The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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Re: The "What are you reading now" thread

"A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry. This book has some great characters in it, I'm really enjoying it so far. It's been a while since I've read a book that is hard to put down.
 

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J.D. Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye.

I somehow missed this one going through high school. When I heard of Salingers death earlier this year it reminded me that it was still on my to do list.
 
The River by Chris Hammer. A journalist travels around the Murray-Darling river system. Very readable, maintains a neutral point of view. Not going to change the world (or your life), but gives a good account of the past and present state of the rivers.

Lotus Quest was pretty good, but kind of tailed off towards the end. Did give some interesting accounts of Japanese history however.
 
Sideways by Rex Pickett

Remarkable in that this is one of those rare occasions where the film is better than the book.

Much better.

Claude Balls said:
Finished On the Road, by Jack Kerouac, the other day. Didn't like it.
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Excruciating.

Probably should've read it in my early-20s when I was travelling...
 
Magpiespower said:
Excruciating.

Probably should've read it in my early-20s when I was travelling...
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The only way this book would have resonated with me is if I read it when it was published. Without understanding the countless references to real life figures of that era, it's a pretty uninspiring read and the prose isn't good enough to carry it single handedly. Definitely not as timeless as a few other books I've read that are supposedly among the greatest 100 of the 20th Century.
 
Claude Balls said:
The only way this book would have resonated with me is if I read it when it was published. Without understanding the countless references to real life figures of that era, it's a pretty uninspiring read and the prose isn't good enough to carry it single handedly. Definitely not as timeless as a few other books I've read that are supposedly among the greatest 100 of the 20th Century.
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It is a book written for a specific generation for a certain point in time. Coming out of WWII, this book represented a massive change in American culture and this book encapsuated it.

For us future generations reading it, we just don't get the significance of it. It is probably one of those cases where 'you just had to be there'.

Probably be like us trying to explain to our kids why Star Wars or Astro Boy was so good.
 

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Magpiespower said:
Sideways by Rex Pickett

Remarkable in that this is one of those rare occasions where the film is better than the book.

Much better.
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Another example is Diva by Delacorta. It's not a bad novel by any means, makes a good holiday read I suppose, but the film was just so much more stylish and handled the plot better.
 
Kaiser Powser said:
It is a book written for a specific generation for a certain point in time. Coming out of WWII, this book represented a massive change in American culture and this book encapsuated it.

For us future generations reading it, we just don't get the significance of it. It is probably one of those cases where 'you just had to be there'.

Probably be like us trying to explain to our kids why Star Wars or Astro Boy was so good.
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I couldn't get through it when I first tried to read it @18

Tried again about 7-8 years later, and really enjoyed it.

Then took it on a transamerican road trip late last year and stopped in some of the locales (by chance) mentioned in the book. And loved it. There is a chunk of the book about 3 quarters in that could be jettisoned, and what KP says (generation gaps) is somewhat true, but I still find it a tremendous read, despite not being born until 25 years after it was written.
 
handy point said:
I couldn't get through it when I first tried to read it @18

Tried again about 7-8 years later, and really enjoyed it.

Then took it on a transamerican road trip late last year and stopped in some of the locales (by chance) mentioned in the book. And loved it. There is a chunk of the book about 3 quarters in that could be jettisoned, and what KP says (generation gaps) is somewhat true, but I still find it a tremendous read, despite not being born until 25 years after it was written.
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If you could get drawn into the whole -just drifting from one thing to the next- type vibe, you could really enjoy it, I sort of did for most of the book. Going on a similar road trip would make it a great read.

Lot's of people enjoy the book, and I can understand why. But I can also understand why lot's of people would hate it. Being very highly rated doesnt help it, as you go into the book with high expectations and come out a bit like WTF!
 
I read "The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ" by Phillip Pullman.
I read the book in one sitting (only 250 large print pages or so), absolutely engrossing.

I am not sure how you would decribe it, it is a retelling of the new testament i suppose, covering Jesus' life from the miraculous conception, to the Sermon on the Mount, to the inevitably [SPOILER ALERT] betrayal.

Pullman is perhaps the most crafty and subtle members of the in vogue Atheist movement, and his sharp and extremely cleverly written book is far more poignant than any of Hitchens' or Dawkins' diatribes (note that i am a fan of both).

Pullman wrote the excellent His Dark Materials trilogy that i loved as a kid, even though most of the intended meaning went over my head as a 12 year old.

This is a brilliant read, though the book itself was $35 for a hard cover, so I would probably have avoided it if i was not such a huge fan.

Get on it.
 
Just finished "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry... wow, what a book.

After reading the whole thing, the title of the book really makes a lot of sense. You have a whole heap of pain and suffering, balanced out by some really happy moments. Once I got into the book, I felt as if the 4 main characters were friends of mine, but they were contrasted with some truly evil people in the book.

Really impressive book, I'm going to hang onto this one as it's now one of my favourites. Will definitely read again in 5 or so years.


I've just started to read "House of Dolls" by Ka-tzetnik 135633. Picked it up at a trash'n'treasure sale for 50c. From what I can tell, it's written in the point of view of a Jewish girl forced to work as a sex slave for nazis in a concentration camp. Sounds pretty confronting.
 
Currently reading "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck - Just finished reading Cannery Row & Sweet Thursday - 2 of the best books i've read.

I am going to read eveything he wrote so that should keep me busy for a while.
 
I just finished 'Cloud Atlas,' which was an excellent book; it's sort of like half a dozen short stories set in different eras, which are linked tenuously. Some of them seemed dull at first, but each story became rather engrossing as I kept reading. Includes some sci-fi, hot sex with an older woman, murder, infatuation, etc. Recommended.

I'm reading the Harry Potter books from book 7 backwards. I began the first one and didn't like it, so I read the Deathly Hallows instead. It's interesting how much stuff they cut out of the films.
 

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The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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