What are you reading?

[Bone2pick]

A thread for sharing whatever it is you’re reading right now.

I already posted the handful of books I’m currently juggling over on the old forum (RIP), and I hate to repeat myself, but I guess I probably should. They are: Shōgun (Clavell), A Spell For Chameleon (Anthony), and Into Africa (Dugard). So far I’m enjoying all of them.

To offer something new, today I stopped by one of my local used bookstores and found a nice copy of Redwall by Brian Jacques. My daughter is nine-years-old and I have her read to me in the evenings. I’m thinking we’ll start Redwall as soon as we finish Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

 

[X Equestris]

Finally nearing the end of Joe Abercrombie’s first First Law trilogy with Last Argument of Kings. A bit over 200 pages to go!

 

[Lemie]

I'm proof reading my husband's... I think third book this year. Every time I finish one there seems to be a new one waiting for me!

Aside from that I'm in-between books.

 

[Dogberry's Watch]

I'm reading a few.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Voices of the Pacific by Adam Makos and Marcus Brotherton
The Temptation to Exist by E M Cioran

 

[big soft moose]

Rabbit hole by Mark Billingham

and at the same time the long road to the interior by Basho

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I'm reading The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Cure for Women by Lydia Reeder. I'm listening to The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree by India Hayford on audiobook.

 

[CdnWriter]

I have a tendency to re-read stories or writers that I enjoyed. For example, I'm a huge fan of Larry Correia's "Monster Hunter International" series and I've been re-reading the series from the beginning. In that case, I like both the author and the series.

I mentioned in the prior forum the Stephen King short story, "Apt Pupil" so I recently re-read that as well. It's strange because I don't like all of Stephen KIng's stories and that one - "Apt Pupil" - isn't one of his "better" ones but I enjoyed it more than the "Dark Tower" series. It's also strange that I didn't like the written "The Shawshank Redemption" even though I LOVED the film. "Apt Pupil" was the opposite for me, I LOVED the written story but the film was horrid. Yes, they're opinions but they're all stories from the same author.

I used to read Tom Clancy and I know he's deceased but his estate has writers carrying on the series and I've read a few of those books....it's amazing how many pages they are! I don't think they're as good as the original stories though.

Popular fiction like C.J. Box, Lee/Andrew Child, Jeffery Archer. I saw someone mentioned James Clavell and that's another one that is interesting - I didn't like the ShoGun book but I did enjoy "Tai-Pan" and "Noble House." The last book in the series, "Whirlwind" I think is the title.....I couldn't get past the 3rd chapter before throwing it away. Did the author have a stroke while writing that or what?????

I work with kids so I also try to read authors like Susin Nielsen, Andrew Clement, Eoin Colfer, etc.

Anyways....getting too long, so off I go.

 

[Naomasa298]

A menu. Trying to decide what to eat tonight.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

A menu. Trying to decide what to eat tonight.

Try the chicken. I hear it's divine.

 

[Bone2pick]

A menu. Trying to decide what to eat tonight.

Now that you mention it, creating an overly pretentious menu could be a fun writing prompt.

 

[wearywanderer64]

Ken Follett - The Armour of Light. I'm a great fan of his.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Now that you mention it, creating an overly pretentious menu could be a fun writing prompt.

Don't forget the flamingo brains surmounted by peacock feathers ... and one leaf of kale as a garnish.

Apparently that's the only thing the smart set are eating this year. It's a specialty of Les Fou Riche, New York's newest and hottest restaurant.

 

[Pik]

I'm not reading anything in particular these days (not counting the news). Will probably go to the library sometime soon to find something inspiring to read, and then go to another library to try and do some writing. I'll be looking for literature on theatre in specific parts of the world and a local writer I rediscovered (read their published articles but not their other work).

 

[aside_dish]

Switching between Guards! Guards! and The Devils. They're surprisingly similar. But I keep having to go back, since I can't even keep track of one novel, let alone two.

 

[Homer Potvin]

Now that you mention it, creating an overly pretentious menu could be a fun writing prompt.

Meh. Regular day for me. Use foreign names to get the pretensions started. Use all lower case in the descriptions, with items separately by dots or ~ or & or something stupid. Don't use dollar signs, just list the number. If there's a common food name like lettuce, make it look fancy, like "uncle jimmy's baby gem." Don't use regular categories like Entrees and Desserts, use "getting started," "handhelds," "yum-yums," "night-night" and shit like that. Always have odd numbered pieces per portion so they can't be divided equally. Offset the quartiles so they don't line up.

I'm actually sorting through a new menu right now. Every line I read makes me want to punch myself, so it's doing what its supposed to be doing.

 

[Mr Mononoke]

This is very unusual for me, but reading two books at the moment.

Started a few weeks ago with my favourite book; Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood - it had been a while since I read this book, but a lovely cousin of mine sent me Uketsu's Strange Pictures which I am reading now- an epic mystery psychology thriller (it's brilliant so far.)

 

[SnugPugg]

I'm rereading Untouched by Sara Humphreys

 

[Seven Crowns]

"A Confederacy of Dunces," by John Kennedy Toole.
I'm reading it again. I love this book. It makes me laugh. Here, Ignatius has a job as a hot dog vendor.

“Stop that blasphemy this moment,” Ignatius screamed. Mrs. Reilly was questioning the ceiling with her eyes, seeking an answer among the grease and cracks. “What a greeting I receive after a discouraging day battling for my very existence on the streets of this savage town.”​

​

“What’s them bo-bos on your hand?”​

​

Ignatius looked at the scratches he had received in trying to persuade the cat to remain in the bun compartment.​

​

“I had a rather apocalyptic battle with a starving prostitute,” Ignatius belched. “Had it not been for my superior brawn, she would have sacked my wagon. Finally she limped away from the fray, her glad rags askew.”​

"Glad rags askew!"

​

"Carrion Comfort," by Dan Simmons.
People call it a vampire novel, but it's not about vampires. Not really. They're more like psychic dominators who enslave their victims through force of will, which is scary. Yeah, vampires kind of do that too—I get it—but there's no blood draining or shunning sunlight or any of those tropes. At least not yet. It doesn't seem that's a place the story is going. (I could be wrong, haha.)

 

[Night Herald]

Finally finished Joe Abercrombie's The Devils last night. Fantastic read from start to finish. Some shocking stuff near the end. Very eager to see where this series goes next.

I'm without a book at the very moment, I have a bunch of unread ones but nothing that pulls on me. After The Devils I've a thirst for more Abercrombie, though, so I might just reread everything set in the First Law world. I've never read the whole thing together, so could be a fun experience.