The "I am currently reading" thread

[Mathom]

My boyfriend read it, and for the first few chapters kept telling me that he thought Ishiguro should work on his grammar, which I enjoyed

 

I wonder if it's a comment on institutionalisation? The not escaping thing, I mean. Hailsham is such a dominant force in their lives...I loved how The Cottages (?) reflect the university experience, everyone sleeping around and it not really mattering if they finish their essays or not

 

It possibly was. If you think about it, each and every one of us is brought up to expect to do certain things in life and very, very few go against the 'rules'. I mean, how many people do you know who would just up sticks and live in a hole in the woods instead of a house in a town? The children are clearly taught that this is their life and there simply is no alternative. Plus there must be some brainwashing going on judging by the tales of kids lost in the woods and meeting sticky ends.

 

In a way, they are kept in a permanent childlike state. They never question their lives. It remided me of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest in that respect.

 

I think it was as much about relationships though, as anything else. They are brought up without parents or family, so they form their own 'families'. It could also be about mortality, as it's something we all deny, but they accept it as a fact.

[taxman]

Just finished Dying to Sin by Stephen Booth, his latest detective novel set in the Peak District. It was good for what it was which was a page turning murder mystery. The characters are getting stale as this is about the ninth book in the series but it passed the time well enough. I also quite enjoy the frequent references to places in the Peaks that I have visited.

 

I am now reading Days of Atonement by Michael Gregorio, another murder mystery set in Prussia during the Napoleonic War. The author captures the sense of time and place really well and the story is pretty gripping as well.

[Suffragette1]

Resistace by Owen Sheers, set in rural Wales in 1944 under Nazi occupation , it tells the story of a group of farmers' wives, whose husbands have mysteriously disappeared one night. As the women come to terms with their husbands' sudden disappearance and take on the farming, a jaded and weary Nazi Captain and a group of German soldiers settle in the area and gradually a relationship starts to form. I'm half way through the book and the writing is superb. It is an interesting premise, would the Brits have surrended/collaborated or fought back if we'd been occupied? I have no idea what other historical facts the author has altered for dramatic licence, so read with great interest.

[taxman]

 

I am now reading Days of Atonement by Michael Gregorio, another murder mystery set in Prussia during the Napoleonic War. The author captures the sense of time and place really well and the story is pretty gripping as well.

 

Just finished this and it was a cracking read. I seem strangely drawn at the moment to books relating to the European persecution of the Jews.

[Jessica23]

Emily Dickinson.

 

My brain hurts

[Smithster]

I have finally finished Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in las Vegas. I really enjoyed it, but I didn't find it very gripping so it took me a while. I guess because there is no real storyline as such (two guys go to Las Vegas with a massive bag full of drugs and get wasted) it didn't grab me in the way some books do. It deserves its classic status though and I would recommend it to anyone (except possibly my nan!)

 

I am now motoring through Carl Sagan's Contact, which I am finding very gripping. It was recommended to me by somebody (on this thread perhaps? I can't be bothered to go back through it all and check) and so far it isn't disappointing.

[Jessica23]

I have finally finished Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in las Vegas. I really enjoyed it, but I didn't find it very gripping so it took me a while. I guess because there is no real storyline as such (two guys go to Las Vegas with a massive bag full of drugs and get wasted) it didn't grab me in the way some books do. It deserves its classic status though and I would recommend it to anyone (except possibly my nan!)

 

But that's a superb storyline!

 

Seriously, I love that book. I wish I'd read more of his stuff. I was sitting in a lecture a few years ago when one of my friends texted to tell me that he'd died. Cue totally lack of concentration on said lecture and overwhelming urge to Get To The Internet and find out what had happened

 

I even went out and bought the Jefferson Airplane album that has 'White Rabbit' on it on the strength of that book

[Ouija]

The Husband by Dean Koontz.

 

Finally got round to reading this one from my 'waiting to be read' shelf of books. Definitely a good one.

[squeakyclean]

I am currently reading 'The Front' by Mandasue Hellar. Not my usual style of book at all, but i am really enjoying it. I am already in the process of buying all the books written by her!

[Minimo]

I have just finished `Shadows of the Workhouse` by Jennifer Worth. I have sobbed my heart out over these true stories of a young girl, a brother and sister, and finally an old man. The last was so poignant, I won`t say any more in case anyone wants to read the book. It is a look at life for the poorest and weakest and makes me so angry that we still let people be treated with contempt.