The 2nd "What are you reading now" thread

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Aug 2, 2012
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Halfway through Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation
Golly, gosh, that brings back some memories.

I remember a few nights in the back bar at Naughton's when he started throwing that stuff around, partly as a joke to impress all the good looking girls who used to hang off him, partly as a thought experiment - as young super-cool philosophy tutors were wont to do. :D
 

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Mar 27, 2019
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Just finished

Breakout by Paul Herron
When a superstorm hits Miami, Florida, All the Correctional Officers flee a maxim security prison, but one of them opens all the cell doors, a female officer is left behind who is on her first day. It’s a free for all as the prisoners start killing each other, they have to survive each other and the superstorm, a lot of violence as the body count stacks up

Main character is a an ex cop who murder the man who killed he’s pregnant wife, other characters are the female correctional officer, the ex cops cell mate, a prisoner who the ex cop planted evidence to get him arrested and convicted, a religious nut called Preacher who found he’s victims tasty, and a few rival gangs etc
 
Mar 27, 2019
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Also read

The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson
Main Character is a Female detective who starts investigating murders that become a Copy Cat of the serial killer who was dubbed the Jigsaw Man, the detective was almost a victim of the Jigsaw Man but was saved by her partner. She interviews the Jigsaw man to see if he knows anything about the murders, After a couple interviews he escapes, not happy someone’s trying to copy him and getting all the media attention

Two main characters are the female detective and the Jigsaw Man
 
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Oct 23, 2012
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The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Amazing book, loved it.
It's like entering into a weird dream, and all you can do is just go with it & experience the strangeness.

Big Murakami fan here. Loved Wind Up Bird, so many layers to it and I was hooked reading it. Will have to read it again
 
Feb 21, 2006
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I've tried a couple of times to get through this, but 100 pages was about my limit, and didn't finish it either time. Just don't get the appeal, and can't understand the acclaim for it.

Well I gave up on Infinite Jest, I'll probably go back to it at some point but I just got stuck and wasn't reading anything so thought I'd move on.

Bought a bunch of shorter classics a few weeks ago to get back into the habit of reading. I just finished Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground" which I really enjoyed. I listened to a couple of podcasts discussing this book and read up on some of the themes and think I'll have to go back and re-read to get a better appreciation. I really liked it though and want to read some more of his work, I think The Brothers Karamazov will be next on my list of his .

Current about 2/3s of the way through John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" - had to study this in high school but cheated and watched the movie (hey I worked in a video store at the time - remember those?!) Can't remember anything of it though and the book has been a rich experience, will hopefully finish this off tomorrow.

Some others sitting on my bedside table are Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, Island of Dr Moreau and Men Like God's by HG Wells, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Will To Power by Nietzsche, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and The Day of The Locust by Nathanael West.
 
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Mar 19, 2014
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Well I gave up on Infinite Jest, I'll probably go back to it at some point but I just got stuck and wasn't reading anything so thought I'd move on.

Bought a bunch of shorter classics a few weeks ago to get back into the habit of reading. I just finished Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground" which I really enjoyed. I listened to a couple of podcasts discussing this book and read up on some of the themes and think I'll have to go back and re-read to get a better appreciation. I really liked it though and want to read some more of his work, I think The Brothers Karamazov will be next on my list of his .

Current about 2/3s of the way through John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" - had to study this in high school but cheated and watched the movie (hey I worked in a video store at the time - remember those?!) Can't remember anything of it though and the book has been a rich experience, will hopefully finish this off tomorrow.

Some others sitting on my bedside table are Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, Island of Dr Moreau and Men Like God's by HG Wells, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Will To Power by Nietzsche, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and The Day of The Locust by Nathanael West.
Enjoyed Island of Dr Moreau and Sapiens. Steinbeck is a favourite. Been in a rut myself trying to read The Age of Survellience Capitalism but got out of it with the top shelf Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl. Would recommend to absolutely anyone.
 
Feb 21, 2006
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Enjoyed Island of Dr Moreau and Sapiens. Steinbeck is a favourite. Been in a rut myself trying to read The Age of Survellience Capitalism but got out of it with the top shelf Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl. Would recommend to absolutely anyone.

I read Dr Moreau years ago but will be a good one to read again.

Finished Of Mice and Men and really enjoyed it, a classic book with some strong themes particularly around friendship, loneliness, utility/worth, bigotry and wrapped up in just over 100 pages. If this were written nowadays you'd think it would be dragged out to at least 250-300 pages; it was great just to read a succinct story that kept the plot moving and was extremely heartfelt.

Currently reading Day of the Locust about 20 pages left and it's been a bit of a weird one. Will be interesting to see how it ends.

Have added the Frankl book to my To Read list on Goodreads. 👍
 
Mar 19, 2014
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I read Dr Moreau years ago but will be a good one to read again.

Finished Of Mice and Men and really enjoyed it, a classic book with some strong themes particularly around friendship, loneliness, utility/worth, bigotry and wrapped up in just over 100 pages. If this were written nowadays you'd think it would be dragged out to at least 250-300 pages; it was great just to read a succinct story that kept the plot moving and was extremely heartfelt.

Currently reading Day of the Locust about 20 pages left and it's been a bit of a weird one. Will be interesting to see how it ends.

Have added the Frankl book to my To Read list on Goodreads. 👍
Exactly! My pet peeve of modern fiction is the bloat. Could trim 50+ pages off every book. I'd have thought novella's would be the most popular format given most people are time poor.

MSFM has pearls of wisdom everywhere in ~150pgs. Distils the basics of living so plainly and with great perspective. Not preachy though.

Thinking of my Goodreads To Read list is daunting. It never decreases!
 

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ChubbMuff

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Just started The Boys' Club by Mick Warner.

Finished the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. She is an excellent writer and I loved a lot of this story but the end was a massive let down.
 
Apr 10, 2010
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Just started The Boys' Club by Mick Warner.

Finished the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. She is an excellent writer and I loved a lot of this story but the end was a massive let down.


The Fitz and the Fool is a very long story and I'm not sure it always maintains the momentum that it starts with but I loved the characters and I'm glad we kept getting updates on them right up until the most recent Assassin's Fate. Definitely one of the better fantasy series overall.
 
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ChubbMuff

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The


Fitz and the Fool is a very long story and I'm not sure it always maintains the momentum that it starts with but I loved the characters and I'm glad we kept getting updates on them right up until the most recent Assassin's Fate. Definitely one of the better fantasy series overall.
My main gripe was that at the end - after the glacial pace of the quest and the continual building up and stepping down of Fitz - we finally learn what The Elderlings are and they are awakened... but then all the cool stuff that comes after is covered off in a couple of chapters. Literally the best bit of the whole goddamn trilogy is almost a footnote.
 
Jul 14, 2005
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Finished 'A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again' by David Foster Wallace. The second collection of essays of his I have read, and probably a little behind 'Consider The Lobster' but it's always dependant on what he's writing on. I always like his analysis and deconstruction of tennis. He looks at the games, but he's also interested in the temperaments of the players. The difference in mentality between top players and the guys who are scrapping to get there, and the little barriers guys at the top don't have to push through once they're on top. The last (title) essay was pretty boring. Goes over his experience being a single traveller on a luxury cruise, and comments a lot on the customer service staff and their relationship with the boat and a lot of the demographics on board.

Ended up buying a bunch of books with a Booktopia voucher* Mostly books by American authors and started reading A Prayer For Owen Meany, which is about a kid who ends up killing his best friends mum in a freak baseball accident. Only 100 pages in, but it's an emotional cluster*. The literary equivalent of Sun Kil Moon's Benji.

*As an aside, awesome website. Based in Australia, maybe $5-$8 cheaper than Dymocks and has a hell of a lot of books.
 
Jun 27, 2012
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Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy books are right up there in terms of crime novels.
just finished the first Sean Duffy book after seeing this recommendation....loved it :thumbsu:
interesting character, good story and a nicely painted backdrop of early '80s Northern Ireland.

thanks.
 
Nov 24, 2007
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also

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Apr 10, 2010
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Just finished Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss (1958) from the SF Masterworks collection. Far from one of the collections best but ok and nice to read something in a couple of nights. I've also just spent a ridiculous amount of money purchasing a good few of the books I was missing from the collection. Will probably get here in dribs and drabs over the next few months but definitely some classic Sci-Fi reading ahead for me.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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My (first-)read ranking from the year thus far:

1. Richard II - William Shakespeare
2. Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars - Joyce Carol Oates
3. The Rainbow and the Rose - Nevil Shute
4. Carthage - JCO
5. Henry V - WS
6. The Reverse of the Medal - Patrick O'Brian
7. The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead
8. This House of Grief - Helen Garner
9. Henry IV, Part 2 - WS
10. Henry IV, Part 1 - WS
11. Give Me Your Heart - JCO
12. The Children's Bach - HG
13. Sourland - JCO

First time I've read any JCO or Shute and they are exactly my sh*t. JCO's recent deluge of short story collections are good in-betweens. I actually found Carthage in the true crime section and based on the premise I thought I was in for that, so that first half had me going wait a sec this is JCO's normal fictional style, too much access and character freedom surely...and then that sudden twist halfway through made me laugh and facepalm (when I read true crimes I'm unfamiliar with I always avoid googling or even seeing pictures until finished).

Read those history plays in January. My O'Brian progress has slowed but found this, like Treason's Harbour, one of the stronger entries since the halcyon first 6-7. Loved Nickel Boys last year and read this Whitehead a couple months before the adaptation. Further Garner progress, but not my favourite novel* or true-crime from her, The Spare Room and Joe Cinque's Consolation impressed me a bit more.
 
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Jul 14, 2005
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Finished A Prayer for Owen Meany about a week ago.

Decent read overall, was a little long winded as if often the case with these mid-west authors - you often get some huge sprawling chapters. The whole book took place over a lifetime, which kind of made it outwardly feel like Forrest Gump or something.

I think at 600+ pages you expect a bit of waffle, but there were some pretty affecting parts. The novel starts brutally with the protagonists mum getting killed, and arguably doesn't reach the same emotional climax as when the characters are responding in their own private ways and with that as background looms over the entire book.

There's plenty who loves the ending and I can see why, but it came off a little contrived to me, even if I can see it was clearly pieced together from a long way back and actually could have really tanked. But it happened so quickly, and then just halted the novel without a proper unpacking. I get that was kind of occurring as the book ran it's natural course, but it almost certainly needs another read.

Started Libra by Don Delillo, and so far it's right up my alley. Also very stream-of-consciousness and lucid at times.
 

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