What are you reading at the moment??

[Heidi G]

MP, you piqued my interest in Cold Skin.  Some Lovecraft I really like.  Is CS good?

For those of you who were waiting with bated breath,  , I have a mixed report on the first Jane Austen mystery.  I had figured out two sub yet pivotal plot points and "whodunnit" before the end of the novel but she had one surprise at the end that perfectly fitted the plot and wasn't a reach.  I also loved the editor's notes as they told me quite a lot about life in Austen's time (something the more scholarly notes in regular Austen books aren't always good at) and I loved her blending of Austen characters into "real life" characters that supposedly peopled Austen's world.  At any rate, I  liked it well enough despite guessing the end to pick up her second (Jane and the Man of the Cloth) , and have found that the author, Stephanie Barron, hit her stride in this one.  Enjoying it immensely as it is a good play on Austen and her life. 

Like I said, these are not novels that look into people and what makes them tick (have to wait until the bookstore finds my lost order and/or TBOLT for that), but if you like Austen, you will appreciate this novelist's attention to detail!

[martinpaul]

Hi

Try amazon for more details.  I enjoyed it - it's a little like Lovecraft in that it concerns monsters from the sea... a man's battle to survive, but there's more to it.  It's also about man's treatment of man, and to quote the Guardian "it mixes science fiction with political philosophy on an island dystopia into a seamless, page-turning story".

Give it a go!

[Jody]

I also have finished The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury, I enjoyed it. The prologue is great and sets everything up for what happens. I am currently trying to finish The Last Cato by Matilde Asensi, rather than the Holy Grail this one deals with the True Cross. It started off well but has hit a slow going spot, I'll stick to it though. After this I think I'll take a break from these types of books.

[martinpaul]

So what will you try next?  I've just completed a "pulp-fiction" phase.  Not the movie - old 40's and 50's detective thrillers.  Dashiel Hammett, Edgar Wallace, E C Bentley, Raymond Chandler, the lot!  Great stuff and not too taxing...

For taxing, try "The Quincunx" by Charles Palliser - that, after "Jonathon Strange" got me through Xmas and New Year!

[martinpaul]

I can't confess to knowing half as much as other people who post on this forum (this is my first post!), but I love to read and re-read John's books, I discover something new everytime.

Mmmmm....... just thinking about it has me considering opening The Black Angel again. Now where did I leave it?

This is interesting!  The question of "do you read books more than once?".  I do - I've got around a dozen books I regularly re-read, and others I "peck" at from time to time.  My wife, however, can never read a book twice...

[Killme00]

I have some books which i do read more than once and within those i have some which i read a few times a year

Tom
 

I wont list them

[Betty]

Presently I am reading George Pelecanos (spelling?), I'd never read him before and have not seen his series 'The Wire' on T.V, but as he is going to be in Harrogate I thought I'd better see what he is like.    I can't quite make up my mind, I think overall I like him! will let you know when I've finished the book.  I also love the old writers, like Edgar Wallace, Ngaio Marsh, Margaret Allingham....oh too many to mention.  I too re-read, I have 'old friends' I turn to when I feel down - strange to turn to crime novels when down - no accounting for taste.

[lucy]

Great thread!  I've just added "Confederacy of Dunes" to my increasingly out-of-control "To Read" list.

Well, I've just started Conn Iggulden's "Gates of Rome" but the jury is still out on that one. Works in progress include:- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (one year and counting!), The Collected Dorothy Parker, Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, In the Stacks by Michael Cart and The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb. My "pending" pile is a whole other story ....

[Noeni]

I've loved all the Conn Iguldsen's to date Lucy, scoured my way through Philip Pullman (to check suitability for nephew ) and managed to read the last three Robin Hobbs before getting hold of her prior ones. They're super.

Bought Patricia Cornwell's Predator on Tuesday afternoon with a degree of trepidation. She's almost back on form, given that I finished it yesterday morning. It's somewhat of a shame though when a once-favourite writer gets surpassed by newer ones. I don't think she'll ever be a "must-buy" again.

My list of books to read over and over include some very old threadbare ones by Gene Stratton Porter set in the Limberlost forest of Florida - anyone else ever heard of them? And all my old cherished sci-fi classics.

[Inkdaub]

I am currently reading Bad Men by JC and The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker.

I'm feeling the need to once again enter the House of Leaves, though.

[dave]

Been through a Joolz Denby fest of late, having just finished all of her four novels. Of the four I rate Billie Morgan as a work of genius; next i would rank Borrowed Light almost, but not quite, as highly. Corazon is interesting with some fascinating themes and Stone Baby was, for me, very much an indication of the brilliant writer Joolz would become.
All the novels are narrated in the first person and always by a woman who is a bit of an outsider, usually living an alternative lifestyle. Events inevitably build up to a crescendo of violence as the narrative progresses. As I mentioned on the old forum the strength of the novels is the poetry and lyricism of the prose and there is a lovely contrast between the eloquence of the writing and the brutality of the action. The lasting impression, though, is always the humanity and insight Joolz brings to her work. I think I'd love to meet Joolz but don't know what would intimidate me more: her towering intellect or her extensive tattooing.
My to be read pile now includes Darkhouse by Alex Barclay; Pig Island by the wonderful Mo Hayder; A Confederacy of Dunces-because of the several recommendations I've read on here; and finally Angry White Pygamas by Robert Twigger which, apparently is about an Oxford poet who trains with the Tokyo riot police-that's not something you hear of every day.

[Jayne]

Dave, I agree with you about Joolz's tattoos! I can't remember whether I mentioned it or not on the other forum, but I've never seen a woman with so many tattoos in all my life! She read beautifully from her latest book when she was in Leeds recently, and signed copies for people afterwards, but I was quite scared of her. She came across as a really lovely person and happily chatted to people, but I daren't for the life of me go over to talk to her.

I really enjoyed Darkhouse and I'm currently reading Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride. Once I've finished that, I'll read Pig Island.

[Killme00]

Dave,

Angry white pyjama is a great read...i mean grrrrreat.

[Heidi G]

I'm feeling the need to once again enter the House of Leaves, though.

Well Inkdaub, don't forget to lay in a good suppy of provisions then!

Oh, and a rope.  A REALLY long one. 

[dave]

Dave, I agree with you about Joolz's tattoos! I can't remember whether I mentioned it or not on the other forum, but I've never seen a woman with so many tattoos in all my life! She read beautifully from her latest book when she was in Leeds recently, and signed copies for people afterwards, but I was quite scared of her. She came across as a really lovely person and happily chatted to people, but I daren't for the life of me go over to talk to her.

I really enjoyed Darkhouse and I'm currently reading Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride. Once I've finished that, I'll read Pig Island.

Yeah, bet that was a great night, Jayne. Am I right in thinking John and Joolz were both there? I've never been to a reading of any kind; not sure what I'd make of it.
Tom, cheers, I'll let you know what I make of Angry White Pygamas.