What's everyone reading?

[KiwiHopeful]

I don't mean right now, because that would be obvious.

What books are all of you reading these days?

I'm about 1/4 of the way through Iain Bank's 'The Steep Approach to Garbadale.'

I'm a big Iain Banks fan, though I enjoy his sci-fi more than his straight fiction.

[kokopeli]

Cor I haven't read any Iain Banks since The Wasp Factory came out in 1984. I've been reading a lot of Kiwi fiction lately. Have got through Mr Pip (Lloyd Jones), Edwin + Matilda (Laurence Fearnley) and Davey Darling (Paul Shannon) in the last month or so.

Have been revisiting my back-catalogue this week with a spattering of Disgrace (J M Coetzee) and lots of Ian McEwan - mainly because I took Mrs K to see Atonement. I even managed to spend a crafty couple of hours on my own in Borders yesterday while our car went in for a service. Pure indulgence!

[MotherBear]

I've just started The Sirens of Baghdad by Yasmin Khadra and have previously read his Swallows of Kabul . They are both novels about difficult times in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I also just finished If I die in a combat zone, box me up and ship me home by Tim O'Brien about a young footsoldier's aversion to the Vietnam war and very worryingly lax attitude of GIs to life and death.

I find it odd that all of these books are showing with totally different covers to those I've read, which makes it quite difficult to pick them out quickly when browsing shelves full of books with a view to either borrowing or buying. Wonder why they do that.

[kokopeli]

Originally Posted by MotherBear

I also just finished If I die in a combat zone, box me up and ship me home by Tim O'Brien about a young footsoldier's aversion to the Vietnam war and very worryingly lax attitude of GIs to life and death.

You should read Nam by Mark Baker and Chickenhawk by Robert Mason - arguably the best books written about the Vietnam War from the American perspective.

[Glenda]

I'm re-reading The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield at the moment. I was given it and first read it in 2003, however I saw and bought on impulse the sequel at a secondhand store this weekend ... so I'm re-reading the first book to remind myself of the story before tackling the second.

It is absolutely wacky in places, but has some thought-provoking moments.

Really need to get to read more up to date and fashionable books.



The Celestine Prophecy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ebianca]

I'm not reading anything at the moment- find it difficult to get the time these days.

However when I do read I like to read biogrophies- not about celebrities but usually about people that have had difficult lives- on eof the best i've read is A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer and the 2 that follow on from it.

Not the nicest of books to read but I just get so into reading these kind of books- usually with a pack of tissues to hand.

[MotherBear]

I'd say my favourite books are about people who have, maybe not difficult lives in the way Beth means, but very different lives to ours and pit themselves against the elements and deprivations of their situation, like those that live in desert countries, jungle or on the Arctic ice. It's very interesting to see just what sort of things they come up against and how they overcome them.

[nickydwuk]

When I need to lose myself (which is nearly all the time at the moment) I like to read a lot of crime fiction. My best authors are John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark and some Dick Francis & John Francombe. However I have read most of Jeffrey Archers books and found them quite interesting as they cover the political scene quite well. Another author that is really 'unputdownable' - if there is such a word - is Wilbur Smith. The way he writes you could almost be there. Great for escapism.

[Ginabridget]

I've just finished The Lighthouse by P D James and I didn't really enjoy it much, but once started I had to finish it. I'm just starting the Harry Potter books - I've managed to avoid them for a few years but a friend has convinced that they're brilliant so I'm going to give them a go. I've read the The Celestine Prophecy a few times, still got it somewhere, it was given to me while I was backpacking. I generally like crime fiction and my latest fav is the P J Tracey novels.

[nickydwuk]

Originally Posted by Ginabridget

I've just finished The Lighthouse by P D James and I didn't really enjoy it much, but once started I had to finish it.

I found it hard going too - I haven't read much PD James and I don't think I will read any more.