What Are You Reading?

[thaibebop]

thaibebop: its about this artist who used to paint war posters when he was younger. the book is basically a reflection of pre WW2 japan and post WW2 japan after the bomb.

the artist is a nationalist, he was for the war and believed in japanese superiority. thus, before the bomb, he was well loved and was well respected by society.

when the bomb fell, tables suddenly turned. he became a pariah for instigating the war thru the war posters the had painted.

its important that when u read an ishiguro book, what is implied,ie the nuance is more important than what is actually explicitly spelt out in the written form.

))

am now reading a suitable boy by vikram seth.

All that you wrote was why I bought the book. I started to read it but found how it was written quite dull. The main character never seemed to remember anything worth remembering. As I said I need to try to read it again. I think you should read Akira Yoshimura and Yasunari Kawabata, both are really good writers that really use Japanese subtlety to it's finest to tell a story.

[richb2004]

I have just finished ‘The Rachel Papers’ by Martin Amis. I found it to be laugh out loud funny, and a break from the dark tone of his other books.

I have been reading the ‘Holly Quran’ for the past year and am 60% through it. I had better not comment of the book as it might be courting controversy and lead to violence.

I am probably going to read ‘Dead Air’ by Iain Banks next. I loved ‘The Wasp Factory’ and ‘The Crow Road’ so have been looking forward to this book.

I have read quite a lot of the Old Testament, and although I found the content to be ridiculous and nonsensical I found it fairly easy to read and to follow. At best I found is amusing in a Monty Python way. I found the book to be slow going but only because of its size and contend. One day I hope to finish reading it.

We should read a book before we comment and not accept the opinion of others. That includes the Holly Quoran.

[bkkmadness]

Catch 22 by Jospeh Heller.

My brothers lent me Iian Banks - The Alchemist which he says is very good, and he's always trying to get me into Sci Fi stuff, but it's not my thing really. Still, might give it a go.

[suegha]

Catch 22 by Jospeh Heller.

Catch 22 riveted me to the page, I couldn't put it down. I tried to re-read it and it just didn't grab me.

For Trivia fans - Did you know that Joseph Heller was going to call it 'Catch 18'? Leon Uris had a book out called 'Mila 18', so Heller changed the title to Catch 22!

Catch 18 just doesn't have the same ring to it!

Edited February 11, 2006 by suegha

[skydigger]

...also reading Philip K Dick. I couldn't resist a recommendation by legendary scholar Axl Rose!!

I'm fairly new to Sci-Fi. Found out Dick wrote short stories that became the films Total Recall and Minority Report on top of novels Blade Runner and Paycheck.

I'm reading A Scanner Darkly, soon to become Hollywood trash staring Keannu Reaves.

[Ulysses G.]

I'm reading A Scanner Darkly, soon to become Hollywood trash staring Keannu Reaves.

I think that this is the same novella that Blade Runner was based on, so might have possibilities.

Mr. Reeves did a darn good job in the original Matrix - one of the best science fiction films of all time - so he may deserve the benefit of the doubt this time.

[libya 115]

'The Mercy Boys' by John Burnside; you wil need a few Xanex after this one, profoundly disturbing, summary below:

The Mercy Boys are four Dundee men who meet every day in their local pub and drink: first to find order, then oblivion. Junior is a dapper depressive, who pretends his bedridden wife is already dead; Sconnie traverses the country on random train journeys; Rob is a brooding, hair-trigger psychotic, and Alan dreams -- like all of them -- of a simple, unqualified, reciprocal love.

[skydigger]

I think that this is the same novella that Blade Runner was based on, so might have possibilities.

Mr. Reeves did a darn good job in the original Matrix - one of the best science fiction films of all time - so he may deserve the benefit of the doubt this time.

Blade Runner is based on "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

A Scanner Darkly will be a film titled the same name. A preview can be seen Here

[Fast Eddie]

'Reminiscences of a stock operator' by Edwin Lefevre

A stock investing classic, well worth a read for anyone with an interest.

[suegha]

How about Animal farm and 1984 by George Orwell? I first read these in the early 70s and the year 1984 seemed like such a long time away. How right he was though. BB is everywhere!

[Ulysses G.]

Burmese days and Down and Out in Paris and London are two other titles by Orwell that are well worth a read.

[calibanjr.]

When I was waiting tables in Boston, 1991, AFTER my college degree (great job market at the time) we had a section from "Down and Out..." posted near the time clock. It was when Orwell was washing dishes and taking stick from all the Frog waiters. Basically about pissy waiters and cooks looking down on the dishwasher while everyone looked down on them, classic "Down and Out..." was one of those books it's great to have read because it reminds you that almost no matter what your're going through, someone's had it rougher than you.

1984 just looks more prescient by the day, the hour!

[suegha]

1984 just looks more prescient by the day, the hour!

Couldn't agree more, it's prescience is uncomparable.

[coldcrush]

The Fountainhead Ayn Rand (again)

also a selection of poems by Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

[thaibebop]

The Fountainhead Ayn Rand (again)

also a selection of poems by Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Fountainhead, great book!

[fatter than harry]

My brothers lent me Iian Banks - The Alchemist which he says is very good, and he's always trying to get me into Sci Fi stuff, but it's not my thing really. Still, might give it a go.

Not the best Sci-fi to start yourself off with - I like sci-fi and Iian Banks and found this book a bit of a chugger, some smart sequences but mostly it left me feeling there were missed opportunities - nearly a great book.

[fatter than harry]

Oops, nearly forgot.

Have any of you seen Google books

Still in beta testing but looks cool. You'll need a gmail account. FAQ's are here, obviously you'll not find the full Harry Potter books on there but once you get into 'full book' mode there's some great stuff available.

One tip though, you'll have to do your search first, then click 'advance options' and select 'Complete books only' by hiting return, else it automatically gives you all books.

[bkkmadness]

Burmese days and Down and Out in Paris and London are two other titles by Orwell that are well worth a read.

I think my fave Orwell book so far, and possibly one of my fave books ever is 'Coming up for Air', about a guy stuck in a rut in the middle/later years of life who goes back to his childhood hometown. It's a magnificent read, and it's one of those books that needs to be read as your own life goes on so you can understand and get more out of it.

Just a little excerpt from this site

'I drove through Westerham. It was a wonderful June morning. A

faint breeze blowing, and the elm tops swaying in the sun, little

white clouds streaming across the sky like a flock of sheep, and

the shadows chasing each other across the fields. Outside

Westerham a Walls' Ice Cream lad, with cheeks like apples, came

tearing towards me on his bike, whistling so that it went through

your head. It suddenly reminded me of the time when I'd been an

errand boy myself (though in those days we didn't have free-wheel

bikes) and I very nearly stopped him and took one. They'd cut the

hay in places, but they hadn't got it in yet. It lay drying in

long shiny rows, and the smell of it drifted across the road and

got mixed up with the petrol.'

I personally don't like reading straight offline but for any of you out in the sticks that can't get books as easy give it a go. I spose you could always print it out?

[bendix]

Am reading three at the moment.

The Beautiful and the Damned by F Scott Fitzgerald.

Alan Bennett's new collection of diaries and essays . . fantastic stuff. I bought it in London last week. Don't think it's arrived in LOS yet.

And a biography of Pol Pot. Oh lordy. What a nutter. Good to see this week that they're finally starting to bring some of those crazy sods to trial. What's taken them so long? So many of the Khmer Rouge leadership are living luxury retirements in big Phnom Penh mansions.

[Boon Mee]

America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It

[endure]

'Redcoat - the British Soldier in the age of horse and musket' by Richard Holmes.

[mickmac]

Pelagia and the White Bulldog -- Boris Akunin

Also worth a read are the Erast Fandorin novels by the same author.

Next up to read, Mud Blood and Poppycock -- Gordon Corrigan

[kayo]

Holy Cow, sarah Macdonald.

crappy.

[Neeranam]

The Thai version of Johnathan Livingstone Seagull

[suegha]

The Thai version of Johnathan Livingstone Seagull

Wow, this is brilliant in English, I hope it reads as well in Thai!

[glenbat]

just finished Private Dancer, and Money Still Number One.. and just started Welcome to The Bangkok Slaughterhouse

[Neeranam]

QUOTE(Neeranam @ 2006-10-20 04:07:31)

The Thai version of Johnathan Livingstone Seagull

Wow, this is brilliant in English, I hope it reads as well in Thai!

It does

[game4shame]

the daily star.

[redrus]

the daily star.

From back to front I presume....

redrus

[game4shame]

the daily star.

From back to front I presume....

I used to read it back to front but front to back at the moment. might change back again soon.

like to mix it up a bit, keeps it interesting!

Edited October 21, 2006 by game4shame