Ian's Reading 2012

[ian]

I think it was his publisher - I got all this from the Wikipedia page; not the most reliable of sources admittedly!

[ian]

I've just finished reading "Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha" by Roddy Doyle. I was looking forward to this as I've read his Barrytown trilogy and thought they were hilarious. Somehow however, this didn't quite do it for me. Paddy Clarke is 10 years old growing up in Ireland in the 1960's and is told completely from his viewpoint and with the limited perception of a boy that age. So the book is a stream of conciousness of ideas and misunderstandings that leap from subject to subject (and back again) without much warning (and completely without chapters).

 

It's strange, because individual lines and paragraphs are funny and heartwarming, and in others incredibly sad, but somehow, the book as a whole left me cold. So for that reason, I can only give it 2 out of five.

[Gabbie]

I think you must be about the first person I've ever come across who have read Paddy Clarke and accused it of being bland. That's very interesting. I read it years and years ago (during school so I'd rather not thing exactly how long ago, if you all don't mind!) but i remember liking it very much for the strong impact it had on me.

[~Andrea~]

I probably agree about the bland. I only got through a few pages before I gave up.

[vodkafan]

Attila sounds OK Ian. Did you manage to get the other two yet or is it not a high priority? I read Great Expectations at school but I can't honestly remember the ending but I think it was happy. I never knew there were two.

Edited September 21, 2012 by vodkafan

[ian]

Attila sounds OK Ian. Did you manage to get the other two yet or is it not a high priority? I read Great Expectations at school but I can't honestly remember the ending but I think it was happy. I never knew there were two.

 

Hi VK - I've not got hold of either sequel yet. I really need to get my TBR pile down a bit before I get anything else. Potential Christmas present ask, I think!

[ian]

^{Just finished "Persuader" by Lee Child. I enjoyed this so much more than I did Paddy Clarke, but it makes me feel guilty. Paddy Clarke won a Booker Prize, so I feel I should enjoy it. After all, I call myself an avid reader, so shouldn't I prefer "proper Literature" to "popular fiction"?}

 

 

^{Oh well, there's probably no answer to that other than "read what you enjoy" and that is the point of reading to me - enjoyment. So with that thought in mind, the next book is another Lee Child - The Enemy!}

[poppyshake]

No, you should prefer what you prefer

Life's too short .. unless you're studying .. read for pleasure .. it's the only way.

[vodkafan]

No, you should prefer what you prefer

Life's too short .. unless you're studying .. read for pleasure .. it's the only way.

 

I agree with that

[Karsa Orlong]

Persuader is definitely one of the better Reacher novels, as is The Enemy

 

Ian, you might enjoy this.

[ian]

Thanks Everyone! Karsa, that does look like JUST the kind of book I like; I'll add it to my ever-increasing TBR/wish-list!

[ian]

Finished The Enemy, which was just as good as you had all suggested! Decided to give the Reacher and the Kindle a bit of rest, and tackle the increasingly large pile of actual physical books that are crying out to be read. So my next read is "The Coffin Dancer" by Jeffrey Deaver.

[poppyshake]

Finished The Enemy, which was just as good as you had all suggested!

So you've read a good book and eaten Key Lime pie .. could life get any better?

[ian]

So you've read a good book and eaten Key Lime pie .. could life get any better?

 

I've just spent the last two days sat in a training room with my bosses trying to learn Rolls-Royce Aero Engines new supplier requirement document and its implications upon our company. So YES is the short answer!!

 

Still - free lunch on both days, so not all bad

[ian]

Finished The Coffin Dancer bu Jeffrey Deaver and is the second book in his Lincoln Rhymes series. I thought this book was excellent, with the twists I was expecting coming form the exact opposite direction I was anticipating. Clever writing!

 

I have the 3rd book to read, but I think I need to read a book that's been on my TBR for a long time now; Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. I know next to nothing about this - I didn't see the recent adaptation and only got the book when I found it in a charity shop. Sometimes I think it's best to come at a book this way; completely free from expectation and bias.

[ian]

Just finished Birdsong, and I've put a review in general fiction. I've not got anything else lined up for the moment, so I'll probably get a bit crabby till I start reading again!

[ian]

I've picked a piece of absolute reading indulgence for myself, straight from my childhood. I think I was about 12 when I last read this, and loved every word. The Called of the Wild by Jack London

[ian]

I'm continuing the theme of re-reading books I first read years ago. I picked up a Kindle version of Different Seasons by Stephen King. For those who don't know it, it's four short stories (one for each season) and contains "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", which of course became the film The Shawshank Redemption.

Edited November 13, 2012 by ian

[ian]

Finished Different Seasons. What can I say about this book. It was possibly one of the first pieces of proper adult fiction I ever read in my teens. I must have re-read it a dozen times till I moved out of my parents' house when it went missing. Re-reading it now was a bit like seeing an old friend after many years. There were whole paragraphs that I remembered completely. And it's still as enjoyable now as it was then, so I can only give it 5 out of 5.

 

While I'm in Stephen KIng mode, I'll continue with another old book of his - this time one I've never read before - Pet Semetary.

[Karsa Orlong]

While I'm in Stephen KIng mode, I'll continue with another old book of his - this time one I've never read before - Pet Semetary.

 

That was the first one of his that I ever read

[ian]

That was the first one of his that I ever read

 

So far, I'm really enjoying it!

[~Andrea~]

Oh I loved Pet Semetary - possibly my favourite after Misery. Enjoy Ian

[Kidsmum]

While I'm in Stephen KIng mode, I'll continue with another old book of his - this time one I've never read before - Pet Semetary.

 

 

I remember going to see this at the cinema, the neighbour was played by an actor called Fred Gwynne who also played Herman Munster in The Munsters it was hard to take him seriously

[julie]

Ian,It's sometimes interesting to re-read a book you read many years ago. I bought several Kindle books lately that were on sale for their "Cyber Monday" sale, or some such thing. Forget what they called it .

I also read Call of the Wild when I was about the same age . I for some reason probably like more books that men would like than ladies. It depends on the book,but I really don't like rtomance or most things that you'd file under the "Chic-Lit" group .

I think the first Stephen King book I read w-a-y back in my younger days would have been Salem's Lot .

[ian]

I'm about 3/4 through Pet Semetary now, and it's terrifying! What has always amazed me about Stephen King is his ability to take an idea that when you decribe it, sounds completely ridiculous, but he elevates into something that is both very believable and hugely enjoyable (in a hide under the duvet kind of way!)