What Are You Reading Now?

[SteelBlue]

Finally read Cloud Atlas. One of the best things I've read in several years. I just went to the library and grabbed Mitchell's first two books. I'm hooked.

[Katy Lied]

Bunch of Jack Reacher novels. I burned through them pretty quickly, now I'm sad to be down to the last few. My husband and sons claim I have a crush on Jack Reacher. But where else can I learn that in a knife fight, dont forget you still have two fists? Who else will tell me that when you strangle someone from behind, you grasp their neck with your knuckles, so they don't peel back your fingers and dislocate them? Who else will teach me that you don't karate chop someone with your feet if you have no shoes on?

[SteelBlue]

Amazon picks The Goldfinch as book of the year. A quick search of this thread showed no results. Anyone read it?

[SteelBlue]

Just finished Ghostwritten, David Mitchell's first novel. It was Cloud Atlas in embryo, a very impressive debut.

[BigPiney]

Just finished Ghostwritten, David Mitchell's first novel. It was Cloud Atlas in embryo, a very impressive debut.

See now you are making me not want to read it. Cloud Atlas was weird and slightly annoying, but looking back, I did say that I liked it, though only gave it 3 out of 5. He did not impress me enough to make me want to read another of his books.

I did just finished Night Film. I enjoyed this even though it was a bit crazy. Nice change to the normal psychological thriller/ mystery. Will be an interesting movie.

Also read The System. A must read.

Orange is the New Black. Not too bad and way better than the Netflix version (I couldn't even get through a whole episode).

and I just finished listening to Winter of the World, which is Ken follet's second book in the century trilogy. I could see these being made into something on Masterpiece Theater. A bit soap opera-ish, but period pieces that tie into a lot of history. First book is centered around WWI, this one was WWII. Since I have invested this much time into them, I will listen to book three when it comes out next year. I really like Ken Follett, but the dude always has to throw in some salacious sex scene that really could be skipped.

[thesaint258]

I just finished the Horatio Hornblower novels. Those are great books, and the "biography" is well done, too.

[SteelBlue]

See now you are making me not want to read it. Cloud Atlas was weird and slightly annoying, but looking back, I did say that I liked it, though only gave it 3 out of 5. He did not impress me enough to make me want to read another of his books.

If you didn't care for Cloud Atlas, then you would probably like Ghostwritten even less. It has a very similar structure to Cloud Atlas, multiple stories with connections discovered as the stories progress. There are even a couple of characters in Ghostwritten who appear in Cloud Atlas (though as far as I could tell, it shouldn't be considered any kind of a prequel). I really like his ability to speak in all of those different voices, and to tie the stories together, however coincidentally. He was pretty good at it in Ghostwritten, he was masterful in Cloud Atlas. I understand that his style isn't for everyone, but it really appeals to me.

[BigPiney]

If you didn't care for Cloud Atlas, then you would probably like Ghostwritten even less. It has a very similar structure to Cloud Atlas, multiple stories with connections discovered as the stories progress. There are even a couple of characters in Ghostwritten who appear in Cloud Atlas (though as far as I could tell, it shouldn't be considered any kind of a prequel). I really like his ability to speak in all of those different voices, and to tie the stories together, however coincidentally. He was pretty good at it in Ghostwritten, he was masterful in Cloud Atlas. I understand that his style isn't for everyone, but it really appeals to me.

I really hate reading things in pidgin english, so that chapters were just painful for me. In my recollection that was the whole Hawaii stuff and some of Korea.

[SteelBlue]

I really hate reading things in pidgin english, so that chapters were just painful for me. In my recollection that was the whole Hawaii stuff and some of Korea.

It definitely slowed me down until I got used to it, (no pidgin in ghost writers btw). I think the pidgin was a huge reason that the movie sucked. There was no way to introduce and let viewers learn it visually.

[happyone]

my thoughts on the last few books I've read

Castrophe 1914

Excellent look at the opening months of the Great War. IMO Sir Max is one of the 2 or 3 best military historians writing today - highly recommended

my thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/572821265

Templar's Acre

Micheal Jecks writes a prequel to his historical mystery series - set at the final fall of the city of Acre

my thoughts for any interested

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/754114540

The Blood of Gods

Conn Iggulden comes back to the story of the founding of the Roman Empire and finishes the series

This is the story of how Octavian got revenge for the assassination of Julius Ceasar

again my thoughts

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/759902796

and finally

We Band of Angels

This is the story of the appox 100 US military nurses caught in the Phillipines at the outset of WW II
The writing doesn't flow particulary well in spots, but the story more than makes up for it

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/762816765

[SteelBlue]

Continuing with David Mitchell, I just finished Number9Dream. I liked it very much. A very different structure that might drive some readers crazy, but it was what made the book for me. Highly recommended, but patience is definitely required.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I decided I wanted to read a book covering the entire history of the Roman republic/empire. I did some research and settled on this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Rome-R...&keywords=rome

I am about halfway through and loving it. Superbly written.

I am thinking I might want to dig deeper now. I have thought about reading Gibbon's series, but 6000 pages seems daunting.

[happyone]

I decided I wanted to read a book covering the entire history of the Roman republic/empire. I did some research and settled on this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Rome-R...&keywords=rome

I am about halfway through and loving it. Superbly written.

I am thinking I might want to dig deeper now. I have thought about reading Gibbon's series, but 6000 pages seems daunting.

JL,

IMO it's well worth the effort, but then again I'm a history junkie

[Jeff Lebowski]

JL,

IMO it's well worth the efort, but then again I'm a history junkie

Thanks. I might take a shot with Volume 1 and see how it goes from there.

[SteelBlue]

Working my way through David Mitchell's novels, read about 1/5 of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet last night. So far, very good. Potential to supplant Cloud Atlas as my favorite from him.

I'm guessing that those of you who spent time in Japan would really, really like this book.