The "I am currently reading" thread

[metalman 21]

Just finished Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island, a clever psycho-thriller which successfully pulls the wool over your eyes.

 

Now onto supposedly lighter fare with Richmal Crompton's William the Detective, only to find half way through that William has a go at becoming a Nazi stormtrooper and tries to drive out an old Jewish sweetshop owner. Apparently this story has been removed from later editions...

[taxman 12]

The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa.

 

A man goes on a final journey with his adopted cat visiting old friends and loved ones.

 

Made me cry on the tram to work and during lunchtime.

[Bob Arctor 11]

Umbrella by Will Self. It's brilliant, he writes so well you are swept along with it.

[metalman 21]

Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi. This is another instalment of his series that started with Old Man's War, and it's a bit unusual in that it documents the same events as the previous book in the series, The Last Colony, but seen through the eyes of a different character. Not entirely sure it works as well as the other books because you already know what's coming, but he's always an entertaining writer to read so it's not a great hardship so far.

 

I remember years ago reading a set of three books by Oliver Onions where he did a similar sort of thing with three different characters and there are probably other examples too.

[mikeG 16]

'Dark Side' by Belinda Bauer. Murder on Exmoor. An excellent whodunnit.

[feargal 21]

Just finished "A Maidens Grave" by Jeffrey Deaver, which is one of his older ones. You can tell too, its much better then his later offerings.

[Stranza 10]

Has anyone read the Undead series by RR Haywood?

 

Not something I'd normally go for but his writing style and series layout had me racing through these.

 

Anyone recommend anything similar?

 

ETA

If no one has read them.....

 

Amazon kindle unlimited has the whole series.

Up to book 22 now, each one covers a day after zombie virus.

Sounds rhubarb but the story isn't really about that, you can skip through these in day chunks really easy and they are just absorbing enough for a commute.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Stranza

[taxman 12]

A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson.

 

I've always enjoyed her books in the past but usually they've had some point to them, some overarching timeline or narrative.

 

This reads just like a story of an ordinary life....it's still great and I'm loving reading it but if somebody asked what it was about I'd struggle to tell them, I'd certainly struggle to make them want to read it.

[top4718 838]

Just finished "A Maidens Grave" by Jeffrey Deaver, which is one of his older ones. You can tell too, its much better then his later offerings.

 

I used to really like Deavers books but can't read his later stuff, The Bone Collector and The Coffin Dancer were very good.

[taxman 12]

A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson.

 

I've always enjoyed her books in the past but usually they've had some point to them, some overarching timeline or narrative.

 

This reads just like a story of an ordinary life....it's still great and I'm loving reading it but if somebody asked what it was about I'd struggle to tell them, I'd certainly struggle to make them want to read it.

 

I did this book a disservice. It was utterly unputdownable whilst still being a book I didn't really know the purpose of. It all finished in the inevitable end only to be catapulted back to a previous episode which meant everything post that was superfluous.

 

I tried to sell it to my OH but she decided to leave it on the shelf in our apartment in Edinburgh

[lectrolove 10]

I recently finished In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin, in which he journeys around Patagonia in the footsteps of an ancestor. Although this is ostensibly a travel book there's little actual travel in it, it's very light on the mechanics of getting from place to place and not much in the way of descriptions of places or scenery. It's all about the people and situations he encounters, with quite a lot of history. If you have any curiosity about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid this is the book for you. A classic and deservedly so.

 

Have now started on Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden and enjoying it so far.

[Cyclone 10]

I've just finished the 2nd Prefect story by Alistair Reynolds, and am currently reading "The Heart of what was lost" by Tad Williams.

Neither are the finest work of those authors, but they're good enough, if you like the author and the worlds they've created.