What are you Reading now ..... other than comics ? 7 7

[srezvan]

On 8/24/2023 at 7:45 AM, Brock said:

I just read a couple of short ones...

The first was After Many a Summer, a short novella by Tim Powers, who is one of my favourites. His current work is sort of dark(ish) urban fantasy where gangsters, street people and other marginalized folk engage with secret magic. This was a good example of what he does, focused on European gangsters, seedy film executives and a hapless courier competing for control of a shrunken head that can predict the future. Since it's a limited edition, the curious may want to wait for a larger short story collection to read, but it's pretty good.

The second was Armageddon 2419 AD, the original Buck Rogers novel from the 1920s. This is definitely one that has not stood up well to the passage of time... it was terrible - turgid prose, poor plotlines, one-dimensional characters, endless pages of nonsensical pseudoscience bafflegab on the properties of imaginary metals, and huge dollops of racism and sexism. It's not long, and I forced myself through it for reasons of "historical research", but man, was it terrible.

I read Armageddon 2419 AD a few years ago for the first time, too. My review was the same as yours - definitely does not hold up. But it did launch an incredible character!

[Brock]

So I just read John Le Carré's The Constant Gardner. It's my first Le Carré, and I'm quite conflicted about it. Basically, some human rights activists in Kenya get murdered by a cabal of pharma companies, and the diplomats all (or mostly) conspire to cover it up.

Everyone raves about how wonderful he is, but I was left a little "hollow" by it... He has writing chops, for sure, as was able to convincingly give voices to a range of very different characters. For the most part, though, they were a pretty reprehensible lot, and I really only had sympathy for the dead people. So, yeah, it's a bit bleak.

It may be that it just hit too close to home. I worked for a time in diplomatic circles in Kenya, and definitely met some of these reprehensible people. Maybe this made me want a story with more anger, or outrage, or revenger, or even closure? The Constant Gardner never really gets to any of those...

I guess this is partly a question... has anyone here read any other Le Carré books? Should I try another, or is this just his oeuvre?

[jimjum12]

I'm nearly finished with Wilbur Smith's, "Elephant Song", a novel about the exploitation of Africa by the two legged carnivores of the World. It has some brutal stuff in it. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[jimjum12]

"The Last Kingdom" by Steve Berry and "Bootlegger" by Clive Cussler ... both are series books that rarely if ever disappoint. Cussler features another Isaac Bell adventure, based in the earlier half of the 1900's, as are all of his... pretty cool. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[namisgr]

On 8/28/2023 at 4:50 PM, Brock said:

So I just read John Le Carré's The Constant Gardner. It's my first Le Carré, and I'm quite conflicted about it. Basically, some human rights activists in Kenya get murdered by a cabal of pharma companies, and the diplomats all (or mostly) conspire to cover it up.

Everyone raves about how wonderful he is, but I was left a little "hollow" by it... He has writing chops, for sure, as was able to convincingly give voices to a range of very different characters. For the most part, though, they were a pretty reprehensible lot, and I really only had sympathy for the dead people. So, yeah, it's a bit bleak.

It may be that it just hit too close to home. I worked for a time in diplomatic circles in Kenya, and definitely met some of these reprehensible people. Maybe this made me want a story with more anger, or outrage, or revenger, or even closure? The Constant Gardner never really gets to any of those...

I guess this is partly a question... has anyone here read any other Le Carré books? Should I try another, or is this just his oeuvre?

LeCarre spy novels are a favorite of mine.  Among those I really enjoyed are 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', 'Smiley's People', and 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold'.  

Edited October 18, 2023 by namisgr

[BuscemasAvengers]

Just started Bernie Taupin's recently released "Scattershot".

[JRBaxter]

Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

[JMcLean]

I just finished Stephen King's - IT

fantastic book, weird moments throughout but I rated it 4 stars on goodreads.

[Flanders82]

I wasn't sure what to read so I picked up a few books at the library from their recommended picks. What a terrible decision. 

The first was The Librarianist by Patrick Dewitt. I'm familiar with the author and enjoyed The Sisters Brothers, but I wasn't able to make it past a third of this borefest. 

Camp Demascus by Chuck Tingle. I've never heard of the author and won't be reading any more of their books.  

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos.  Kind of interesting since the story is based on a Russian spy that was trying to infiltrate a part of Eastern Nevada where they were testing atomic bombs, but ultimately not worth the read.

Edited November 18, 2023 by Flanders82

[jimjum12]

"The 9th Man" by Steve Berry and Grant Blackwood ... a more contemporary theory on the JFK Assassination  is scrutinized through fiction in this thriller ...It ain't War and Peace, but I liked it. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[LowGradeBronze]

Robert Aickman, The Unsettled Dust, a compilation of some of his short stories. He is revered in some quarters as an unsung hero of the horror/macabre/supernatural genre but he referred to his own style as Strange Stories. That they certainly are and I hope I have got someone intrigued enough to at least Google him! Go on, I dare you....

[Senormac]

Before I even knew they were making a movie, it picked this up.  Just finished it about 2 weeks ago.  If you like Hunger Games then it's a 

[Norrin_Radd]

Golf in the Kingdom

When an American traveler on his way to India stops to play a round on one of the most beautiful and legendary golf courses in Scotland, he doesn’t know that his game—and his life—are about to change forever. He is introduced to Shivas Irons, a mysterious golf pro whose sublime insights stick with him long after the eighteenth hole. From the first swing of the Scotsman’s club, he realizes he is in for a most extraordinary day.
 
By turns comic, existential, and semi-autobiographical, Michael Murphy’s tale traces the arc of twenty-four hours, from a round of golf on the Links of Burningbush to a night fueled by whiskey, wisdom, and wandering—even a sighting of Seamus MacDuff, the holy man who haunts the hole they call Lucifer’s Rug.

[makeminemarvel]

Just read The Road by Cormac McCarthy.  A story about a man and his son making their way through a post-apocalyptic world.  Brutal imagery and savagery.  My first McCarthy book and might try some others.

Edited November 28, 2023 by makeminemarvel