What are you reading?

[PennyDreadful2]

I have been bequeathed a copy of Salman Rushdie's The Santanic Verses. Not quite ready to delve into the depths, but it should be interesting.

 

[JennyFleck]

I have been bequeathed a copy of Salman Rushdie's The Santanic Verses. Not quite ready to delve into the depths, but it should be interesting.

It's really good. I think you'll enjoy it

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

The Satanic Verses is a book i'd like to get round to reading one day. They say never judge a book by its cover... or it's title! but I would expect it to be a difficult read.
Speaking of difficult reads, i'm half way through Moby Dick. This is a book i've attempted to read a number of times over the years. This time I think I just might finish it. It's full of olde worlde American phrases, the meanings of which completely escape me. If I googled them i'd be there all day and it would completely disrupt the flow of the book. Instead, I've just skipped over them and tried to appreciate the beauty of the language. It's been an enjoyable read so far and I can understand why it's regarded as a classic of American Literature.

 

[a1needygal]

I read Moby Dick a couple of years ago and thought it was fantastic. I know a lot of people don't like it and a lot of people have trouble getting through it, but it's a magnificent study on obssession and after reading it you will know everything there is to know about whaling!

 

[Altair]

The epic of Gilgamesh.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about Bilgamesh, king of Uruk, dating from the Third Dynasty of Ur.

If you have read this far...You belong in Hell... Be gone with you. !

 

[Cat100]

Never did bother reading Moby Dick and as it was not on the school cericulum lucky me. Did go to the Whaling Museum in Nantucket and found it facinating. The yearly years of Nantucket was fishing/whaling and how most of the orginial families made their money.

Book tax: I am currently reading "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Only one chapter in but really good so far. Hard to explain but I think it is a time traveling coffee house. There are three/four books in the series.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

after reading it you will know everything there is to know about whaling!

Finally finished this book and I couldn't agree more... For me, it wasn't a page-turner, certainly not the kind of book you'd want to read twice! At times it was more like a reference book, I now know all there is to know about whaling in the 1800's. The great white whale Moby Dick does get mentioned throughout the book but he doesn't confront the Pequod until the last 20 pages of a near 500 page book.

 

[Kev45]

I am revisiting Henri Charrières Papillon. Really enjoying it.

I have also gone over to the dark side, I was given a 'Kindle' as a gift and subsequently bought 450,000 digital books online on eBay for £10, I am so sorry.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

Great book! ^^^ I remember reading Papillon many years ago. A ripping yarn and at the time believing it to be a true story. It was only on further reading about Devil's Island that I began to question the veracity (big word!) of the story. Yes, he was definitely imprisoned there but no one connected with the prison could remember him. So perhaps the adventures were embellished a little. A follow-up book 'Banco' is just as good and worth a read.

 

[IglooLass]

Was she the last woman to be hung cags?

Yes

 

[IglooLass]

“1963, A Slice Of Bread And Jam” by Tommy Rhattigan
True story About raggy arsed kids being dragged up in Gorton in early 1960’s and the author’s close encounter with Brady & Hindley

 

[Tonto]

Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household. I first came across this in a book of short stories..imagine my joy when I later found out that what i'd read was just the first chapter of a full length novel. Worth a read if you're looking for a bit of escapism and adventure.

Peter O'Toole said that was his favourite film that he'd been in.

 

[Kev45]

The Starmer Project: A Journey to the Right by Oliver Eagleton.​

It isn't a bio and is more of a look at Starmer's well published public roles. Well researched, albeit pretentious at times, and tries just a bit too hard in places. But interesting though because it fills in lots of gaps about Starmer when he was DPP, for example the lengths he went to extradite Gary McKinnon to the USA, autistic and facing an 80-year sentence.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

Working-Class Football Heroes - Gary Imlach
When footballers lived in the same communities as the fans and were lucky if they earned £15 a week. It should be compulsive reading for today's
pampered, Premiership stars.

 

[Dropship]

I just bought this book, it's a bit steep at £17 but i suppose you pay for the hard cover.
I won't go so far as to say it's a ripoff but there are only 295 pages and the typeface is wide spaced, but worst of all there are no pictures whatsoever, huh !

 

[Dropship]

The two books below were total ripoffs, I was expecting to be transported via the pages to the front lines, but they skip over their military service and all we get are boring soap operas, grrr...

 

[Loulabelle]

The two books below were total ripoffs, I was expecting to be transported via the pages to the front lines, but they skip over their military service and all we get are boring soap operas, grrr...


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Heard mostly that the Ant Middleton stuff is mostly just a narcissistic view of his own life where he portrays himself as a hero without actually backing up why he is a hero. I've skipped it for those reasons, tbh.

Currently re-reading:

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

How To Lose Friends & Alienate People - Toby Young
I wish I'd read this book before I started out on my career. I seem to have made the same mistakes the author made... An entertaining and insightful read.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

Is it just me or is everything sh*t? - Steve Lowe
No, it's not just you! A very funny read...

 

[TemptingEnigma]

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

Many people on this site might benefit from reading this.

Can mean the difference between knowing your sh** and knowing you're sh**.