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Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?

Scepticalscribe said:
I think that you will enjoy them.

Actually, they are quite wonderful, rich in atmosphere and setting, rollicking good tales, terrific characters, and with a warm, yet ethical, core.

Moreover, Philip Pullman writes terrific female characters, not just the heroes, such Sally Lockhart (among others) in this series, and Lyra Silvertongue in His Dark Materials, but terrific female villains, too; and his male characters - especially those on the side of "good" - are warm and engaging and attractive people.
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I loved Lyra!

Have you ever read any "Flavia de Luce" books by Alan Bradley? Not even remotely the same type of book yet still really enjoyable.
 
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pachyderm said:
I loved Lyra!

Have you ever read any "Flavia de Luce" books by Alan Bradley? Not even remotely the same type of book yet still really enjoyable.
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Yes, I loved the Flavia de Luce books, wonderfully atmospheric and engaging, yet also somewhat melancholic: I don't have a taste for the saccharine, neither in literature nor in life.

I have been reading - well, tearing through, devouring, thinking about - Gillian Tett's book (she writes for the Financial Times, among other things and has a background in anthropology) "Anthro-Vision: How Anthrpology Can Explain Business and Life" which I collected yesterday from the library.

A very interesting, thoughtful and thought-provoking work.
 
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Im reading catch 22 but I am 7 chapters in and I am not enjoying the book. I wonder if I should just move on to another one. I struggled with for whom the bell tolls but I ended up loving the book and crying at the ending. So I wonder if I am missing out if I move on from catch 22.

If I move prematurely I intend to read one minute to midnight (about cuban missile crisis) and all quiet on the western front

So far these year I've read the following.

The spy and the traitor
Agent Sonya
A spy among friends
Operation mincemeat
For whom the bell tolls
A farewell to arms
 
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1rottenapple said:
Im reading catch 22 but I am 7 chapters in and I am not enjoying the book. I wonder if I should just move on to another one. I struggled with for whom the bell tolls but I ended up loving the book and crying at the ending. So I wonder if I am missing out if I move on from catch 22.

If I move prematurely I intend to read one minute to midnight (about cuban missile crisis) and all quiet on the western front

So far these year I've read the following.

The spy and the traitor
Agent Sonya
A spy among friends
Operation mincemeat
For whom the bell tolls
A farewell to arms
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I must say that I really liked Farewell to Arms.
 
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1rottenapple said:
Im reading catch 22 but I am 7 chapters in and I am not enjoying the book. I wonder if I should just move on to another one. I struggled with for whom the bell tolls but I ended up loving the book and crying at the ending. So I wonder if I am missing out if I move on from catch 22.

If I move prematurely I intend to read one minute to midnight (about cuban missile crisis) and all quiet on the western front

So far these year I've read the following.

The spy and the traitor
Agent Sonya
A spy among friends
Operation mincemeat
For whom the bell tolls
A farewell to arms
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It's one of my al time favorites!
 
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1rottenapple said:
Ok okay I’ll stick it out. I research Reddit and people said there’s a period when it clicks for people. I had the same reactions to for whom the bell tolls when the story click and I loved the novel but struggled with the first 1/3 of the book.
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Catch22 was - is - one of those books that takes a while - quite some time, in fact - to get into, and then, suddenly, it seems to click and fall into place.

However, while I found the book interesting and well worth reading, I didn't really "get" much of it, - I think I read it too young, as I was still a student, and hadn't yet travelled or worked in some of the strange, challenging, and downright weird places that I have since seen, which might have (would have) afforded me a better understanding of the book.

Nevertheless, I must admit that I loved one particular chapter - the chapter where Nately's Old Man dispenses his mordant perspective, his acerbic and sardonic philosophy to a stunned audience.
 
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pachyderm said:
I loved Lyra!

Have you ever read any "Flavia de Luce" books by Alan Bradley? Not even remotely the same type of book yet still really enjoyable.
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Further to the topic of exceedingly well written fantasy works, terrific tales with incredible and impressive world building, impressive magic systems, plus wonderful female characters, I would also strongly recommend the superb Abhorsen trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen) by Garth Nix.
 
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@pachyderm: If you like Lyra, might I also suggest (and strongly recommend) the Scarlett & Browne trilogy (The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne; The Notorious Scarlett & Browne; The Legendary Scarlett & Browne) by Jonathan Stroud - they are excellent, wonderful world-building, gripping plots and terrific characters, a rollicking read, and an absolutely fantastic friendship between the two main characters, which is thankfully devoid of the tedious cliche of romance.
 
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“The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame

I missed this one when I was growing up, but I’m reliably informed that much like The Hobbit it is still enjoyable for adults.
 
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"You Are The Fuhrer's Unrequited Love" by Jean-Noël Orengo.

Compelling, fascinating, gripping, very well-written, this is an account of the extraordinary relationship between Albert Speer (architect, Armaments Minister, successful author) and Adolf Hitler, which also draws on Gitta Sereny's superb work (Albert Speer - His Battle With Truth).
 
Recently finished
Dead Reckoning
(good vacation or beach read)

Darkology
(I won't view the Elks Club signs that are posted at many American city limits the same way ever again)

House of Bondage
(I recently saw a museum exhibition of photos from this book)


Now reading
The Wide Wide Sea
(early chapters are well written and entertaining)


Probably up next
The Polygamist
(yeah, I binge watched this on Netflix, what's it to ya?)
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, a modern classic that somehow, inexplicably, I have yet to read, is now awaiting my absorbed attention, and will be read over the coming days.
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I’ve read it when I was a kid and love it. I actually want to read it again and will rent it soon.

I just reread all quiet on the western front after reading it as a teen. I loved it!
 
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1rottenapple said:
I’ve read it when I was a kid and love it. I actually want to read it again and will rent it soon.
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Am immersed in it, and absolutely love it so far; beautifully written, extraordinarily atmospheric and wonderfully warm despite treating of some dark subjects.
1rottenapple said:
I just reread all quiet on the western front after reading it as a teen. I loved it!
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Another classic.
Bodhitree said:
Currently reading “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse.
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I would also recommend "Narcissus & Goldmund" and "Steppenwolf" by the same author.
 
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