What are you reading?

[LadyOnArooftop]

The Beach Book - A collection of short stories.
I've only just finished this book that I got specifically to take on holiday last month. I picked it up from the charity shop only because on the cover it stated that the book was entirely waterproof. And of course I had to test this statement out by dropping it in the pool. I was pleasantly surprised to find I hadn't been misled. It's amazing what they can do these days.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

He's just not that into you - Greg Berendt, Liz Tuccillo
Finally got round to reading this best seller. I can see why it's regarded as essential reading for women.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

In the Heart of the Sea - Nathanial Philbrick
I've seen the movie version staring Chris Hemsworth (Thor) but it wasn't until I read this book I realised that it was based a true story. A white whale did attack and sink a whaling ship and that this incident inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. Now, I've had a copy of Moby Dick loitering around my book shelves for years, I've tried to read it a couple of times but gave up on it after just a few pages. I've now been inspired to give it another go, a proper go...

 

[casiquaire]

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Noonan was always a book i wanted to read but never got around to, until it landed through my letterbox a few days ago

 

[casiquaire]

Ever looked for books and either been out of stock since pussy was a kitten or like hundreds of pounds, its worth having a look at "Gyan Books" based in India, ive managed to get books not printed for decades, theyll pretty much wack them into a book format and post them to you(they have a website), sure its not the same as the original but certainly better than the accursed ebook.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

People! No! Please don't trash the best thread on the site, thanks you x

 

[Wren]

Sorry lady 100 apologies for my part in disturbing the thread

 

[Moriarty]

In the Heart of the Sea - Nathanial Philbrick
I've seen the movie version staring Chris Hemsworth (Thor) but it wasn't until I read this book I realised that it was based a true story. A white whale did attack and sink a whaling ship and that this incident inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. Now, I've had a copy of Moby Dick loitering around my book shelves for years, I've tried to read it a couple of times but gave up on it after just a few pages. I've now been inspired to give it another go, a proper go...

When Philbrick wrote :-

"This mortal life decays apace
How soon the bubble’s broke
Adam and all his numerous race
Are Vanity and Smoke."
His words appear prophetic.
The vanity of modern society is a vapid as smoke.

Those who are comfortable in thier suburbs, self proclaimed educated intellectuals, "Earth Lovers" and those with the certainty of belief.
Their boasts, thier ideals, thier very being would break under the pressure of mortal life if they had to live it without comfort and prosperity.
If "the bubble broke" for them, they would be lost in the harsh reality of life without meaning or purpose.

For those who have survived they saw and realised that people are capable of greatness like Pollard:-

“He had no lungs to blow his own trumpet, and sometimes distrusted his own powers, though generally found equal to any emergency after it arose. This want of confidence sometimes led him to hesitate, where a more impulsive or less thoughtful man would act at once. In the course of his career he had seen many ‘fishy’ young men lifted over his head.”

While at the same time respecting Chase as the leader he was to become:-

"Chase’s ability to adjust his manner of leadership to the needs of his men begs comparison to one of the greatest and most revered leaders of all time, Sir Ernest Shackleton."

However, was it not Chase who doomed them in the first place with his ambition and desire for change?

A nice debate to have, solid cautious thinking over the impetuousness of desire and ambition.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

You're possibly better off reading the book before seeing the movie because it can influence the reading of the book. Mr Chase was played by the dashing Chris Hemsworth (Thor) So turning the pages, it no doubt influenced my opinion of the man.
On reflection, and If memory serves, after the ship sank and they manned the lifeboats, It was Chase who persuaded Capt Pollard to not make for any South Sea Islands, but instead sail 1000's of miles to South America. The fear being, wrongly, that all the Islanders were cannibals. Ironic really as after months at sea they ran out of food and ended up eating each other. The book touched on the racism that existed at the time, as the first sailors to be eaten by the others were all black...
One thing I learnt from the book was how the Sperm whale got its name. The most valuable oil was contained in the whale's head. A thick discoloured fluid that resembled... you can work it out.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

I've been occupied for some time now with a book I picked up in the charity shop. It's a collection of George Orwell's lesser known novels. There's
probably a reason why they're lesser known, anyway...

Burmese Days
An interesting story about a man who's very conscious of a disfiguring blue birth mark on one side of his face. Set in British ruled Burma, his hatred of how the indigenous people are treated, loneliness and his search for love...

A Clergyman's Daughter
I gave up on this after a few chapters, just couldn't get into it.

Keep the Aspidistra Flying
I loved this one. A man in a downward spiral of depression and poverty. A real page turner.

 

[xxwhite_dovexx]

Your minds ! He he

 

[TheBabayaga]

I've been occupied for some time now with a book I picked up in the charity shop. It's a collection of George Orwell's lesser known novels. There's
probably a reason why they're lesser known, anyway...

Burmese Days
An interesting story about a man who's very conscious of a disfiguring blue birth mark on one side of his face. Set in British ruled Burma, his hatred of how the indigenous people are treated, loneliness and his search for love...

A Clergyman's Daughter
I gave up on this after a few chapters, just couldn't get into it.

Keep the Aspidistra Flying
I loved this one. A man in a downward spiral of depression and poverty. A real page turner.

that last one, there's plagarism at hand !!! most of the the posts here, are having the same effect after being read

 

[HeuristicMonkey]

I've been occupied for some time now with a book I picked up in the charity shop. It's a collection of George Orwell's lesser known novels. There's
probably a reason why they're lesser known, anyway...

Burmese Days
An interesting story about a man who's very conscious of a disfiguring blue birth mark on one side of his face. Set in British ruled Burma, his hatred of how the indigenous people are treated, loneliness and his search for love...

A Clergyman's Daughter
I gave up on this after a few chapters, just couldn't get into it.

Keep the Aspidistra Flying
I loved this one. A man in a downward spiral of depression and poverty. A real page turner.

Aspidistra is my favourite orwell novel - surprised it hasnt been turned into an indie film

 

[casiquaire]

The Nine Hundred by Heather Dune Macadam..............."the extraordinary young women of the first official jewish transport to Auschwitz".........£2 in a local charity shop, just started it

 

[BlackMagicBabeXx]

The Book Of Magic suprise pressie from my brother

 

[TheBabayaga]

The Book Of Magic suprise pressie from my brother

I wanted to give you that [huhuhuhuhuhu huuuuuu!!!]..(mini tantrum throw)

 

[BlackMagicBabeXx]

I wanted to give you that [huhuhuhuhuhu huuuuuu!!!]..(mini tantrum throw)

 

[Mehrdad]

DESIblitz Literature Festival is coming to you

From Nov 12 to Nov 25
Book Your FREE Tickets and Enjoy​

 

[JennyFleck]

A Cetain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
Chavs by Owen Jones
Verity by Colleen Hoover
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
The Cows by Dawn O'Porter
All My Mothers by Joanna Glen
The Foundling by Stacey Halls
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Marla Maria Machado
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz
The Idiot Brain by Dean Burnett
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
A Taste for Poison by Neil Bradbury
Femininity by Susan Brownmiller

 

[JennyFleck]

All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki
To Paradise by Hanya Yanaguhara