What Are You Reading?

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skimom2

skimom2

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Mr Nobody said:
Having seen your first comment about it, my immediate thought was "Sales have probably been slower than they liked", hence the need for a post-release review. Maybe. (I mean, what do I know about it? lol)
Seems like they might get the positive one they were after, though. ;)

On-topic:
My current reads are The Burning Girl by Mark Billingham (UK crime novelist; 'DI Thorne' series) and a re-read of A Scanner Darkly - Philip K Dick.
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Maybe. I'm only halfway through, and I'm wondering how he will keep his central conceit (an old woman examining and reexamining a single time she was with her lover at age 21 for larger meaning) afloat for another 80 pages. So far so good, but you know how difficult it is to keep a host of thoughts powering a story. The only one I've read who has done this well is Toni Morrison with A Mercy and Home.

I've never read Billingham, though I watched the two Thorne shows they have on Netflix and liked them. Is he worth giving a go?
 
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Mr Nobody

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skimom2 said:
I've never read Billingham, though I watched the two Thorne shows they have on Netflix and liked them. Is he worth giving a go?
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I'd say so. It depends on how much you know about UK policing, to an extent. We may be more familiar with US procedures and procedurals that you are with ours, for example, because of the number of cop shows we've imported over decades, let alone years. If you're pretty well up on UK detectives, though, then these would be fine.
The Burning Girl is my fourth (the first was Lazy Bones, which iirc was his third novel, so I didn't start at the beginning), and is also the fourth in the series. Even though Thorne is the lead character and series novels can get to be a bit same after a while, the stories themselves have been varied enough to be interesting.
If you've seen the series you might be able to skip ahead to Lazy Bones as the first two books were used for the (too short-lived) TV series. I'd still recommend starting with Sleepyhead and reading them in order though, I think.
Billingham used to be a stand-up comedian and comedy writer, and that sometimes shows (in a good way), so it's not all grimness and dark.
 
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Roho T Rooster

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muskrat said:
Picked this lil beauty up in the dollar box (kinda rough shape but intact), dig yet another Wrightson werewolf cover. Great werewolf story inside.

latest
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That's a GREAT find!
 
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Mocos

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Dana Jean

Dana Jean

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Mocos said:
Slade House is next on my 'waiting to be read' list. I've never heard of it or the author (David Mitchell) before. What do you think of it?

I just started a Koontz book, 77 Shadow Street. Not bad so far, but I'm only a few chapters in, so there's still time, lol.
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I really enjoyed Slade House. Easy read, but I liked the premise.
 
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Haunted

Haunted

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Mocos said:
Slade House is next on my 'waiting to be read' list. I've never heard of it or the author (David Mitchell) before. What do you think of it?

I just started a Koontz book, 77 Shadow Street. Not bad so far, but I'm only a few chapters in, so there's still time, lol.
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Really intriguing, had to set aside after first 100 pages to trade to one of my other titles, anxious to get back to it!
 
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skimom2

skimom2

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Mr Nobody said:

I'd say so. It depends on how much you know about UK policing, to an extent. We may be more familiar with US procedures and procedurals that you are with ours, for example, because of the number of cop shows we've imported over decades, let alone years. If you're pretty well up on UK detectives, though, then these would be fine.
The Burning Girl is my fourth (the first was Lazy Bones, which iirc was his third novel, so I didn't start at the beginning), and is also the fourth in the series. Even though Thorne is the lead character and series novels can get to be a bit same after a while, the stories themselves have been varied enough to be interesting.
If you've seen the series you might be able to skip ahead to Lazy Bones as the first two books were used for the (too short-lived) TV series. I'd still recommend starting with Sleepyhead and reading them in order though, I think.
Billingham used to be a stand-up comedian and comedy writer, and that sometimes shows (in a good way), so it's not all grimness and dark.
Click to expand...
Excellent! I love British police procedurals, so it sounds like a good fit :)
 
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Kurben

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skimom2 said:
I haven't even heard of him--thanks for the tip! I love this thread :)
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He has been around awhile now. His main output are the Alan Banks books. Over 20 now. The first was Gallows View. But his books can be read separate even if you get some context from reading them in order like his children growing, his shifting working partners and so on. I think he started to get into his stride with his 4,th book The Hanging Valley. After that came a string of really good books. Dry Bones That Dream, In A Dry Season, Cold Is The Grave and The Summer That Never Was are a few faves. But I think he is usually reliable.
 
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Roho T Rooster

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The one book I keep going to for re-reading is Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". So, while not presently reading this, I could be at any given moment. It was the first genre book I remember reading. I also read Dracula, around the same time; but I have only read that two times. It does not flow quite as much as Frankenstein. Not only is Frankenstein excellently written, it is full of meat for philosophical thought. I have always been blown away by the maturity of writing for someone of the author's age.
 
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skimom2

skimom2

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Ended up LOVING Mothering Sunday. I mark passages with potential to use for illustration in a review, and I have to laugh at the forest of tiny tabs sticking out of this novella-length book (only 177 pages). Now I want to seek out more books from Graham Swift. I'm wondering if he's more even than Ian McEwan--their styles are similar, but I've noticed that McEwan is either brilliant or pedantic and meandering, no middle ground. Doc Creed , I think you would really enjoy this book!
 
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staropeace

staropeace

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Kurben said:
He has been around awhile now. His main output are the Alan Banks books. Over 20 now. The first was Gallows View. But his books can be read separate even if you get some context from reading them in order like his children growing, his shifting working partners and so on. I think he started to get into his stride with his 4,th book The Hanging Valley. After that came a string of really good books. Dry Bones That Dream, In A Dry Season, Cold Is The Grave and The Summer That Never Was are a few faves. But I think he is usually reliable.
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I am a big fan.
 
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muskrat

muskrat

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Roho T Rooster said:
The one b,,k I keep going to for re-reading is Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". So, while not presently reading this, I could be at any given moment. It was the first genre book I remember reading. I also read Dracula, around the same time; but I have only read that two times. It does not flow quite as much as Frankenstein. Not only is Frankenstein excellently written, it is full of meat for philosophical thought. I have always been blown away by the maturity of writing for someone of the author's age.
Click to expand...

Oh, I've got the biggest crush on Mary Shelley. You ever read her earliest known draft of Frankenstein? The one without Percys alterations and additions? If yer into rereads, check it out. It has a quicker pace and much more modern flow.
 
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