What are You Reading Now?

[kcghost]

I am reading the sixth book of Emily Organ on Augusta Peel mysteries. These mysteries were set in the early 1920's involving Augusta as a used book seller and the murder mysteries she helps solve. I think she has seven books on Augusta Peel in all. The books a generally good but not great stories.

 

[warren99]

Roberto Bolano, The Savage Detectives.

 

[ssjones]

This one is really good, reminds me of Kings better novels, like Stand By Me.

 

[simong]

Is this your first time reading them? I love that series, read all 20 in one go over COVID, having only read Master and Commander previously. Felt like I'd lost two friends when I finished the series!

I've just bought a copy of Simon Raven's last memoir that was withdrawn and pulped for being too libellous (should be interesting). There's a pretty funny Southbank Show with him, if you have a spare hour:

I enjoyed watching that, thanks for posting it!
’Too intelligent to not be a rotter’ & ‘not queer enough to be a spy’ were two memorable quotes & just about sum him up! Lol

 

[warren99]

Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go.

 

[jaingorenard]

Nothing better than Wodehouse for a warm spring Sunday morning

 

[UB 40]

For the last several years I have read an Irish related book during the month of March. This year I was hoping to find a cultural history of Ireland, but never found what I was looking for. So I picked up Angela's Ashes and it is quite good so far. Anyone have any Irish related books I can look into for next year?

There is Flann O‘Brien, an Irish modernist author which impressed me most with his fictional work in my very youth with hie style of constructing strange interwoven storylines. At Swim-two-Birds (1939) The Third Policeman (1939-40), The Dalkey Arcives (much later) and The Hard Life (60s), a dark satirical story of the very poor in a starving and very catholic Ireland at the dawn of the 20th Century. This one strongly recommended.

 

[LeafErikson]

My local library was giving away free books and I snagged this one. It’s a pretty fun read.

 

[UB 40]

View attachment 303590My local library was giving away free books and I snagged this one. It’s a pretty fun read.

Timeless classic with Spade and Archer, cool read.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I would say that I am reading this, but it's so short that I read it all with my morning coffee today. Very interesting, a collection of short stories with Murakami's Japanese surrealistic perspective. If you are a fan of his works, you'll want to check this out. All of the stories have an earthquake, or the potential for an earthquake as the theme, but they aren't about earthquakes. If that makes sense... but for Murakami's work, it doesn't have to make absolute sense.

 

[jaingorenard]

I would say that I am reading this, but it's so short that I read it all with my morning coffee today. Very interesting, a collection of short stories with Murakami's Japanese surrealistic perspective. If you are a fan of his works, you'll want to check this out. All of the stories have an earthquake, or the potential for an earthquake as the theme, but they aren't about earthquakes. If that makes sense... but for Murakami's work, it doesn't have to make absolute sense.

View attachment 303685

Just got myself a copy of this; looking forward to it!

 

[UB 40]

This one isn’t to be finished in a morning coffee: Rushdies „Midnight‘s Children“. It took some evenings to come along with and came to an end nownow. The next one is waiting on the chair beneath the counter, „The Satanic Verses“.

And that’s the one, why I ignored Salman Rushdie for so long, since 1988. Perhaps proclaiming a fatwah had contributed more to his publicity than his literary qualities, I thought selfishly.

Excuse me for that Salman, I was so wrong. I discovered his books in January in a second hand bookshop and gave him a chance. And the first „The Golden House“ (2017) turned out a brilliant one. And it is more up to date than ever. What storyteller that man is.

Next was „Shalimar the Clown“ (2005) and again the author casted a spell over me, read it in ecstasy.

Next in middle of March was his second book „Midnight‘s Children“ the best until now, it’s in the list of the 100 best English books of the last century I read today.

Now the Verses are waiting, read a few pages already, met the two angels already as they tumbled down in the Atlantic sea at Great Britain after the Jumbo Jet Bostan flight no AI-420 exploded, bombed by terrorists, what sense of black humour.

All I can say is get your Rushdie today, until it’s to late.

 

[jaingorenard]

This one isn’t to be finished in a morning coffee: Rushdies „Midnight‘s Children“. It took some evenings to come along with and came to an end nownow. The next one is waiting on the chair beneath the counter, „The Satanic Verses“.

And that’s the one, why I ignored Salman Rushdie for so long, since 1988. Perhaps proclaiming a fatwah had contributed more to his publicity than his literary qualities, I thought selfishly.

Excuse me for that Salman, I was so wrong. I discovered his books in January in a second hand bookshop and gave him a chance. And the first „The Golden House“ (2017) turned out a brilliant one. And it is more up to date than ever. What storyteller that man is.

Next was „Shalimar the Clown“ (2005) and again the author casted a spell over me, read it in ecstasy.

Next in middle of March was his second book „Midnight‘s Children“ the best until now, it’s in the list of the 100 best English books of the last century I read today.

Now the Verses are waiting, read a few pages already, met the two angels already as they tumbled down in the Atlantic sea at Great Britain after the Jumbo Jet Bostan flight no AI-420 exploded, bombed by terrorists, what sense of black humour.

All I can say is get your Rushdie today, until it’s to late.

View attachment 303761

If you haven't read it, he wrote a great little memoir of his time in Nicaragua - really interesting. I think it was called 'The Smile of the Jaguar' or something.

 

[UB 40]

This one isn’t to be finished in a morning coffee: Rushdies „Midnight‘s Children“. It took some evenings to come along with and came to an end nownow. The next one is waiting on the chair beneath the counter, „The Satanic Verses“.

And that’s the one, why I ignored Salman Rushdie for so long, since 1988. Perhaps proclaiming a fatwah had contributed more to his publicity than his literary qualities, I thought selfishly.

Excuse me for that Salman, I was so wrong. I discovered his books in January in a second hand bookshop and gave him a chance. And the first „The Golden House“ (2017) turned out a brilliant one. And it is more up to date than ever. What storyteller that man is.

Next was „Shalimar the Clown“ (2005) and again the author casted a spell over me, read it in ecstasy.

Next in middle of March was his second book „Midnight‘s Children“ the best until now, it’s in the list of the 100 best English books of the last century I read today.

Now the Verses are waiting, read a few pages already, met the two angels already as they tumbled down in the Atlantic sea at Great Britain after the Jumbo Jet Bostan flight no AI-420 exploded, bombed by terrorists, what sense of black humour.

All I can say is get your Rushdie today, until it’s to late.

If you haven't read it, he wrote a great little memoir of his time in Nicaragua - really interesting. I think it was called 'The Smile of the Jaguar' or something.

Maybe I get that one. There is also an autobiography he published under the synonym Joseph Anton: A Memoir

 

[warren99]

This one isn’t to be finished in a morning coffee: Rushdies „Midnight‘s Children“. It took some evenings to come along with and came to an end nownow. The next one is waiting on the chair beneath the counter, „The Satanic Verses“.

And that’s the one, why I ignored Salman Rushdie for so long, since 1988. Perhaps proclaiming a fatwah had contributed more to his publicity than his literary qualities, I thought selfishly.

Excuse me for that Salman, I was so wrong. I discovered his books in January in a second hand bookshop and gave him a chance. And the first „The Golden House“ (2017) turned out a brilliant one. And it is more up to date than ever. What storyteller that man is.

Next was „Shalimar the Clown“ (2005) and again the author casted a spell over me, read it in ecstasy.

Next in middle of March was his second book „Midnight‘s Children“ the best until now, it’s in the list of the 100 best English books of the last century I read today.

Now the Verses are waiting, read a few pages already, met the two angels already as they tumbled down in the Atlantic sea at Great Britain after the Jumbo Jet Bostan flight no AI-420 exploded, bombed by terrorists, what sense of black humour.

All I can say is get your Rushdie today, until it’s to late.

View attachment 303761

IMHO, this is one of the best novels written in the last 50 years. It won the Booker of Bookers for a good reason.

 

[ssjones]

Allegedly Don Winslow's last novel, the 3rd in the Danny Ryan sries

 

[jaingorenard]

My mum leant me a copy of this yesterday. I must admit, I was expecting some sort of detective story or thriller, but it's not that at all (musn't judge a book by its cover!). It's far more about language, the power of myth and sense of place in Wales in the 13th century. It's so good I got through 100 pages last night (with a bowl of War Horse, just to keep things pipe-related!).

 

[kcghost]

I am reading "The Plastic Magician" by Charlie N. Holmberg. Alvie Brechenmacher has arrived in London to begin her training in Polymaking―the magical discipline of bespelling plastic. Polymaking is the newest form of magic, and in a field where there is so much left to learn, every Polymaker dreams of making the next big discovery.
Holmberg has written over 25 books in HER career.

4/5

 

[jaingorenard]

An excellent recommendation from @cosmicfolklore

 

[runscott]

'Out of Our Minds' by Felipe Fernandez-Armestro. I bought this book in 2019, and forgot about it. Rediscovered yesterday, I'm enjoying it. Subtitled 'What we think and how we came to think it', it's really about ideas throughout history, across cultures and geographies, etc. It takes the author a lot of words to say anything, but that's been enjoyable. Still, as a result, I'm not entirely certain what this book will encompass - I picked it up because I'm interested in anything that helps with understanding our minds, which this one certainly will do.

If this sort of thing interests you I recommend reading the WSJ book review, which is how I found it originally.