I've arrived a little late to the Stephen King party so lots of catching up to do. Feeling a little timid at first so I started off a few weeks ago with Fairy Tale, Joyland, Later, then onto Carrie and Salem's Lot. Blake Crouch then whisked me off unexpectedly to Wayward Pines for his quick trilogy last week and I'm now ready to pick up King again with The Shining. Well, as soon as I can get shot of my cold - surely can't be COVID again?! - a souvenir from a soggy week in Jersey (the channel islands, not the state).
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What books are you reading for pleasure these days?
Knikki
Regular
- Location
- A Damp North West, UK
@Briar I'm not a big fan on King's but see if you can find Christine it is one of his books I really enjoyed and kept me glued to it.
What I'm reading?
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, no not some strange fantasy mix up but two people Cleo and Frank. It starts off as a romance and then changes in to following certain friends, that you meet at their wedding and what happens to them and the interactions between the group. I am not sure where this heading but I am finding it tricky to ready as it is not really grabbing my attention. I will try to continue it as it is part of a book club I am in.
The other is The Return Of The Martians by Mark Hood, this, and another book Earth Under The Martians, are two follow up books to HG Wells War Of The Worlds. The Return Of The Martians is set two years after the original event and follows the same narrator as he watches the sky for the return of the invaders. So far it is OK, it has captured the feel of the times it was originally written and so has keep me reading it. As a spoiler, and I am not that far into the book, cylinders had beens spotted leaving Mars, more of them this time.
What I'm reading?
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, no not some strange fantasy mix up but two people Cleo and Frank. It starts off as a romance and then changes in to following certain friends, that you meet at their wedding and what happens to them and the interactions between the group. I am not sure where this heading but I am finding it tricky to ready as it is not really grabbing my attention. I will try to continue it as it is part of a book club I am in.
The other is The Return Of The Martians by Mark Hood, this, and another book Earth Under The Martians, are two follow up books to HG Wells War Of The Worlds. The Return Of The Martians is set two years after the original event and follows the same narrator as he watches the sky for the return of the invaders. So far it is OK, it has captured the feel of the times it was originally written and so has keep me reading it. As a spoiler, and I am not that far into the book, cylinders had beens spotted leaving Mars, more of them this time.
- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
11/22/63 did that for me.
Holoholo33
Regular
- Location
- Hawaii
- Name
- Walter
Just finished "On Call" a memoir by Dr. Anthony Fauci. He is, of course, familiar to anyone who followed the COVID pandemic in the US, but he was also heavily involved in the AIDS epidemic, bird flu, Ebola, Zika, etc. nationally and internationally, and served under seven presidents, ending as President Biden's Chief Medical Advisor, all the way continuing as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the National Institutes of Health for 60 years. Amazing longevity, dedication, and patience. I finished the book even more impressed by him than previously.
They need Teals
Regular
The Portable Athiest by Christopher Hitchens, he of the provocatively entertaining book: God Is Not Great.
Christopher enjoyed a good argument, beginning when he was aged 9.
https://www.qbd.com.au/the-portable-atheist/christopher-hitchens/9780306816086/
Christopher enjoyed a good argument, beginning when he was aged 9.
https://www.qbd.com.au/the-portable-atheist/christopher-hitchens/9780306816086/
- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
Started The Burial at Thebes, Seamus Heaney translation/adaptation of Antigone. It's a quick read on my commute. I'd almost forgotten how much I like his vocabulary and style.
- Location
- Williamsburg, VA
- Name
- Chris
Well, my inner geek is now exposed...
I'm reading "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman.
I'm reading "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman.
- Location
- Beaumaris, Melbourne, Australia
- Name
- John ...
"Charles" by Michael Joseph. A story about a man's friendship with his Siamese cat back in the 1930s and 1940s.
It's a gentle story that touches on WWII and English life at the time.
It's a gentle story that touches on WWII and English life at the time.
Aaron English
Veteran
- Location
- Idaho
The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter.
Holoholo33
Regular
- Location
- Hawaii
- Name
- Walter
Finished Second Foundation, the last of the original Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov. Not a new read, I read it decades ago, but it was fun to reread them. Finished the trilogy via eBooks from the library, so reading them in sequence meant I had to wait until the desired volume became available. Even after all these years, there's still a line waiting to borrow them. I also read one of the prequels, Prelude to Foundation. Will try to get to the rest of the series, many written after the first trilogy. Can't go wrong with anything from Asimov.
- Location
- Cheshire, England
- Name
- Martin Connolly
I've recently started Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford. It's set in an alternative 1922, where the pre-Columbian city of Cahokia still exists as a modern city, with tensions between the indigenous and European inhabitants. An interesting premise so far.
- Name
- Miguel Tejada-Flores
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I read it last year, Martin - I was absolutely blown away by it. Francis Spufford is a masterful storyteller but even better he has a subtle feel for the complexities of language. I think it's one of my favorite books from the last several years.
- Location
- Cheshire, England
- Name
- Martin Connolly
His first two novels were excellent too. Golden Hill was a fantastic page-turner with some great historical detail, and Light Perpetual was a simpler story (anthology really) but very moving in parts.
- Location
- Cheshire, England
- Name
- Martin Connolly
Just finished the book. Wow is all I can say. I'm a sucker for alternative histories and invented (or at least amalgamated) languages, but the politics and tension were absolutely gripping.
I'm currently racing through the Bobiverse (Book 2, For We Are Many) by Dennis Taylor on Kindle Unlimited. I have 3 months free Kindle Unlimited but it's due to run out at the end of the month so I'm trying to get through as much of the series as I can before then. I really don't want to pay for a subscription as the type of books I'd want to read are really hard to find there so I don't think it would be good value. I'm not Kindle Unlimited's target audience. But the Bobiverse was a surprise.
Stephen King's The Shining has been shelved 1/3 of the way in but I'll pick it up later to see if it's improved. So far it's bottom tier out of the King books I've read but it may improve as I progress. It's a paperback (pocketbook) version - I don't know, part of me wishes it was on the Kindle as I seem to fly through books on there but in the paperback it's been a bit of a chore.
Stephen King's The Shining has been shelved 1/3 of the way in but I'll pick it up later to see if it's improved. So far it's bottom tier out of the King books I've read but it may improve as I progress. It's a paperback (pocketbook) version - I don't know, part of me wishes it was on the Kindle as I seem to fly through books on there but in the paperback it's been a bit of a chore.
Photographing Shadow and Light by Joey L(awrence). This guy's work is very interesting to me. He often arranges his subjects and lights them so very well. I do not think I will learn much but I will see how he does things and how he thinks things should be done. His book, Ethiopia, is a stunner.
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'Nuther. William Albert Allard. I have a couple of his books and am so very impressed with his light and color. And the faces. I think much of what we strive for is exciting, interesting portraits. The face, the eyes in the face. This guy does it so very, very well. And his tip? "I shoot the fringes." Note that. Here's a good clip about him.
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- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
The Fire of Joy by Clive James. A collection of poetry with loose commentary, by a very tight writer. Written at the end of his life, when the poetry he memorized earlier in life came back to him to dwell on.
