely bit of "REALLY?!". And then when Churchill double-crossed 90,000 Cossack POWs.. That was last night's "Holy fark" moment.
Aaaaand just about everything else in the book is horrifying and haunting and--. It's a fascinating read about something that I knew very little about. How they do not teach more about the Soviet Union and Communism in secondary school history classes, is beyond me.
Solzhenitsyn also offers some profundity like: “Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains ... an unuprooted small corner of evil.
Since then I have come to understand the truth of all the religions of the world: They struggle with the evil inside a human being (inside every human being). It is impossible to expel evil from the world in its entirety, but it is possible to constrict it within each person.” which left me with a sense of, "YES. THIS."
Initial thoughts after the first few chapters:
Jesus Christ!
When you people say that things were so bad in the Soviet Union that you literally cannot imagine it, they're not wrong. So far, I've been left jaw-dropped by a few things: The man who stopped clapping first, that was a lovely bit of "REALLY?!". And then when Churchill double-crossed 90,000 Cossack POWs.. That was last night's "Holy fark" moment.
Aaaaand just about everything else in the book is horrifying and haunting and--. It's a fascinating read about something that I knew very little about. How they do not teach more about the Soviet Union and Communism in secondary school history classes, is beyond me.
Solzhenitsyn also offers some profundity like: “Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains ... an unuprooted small corner of evil.
Since then I have come to understand the truth of all the religions of the world: They struggle with the evil inside a human being (inside every human being). It is impossible to expel evil from the world in its entirety, but it is possible to constrict it within each person.” which left me with a sense of, "YES. THIS."
Hill Wimp
Fair weathered,fair minded but easily persuaded.
Why the Dutch are different by Ben Coates.
Quite interesting how the author, a Brit who married a Dutch girl believes that their laid back attitude is now turning the other way. Also a few interesting historical facts thrown in.
Around India in 80 trains by Monica Rajesh.
Rather a good and sometimes funny travelogue.
The making of Donald Trump by David Cay Johnson.
Read the write up in the Guardian and it hasn't disappointed yet.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre.
I have read most of his but this one slipped the net. Rather good.
Quite interesting how the author, a Brit who married a Dutch girl believes that their laid back attitude is now turning the other way. Also a few interesting historical facts thrown in.
Around India in 80 trains by Monica Rajesh.
Rather a good and sometimes funny travelogue.
The making of Donald Trump by David Cay Johnson.
Read the write up in the Guardian and it hasn't disappointed yet.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre.
I have read most of his but this one slipped the net. Rather good.
John the Monkey
Frivolous Cyclist
- Location
- Crewe
It's amazing.
If you haven't already, Cancer Ward and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (both also by Solzhenitsyn) and Man is Wolf to Man (Janusz Bardach) are worth adding to your reading list. Anne Applebaum's "Gulag" is an accessible history of the entire system.
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Roadhump
Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
- Location
- The flatlands of South West Lancs
I have been reading SPQR by Mary Beard for a few weeks It isn't what you call a light read, it is a very detailed analysis of Ancient Rome and its customs, politics, and power struggles. It is a very informative, fascinating read, but not one I can sit down and read in one go as I have found it needs a lot more concentration than your average novel or autobiography. So I am also stopping every now and again and reading something a bit more easy going.
After reading Black Ice, the second Harry Bosch novel by Michael Connelly, I decided to try reading Lustrum, the second of the Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris (I read the first one, Imperium, months ago); as these books are novels based on true Roman characters and events, I thought it might be interesting to see how they fit with the more detailed analysis by Mary Beard.
After reading Black Ice, the second Harry Bosch novel by Michael Connelly, I decided to try reading Lustrum, the second of the Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris (I read the first one, Imperium, months ago); as these books are novels based on true Roman characters and events, I thought it might be interesting to see how they fit with the more detailed analysis by Mary Beard.
John the Monkey
Frivolous Cyclist
- Location
- Crewe
Hip Deep in Alligators - Robert W. Campbell
The third in Campbell's Jimmy Flannery series. One of those where returning to it feels like greeting old friends again - I love the way Campbell writes in Flannery's voice.
Moon Over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch
Another series that I'm returning to, this time "Rivers of London" - I enjoyed the first a great deal, and I hope this will be as good.
Books I finished since last time I posted;
Osama - Lavie Tidhar
Interesting parallel worlds novel that deals with a world in which Al Quaeda never existed, overlapping with a world where it does, and how the people that can see/exist in both use their knowledge. Structured as a private eye story, and very good.
Why Your Five Year Old Could Not Have Done That: Modern Art Explained - Susie Hodge
I read this because, a bit like poetry, modern art is a bit of a blind spot for me. The book is a whistlestop tour through significant works, that, at times, comes across as being a little defensive. It whets the appetite (and it's a good introduction) but I found myself wanting a bit more depth and theory.
How to Read Paintings - Liz Rideal
The format is a little small, but that also means that the book is easy to cart about - possibly a plus if you're taking it on a gallery trip. Again, its brevity can be a little frustrating, but it's a decent guide for a beginner like me to western painting traditions, and I enjoyed reading it.
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Attwood
Heartbreaking, and powerful. I could have done without the epilogue, personally, but that's really nitpicking.
The third in Campbell's Jimmy Flannery series. One of those where returning to it feels like greeting old friends again - I love the way Campbell writes in Flannery's voice.
Moon Over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch
Another series that I'm returning to, this time "Rivers of London" - I enjoyed the first a great deal, and I hope this will be as good.
Books I finished since last time I posted;
Osama - Lavie Tidhar
Interesting parallel worlds novel that deals with a world in which Al Quaeda never existed, overlapping with a world where it does, and how the people that can see/exist in both use their knowledge. Structured as a private eye story, and very good.
Why Your Five Year Old Could Not Have Done That: Modern Art Explained - Susie Hodge
I read this because, a bit like poetry, modern art is a bit of a blind spot for me. The book is a whistlestop tour through significant works, that, at times, comes across as being a little defensive. It whets the appetite (and it's a good introduction) but I found myself wanting a bit more depth and theory.
How to Read Paintings - Liz Rideal
The format is a little small, but that also means that the book is easy to cart about - possibly a plus if you're taking it on a gallery trip. Again, its brevity can be a little frustrating, but it's a decent guide for a beginner like me to western painting traditions, and I enjoyed reading it.
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Attwood
Heartbreaking, and powerful. I could have done without the epilogue, personally, but that's really nitpicking.
Roadhump
Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
- Location
- The flatlands of South West Lancs
Ever so cycling related, sorry: Cyclecraft by John Franklin. My daughter wants to start cycling to work in London so I told her to read this book - fat chance. Very good read and should be compulsory driving test material
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
@John the Monkey be warned, much as I love Rivers of London, they get very repetitive and formulaic very fast. Almost like they were being written with TV or film in mind.
