What are you reading at the moment?

[hollygolightly]

I've just finished reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, had me :cry: at the end, but a fantastic book to read IMHO. :thumbs:

And now, I've just started reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. :thumbs: so far!

What are you reading at the moment, or what have you read recently that you've really enjoyed or got something out of? :unsure:

[TooManyMoves]

Hi Holly,

I'm 'reading' a book called "A Humument" by Tom Phillips at the moment. I put reading in quotes because it is a very unusual book. It is a combination of art and shading words in a book to create a story.

It's easier to show some examples of it from a site than try to explain this book. It is the only book I've ever seen using this technique in bookform.

Site (http://www.tomphillips.co.uk/humument/index.html)

I would enjoy knowing about any other books that defy the usual idea of what a book is.

Chris

[Milly]

After seeing the film interview with a vampire I thought i would try the book
It,s by ANNE RICE and definately reccomended
It is not what you think and are a very good read
She has actually wrote a series of books on said subject and they are all very good
It is actually better if you read them in order The interview being the first one

[Eeyore]

Got 2 books on the go at the minute "Oranges are not the Only Fruit" :) which a colleague has lent me

Also Sidney Sheldons "The Doomsday Conspiracy" :unsure: read it loads of times before but its still great, very uncanny :)

[Annabel]

Hi everyone, I am also reading The Lovely Bones and enjoying it...and I have also got the Curious Incident of the dog in the nightime...i shall be reading that next prioir to letting my 8 yr old loose on it!...

there are a few others on my reading list:

The No 1 Detective Agency , Alexander McCall Smith
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie : Muriel Spark
Billy Liar : Keith Waterhouse

I also read a lot of my daughters books, mainly to see if they are suitable, but also because childrens books are FAN-TAS-TIC !!! :D

I have often thought about suggesting a Book Forum for NFHiB, anyone else think this is a good idea? we could maybe get a reading club going! :jump:

[Eeyore]

Fab idea Annabel :) A book forum would be super :lol:

I love kids books too, I still have all my Enid Blytons, all my childhood books, one of my faves is Hilda Lewis "The Ship that Flew" - and I still read em :blush:

I also (sadly) have all my Sweet Valley High books and all that malarkey, can't throw anything away, he he he :lol: :P

[hollygolightly]

:o Annabel, please do read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time before letting your 8 year old read it! It's a bit *** *** ***** ;) , although it is supposed to be a childrens book. :blink:

Having problems with the computer today, but I'll have a look at that link later, TMM - sounds intruiging. ;)

[troika]

am reading Voyager - Diana Gabaldon

this is the 3rd book in the series and i'm *hooked*!! often reading for hours at a time, it comes into the bath with me too lol

basically.. without any spoilers, the story is based around a very english woman named claire, her present day being in the 1940's, when she steps through a stone circle, she gets instantly thrown back 200 years into the past. the story explains how she copes with no medicines, modern living etc when thrown into the darkest highlands in scotland at the time when there is a rebellion between the english and the scottish..

there is *far* more to it than that.. but don't want to give any away!!

i can't wait to go and read some more!

i heard a review of the lovely bones on radio 2,and i want to read that one next. :)

[Annabel]

;) I thought as much Holly! One has to exercise editorial control with some of these 'kids' books...i let my daughter read Lola Rose by jacqueline Wilson - a great author, IMO, but boy was that particular story powerful! but i thought it would be a very thought provoking story for her to read, and so it proved.

i will look at that link later as well, too many moves, i have cruddy graphics on this work PC!

I also have lots of enid blyton books, eeyore, mostly all the school stories, i keep on at my daughter to give them a go, and she has read ' the naughtiest girl' series, but Jacqueline wilson and Anne Fine are keeping her too busy right now! i wonder if she will find them totally weird and outdated, they were even a bit old fashioned when i was a kid!

[mazza]

He he

I am also reading Jacqueline Wilson books at the moment ahead of my 8 yr old boy to check that they are suitable and believe me, some certainly aren't :o !!! So at least three of his selections have been 'spirited away' for now :lol:

I find her stuff a bit samey, with repetative themes but they are a good bedtime read for me anyway :)

Not long finished the Harry Potter series too (again, to check it was not too iffy for my then seven yr old to read)

The last 'grown up' book I read was gosh, um, Hanif Kureishi - the Buhddha of Suburbia :thumbs: . I also got 'the Black Album' by him but never got past a couple of pages :zzz: . Perhaps I will when I am a bit more grown up :hihi: .

I'm also known to read 'Snoopy' books in the smallest room - very profound reading sometimes :lol:

Apart from that, I find Miffy the Bunny books to be highly entertaining (at least my 1 yr old thinks so :D ) , lovely illustrations too :) .

[Bird Woman]

im currently reading the dave grohl biography (dave grohl is in the foo fighters). couple of girls at work brought me it for my birthday.

i love that man.

[steponfrog]

I'm reading (for the second time) Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. The best books I've read for ages are by this bloke. I've read three, a trilogy: Chasm City, Revelation Space, Redemption Ark. They're Sci-Fi, but well worth the read.. none of this Star Trek cr*p... the author is a real scientist, and everything in his books is well researched and written. Everything incorporated into his stories are based on believable theories and actual science and physics, along with political standoffs and sabotage and conspiracies, and war, and all sorts of stuff...

From that, it does sound similar to anything else Sci-Fi, but.

There's all kinds of thought provoking stuff in his books, even the society structures he's thought up can be likened to todays, and understandable.

Very well written, unlike my waffle and blarb about it here.

I really cannot tell you how different these stories are from normal typical Sci-Fi. They really do come into a class of their own.

[Ribbit]

I'm reading "Hogfather" by Terry Pratchett (or rather, hubbie's reading it to me in bed). I got hooked on Pratchett a couple of years back and have been making my way through all the books... have read all the witches ones, the Rincewind ones, the City Watch ones (my favourites), and I'm now on the Death ones. I've bought "Monstrous Regiment" but haven't got around to it yet.

On the non-fiction front I'm reading "Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture", "Peter Cushing, An Autobiography" (again), and "The Book of Weston-super-Mare".

There aren't enough hours in the day.

ribbit :book:

[sally]

Hello fellow bookworms..

I love reading but due to no money rely on charity shops and my dad..who reads anything..his latest pass on to me is called..
Legal Blunders byGeoff Tibbals
It tells stories of legal blunders by both the law and criminals..
One particular anecdote relates to Raymond Burr who played Perry Mason whos unlikely defences freed many ..
Apparently he had owed a creditor$1085 since 1949..this chap took him to court and in 1963 the case came to court..Mr Burr decided to defend himself alas this was one case he lost and the judge ordered costs aswell as interest on the original amount be paid ..
Another judge was caught in court on CCTV offering accused persons lighter sentences if he allowed them to shampoo their hair....strrraaaaange.
Please start a book club..it would be good to discuss books..
Has anyone read Lord of the Rings Return of the king wasn't it sad how much they left out of the film..I wanted to see them kick the baddies out the shire the film was good but there were to many Hallmark moments for me..you know huggy Kissy bits..

[Beth]

charity shops are fantastic for books!!!
just check by flicking through to make sure the last page is there!! :lol:

good cheap books that you can read in the bath, most of them have only ever been read by one owner!! :lol:

but I do get lots of stuff in charity shops....why pay more when you can pay less and help out some cause :)

[hollygolightly]

I'm now on "A Question of Blood" by Ian Rankin - DI Rebus is a fantastic copper, IMO. ;) B)

Someone I know has been ravin about Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood - anyone read it? :unsure:

[hollygolightly]

Thanks for that link, HN, I shall pass it on! :D

[sally]

Hi all
WOW HN you must be clairvoyant..we went to the library today to see what was on..!!!...they are telling some stories and the kids can listen and drawer pics so we will go tomorrow..

Beth dont laugh but I actually have bought books with the last page missing..

I do love charity shops for books ..Before my life ended I had just finished collecting nearly brandnew hardback copies of Jilly Cooper books..now I like a highbrow book as well as the next man but when your sick and its cold and raining outsidewhats better than to hibernate with a trashy book ,the heating on full and a large supply of munchies..anyway I dont think I paid more than 75p for any of them..

Ian Rankins ..DI Rebus books are excellent...the stories are really good..he is the kind of detective who follows his hunches and doesn't like authority too much..has a bit of personal baggage but it doesn't detract from his abilities..

[steponfrog]

Ah, ribbit... you're a pratchett fan?

Read all his, possibly about 3 or 4 times each book...

I love the death ones.! I've got a death ornament, he's frying eggs.

Rincewind is great, and there should be more books with him in; don't you think Rincewind should have been in Monty Pythons Life of Brian?

Can you visualise Eric Idle as Rincewind? John Cleese as Death - he's tall enough!

:-)

Before all this cr*p with NFH started, I was getting round to writing a longer story than normal, i.e. actually writing the middle and end....! :o

Possibly when we move.

[vernon]

hello,

I'm currently reading "stupid white men" by micheal moore .. an eye opener and its even more scandelous than you can believe in the united states of bush.
[although i've not touched that for weeks ]

..and nearly finished the first book of the "his dark materials" trilogy .. "northern lights" .. i found the start very good and clever, liked the last part too is good!... has the odd very good line and thought at different bits.
Started that one months and months ago too.

I notice pratchett mentioned! .. first few books i started reading were his.. fun!

i think about the third book was the one i enjoyed most..i think it was "the colour of magic" .. and was good after reading the first too ... not read any others apart from "mort" and "lords and ladies".. go for slightly diff reading material at the mo..

<span style='color:red'>*warning giveaway spoiler line from a terry pratchett book so don't read on if you intend to read "Lords and Ladies"!!!!</span>


Still remember great line from "lord and ladies" .. can't lay all the back story but the line was "thats sexual morrisment" ... that had me laughing for ages!!!, remembering it now its still funny! :)