quote:

---

Originally posted by comet:
the pile next to the bed is epic.

---

Glad it's not just me then. I buy books (mostly from second-hand sales for 50p each) more quickly than I read them.

At the moment, it's The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - someone recommended it to me in the year 2000, I promptly bought it, and only began it this year (it's still 2011 here ...). First time I've ever read any Russian literature, I think.

I confess I'm getting confused about who a lot of the minor characters are, but it's pretty absorbing - I think I'm finding the theological chapters to be easier to follow than the plot itself!
 

---

Posted by Peppone (# 3855) on :
 
I'm reading Elmore Leonard's Cuba Libre via kindle app; plus a mixed bag of running and cycling books. Looking forward to the next instalment of Game of Thrones (I think I am up to A Feast for Crows.)
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Not sure I agree with the title of this thread - reading IS part of life - you engage with real people and their ideas. In real life, a lot of our conversations are superficial. With a book, you can ponder rather than respond rapidly.

In common with another shipmate, I have just finished a slow, lingering read of At Home with God – P. Roker

A DIY retreat book with some thought-provoking pen-portraits of people who met Jesus.
 

---

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
I've just finished Mr Golightly's Holiday by Salley Vickers. I'm always moved and amused by her, but I'll have to work out the take on God here.
 

---

Posted by Hennah (# 9541) on :
 
I was given Bluestockings by Jane Robinson for Christmas and I've finished it already. As the subtitle says, it's the story of the first women to gain a university education and is really well-written. Any woman who didn't think twice about getting a degree should read it and give thanks that they were born in this age.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
The Illuminated Page, by Janet Backhouse, who is Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library. I was given this book a few years ago and am looking through it again. This covers the best of 10 centuries of illuminated manuscripts, and what a rich, sumptuous visual feast it is. You have to go slowly - the illustrations are exquisite and so beautifully detailed that it takes quite a while to go through the book but if you like this sort of thing you couldn't ask for a better book.

What is particularly striking is the level of craftsmanship - there are some pleasingly uneven illustrations, but not one example of something done the modern way with Photoshop or Illustrator, everything is a unique, one-off hand-drawn original.
 

---

Posted by Bernard Mahler (# 10852) on :
 
Barbara Pym and Robertson Davies. Both new to me. Trying omnia opera.
 

---

Posted by Clarence (# 9491) on :
 
I've done rather well out of Christmas. Not only did I buy some holiday reading (Game of Thrones (but as an ebook, so not sure about that one yet), Hare with the Amber Eyes and First Among Sequels), I've been given The Invention of Hugo Cabret and City of Bones and found a real bookshop whilst at the beach and have The Short History of Christianity too.

Shame I have to go back to work on Tuesday.
 

---

Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :
 
I got Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers for Christmas. I haven't started it yet, and I admit to feeling a little nervous about it, since it seems like such a departure for her (it's a historical novel about Masada). But next week...
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Have been reading a wide variety of things, including:

--Reread "Six Of One", by Rita Mae Brown. It will be the January Heaven book group selection.

--"Walls Within Walls", a children's mystery.

--Reread various of Terry Pratchett's Disc World books.

--Read Rita Mae Brown's "Christmas Clawed" mystery.
 

---

Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :
 
Now that I have a lovely new color Kindle to play with, I'm planning on cracking into my library of classics (when I got my first machine I went through Great Books lists to compile a list of classic works I should/would like to read before I kick off this mortal coil, then downloaded all the free/cheap copies of same) and amusing genre literature, namely mysteries. (I enjoy the Nevada Barr mysteries featuring a female National Park Service ranger with extraordinary sleuthing skills/derring-do whose ranger job sends her all around the country to various nationally protected lands.) I also like Julia Spencer-Fleming's crime novels featuring a female Marine-turned-Episcopal-priest who, despite serving in a bucolic New England small town, is constantly stumbling upon heinous crimes and solving them, with the assistance of a local sheriff who is also kind of an on-again/off-again romantic interest.
 

---

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pure Sunshine:

quote:

---

Originally posted by comet:
the pile next to the bed is epic.

---

Glad it's not just me then. I buy books (mostly from second-hand sales for 50p each) more quickly than I read them.

At the moment, it's The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - someone recommended it to me in the year 2000, I promptly bought it, and only began it this year (it's still 2011 here ...). First time I've ever read any Russian literature, I think.

I confess I'm getting confused about who a lot of the minor characters are, but it's pretty absorbing - I think I'm finding the theological chapters to be easier to follow than the plot itself!

---

Hugely demanding, and as you say especially the minor characters, with their incomprehensible and unpronounceble patrynomics, but with Crime and Punishment, Les Miserables, and Ullyses (ye gods I'm a pretentious git!) it is in my absolute inner sanctum of the highest moments of human literature.
 

---

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
It's thirty years since I read The Idea of the Holy ... perhaps I'll take it in this time
 

---

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
Holey moley ... 65 pages in already, and I can't put it down. That didn't happen thirty years ago!
 

---

Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :
 
I had a Kindle for Christmas and as well as getting a couple of (free) Dickens onto it, I yesterday got Penelope Lively's "Moon Tiger" which I've had in the back of my mind to read for ages but never managed it.

I was also given "A Short History of England" by Simon Jenkins but haven't felt able to tackle it quite yet.
 

---

Posted by Scots lass (# 2699) on :
 
I decided to re-read Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond books a few weeks back, on the grounds that I probably over-looked things when I read them first and I'm an inveterate re-reader anyway. I finished The Disorderly Knights at my parents over Christmas and was unable to track down their copy of Pawn in Frankincense so bought a second-hand copy from eBay. It arrived yesterday, so I am about to reach 16th century Algiers with Francis Crawford, Philippa Somerville and the other characters.

Real life can go away for a bit, I'm busy...
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Fear and Trust: God-centred Leadership – D. Runcorn

‘Leadership’ is all the vogue in churches these days, usually borrowing outmoded models from business and industry. The author uses the first and second books of Samuel to consider styles of servant leadership, contrasted with the secular model which people wanted when they demanded a king.
 

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Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
Finishing up Simon Sebag-Montifiore's "Jerusalem: The Biography". Highly recommend it.

Next in line is Terry Pratchett's "Snuff" and Umberto Eco's "The Prague Cemetery".

I tend to flip back and forth between non-fiction and fiction. Indeed, I usually have at least one of each going at the same time.
 

---

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kyzyl:
... Umberto Eco's "The Prague Cemetery" ...

---

Ooh, let us know! It's ages since I've read any Eco. I think I was one of the four people who liked Foucault's Pendulum.

I've been having a bit of innocent fun over the hols, re-reading some Sherlock Holmes stories. Amazing how many I'd completely forgotten about. I was going to have a Christmassy read of some M R James ghost stories, but I was in the house on my own so I had to stop ...
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
I have a conference coming up which means lots of air travel. The Eco is going to be my travel book, so I'll do my report pretty soon!
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kyzyl:
Finishing up Simon Sebag-Montifiore's "Jerusalem: The Biography". Highly recommend it.

Next in line is Terry Pratchett's "Snuff" and Umberto Eco's "The Prague Cemetery".

I tend to flip back and forth between non-fiction and fiction. Indeed, I usually have at least one of each going at the same time.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kyzyl:
Finishing up Simon Sebag-Montifiore's "Jerusalem: The Biography". Highly recommend it.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kyzyl:
Finishing up Simon Sebag-Montifiore's "Jerusalem: The Biography". Highly recommend it.

---

The Jerusalem book is brilliant and treats the Arabs well (given that the author is Jewish).

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zappa:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pure Sunshine:

quote:

---

Originally posted by comet:
the pile next to the bed is epic.

---

Glad it's not just me then. I buy books (mostly from second-hand sales for 50p each) more quickly than I read them.

At the moment, it's The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - someone recommended it to me in the year 2000, I promptly bought it, and only began it this year (it's still 2011 here ...). First time I've ever read any Russian literature, I think.

I confess I'm getting confused about who a lot of the minor characters are, but it's pretty absorbing - I think I'm finding the theological chapters to be easier to follow than the plot itself!

---

Hugely demanding, and as you say especially the minor characters, with their incomprehensible and unpronounceble patrynomics, but with Crime and Punishment, Les Miserables, and Ullyses (ye gods I'm a pretentious git!) it is in my absolute inner sanctum of the highest moments of human literature.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
[QB] Ooh, let us know! It's ages since I've read any Eco. I think I was one of the four people who liked Foucault's Pendulum.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by piglet:
Just finished re-reading Sarum and now on to London by Edward Rutherfurd for the umpteenth time.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nicolemrw:
Well I'm person three who liked Focault's Pendulum!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
[QB] Ooh, let us know! It's ages since I've read any Eco. I think I was one of the four people who liked Foucault's Pendulum.

---

Besides you and me, who were the other two?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by comet:

Carpe Diem - a book on learning latin. the teen and I are tackling it together this spring.

---

I don't know quite why... but this brings me great joy! Feel free to pm with questions, or maybe start a thread.
 

---

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
Meet my favourite new solution to slow days in the office.

Currently ploughing through Great Expectations. Can't believe people told me Dickens was turgid.

I also have Richard Fortey's Dry Store Room n° 1 for the metro (about the natural history museum), and for Christmas I got a book about Bach's cello suites and Julius Norwich's history of the Papacy. Haven't started yet, though - I'm usually more a one-book-at-a-time kind of girl.
 

---

Posted by Mr Curly (# 5518) on :
 
Reading "Men are Stupid, Women are Crazy", collected articles by the late Australian/American columnist Peter Reuhl. Lots of fun and memories havingread his work over the years, but will need to take a break from it I think, to avoid overloading.

Just reread The Invention of Hugo Cabret in preparation for seeing the film, Hugo.

mr curly
 

---

Posted by Keren-Happuch (# 9818) on :
 
Got a lovely lot of books for Christmas...

Over the holidays I've finished a rather odd German children's book, Conditions of Faith by Alex Miller, and The Herring in the Library by L.C. Tyler.

Conditions of Faith was very good - it's about a young Australian woman living in Paris at the turn of the Twentieth century and her struggle to maintain an intellectual life when society expects her to settle down into a conventional marriage. I really didn't know what to expect when I started it, but really would recommend it.

The Herring in the Library was suitably silly for light Christmas reading - the third in a series of comic crime stories, spoofing the Golden Age authors, esp Christie.

[ 02. January 2012, 20:36: Message edited by: Keren-Happuch ]
 

---

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
I'm reading Unseen Academicals by my hero, Terry Pratchett. A brill satire on the game of football.

(On my Kindle - of course )
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
The graphic novel V is for Vendetta - A. Moore & D. Lloyd because I enjoyed the film - about a modern day Guy Fawkes blowing up the Houses of Parliament in a totalitarian Britain.
 

---

Posted by AristonAstuanax (# 10894) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
[QB] Ooh, let us know! It's ages since I've read any Eco. I think I was one of the four people who liked Foucault's Pendulum.

---

Besides you and me, who were the other two?

---

... and Nicolemrw, and leo ...

Well, who'd have thought we'd all end up on the Ship? Seriously, I got the impression Pendulum was very badly liked. It seems to get called 'pretentious postmodern nonsense' and that sort of thing. Personally, I thought it was funny, clever, and a cracking good adventure story.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Boogie:
I'm reading Unseen Academicals by my hero, Terry Pratchett. A brill satire on the game of football.

(On my Kindle - of course )

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by AristonAstuanax:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
[QB] Ooh, let us know! It's ages since I've read any Eco. I think I was one of the four people who liked Foucault's Pendulum.

---

Besides you and me, who were the other two?

---

... and Nicolemrw, and leo ...

---

Actually, make that five.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hart:

quote:

---

Originally posted by comet:

Carpe Diem - a book on learning latin. the teen and I are tackling it together this spring.

---

I don't know quite why... but this brings me great joy! Feel free to pm with questions, or maybe start a thread.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by maleveque:
I got P.D. James's Jane Austen fan fiction, Death Comes to Pemberley for Christmas (by request - I love anything by Baroness James). I'm most of the way through. It's not particularly gripping, but it's good all the same. Mr Darcy *is* Adam Dalgliesh, I think.
- Anne L.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:
Which led me to realize that in all her books, James seems comparatively uninterested in her female characters--probably why she dropped the Cordelia Grey series.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by OhSimone:
Another vote for Foucault's Pendulum here, and agree with AA in bracketing him with Pynchon - the amount of guff to wade through annoys most people I know who have read these. It doesn't help that the occasional one or two people that pop up with a "Gravity's Rainbow will open your mind man" are the most pretentious you'll have met...

Apparently I'm in good company here as I loved FP and The Name Of The Rose (and also his essays that I've read) but couldn't get anywhere with The Island Of The Day Before. I'm wary of starting any others although I have Baudolino and Queen Joanna... on the shelf. Are these any good?

My plans for 2012 so far consist of finishing Homage to Catalonia and Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy which I've been ploughing through for months - and probably reading all the Jo Nesbo's for a bit of light relief.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pure Sunshine:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kyzyl:
Finishing up Simon Sebag-Montifiore's "Jerusalem: The Biography". Highly recommend it.

---

The Jerusalem book is brilliant and treats the Arabs well (given that the author is Jewish).

---

Good to have the recommendations! I saw the documentary and was glued to the screen. I'm starting to read a lot of travel literature, especially related to the Mediterranean countries, so I'd love to have a clearer idea of the history of Jerusalem (which the programme certainly gave, though a book would be even better).

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Huia:
A slight deviation to note with great sadness the death of Reginald Hill

---

Indeed. Many 's a one could have been sooner spared, as they say at home.

His characters were in a bit of a time warp - Dalziel was always fat, ageing, drunk - but oddly successful with women - for about 40 years. But the novels were solid and (almost) believable nevertheless.
 

---

Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :
 
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (a novel) by Charles Yu. Absolutely required reading for any SF geek who also likes "serious" literature.
 

---

Posted by wilson (# 37) on :
 
Going through a bit of a SciFi phase at the moment (as well as re-reading books I haven't read in years). Just finished Protector by Larry Niven. A lot of fun but I find the space battle near the end drags a bit. Had genuinely forgotten the ending but had time to figure out/realize what it was going to be before I got there.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Richard Holloway's 'Looking in the Distance: the human search for meaning'. Compared to his earlier writings, the book at first appears to be quite empty of hope. However, he is actually putting Christianity into context rather than abandoning it altogether as worthless. It took a while for me to realise this, though. I look forward to his conclusions, even though I might not agree with them.
 

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Posted by Dormouse (# 5954) on :
 
I'm not reading anything intellectual, I'm afraid, and on my Tabbie (Tablet with Kindle app) I've only downloaded free books that aren't classics (I was put off classics by my A level books 35 years ago and I've never been inclined to try any since!)
But in Real Book Form I'm re-reading Phillippa Gregory's "The White Queen" in preparation for "The Red Queen" which I received for Christmas.
 

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Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on :
 
I'm not reading anything intellectual either Dormouse! I'm currently reading (and very much enjoying) Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science by Mary Roach. This is a study of the curious world of sex research, and is very entertaining (though I have to say that it can get a bit eye-watering in places: during the section on the various contraptions which have been used to treat erectile dysfunction over the years I have to say I was very very thankful indeed that I'm not a guy ). It's also a source of all sorts of entertaining and curious factoids: for example, did you know that the only other mammal other than the human where the male instinctively fondles the female's breasts is the pig? I didn't either.
 

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Posted by justlooking (# 12079) on :
 
I'm re-reading Barchester Towers. It must be around 30 years since I first read it. I don't have a copy but was able to download an e-copy from my city library which I can keep for 21 days. I'm loving it. I know rather more now and can appreciate the tensions around High Church-v-Low Church practices and all the personal rivalries carried on under cover of polite behaviour.
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jack the Lass:
contraptions which have been used to treat It's also a source of all sorts of entertaining and curious factoids: for example, did you know that the only other mammal other than the human where the male instinctively fondles the female's breasts is the pig? I didn't either.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eigon:
I've just been reading one of the Tony Hillerman series of mysteries about the Navajo Tribal Police, Sacred Clowns, which was very good. I particularly liked the concept of the "valuable man" in the community - in this case both the (seemingly unconnected) murder victims.
I'm following it up with a book I found in the 50p Honesty Bookshop, Indian Traders by Frank McNitt, which is a history of the white men who traded with the Indians in the American South West up to the 1950s - I'm finding it fascinating so far.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eigon:
I've just been reading one of the Tony Hillerman series of mysteries about the Navajo Tribal Police, Sacred Clowns, which was very good. I particularly liked the concept of the "valuable man" in the community - in this case both the (seemingly unconnected) murder victims.
I'm following it up with a book I found in the 50p Honesty Bookshop, Indian Traders by Frank McNitt, which is a history of the white men who traded with the Indians in the American South West up to the 1950s - I'm finding it fascinating so far.

---

I love Hillerman. He is writing about the Navajo Nation, but his stories could take place in Athabascan country here - cultures are so similar.

good novels on the Native American history bent that I strongly recommend - Little Big Man (movie is good, book it ten times better), Creek Mary's Blood, a Yellow Raft in Blue Water, and Ordinary Wolves. I can't recommend those enough.
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Although we have way too many books, I am somewhat disappointed I did not get any for Christmas. I gave our nieces and nephews gift cards for books. I am leading the Ship's book thread next month (and no, it is not the latest book by Murakami which I affectionately call the phone book, it being 925 pages). I am looking forward to reading the latest book written by my brother-in-law. My niece is also dabbling in writing, having successfully competed in the teenage version of NaNoWriMo and written 10,000 words on what she says may become a series of novels.
 

---

Posted by Eigon (# 4917) on :
 
Thanks, comet - I'll look out for those titles (can you tell me who wrote them, please?)
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
The Osborne Report - written 21 years ago but suppressed because it was thought to be too liberal about homosexuality.
 

---

Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :
 
Last week I finished "Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont" (Elizabeth Taylor) and then noticed on iPlayer that the Beeb had dramatised it - I enjoyed the book (which had been likened to a Jane Austen novel for its observations) and was pleased to see how well it had been interpreted for the screen, bringing it from the 1970's into the 2010's.
 

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Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
I'm reading Elizabeth Bowen's The House in Paris for an RL book group. It's been recommended to me several times by people I respect, but somehow I never fancied it. Anyway, it's turning into one of those books that I want to spin out to make it last as long as possible.
 

---

Posted by Caissa (# 16710) on :
 
I just finished Spong's latest book, Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World. I'm currently reading Zizek's Living in the End Times.
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
Caissa, what did you think of the Spong?

I have been reading a book about Maori protocol for tangihana (funerals) and hui (gatherings) by Anne Salmond entitled Hui . What I really like about the book is that it covers the very formal ceremonial aspects and also has comments from people she interviewed that give it a much more human dimension.

I wish I'd read it earlier in my life - it would have saved me from making some stupid mistakes

Huia
 

---

Posted by Caissa (# 16710) on :
 
Not much new in the Spong book for me since he has read most of his other books. It probably helps if you have because the chapters are only about 6-10 pages long. He continues his thesis of putting the Gospels into a 1 CE Jewish Liturgical Year. He takes a definitely anti-literalis approach and treats all of the books of the Bible in historical context. That said he does paint with broad strokes.
I like Spong. People on the more conservative, traditional or literalis side of Christianity won't enjoy this book.
 

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Posted by JoannaP (# 4493) on :
 
I have just finished by Pat A Pig of Cold Poison by Pat McIntosh. It was a good story with interesting development of the main characters but I do wish she would provide a glossary; I do not expect to have to consult the Intertubes to make sense of a whodunnit.

I am currently reading the Jane Austen juvenilia which came pre-loaded on my Christmas Kindle, which is great fun.
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by JoannaP:
I am currently reading the Jane Austen juvenilia which came pre-loaded on my Christmas Kindle, which is great fun.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by widbear:
Last and by no means least since 2005 I have been dipping occasionally into The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton, a huge work written by a depressive in the 1620s but utterly undescribable but far funnier, deeper and better than the dismal, ponderous title would have you believe.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
Oh dear. You mean they read it straight???

---

'fraid so!
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 

 

---

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:
The Princess and the Goblin is probably his most accessible book. It is written for children, but it's not lightweight by any means (and less encumbered by theology than his adult novels).

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
A lot of people seem to be reading C.S.Lewis just now. I've just started A Grief Observed, which I first read about 15 years ago. Harrowing stuff in the first few pages, but such exhilarating honesty.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pure Sunshine:

Dal Segno - let us know if you think Shades of Grey is any good - I love Fforde's Thursday Next series (I'm about to start the latest instalment), so I might see if that's worth reading too.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by OhSimone:
Finally finished Homage to Catalonia so I thought I'd go for something a bit more prosaic: Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North by Stuart Maconie. So far, so hilarious. I guess it wouldn't mean too much to those outside of this country, but otherwise, very good.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by OhSimone:
Finally finished Homage to Catalonia so I thought I'd go for something a bit more prosaic: Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North by Stuart Maconie. So far, so hilarious. I guess it wouldn't mean too much to those outside of this country, but otherwise, very good.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
THE VIOLENCE OF LOVE - Oscar Romero - a collection of his sermons and broadcasts.

---

quote:

---

Glad to hear you liked Shades of Grey. Much as I love Fforde, this is a novel I found hard work.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chorister:
Rose Tremain, 'The Darkness of Wallis Simpson'.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mrs Shrew:
I really must make a push to finish The Gormenghast Trilogy, which MrShrew lent me. My problem with it is mostly that the print is very small and the book very heavy. Maybe I will have better success if I download that for Kindle too.

---

How far have you got? I'm a big fan of 'Titus Groan', there are some hilarious bits in 'Gormenghast' (and some very dull bits) but 'Titus Alone' left me cold.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Picked up "Who's that Girl?" by Alexandra Potter yesterday from someone at the office. It's not the sort of thing I'd normally read, but so far I'm really enjoying it. It's about Charlotte, a sophisticated 30-something woman who works in PR, who somehow manages to accidentally go back in time and meets Lottie, her younger 21-year-old self (who hasn't a clue who Charlotte is). At first Charlotte has all sorts of plans for advising Lottie on mistakes she shouldn't make...

I'm halfway through and I think I can see where this is going, as Charlotte is clearly not too happy in her present-day life with a Suitable Fiance and Dream Job, but it's proving quite an interesting and amusing read. Very modern and a bit girly but I can't wait to finish it and see how it turns out. Sometimes it's good to try something you wouldn't normally read.
 

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Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
Just started to read Susan Hill's The Woman in Black. Been meaning to for years - now the film's coming round, so I just feel I have to, but I don't particularly enjoy being scared, which is I guess why I've been putting it off.

As regards Bowen's The House in Paris - well, I enjoyed it, and found the writing admirable in many ways, but not entirely convinced by the main adult characters - the children and minor characters were great - who I feel are sort of over-written (not sure how else to put it), in a way that seems to m very much of its time and now (happily) unfashionable. Or perhaps I'm just irredeemably middlebrow. I apologize in advance to any Bowen fans - but,if this is her finest, I'm not sure that I'll be reading any more.
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
State of Emergency: The Way We Were: Britain 1970-1974 - Dominic Sandbrook

This volume covers the time I was at university. Although we all experienced the power cuts, the three day week and the intransigent Ted Heath was my hero I was blissfully unaware of the carnage caused by an IRA bomb to a coach party not far from where I was living in Leeds.
 

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Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Just utterly included, embraced and pierced by Henri Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son. Struggling with Imprimatur by Monaldi & Soldi. Looking forward with eager dread to Robert Crais' L.A. Requiem and Mr. Banks' Surface Detail and Stephen King's The Dome and ...
 

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Posted by The Weeder (# 11321) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by QLib:
Just started to read Susan Hill's The Woman in Black. Been meaning to for years - now the film's coming round, so I just feel I have to, but I don't particularly enjoy being scared, which is I guess why I've been putting it off.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Just utterly included, embraced and pierced by Henri Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son. Struggling with Imprimatur by Monaldi & Soldi. Looking forward with eager dread to Robert Crais' L.A. Requiem and Mr. Banks' Surface Detail and Stephen King's The Dome and ...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mrs Shrew:
The Kite Runner.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
Currently re-reading James Michener's The Source. This is quite old now. I first read it as a child in the 60s...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eigon:
I met James White once, at a Star Trek convention where he was a guest author.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mrs Shrew:
I picked up a few kindle books just after Christmas, which I am working through.

The latest Lindsay Davis novel - Nemesis. I enjoyed this although I wasn't terribly satisfied by the ending. As usual, I finished it and immediately wanted to read another one though...

Just started The Kite Runner, which I chose because I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns - it is quite good so far.

I really must make a push to finish The Gormenghast Trilogy, which MrShrew lent me. My problem with it is mostly that the print is very small and the book very heavy. Maybe I will have better success if I download that for Kindle too.

---

I never did get into The Gormenghast Trilogy. I did enjoy Mr.Pye and I'd be curious what readers here thought of it.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
The Tarot Bible – K. McCormack There is a whole load of spirituality behind Tarot and this book avoids the fortune-telling aspect that cheapens it
 

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Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :
 
Just finished “Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes. The book is set in a small town and features two main characters Lou Clark, a bright but directionless young woman who ends up as carer to Will Traynor, a high flying young man who has been left in a quadriplegic state following a road accident two years earlier.

The book describes the impact that Lou and Will have on each other and has some extremely thoughtful things to say about disability and assisted suicide etc. I can’t recommend it enough, but suggest that you don’t read the last section on the train. ( )

Tubbs
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation – M. Ellis

Written some twenty-five years ago, this Jewish author says things that would get many into trouble today.

He challenges the Zionist consensus, reminding us that the Bible urges us to stand by the orphan, the widow and the stranger in our midst. Palestinians are in the midst of the State of Israel. How are they treated?
 

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Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
The Highway Code

This is the official "rule book" for road users in the UK and Northern Ireland. It contains many useful tips for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
I got round to reading C S Lewis That Hideous Strength. It's certainly a page turner: I romped through it.

But it left a very nasty taste: in 1945, when a welfare state was due to be introduced to radically undercut the gross inequalities in society, here is condemnation of state involvement.

Lewis packs in too many of his concerns, and pet hobby horses. The grossly OTT Evil Lesbian was funny at first but I'm afraid that's not how Lewis wanted you to see her.
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
Some years ago when my now way-adult daughters were at high school I read the Tomorrow series. A year or two a nice neighbour's kid or a neighbour's nice kid stole my set . Salvation Army too. So I'm buying and reading them again. John Marsden is bloody brilliant. Beats the theological tome I was meant to be reading.

[ 15. February 2012, 09:40: Message edited by: Zappa ]
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Pigeon English – S. Kelman

An eleven-year-old boy moves from Ghana to a block of flats in London. You can tell the sort of neighbourhood it is by the fact that a dog is names ‘Asbo’ and one of the earliest sights is a knife crime (based presumably on the murder of Damilola Taylor in Peckham). The lifts often don’t work, the underpasses are used as urinals and one daren’t go down certain streets because they are the territory of a rival gang.
 

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Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :
 
I'm reading 'Model boilers and boilermaking' by K.N.Harris.


It's riveting...
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Spike:
The Highway Code

This is the official "rule book" for road users in the UK and Northern Ireland. It contains many useful tips for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
Could someone recommend where I should start in reading George MacDonald? I started reading Lilith back in college but didn't finish and really don't remember much about it. There are a pile of works by MacDonald in the free Kindle Store, and having recently reread The Great Divorce where the man had a fine supporting role, I thought I'd take another look at his work.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Earwig:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mrs Shrew:
I really must make a push to finish The Gormenghast Trilogy, which MrShrew lent me. My problem with it is mostly that the print is very small and the book very heavy. Maybe I will have better success if I download that for Kindle too.

---

How far have you got? I'm a big fan of 'Titus Groan', there are some hilarious bits in 'Gormenghast' (and some very dull bits) but 'Titus Alone' left me cold.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Weeder:

At school, when we were turgidly reading through whatevever we were studying, I 'read on', under my desk. The Oddyssy in particular springs to mind. The English Mistress never knew; the whole class did and were very amused.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Spike:
The AA Road Atlas of Great Britain.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation – M. Ellis

Written some twenty-five years ago, this Jewish author says things that would get many into trouble today.

He challenges the Zionist consensus, reminding us that the Bible urges us to stand by the orphan, the widow and the stranger in our midst. Palestinians are in the midst of the State of Israel. How are they treated?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Sunday: A History of the First Day from Babylonia to the Super Bowl – C. Harline

This is a worthy successor to Beckwith & Scott’s This is the Day: The Biblical Doctrine of the Christian Sunday and its Jewish and Early Church Setting. It portrays the flavour of Sundays as they were kept in different times and places through the eyes of real people who lived through them. The most lyrical chapter portrays Sunday in occupied Belgium during the Great War.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
I've got Till We Have Faces on a wishlist, but there's lots more I'd like to read first. (And I'm giving up buying books online for Lent.)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
I have now started The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin which my brother gave me. Siblin started his career as a rock/pop journalist, got bored with it, and wanted to discover a different kind of music. In the book he traces the music through various strands - the life of Bach, the story of how Pablo Casals discovered/popularised the music, and his own reactions to it. I like.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
I'm reading the latest Terry Pratchett, Snuff. It's a Vimes one, always his favourite territory. So far, I particularly like the description of a character with 'a face like a bulldog licking vinegar off a thistle'.

---

quote:

---

I just finished The Popes by John Julius Norwich, which I enjoyed very much. Very readable and full of colourful characters, taking in large swathes of European History.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Galloping Granny:
I've finished Henning Mankell's Daniel The depth of his psychology was so assured that at times I didn't want to pick the book up and get involved in it. Yet it was elegantly concluded. It's about a small African boy in 1875 whose family have been killed, and so a Swedish traveller takes him back to Sweden. The cultural misunderstandings are seen through the child's perceptions.

His later books are so different from his Wallander stories. Kennedy's Brain and The Man from Beijing both have an international social/political/ethical focus.

I like the conclusion to Mankell's Afterword: 'The novel does not necessarily depict what actually happened. The task of the novel is to portray what might have happened.'

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cara:
oops sorry. This is --or rather my post just now with nothing in it but a quote from Galloping Granny was--my first step on board the Ship (so glad to have found this community); and the instructions for quoting and replying are slightly different from what I am used to.

---

Welcome aboard Cara!

If you're having difficulty with the UBB code we use here then the UBB Practice Thread is a good place to go to experiment and ask for advice. And don't forget to check out the 10 commandments and guidelines for each board.

We hope you enjoy your time aboard the Ship

Marvin
Friendly welcoming Heaven Host
 

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Posted by Galloping Granny (# 13814) on :
 
Thank you, Cara, for reminding me that I haven't yet read The Italian Shoes
I've now reserved it from the library.

GG
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Yes - welcome Cara. You seem to bring a great depth of knowledge to this thread.
 

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Posted by duchess (# 2764) on :
 
I bought Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril
By: King Abdullah II of Jordan

As I work for an Israeli company and been there on business, it's a hard read for me honestly but fascinating. I got it after seeing the King on the Jon Stewart show. I have been accused of having a crush on him but I swear I don't.

[Edited to make world peace thru correct code. #$%@!]

[ 01. March 2012, 01:39: Message edited by: duchess ]
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Thank you for the kind messages of welcome!

Marvin, thank you for the reminders about the ten commandments and the guidelines, which I'd already looked at, and about the UBB practice thread, which I didn't think I needed! I am humbled now and will practice a bit.

(Hope it's ok to mention here that what threw me off was actually a wording issue--I thought "add reply" meant add my own reply to the bit I quoted--I didn't realize it actually meant "post reply." But I will learn!)

I've just re-read Virginia Woolf's ORLANDO (will try and use italics next time, after practicing!)--I must have read it years and years ago but remembered little. I so very much admire Virginia W. Even this jeu d'esprit that she considered a "writer's holiday" is brilliant on so many levels.

Possibly Orlando is about the furthest away one can get from my last read, the Heir of Redclyffe! But then again......both are quest stories, in a way....

Cara
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cara:
my last read, the Heir of Redclyffe! But then again......both are quest stories, in a way....

---

Coo, someone else has read The Heir of Redclyffe. Charlotte M Younge wasn't stupid, was she?

Have you read Vita Sackville West's The Edwardians? Another novel inspired by Knole, like Orlando?

Good luck with the italics, Cara!
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
PS. I didn't find the piety in Redclyffe sickly, just of its time.

I remember the description of the young widow's utter desolation.

Also amused at the way when the characters are ill, they think to call in the vicar to read to them,as though he was a human ipod.
 

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Posted by cheesymarzipan (# 9442) on :
 
I've been reading lots lately (possibly too much? Kindle makes it too easy...)
Currently I'm reading Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles. My main complaint with these is that the story is too addictive (i'm halfway through the second book and the third's not been published yet. I must wait, arg)
Fantasy, magic, stuff. The hero's telling his story to another guy, so you know he's not going to die too soon.
Anyway I love it though I will finish it too quickly. I need something to read tomorrow though, I'll be travelling for many hours. Possibly Gormenghast (thanks for the reminder). I never did get around to reading it.
 

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Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
I have procured the Complete Dramatic Works of Chekhov, which should keep me going for a while (in French translation, because I had book tokens for French bookshop). I may dip in and out and read other things in the meanwhile.

I think I should maybe get an e-reader as well, because if I carry on like this, I'm going to be able to dispense with the furniture and just sit on piles of books. So many books, so little time...
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cara:
my last read, the Heir of Redclyffe! But then again......both are quest stories, in a way....

---

Coo, someone else has read The Heir of Redclyffe. Charlotte M Younge wasn't stupid, was she?

Have you read Vita Sackville West's The Edwardians? Another novel inspired by Knole, like Orlando?

Good luck with the italics, Cara!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
PS. I didn't find the piety in Redclyffe sickly, just of its time.

I remember the description of the young widow's utter desolation.

Also amused at the way when the characters are ill, they think to call in the vicar to read to them,as though he was a human ipod.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
I have read The Daisy Chain and one of its sequels in my time.

I had a thought about Redclyffe.

If a modern popular novel described a young women being widowed, I feel it would try to be "positive" about it, as advised by the best self-help manuals.

Charlotte Younge describes and insists on a sense of utter desolation, which, as I recall, is only slightly ameliorated in time.

But the interesting thing is that Younge and her characters would have believed strongly in eternal life, in a way that contemporary writers would not.

And yet Younge shows bereavement to be more desolating.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zappa:
People say that life's the thing, but I prefer reading (Langdon Smith).

So what's enlarging your grey matter in twenty twelve, and why?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by la vie en rouge:

I have now started The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin which my brother gave me. Siblin started his career as a rock/pop journalist, got bored with it, and wanted to discover a different kind of music. In the book he traces the music through various strands - the life of Bach, the story of how Pablo Casals discovered/popularised the music, and his own reactions to it. I like.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jack the Lass:
I've just started "Spanish Steps" by Tim Moore, an account of him doing the pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostela leading a donkey. I've read and enjoyed a couple of his other travel adventures ("Frost on his moustache" and "Do not pass go") and so when I saw this at the library I knew the chances were pretty good I'd enjoy this one too. It's made me laugh already and I've only just got to his first day on the road. I like his self-deprecating sense of humour and his sense of the absurdity of the situations he finds himself in.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Whilst missionaries thought Hindus were idol-worshippers, Hindus have some fascinating things to say about 'idolatry' within Christianity.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Whilst missionaries thought Hindus were idol-worshippers, Hindus have some fascinating things to say about 'idolatry' within Christianity.

---

That's interesting. Such as what? Attitudes to the British Empire? To the Bible?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
On a more intellectual level, they said that to fuss about images was to ignore more important idolatry - their bank balance, their bible or their limited view of God.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
On a more intellectual level, they said that to fuss about images was to ignore more important idolatry - their bank balance, their bible or their limited view of God.

---

Good on them.

---

I would be rich if I had a pound for every sermon, bible study or Sunday School session that has had much the same theme that I have attended. Seriously its not new, most people in URC circles today would see it coming a mile away and take avoidance action because they either feel its trite or trying to guilt trip them.

Jengie
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
A Fire for God: The Life of Joe Fison – F. W. Dillistone

The biography I have been looking for for 20 years. Often priced at £200, I got my copy for £7.80 and it was worth the wait.

The subject was my bishop when I was a confused teenager and he spent time with me which I will never forget.

The author tells us stuff we'd never have otherwise known about this wonderful man.
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
When the Church says no – H. Thorpe - a very small book but has lots of sound advice about how to deal pastorally with people who have been 'turned down' by selection conferences for ordianed ministry.
 

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Posted by Galloping Granny (# 13814) on :
 
Finished Henning Mankell's Italian Shoes. Characters and situations strange and unlikely but totally convincing. And those cold, bleak Swedish landscapes...

What joy to walk into a library and discover a new book by a favourite author on display. That was Kate Ellis' latest The Cadaver Game .Checked out on the library internet catalogue – her The Flesh Tailor – is on the shelf at a neighbouring branch so I'll go that way tomorrow. Her Wesley Peterson mysteries always have a historical crime paralleling the present day one.

And I've reserved The Heir of Redclyffe so that will be a contrast.

GG
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
I'm reading Penelope Fitzgerald's biography of the painter Edward Burne Jones.

She says The Heir of Redclyffe was one of his favourite books when he was young.

I've read every other book by Fitzgerald and so I was interested to have read them all.
 

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Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
Just finished the other hand by Chris Cleave. I think Cleave may well go on to great things - he certainly ain't short of ambition - but this is only intermittently good.

Just starting Murdoch's Nuns and Soldiers hip book group.

And, in between, Foucault's Discipline and Punish and stuff about auto-ethnography.
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Galloping Granny:
Finished Henning Mankell's Italian Shoes. Characters and situations strange and unlikely but totally convincing. And those cold, bleak Swedish landscapes...

What joy to walk into a library and discover a new book by a favourite author on display. That was Kate Ellis' latest The Cadaver Game .Checked out on the library internet catalogue – her The Flesh Tailor – is on the shelf at a neighbouring branch so I'll go that way tomorrow. Her Wesley Peterson mysteries always have a historical crime paralleling the present day one.

And I've reserved The Heir of Redclyffe so that will be a contrast.

GG

---

Yes, I thought The Italian Shoes was great--it was the first Henning Mankell I'd read but I would read more by him.

I don't know Kate Ellis but from what you say I think The Heir certainly will be a contrast.

Cara
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I just picked up O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis ( "The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis") by Nobel laureate José Saramago from Portugal. And I was pleasantly surprised.

I've read works of Nobel Prize winners before, and many times it was more of a chore than a pleasure. Even worse, Saramago is known for his dense style, with sentences often lasting more than a page (he looks a bit like Paul in this regard ).

But I'm actually finding the book quite readable, and am noticing that I'm going through the pages quite fast. The storyline is catching, his description of situations (for example a guy alone in a hotel) are spot-on, and his philosophical thoughts are interesting without cluttering up.

Actually, I can't wait to get home to read further.
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
I found The History of the Siege of Lisborn hard going.

Saramago seemed to think paragraph breaks are for wimps.

(I didn't know enough Portugese history to know what was re-write of history and what wasn't.)
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 

quote:

---

venbede: Saramago seemed to think paragraph breaks are for wimps.

---

Yes, that's definitely true.

I got around it by promising myself a sip of wine after finishing each sentence. That really makes it quite doable
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
In the Footsteps of St. Paul - Peter Walker - a review copy as I wouldn't normally choose to read anything published by Lion - but they know how to make money so they seek to appeal to a wider readership. Nice photos and charts, though a bit on the conservative side.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
A book by a student with Asperger's Syndrome (his obsession is psychology so he knows the theory behind his own condition), which sounds very promising so far: 'Raising Martians: from crash-landing to leaving home', by Joshua Muggleton.
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
The Smell of The Continent by Richard Mullen and James Munson. Wonderful stuff about British travellers discovering the Continent, 1814-1914, crammed like a portmanteau with fascinating details.

Cara
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
After years I'm re-reading Ken Leech's True Prayer.

After reams of upbeat, positive self-help spirituality, what an utter relief to read something like:

"But growth involves pain and anguish of the spirit. The path of self-knowledge and self-scrutiny calls for a willingness to endure deprivation and inner suffering."
 

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Posted by Keren-Happuch (# 9818) on :
 
I'm now reading Gianrico Carofiglio's Involuntary Witness, which is the first of the Guido Guerrieri books. I started at no. 4, having won it, and have now gone back to the beginning. It's much more of a courtroom drama than the kind of crime fiction I normally read so I'm hoping I won't get lost in the maze of the Italian legal system! It's good so far though...
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
After years I'm re-reading Ken Leech's True Prayer.

After reams of upbeat, positive self-help spirituality, what an utter relief to read something like:

"But growth involves pain and anguish of the spirit. The path of self-knowledge and self-scrutiny calls for a willingness to endure deprivation and inner suffering."

---

quote:

---

God goes on forgiving, just as the sun goes on shining. (It cannot do otherwise.) But it is still possible to remove oneself from the liberating power of this mercy, just as it is possible to hide oneself from the sun and lose its benefits.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by QLib:
Yes - and I agree that's a bit tiresome. I think it's to do with the inconsistency of the characters. Of course, real-life people are not always totally consistent, but I think this is the heart of Philippa Gregory's greatest weakness. She sets out to make a character "interesting", and doesn't seem to worry enough that her depiction of their inner worlds doesn't fit terribly well with their actions.

---

quote:

---

For a leading gay Irish writer he is wonderfully sympathetic to Catholicism, although like so many lapsed RCS, he just doesn't understand any other religious position.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by QLib:
Of course, real-life people are not always totally consistent, but I think this is the heart of Philippa Gregory's greatest weakness. She sets out to make a character "interesting", and doesn't seem to worry enough that her depiction of their inner worlds doesn't fit terribly well with their actions.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
I've read all Colm T's novels, and The Blackwater Lighthouse was the one I really liked.

Here's a review

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v21/n20/terry-eagleton/mothering

---

I really love Colm Toibin. Haven't read The Blackwater Lightship yet, but think The Master brilliant, ditto The Heather Blazing and, perhaps especially, Brooklyn .

Cara
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Chasing Shadows – Hugo Gryn. He was taken to a concentration camp at the age of 13, survived. Amazing man whom i was privileged to meet twice.
 

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Posted by TurquoiseTastic (# 8978) on :
 
Recently finished Stalky & Co. (Kipling) which was rather a strange experience. The tone is mostly "jolly school story" - and I did find it readable - and often well-observed - and largely enjoyable - and yet there are a lot of really jarring episodes where the worldview of protagonists and author seems utterly alien. The chapter where the school chaplain persuades them to "morally reform" a couple of Sixth-Form bullies is a particular case in point.
 

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Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
I have started 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami - the novel that has been a publishing sensation in Japan. Being Japanese-deficient I am reading it in French. So far it is living up to the hype. The writing is electric.
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
La Gourmandise. (Gourmet Rhapsody). Muriel Barbery's first novel. (I read L'Elégance du Hérisson, Elegance of the Hedgehog, first, as many people did). I love her writing--her descriptions of food in this one are especially succulent. But of course there's more to it than that.

Cara
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I just finished my first Adrian Plass book, Silver Birches. He's evidently famous for his humor, but this is a serious novel about grief. It has interesting questions mulled over and well-drawn characters.

But I think I'll move on to his satires, now.
 

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Posted by chive (# 208) on :
 
I'm feeling quite pleased with myself because I've just finished War and Peace. What a fantastic book and totally worth the length of time it took to read it. Although I did embarrass myself by crying on the bus to work at one point.
 

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Posted by Scots lass (# 2699) on :
 
I've just finished the final book of Dorothy Dunnett's House of Niccolo series - Gemini. Eight books of story, interweaving with real events (gosh, what a lot went on in the 15-20 years the books cover). I feel like I've learnt a lot about medieval world politics! The family story that lies at the heart of it was gripping as well, to see how it all finally tied together after all that time and see how it leads into the Lymond books was satisfying to say the least. For those of you who have read it - dammit, why did Anselm Adorne and Margaret have to meet that fate?! I wasn't happy about that. And I really didn't see the villain coming, after all that time where you're encouraged to look down on him only to discover he's been scheming all along. I'm left wanting to know more still about St Pol and the full back story that only emerges in the last few chapters, and wanting to know how it develops in the years after - how does Culter come to the family for one thing? I know I'm never going to know, but I wish there was a book or several to fill the gaps!

That's been 3 months of reading Dunnett as I re-read Lymond just before I started Niccolo, and now I don't quite know what to do with myself...
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Recently read Marele Day's novel, "Lambs of God". It takes place in a remote, forgotten convent. It's very bizarre, like a strange dream: alternately disturbing, enchanting, intriguing, and glowing.

Also read Donna Andrews' latest two Meg Langslow mysteries--great fun. And Joanne Dobson's latest Karen Pelletier. And am reading some Thich Nhat Hanh.

Oh, and I'm reading "The Disappearing Spoon", about the elements of the periodic table.

[duplicate post removed]

[ 05. April 2012, 08:57: Message edited by: Marvin the Martian ]
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Glorious Christianity – Cally Hammond - the3rd of her rosary series but not as inspiring as the others and not enough about Our Lady.


On Retreat: A Lenten Journey – A. Walker - a cut above the usual Lent guff and exercises to suit all spiritual styles.
 

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Posted by Yerevan (# 10383) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mere Nick:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zappa:
People say that life's the thing, but I prefer reading (Langdon Smith).

So what's enlarging your grey matter in twenty twelve, and why?

---

Zombie novels. Why? Why not?

---

quote:

---

savedbyhim01: I just started reading "Kiss Me Like You Mean It." It is a book on how to improve your marriage based on Song of Solomon. (...) I'm already putting some of the things into practice like complimenting my wife more.

---

I'm sure the Song of Solomon can be a source of inspiration for some rather, er... explicit compliments
 

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Posted by Mary LA (# 17040) on :
 
I reread a great deal and have been slowly making my way for the second time through Leon Edel's biography of Henry James (not a new edition). Although I will always see Henry James as portrayed in Colm Toibin's The Master, I love Edel's details about the James family. I could spend years in their company, even acerbic Alice.

About to start in on Nadine Gordimer's latest novel, No Time Like The Present, all about former political activists in the current South Africa, now dealing with government corruption, crime, Aids and neoglobalism. Gordimer was born in 1923 and it is typical of her to tackle such a complex novel in her late 80s.
 

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Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
Having finished Mary Stewart's wonderful Merlin Trilogy recently, I followed it with The Wicked Day (Mordred's story) and have now happily started The Prince and the Pilgrim, Stewart's fifth novel in her Arthurian series.

On another tack I am dipping into my recently-acquired-from-Amazon The Jewish Annotated New Testament, which has so far proved interesting and informative.
 

---

Posted by art dunce (# 9258) on :
 
I am reading "The Book of Bebb" by Frederick Buechner. I'm on Lion Country, the first book and it is funny but with very interesting religous narrative.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Sarah’s Key – T. deRosnay - a holocaust novel with a twist. Plety of suspence.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Plety of suspence.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Sarah’s Key – T. deRosnay - a holocaust novel with a twist. Plety of suspence.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by QLib:
Currently on Philippa Gregory's The Red Queen - quite enjoying it,despite a bad review from No.2 daughter, but she probably had a low tolerance for the religious element - the eponymous protagonist is horribly pious.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by art dunce:
I am reading "The Book of Bebb" by Frederick Buechner. I'm on Lion Country, the first book and it is funny but with very interesting religous narrative.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Trudy Scrumptious:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Sarah’s Key – T. deRosnay - a holocaust novel with a twist. Plety of suspence.

---

I read this last year. Leo, did you enjoy the modern and the historical storylines equally well? I found one much more interesting than the other, and that somewhat minimized my enjoyment of the book, which was otherwise good.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Trudy Scrumptious:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Sarah’s Key – T. deRosnay - a holocaust novel with a twist. Plety of suspence.

---

I read this last year. Leo, did you enjoy the modern and the historical storylines equally well? I found one much more interesting than the other, and that somewhat minimized my enjoyment of the book, which was otherwise good.

---

I enjoyed the historical one better. The modern one was too contrived - divorce, easily traceable people etc.

However, I really liked the way that the two lines converged. I thought that was really clever.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Twilight:
This has been out about six years so it's probably old news to some but I really need to talk about We Need to Talk about Kevin.

The writer does a truly amazing job of getting inside the mind of the mother of a Columbine type, high-school murderer. We all talk about having unconditional love for our kids but this novel helps us imagine that love really put to the test. I read it almost non-stop, and it was in small print, so I'm blind now but it was worth it. Great writing.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
A Cross-Shattered Church – S. Hauerwas - a collection of sermons from a radical.

Interestingly, the author claims that it is OK to quote other preachers without acknowledgement because sermons are a gift of the Spirit to the whole church.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
The Book Of Salt - Monique Truong. About a Vietnamese chef working for Gertrude Stein.

Well-written but not as good as some reviews would have one believe.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mamacita:
Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son by Anne Lamott. Twenty years ago Lamott's writing career took off when she published Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year, a day-by-day account of her joys and struggles as a single mother. Some Assembly Required has much the same humor and sense of wonder; but this time it is happening in two dimensions: her amazement over the new baby but also the joy, pride, worry, and pain of watching her 19-year-old son learn how to be a father. Lamott does what she does best: her unfailing honesty about human relationships, her missteps in building a relationship with the baby's mother, figuring out when to intervene and when to hold her peace. Long text messages or commentary from her son are interwoven into Lamott's narrative, and this adds more dimension as well. If you've followed Lamott's non-fiction over the years, you've had a window into watching this child grow up, and he has his mom's gift for insight and quirky, even dark, humor. And Jesus turns up quite a bit, as usual. If you've ever read and liked anything by Anne Lamott, you need to read this. I liked finding out how various people from her earlier writings turned out.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
The Power of Dreams: A Christian Guide – G. Condon - about the spirituality of dreams

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
The Power of Dreams: A Christian Guide – G. Condon - about the spirituality of dreams

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by PeteC:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
The Power of Dreams: A Christian Guide – G. Condon - about the spirituality of dreams

---

Portnoy's Complaint. Philip Roth. A boy discovers his penis.

So have you, apparently.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by jedijudy:

quote:

---

Originally posted by PeteC:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
The Power of Dreams: A Christian Guide – G. Condon - about the spirituality of dreams

---

Portnoy's Complaint. Philip Roth. A boy discovers his penis.

So have you, apparently.

---

Lighting Hostly Lightsaber

PeteC, this is Heaven. Knock it off.

Shutting down Hostly Lightsaber

jedijudy
Heaven Host

---

Yes, ma'am.
 

---

Posted by AristonAstuanax (# 10894) on :
 
Henri Bergson, Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic. Bergson tries to find what makes up the essence of the laughable; his answer, that it's a kind of rigidity, of absently following on in the face of social rules and mores, seems to get close to the mark, but not quite at it. However, in a few passages, he does seem to hint at what I think would make a better definition—or, at the very least, a better way of defining what is implicit in his views.
Humor, from his examples, seems to be as much about carrying on in the face of the rules, whether they be of nature or societal. I don't think he quite emphasizes the function of the rules and laws enough, though, preferring to look at the absentmindedness and self unawareness of the comic. Also, if you haven't read Moliere, his examples will seem a bit odd—though, like most academics writing on humor, still very funny, if only because of the contrast to the proper scholarly prose surrounding them.
 

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Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
I was forced to read that book at University. Why and when I have no idea - some random French literature course, clearly. The only bit I remember is where he said a hat is funny because a person made it. It obviously made a deep impression on me.

Meanwhile I finished the first volume of IQ84 on the metro this morning and I am going out THIS LUNCHTIME to buy the second one. I have to find out what happens, really really really bad. It's the best book I've read in a period of time officially known as one yonk.
 

---

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
I have huge respect for Bergson, but have only ever read him in others' analyses. I may try to get that.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Think²:

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
The Power of Dreams: A Christian Guide – G. Condon - about the spirituality of dreams

---

Leo, did you see my query about the Gertrude Stein book?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zappa:
I'm taking a break from heavy theological tomes and my 'all whites are bastards and white men are bigger bastards and white christian men are bigger bastards still and white christian male clergy are the biggest bastards in the universe studies to read book one of the Percy Jackson fantasies.

Mind you, gods and demi-gods can be bastards too.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Yerevan:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mere Nick:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zappa:
People say that life's the thing, but I prefer reading (Langdon Smith).

So what's enlarging your grey matter in twenty twelve, and why?

---

Zombie novels. Why? Why not?

---

Any recommendations? My life is sadly lacking in zombies now The Walking Dead's off air.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mere Nick:
Well, I sure messed up that link.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
I've just finished Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London. It got very good reviews, but I thought it was just about the good side of okay. It could have been more than it turned out to be.

The premise is that the Metropolitan Police have a team (well, one person, a new recruit, and some part-time hangers-on) who deal with supernatural goings-on. The story is about their investigation of some particularly horrific murders. I thought the basic story was good, and the descriptions of London geography were very good, but there were a few non-sequiturs (unless I missed something) and it wasted too much time cleverly explaining police procedure and wondering how magic works.

I'll have a go at the sequel, Moon over Soho, if I can find a cheap copy. Has anyone else read these?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
If you like quirky set in London, then Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May mysteries may be interesting.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by LutheranChik:
Belle Ringer: That collecting experiences versus collecting things mindset is interesting to me, both as someone involved in ministry and as a co-vendor in an antique store. I wonder if that's also a function of economic prosperity (relative, of course), and if the same phenomenon is seen in cultures that aren't as prosperous, where tangible "stuff" may mean more.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Poptart22:
Has anyone else heard of Iris Murdoch? She's my favorite author but seems to be relatively unknown to my friends/family.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
If you like quirky set in London, then Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May mysteries may be interesting.

---

I've read and enjoyed the first and ordered the second - thanks very much for the recommendation!
 

---

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
Thought you might, H-E. Glad to oblige.
 

---

Posted by Mr Curly (# 5518) on :
 
I've just finished a book written by a guy I went to school with. Hadn't seen him since our last exam together in 1980! Had coffee with him 2 weeks ago.

Thy Fiefdom Comes by David KoChin is a post-apocalyptic fantasy romp in the classic style. Once you get through discovering the "world"', it romps along.

He self published in paperback, but it's now an ebook as well.

mr curly
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
As well as Moltmann I'm reading Richard Broome's Aboriginal Australians, now in its fourth edition. Ye gods we Europeans fucked up. Big time. And it always frightenes me to know that had I been born a century earlier I would never have had the guts to speak out against absolute genocidal inhumanity.


 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Christian Origins – C. Rowland. Ahead of its time in acknowledging Christianity's debt to Judaism.
 

---

Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on :
 
Vaguely related to this thread - I'm wondering if any of you avid readers have any recommendations for a book reading facebook app? I used to use weRead which I was really happy with, but for the last couple of months every time I've tried to access it it has timed out and so I ended up having to delete it. GoodReads was an app I've seen friends use, but having tried to sign up this evening I got sent round and round in circles and got nowhere (facebook directed me to the GoodReads site, the site asked me if I was already a member or if I needed to create an account; when I tried to create an account it claimed that the email address was already taken, but when I tried to sign in using that email address it was telling me that it didn't recognise it! So I deleted that one as well).

All I want is something where I can record what I'm reading, give it a few stars and have it post to my timeline. Is that really too much to ask?! *sigh*
 

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Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
I've just finished The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. I hesitate to describe it as "charming", which is a word that would turn me off a book - but it has a certain charm none the less. Set in Alaska and linked to a Russian fairy tale, it's a blend of realism and fantasy which mostly works pretty well.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
JtL: Zeke now owns a Barnes and Noble Nook bought with the moneys she received for finishing grad school and she also has a Kindle app that she used before she bought the tablet. It works on our iMac.
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I think I'd better post it here, since it's related to reading.

Literary Map of Britain

I like it!
 

---

Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :
 
This afternoon, I finished Michelle Paver's ghost story Dark Matter. It's such a page-turner, I could easily have polished off the last 50 pages last night ...

... but I really, really thought I'd better do it in daylight.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Christology from the Margins – T. Bohache - a good introduction to liberation theologies, spoilt by its unnecessary descent into heterodoxy at the end.
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
I am currently reading The Other Dickens which is a biography of Catherine, Charles Dickens' wife. It's a real eye-opener.

In biographies of Dickens you read about Catherine's sister Mary and how devoted she was to Charles. Her letters make it clear that her devotion was to Catherine; everything she did for Charles was done because he was Catherine's husband.

There are many other misconceptions about Catherine and her relation to Charles.

Moo
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
It is pretty nauseating to read Dickens' idealisations of women and marriage given he treated Catherine like dirt.
 

---

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
Looking about my apartment for a Book™ I realised that War and Peace was sitting unread on the shelf (my Dad gave it to me, and I hadn't quite got round to it). I may be some time.

(If I'm honest, I'm so far having a bit of a hard time keeping track of who all the different people are )
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I have pretty much abandoned my book-club book and was browsing through my wife's Kindle and Nook applications on our iMac. Kindle is legible, but no titles are forthcoming on Nook (a Kindle-like e-Reader from Barnes and Noble bookstores that my wife actually owns.)
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
It is pretty nauseating to read Dickens' idealisations of women and marriage given he treated Catherine like dirt.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Steve H:
Maybe I'll finally get round to tackling Paul Tillich's 'Systematic Theology', which I've got a three-volume hardback edition of, published in 1960, which I bought second-hand in St Albans years ago. After buying it, I was surprised to discover from the inscription that it had formerly belonged to a former vicar of my church, who left before my time, and who eventually left the ministry to become a humanist.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Albertus:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Steve H:
Maybe I'll finally get round to tackling Paul Tillich's 'Systematic Theology', which I've got a three-volume hardback edition of, published in 1960, which I bought second-hand in St Albans years ago. After buying it, I was surprised to discover from the inscription that it had formerly belonged to a former vicar of my church, who left before my time, and who eventually left the ministry to become a humanist.

---

He wasn't by any chance the apocryphal one who had three daughters called Faith, Hope, and - having read Tillich after birth of no 2- Doris?

---

Probably!
 

---

Posted by georgiaboy (# 11294) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
Looking about my apartment for a Book™ I realised that War and Peace was sitting unread on the shelf (my Dad gave it to me, and I hadn't quite got round to it). I may be some time.

(If I'm honest, I'm so far having a bit of a hard time keeping track of who all the different people are )

---

A prof of 19th cent literature once suggested that W&P (& Russian lit in general) would be much easier if one renamed the characters to something like Sally, Joe, Mac and Billy-Bob. Imagining all that made Anna Karenina much more fun!
 

---

Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :
 
The Girls by Lori Lansens.

The first line of this novel is, "I have never looked into my sister's eyes." That's because Rose and Ruby are conjoined twins. When the book begins they are looking back over their unusual lives and, in two very distinct voices, telling their story.

My favorite character, aside from the girls themselves, is the nurse who looks at the twin babies after they are born and falls in love with them, noticing that the bigger baby seems to be holding her sister like a doll.

The book is funny more often than sad and would have been an excellent novel even without the girls unique situation. Very real, raw and unsentimental.
 

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Posted by MrSponge2U (# 3076) on :
 
Recently finished The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers and World Leader Pretend by James Bernard Frost. Both are excellent. Anubis Gates is a wonderfully complex time travel novel, while World Leader Pretend shows the loneliness and disconnection of people addicted to MMORPGs, and is one of the better novels that deals with this subject.
 

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Posted by AristonAstuanax (# 10894) on :
 
Scott Pilgrim, all six volumes. I think I did my thoughts on the film (Scott Pilgrim Versus the World) on the film thread; the graphic novels are very, very different, not only in plot details, but also in characterization. While the film is limited to two hours and the constraints of dramatic unity, the books spread the action over about a year—Scott and Ramona are allowed to enjoy their blossoming romance, to let it develop, and to let their friends into it. Rather than being a series about a boy defeating his girlfriend's seven evil exes, it's a story about two people and the many, many people they know, coming to terms with their pasts, and how that can be done with or without grace or harming others.

Anybody who has had a "complicated" relationship will appreciate these books. Nobody enters a relationship on their own, or without there having been a past; in these six graphic novels, the whole of the past and the interactions between the characters is captured perfectly.

Anyone who thinks comic books aren't serious? Forget Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns, start here. All the humor and depth you could ask for, Scott Pilgrim delivers.

[Edit: just felt like fixing a stray]

[ 26. May 2012, 10:09: Message edited by: Zappa ]
 

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Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
I'm reading The Skallagrigg by William Horwood - a fascinating book about a girl with CP on a quest which involves uncovering the history of the "care"(often terrible abuse) of people with profound disabilities in special hospitals. It weaves fiction and history - sometimes I find it frustrating when I can't tell which is which.
 

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Posted by Eigon (# 4917) on :
 
The Anubis Gates is one of my favourite Tim Powers books (Last Call is another one).

I've just started Banker to the Poor by Mohammed Yunus. It's about the Grameen Bank that he started in Bangladesh (giving micro-credit to people that could not get loans from ordinary banks), and how to really change the lives of the poorest in society for the better. I'm also finding the bits about his upbringing in Chittagong fascinating.
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
I am reading The Sign by Thomas de Wesselow, the new book about the Shroud of Turin and its (posited) role in the origin of Christianity. The book has many flaws--some evident to any reader and some spotted by critics knowledgeable in the area--and the tone is infuriatingly self-satisfied, but the subject is nonetheless fascinating. I'm half-way through.

There are two basic ideas: the first is that the Shroud cannot be a painting, a proto-photograph, or a result of sudden radiation as Christ came back to life. I'm not sure about the last, but he's convincing on the first two.

In his explanation and very detailed analysis of all the studies done so far on the Shroud he makes a good case for the mind-boggling possibility that it really was the winding-sheet of a crucified man. This is believed by many of the scientists who have worked in sindonology and is not a new idea. Even the stripes on the back are such as would be made by a Roman scourge, and different from any shown in medieval paintings. And apparently the blood is forensically real blood. The body image lies on top of the thread fibres and apparently is not made by any sort of pigment or paint at all...I learned much I did not know before about the Shroud and the work done on it.

He argues convincingly that the carbon-dating (to the 1200s-1300s) was flawed, as apparently often happens, especially with old linens. There are pollen, linen, and needlework studies of the fabric that support a much earlier date.

How the image was transferred to the cloth is still an unsolved mystery, though he supports one particular theory. (A chemical one connected with the process of decomposition).

He shows the image is consistent with the sheet's being wrapped around a dead man in rigor mortis who died in an upright position (the rigor broken for the placement of the arms) and whose jaw has been strapped up in traditional fashion...

De Wesselow is an agnostic or atheist, but believes-convincingly to untutored me--that the Shroud did wrap the body of a man crucified in the Roman way with an unusual wound in his side and some sharp circular object on his head. He believes this was Jesus. In which case the Shroud is an extraordinary historical survival, whatever one believes, or not, about Jesus.

The book's second, and main, idea is one I can't really buy, though I'm only at the beginning of his exposition of it. I don't think I'm committing a spoiler--all reviews have mentioned it--to say that he believes the risen Jesus the apostles saw was really the Shroud held up and displayed.

Although the traditional belief in the Resurrection is hard to sustain in this day and age, I'm not sure I find this Shroud idea easy to believe either. Especially after reading Paul and the Gospels and taking into account the extraordinary power that the appearances of the risen Jesus had on everyone. Could it really just have been the Shroud image they saw? He explains it by saying people regarded images in a more animist way then, as imbued with something of the personality or spirit of the living person...

As I say, I've only just started this section, and of course one's response to this thesis will depend on one's faith, or not, in the true Resurrection.

But the whole thing is fascinating. The book, despite its flaws and historical errors, is worth reading for its gathering and analysis of the studies done on the Shroud, an extraordinary object by any measure.

However, I haven't read Ian Wilson's well-known books on the Shroud (the latest is from 2010) and don't know how de Wesselow compares.

I'd love to know what readers here think.

Cara
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
Here is the website of the group that did the hands-on research.

I know a couple who were part of that research team. The subject fascinates me.

Moo
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Thanks for the link, Moo. Fascinating stuff.

cara
 

---

Posted by Steve H (# 17102) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cara:
The book's second, and main, idea is one I can't really buy, though I'm only at the beginning of his exposition of it. I don't think I'm committing a spoiler--all reviews have mentioned it--to say that he believes the risen Jesus the apostles saw was really the Shroud held up and displayed.

Although the traditional belief in the Resurrection is hard to sustain in this day and age, I'm not sure I find this Shroud idea easy to believe either. Especially after reading Paul and the Gospels and taking into account the extraordinary power that the appearances of the risen Jesus had on everyone. Could it really just have been the Shroud image they saw? He explains it by saying people regarded images in a more animist way then, as imbued with something of the personality or spirit of the living person...

As I say, I've only just started this section, and of course one's response to this thesis will depend on one's faith, or not, in the true Resurrection.

---

quote:

---

Although the traditional belief in the Resurrection is hard to sustain in this day and age...

---

This is a bit of a tangent, but I've never really understood the idea that the resurrection is somehow inherently more improbable now than it was two thousand years ago. 1st century Jews knew that crucifixion was pretty fatal and that the crucified didn't tend to pop up again three days breaking bread and frying up fish on the lake shore.
 

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Posted by Trudy Scrumptious (# 5647) on :
 
I've just finished reading Bring up the Bodies, the sequel to Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. I reread Wolf Hall before getting into the new book, so it was quite an immersion into the world of Thomas Cromwell. Thoroughly enjoyed both, and am looking forward to the next (possibly final?) volume, whenever it may come.
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
Having depressed myself utterly by reading Aboriginal Australians (ye gods we Europeans fucked up) I am adding the strychine to the arsenic patties by reading Lyndal Ryan's Tasmanian Aborigines. I can barely put it down, but when I do it will be to slash my wrists.

Before eating the patties.

Did I mention that post-colonial studies are somewhat miserablising?


 

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Posted by Yerevan (# 10383) on :
 
For various reasons I'm actually getting time to read some fiction for the first time in a long while. I've just finished a very funny book called 'Gods behaving badly', which is based on the premise that the Greek gods are down on their luck after years of unbelief and have to earn a living as best they can in contemporary London. Aphrodite works for a phone sex line, Apollo is trying his luck as a TV physic and Eros (now a Christian) spends his time teaching the church youth group archery. Artemis, goddess of chastity and the hunt and the central character, is particularly under-employed in liberal, animal loving 21st century Britain. There are some interesting thoughts on obsolescence lurking beneath the humour (Christian readers might find themselves sympathising with the unfortunate Artemis ) and a definite nod to Terry Pratchett's 'Small Gods'.

[ 31. May 2012, 10:32: Message edited by: Yerevan ]
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
You might enjoy The night life of the gods.
 

---

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
Now I am turning to Marwick's The Sixties - becuase it is the era I adulate. More later.
 

---

Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
You might enjoy The night life of the gods.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Jews and Christians: Perspectives on Mission - The Lambeth-Jewish Forum - basically,Christians shouldn't seek to convert Jews but should engage with them in a common mission.

---

Quite the flavor of the day for the interfaith movement: working together for improving the world.

I approve.
 

---

Posted by Nicolemrw (# 28) on :
 
I am currently reading the Robert Crais Joe Pike/Elvis Cole novel Taken. But I'm enjoying it less than I should because of the shifts of POV, which I am finding annoying.

When i read Robert Crais I want to read Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, not the innumerable other characters that have taken center stage.
 

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Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
I went to the library to get clerical detectives, but almost everything on my (ship-inspired) list was out on loan, so I came away with Barbara Kingsolver's Lacuna which is proving to have been a great find. Looking forward to Trotsky's entrance.
 

---

Posted by birdie (# 2173) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by QLib:
I came away with Barbara Kingsolver's Lacuna which is proving to have been a great find. Looking forward to Trotsky's entrance.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eigon:
I'm reading The Big Six by Arthur Ransome. It's the only Swallows and Amazons book that I never read as a child - though neither the Swallows nor the Amazons are in it - this is a Norfolk Broads adventure with the Death and Glorys and Dick and Dot, following on from Coot Club.
So far there has been a night of catching eels, our heroes are unjustly suspected of casting off boats at night, and there's a scene where a wobbly tooth is pulled out - yee-ouch! It's great fun, and I may have to re-read Coot Club afterwards.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eigon:
... full of accurate esoteric knowledge

---

An oxymoron?
 

---

Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
Quite possibly - it is a brilliant story, and of course was dedicated to Dr Wallis Budge, Keeper of Egyptian & Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum, an expert in Egyptian religion and interested in the paranormal.

It's interesting that CS Lewis nicked some of Nesbit's ideas (sorry, paid 'homage'), such as the similarity of Queen Jadis appearing in London in The Magician's Nephew (another of my favourites) to the Babylonian queen appearing in London in Amulet.

ETA in reply to Eigon.

[ 16. June 2012, 16:22: Message edited by: Pine Marten ]
 

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Posted by Fr Raphael (# 17131) on :
 
C S Laewis also mentioned the Bastables in the Magicians Nephew.
 

---

Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Fr Raphael:
C S Laewis also mentioned the Bastables in the Magicians Nephew.

---

And the house the bastables lived in would (if it really existed) be in our parish And the first house Edith Nesbit lived in when she was married is only about fifty yards from me.

One of my vary favouritist writers. I think The Amulet might be her best book, but the others are all good to.
 

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Posted by Fr Raphael (# 17131) on :
 
Fascinating Ken

Does anyone belong to a book reading group? What titles have come to you from yours?

I have a mixed relationship with mine - sometimes I feel pressured to read a book I am not that bothered about, sometimes I enjoy something different I never would have read before.
 

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Posted by LutheranChik (# 9826) on :
 
Every so often I'm sent on a magnificent obsession, and this summer I think it's antique children's textbooks. I remember my parents' old readers being very charming, and much more challenging than the hopelessly boring Dick and Jane books in my early-elementary classes. And when I was small my dad's 20's- era arithmetic book helped me understand equations and fractions much more then my own textbooks! Anyway...DP and I don't find too many of these during our antique excursions, but I'll have a special eye out for them. And maybe, like that old arithmetic book, I'll find one that will teach me something new.
 

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Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :
 
I'm reading "The Magician King" by Lev Grossman, his sequel to "The Magicians." They are obviously inspired by both Narnia and Harry Potter, but very much a 21st century take for grown-ups. There's a school for wizards, and a fictional Narnia-like world that turns out to be real, but it's definitely post-modern magic. For fantasy fans who are love the classics but are bored with the same old attempts to recreate them. He's a really good writer.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I have been reading a very racy story whose title I forget about an orgy at a large house somewhere in an English-speaking country. It involves two young ladies who...

(censored!)

Anyway, it just arrived on the Nook application on our main computer...

Other than that, I am trying to catch up on a backlog of ordinary magazine articles with an eye toward clearing the clutter on our dining room table.
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
The Revelations - Alex Preston - recc. by a shipmate, a thinly-veiled but over the top expose of The Alpha Course.

and

The Imitation of God in Christ - John Tinsley my former professor, who had an immense influence on me, but written about ten years before I went up to uni and interesting to see how his ideas developed. Biblically-based, non-heretical mysticism.
 

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Posted by Yerevan (# 10383) on :
 
I've just finished 'Bring up the Bodies' (the sequel to 'Wolf Hall'). I'm very impressed by Mantel's ability to turn the life of Thomas Cromwell into such a fantastic page-turner given that the reader can look up his life on Wiki in an instant.
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
I finished Arthur Marwick's The Sixties this morning - what a fascinating if somewhat pugnacious and iconoclastic (as was his wont) analysis of the era. I am of course a frustrated hippie, having been born 15 years too late to '"drop out," "turn on," and "tune in"' with Timothy Leary. (I tried - came dangerously close to it in fact until my conversion to Christianity).

So it was like an exploration of my bedrock, the good the bad and the plain bloody mephistophelian. 800+ pages but hard to put down. I wish I'd met Marwick.

[ 01. July 2012, 04:27: Message edited by: Zappa ]
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
Off to re-read Jaroslav Pelikan's Reformation of Church and Dogma, now. Again it's a sort of who am I - or at least who am Christianity - exploration.
 

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Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :
 
I've just demolished in less than a day Simon Martin's "The Other Titanic".

I read it many years ago, borrowed from Newbury library, and was grabbed by the tale of the shipwreck, untouched for sixty years, and the two impetuous young men who ventured to a tiny island to salvage her for scrap. It may not sound much, but at the time I read it in one sitting, a cuppa growing cold and stale by my side.

I had quite forgotten it until we went to Quendale Mill in Shetland and there, on the wall, were beautiful carved oak panels salvaged from the wreck. Well, what could I do? I bought the book! And then, on a quayside in Lerwick, we came across a propellor blade, stood like a sentinel watching the sea. I'd never expected to come across tangible relics of her, and my gast was thoroughly flabbered.

Ships just do something to me. I guess they float my boat (sorry). If the sea gets you wet (sorry, again, honest), read it!


AG
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Why be Happy when you could be Normal? Jeanette Winterson. Hilarious and sad at the same time - how bad religion can ruin lives.
 

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Posted by Eigon (# 4917) on :
 
I've just finished a book called Oak Island Gold, by William Crooker, about an island in Canada where people have been digging for buried treasure on and off for two hundred years! It's obvious that something was put there sometime before 1795, and that elaborate precautions were taken to stop anyone digging it up again - but it's not clear who did it or why. It seems to have become an obsession with many people over the years - even John Wayne nearly got involved once, and Franklin D Roosevelt wrote letters about it, but no treasure has ever been found - and once you start getting people theorising about the Templars, you know you're getting into fruitbat territory!
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I just finished A Prayer for Owen Meany, but I'm afraid the book didn't do much for me. I liked the Owen character, but I found the story a bit too convoluted.
 

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Posted by Eigon (# 4917) on :
 
I've been lent another book, this time about the history of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. It's called The Triumph of the Moon, but Ronald Hutton, and it's actually a very academic examination of modern paganism and its roots in nineteenth century cultural ideas so far.
 

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Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
I recently got a cheap copy of that too - I have read some chapters but not all yet. I like Hutton's books, and often use them for reference.
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
The Book That Breathes New Life - W. Brueggemann - a survey of Old Testament scholarship over the past hundred years.
 

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Posted by chive (# 208) on :
 
I have just finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It's an absolutely amazing book. There was a world created that I wanted to enter, move around in and experience. My head was already there. It's so beautifully and sympathetically written and there is so much bravery in it.

But above all I would love to visit the night circus, to experience all of its experiences, to taste, smell and feel it. To see, if real, it is as good as it feels in my head.

Not often I rave like this about a book but I do recommend it.
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 

quote:

---

Eigon: I've been lent another book, this time about the history of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. It's called The Triumph of the Moon, but Ronald Hutton, and it's actually a very academic examination of modern paganism and its roots in nineteenth century cultural ideas so far.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eleanor Jane:
My new favourite author - Patrick Rothfuss. He's written two books in a fantasy trilogy and I luff heem! Original world, engaging main character, fresh, non-cliched writing style. It's been a week or two since I finished the second one and I'm yearning for the third book to be written.

---

quote:

---

Eigon: LeRoc - Hutton is saying a lot about the Romantic poets so far, and harking back to Classical mythology, and it's only in the 1830s or so that the concept of Mother Nature/Mother Goddess starts coming in.

---

That may be true, but I suspect a strong link between neo-paganism and the idea of noble savage too. That is basically a 18th (or even 17th) Century concept.

But now I'm discussing, and I probably shouldn't do that in Heaven I'll try to get a hold of some of Hutton's books.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
'Introverts in the Church: finding our place in an extroverted culture' - Adam S. McHugh

Written from an American Evangelical perspective, but I'm finding it has much to say to people bewildered by how even the higher end of mainstream denominations in Britain are becoming more informal and extrovert in practice.
 

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Posted by Eigon (# 4917) on :
 
You're quite right, LeRoc - Hutton mentions the noble savage, too (and I'm just up to a fascinating section on local cunning men and women). I'm going to have to buy my own copy!
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
"Edward Trencom's Nose." A quirky and delightful story about Edward, the latest in a line of cheesemakers famed for their extraordinary noses, who investigates his family history in order to solve a mystery stretching back centuries. Amusingly written, and features a whole range of quite obscure cheeses, although the author's obvious fascination with the word "toumoulotyri" gets a bit annoying at times.
 

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Posted by Scots lass (# 2699) on :
 
Having hugely enjoyed A Discovery of Witches, I bought and devoured Deborah Harkness's new book Shadow of Night. It was a little bit over-complicated, new strands kept being brought in, but it's very readable. I think she may have dated italic handwriting wrongly, but I can forgive that...

To further my descent into slightly trashy reading, I then read The Hunger Games and am just starting the second in the series, Catching Fire. Very, very readable!
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pine Marten:

I'd like to try some Ransome stories one day, and am so glad for recommendations on this thread...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chorister:
'Introverts in the Church: finding our place in an extroverted culture' - Adam S. McHugh

Written from an American Evangelical perspective, but I'm finding it has much to say to people bewildered by how even the higher end of mainstream denominations in Britain are becoming more informal and extrovert in practice.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
Oddly, he and his siblings all became religious: his brother Georg is also a priest and their sister Maria became a nun.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
[QB] Ooh, let us know! It's ages since I've read any Eco. I think I was one of the four people who liked Foucault's Pendulum.

---

Besides you and me, who were the other two?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by TurquoiseTastic:
Just finished "Logicomix", a graphic novel about Bertrand Russell .... Wittgenstein (who bursts onto the scene about halfway through) comes across as winningly bizarre!

---

There are so many wonderful anecdotes about the great Ludwig. My favourite was of a house party where the guests got onto the subject of whether dogs can understand people. Sometime later LW was seen in the garden throwing a stick and shouting 'Fetch'. He then got down on all fours, scampered across the lawn and retrieved the stick with his teeth.

Now that's what I call philosophy!
 

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Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
I'm halfway through Hilary Mantel's Fludd, which is a slightly strange but amusing little book about a mysterious visitor to a Northern mill village, who might or might not be the new curate or a practitioner of the dark arts.

I haven't read her book Wolf Hall, but I've got Beyond Black in the growing pile of books-to-be-read.

Reading is a wondrous thing <sigh>
 

---

Posted by Pre-cambrian (# 2055) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by que sais-je:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Timothy the Obscure:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
[QB] Ooh, let us know! It's ages since I've read any Eco. I think I was one of the four people who liked Foucault's Pendulum.

---

Besides you and me, who were the other two?

---

I was one of the two.

---

quote:

---

Deep in a gloomy grove,
Where travellers never rove,
Where birds of death do croak -
Beside the hollow oak
I'll sit and heave my melancholy sigh
So long as stars are shining in the sky,
Until amid my groans
The morning dawns. -

---

 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
And you're reading this for fun?

I've read Foucault's Pendulum - which I thought was very good. But with that and The Name of the Rose, I rather shot my Eco bolt, and I haven't read any of his since.
 

---

Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
I've read The Island of the Day Before which rather put me off tackling Foucault's Pendulum - but sounds like I should give it a go. I'll put it on the list.
 

---

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
I enjoyed Foucault's Pendulum. I read it after someone said that it was an intelligent version of The Da Vinci Code. In fact it shows up all that silly esotericism very well.

Somebody else said I would enjoy Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow more. I read Gravity's Rainbow and found it pretty loathsome and homophobic, so I turned to Foucault with relief. A much easier read and more humane work.
 

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Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
I enjoyed The Crying of Lot 49 (especially the wonderful description of a Jacobean tragedy) abut chickened out of both V and Gravity's Rainbow. However, I read Vineland not long ago and enjoyed that. Gravity's Rainbow is currently sitting on my downstairs pile of unread books.
 

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Posted by Eigon (# 4917) on :
 
Foucault's Pendulum is, indeed, fantastic - and really delves into all those conspiracy theories involving Templars etc. I also loved Name of the Rose, but couldn't really get on with his other medieval one (though there is a classic "locked room murder" which the characters completely misunderstand, which I thought was very funny!)
 

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Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on :
 
Continuing my Scottish islands reading (last book was 'Sea Room' about the Shiants) I've just finished 'Island Voices' by Fiona MacDonald, a journalist of Hebridean descent who travelled round the Inner and Outer Hebrides interviewing people and getting them to tell their stories. Apart from an explanatory paragraph about their background at the start of each person's section it's all their words, each person's story is about 4-5 pages long and it's a fascinating look at perspectives on island life. She spoke to all sorts of people - pre-teens to people in their 90s, incomers, people who were living and working on the same croft they were born in 70-odd years ago, ex-Army, landowners, fishermen, all sorts. There are lots of really interesting themes emerging but she never points them out, she just lets the stories themselves do the talking - themes like the past and future of the Gaelic language, the impact of tourism, the lure (or turnoff) of the mainland, the role of the church (she speaks to both Free Church ministers and a Catholic priest, but also many of the lay people clearly have a very strong faith), the hopes for the future for the community.

I've now just started another island book, this time 'Shetland Diaries' by Simon King, one of the Springwatch presenters. He spent a few weeks in Shetland for Springwatch about 6 years ago and then a couple of years ago spent a year there doing a series about life and wildlife there over the course of the changing year, and this is the book to tie in with that series. I'm not sure what to make of it yet - it's not great literature, but then it's a TV tie-in so I wouldn't expect that, and it's part gushing about the wildlife and part his story over the year that he lived there. I'm not too far in it but so far I'm enjoying the wildlife stuff (if you imagine it as a TV commentary it just works) but less convinced by his account of the people and of general life. Plus I'd like there to have been more pictures
 

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Posted by chive (# 208) on :
 
I've just finished Secrets of a Family Album by Isla Dewar. I love her books, very little happens but you see the intertwining of a loving, quirky, funny and caring family. It's the sort of book that you want to snuggle with.
 

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Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
Someone has lent me the "Twilight" trilogy.

If I had to sum up the three volumes (and I'm halfway through the third now) it would go like this:

"Edward, I know you're a big scary vampire with superpowers but I don't care and I want to be one too, I lurve your cheekbones and those glowing red eyes."

"Bella, you can't. Oops, watch out for those mortal enemies who are out to get you/me. OK, you can be a vampire too but you have to go to college first and all the rest of it."

---

Did she have to clean her room before she slept with him or is all that waiting for volume four?
 

---

Posted by Jemima the 9th (# 15106) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
I've just started Mary Ann in Autumn, the eighth book in Armistead Maupin's sublime Tales of the City series. For me, none of the series is less than very good - and I thought the previous one, Michael Tolliver Lives, was merely very good. But already, this one is excellent - shaping up to be one of the very best in the series.

(Does anyone else ever do that thing where you read a book really slowly, just to prolong the pleasure? That's me and the Tales series.)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Twilight:
Did she have to clean her room before she slept with him or is all that waiting for volume four?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Percy Blakeney:
Ihi

I like a good story, lighter reading, for the summer and this year I'm looking back a little. That is to say to some good reads of the past.

Currently on a Perry Mason. It's fun, light but with insight too.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Percy Blakeney:
Yes, we'll spotted, Baroness Orczy as well.

I recommend her 'the man in the corner' a good example of a detective of the Sherlock era. In this case a slightly dubious detective who stays in the corner to solve the mystery.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jemima the 9th:
[

I seem to be the last person on earth to discover Kate Atkinson - have just finished Emotionally Weird, and will be on to Not the End of the World, once I've finished Jo Brand's autobiography. I'm a big Brand fan and this was a present from a friend. You can hear her voice as you read...It's charming and nice rather than screamingly funny (so far) - excellent for reading during nighttime baby-tending. [/QB]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hedgehog:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Percy Blakeney:
Yes, we'll spotted, Baroness Orczy as well.

I recommend her 'the man in the corner' a good example of a detective of the Sherlock era. In this case a slightly dubious detective who stays in the corner to solve the mystery.

---

Coincidentally, I just finished reading The Old Man in the Corner. The ending is a little unnerving!

I am also slowly working through as many of the Pimpernel stories as I can find (usually as e-books). I have read the first three (The Scarlet Pimpernel; I Will Repay and The Elusive Pimpernel). However, I think the next thing of Orczy's that I will be reading is her Lady Molly detective stories. After I finish one of Maurice Leblanc's Arsene Lupin adventure, The Crystal Stopper.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Percy Blakeney:

I too am looking forward to reading Lay Molly.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Keren-Happuch:
I've just finished the Lymond book and am now starting Cornelia Funke's Inkheart. Need something light for a week with my parents and I didn't manage to get hold of a copy in time for my translated kid lit project earlier in the year.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Scots lass:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Keren-Happuch:
I've just finished the Lymond book and am now starting Cornelia Funke's Inkheart. Need something light for a week with my parents and I didn't manage to get hold of a copy in time for my translated kid lit project earlier in the year.

---

Which Lymond? (I want to know who else has caught the Lymond bug!)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Scots lass:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Keren-Happuch:
I've just finished the Lymond book and am now starting Cornelia Funke's Inkheart. Need something light for a week with my parents and I didn't manage to get hold of a copy in time for my translated kid lit project earlier in the year.

---

Which Lymond? (I want to know who else has caught the Lymond bug!)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Keren-Happuch:
I'm now reading Queen's Play - the second of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond books. Having had the first one to get used to her style, this one is going much more quickly!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pine Marten:
I love The Stations of the Sun - it's informative, fascinating, and well-written. I've often used it as a reference book.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nicolemr:
I just replaced my long missing copy of Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I'm so happy!

---

I felt the same when I replaced my copy of Joan Grant's "Scarlet Feather." I still get a warm glow when I see it on my bookshelf.
 

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Posted by CuppaT (# 10523) on :
 
Have any of you Kindle people had success with Project Gutenberg? All their downloads are free, but I cannot figure out how to download anything!
 

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Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
Download it to another computer and email it to your kindle account.

Jengie
 

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Posted by CuppaT (# 10523) on :
 
Hurray! I did it! Thank you Jengie. My mistake was thinking I had to open the mobi files on the computer all the time. I sat for weeks trying to figure that out and not infect my pc with viruses again by downloading something.
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Faultline Between Christianity and Islam – E. Griswold - where the population is split between Christianity and Islam, each religion is desperate to expand and dominate by procreation and evangelism - depressing
 

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Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on :
 
I've just finished 'Isles of the West' by Ian Mitchell. He sailed round the Hebridean islands for 3 months in 1996 and this book tells the story of the journey, the places and the people. He is very scathing of official conservation organisations, particularly the RSPB, in their dealings with island communities, but is never romantic about the island life and people either. It was interesting as I had read about the successful Eigg community buy-out, and this journey was taken before that had gone through, and he's pretty sceptical about that too (not about buy-outs in general I don't think, but he seemed to think that that particular one was a plea for public money to subsidise the chosen lifestyle of the islanders). Very interesting, and well worth a read even though events have overtaken it in the intervening 15+ years.

Now I'm having a break from Scottish islands for a while and have picked up a couple of books to take with me to Greenbelt. One I got after a recommendation on this thread (or its earlier incarnation perhaps), Jeff Deck & Benjamin D Herson 'The Great Typo Hunt: two friends changing the world, one correction at a time'. The other is by Glasgow GP (and Radio 4 'Inside Health' regular) Margaret McCartney, called 'The Patient Paradox: Why sexed-up medicine is bad for your health'. She spends a lot of time debunking health myths/received wisdom perpetuated by the medical industry - her approach reminds me very much of Ben Goldacre's 'Bad Science'.
 

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Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :
 
I'm reading Shada: Doctor Who--The Lost Adventure by Douglas Adams (novelized by Gareth Roberts). I'm a Doctor Who newbie--I had some minimal exposure in the '60s, when I lived in a former British colony, and there was a comic strip in one of those English boys' magazines (I thought the art was crude compared to the DC/Marvel stuff I was used to, and generally skipped over it), and I saw one or two episodes of the TV show. The main thing I remember was the odd lighting (BBC in the black & white era) and that the Daleks looked like gas (petrol) pumps on roller skates.

So now I'm watching the first season of the revival (Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor) and reading a novel based on an unproduced episode that Douglas Adams wrote sometime before that. I'm not clear on the chronology of the series yet. Anyway, it reads like Adams, which is more than I can say for the recent reboot of Hitchhikers Guide. It's actually pretty good.
 

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Posted by Mr Curly (# 5518) on :
 
A couple of weeks in hospital recently allowed me to do a lot of reading.

I very much enjoyed Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, and will be watching the movie again soon to compare the two.

By coincidence, two of the other books I read were both epistolary novels - made up of "documents" - diary entries, letters, reports, emails, telexes etc. One was Salmon Fishing in Yemen, which is also a film I want to see. The other was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

I think reading them back to back diminished my enjoyment of the second one, while overall I would still say they both were quite enjoyable.

mr curly
 

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Posted by Keren-Happuch (# 9818) on :
 
I'm reading The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany (translator: Humphrey Davies). It's good, but not sufficiently gripping to hold my attention for long so I keep getting sidetracked by other things.

As a result, I've also recently finished The Colour of Love by Preethi Nair - much easier going and very entertaining, but also dealt sensitively and movingly with grief and trauma. And I'm also dipping in and out of God Collar by Marcus Brigstocke.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Keren-Happuch:
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany God Collar by Marcus Brigstocke.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
Haydee - Have you tried Melmoth the Wanderer, another Gothick classic, although quite a bit darker than The Monk.

Both have an unecumenical attitude towards Spanish Catholicism, it must be admitted, but Maturin, author of Melmoth, was a Church of Ireland clergyman.

---

I haven't, but I'll look for it. Another favourite (very different except for being over the top) is The Count of Monte Cristo. I love those sweeping stories with big emotions and plenty of melodrama
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
There's no point in The Monk when you can't think "this is just a hoot".

Melmoth the Wanderer by contrast is over the top, but at times disturbingly sinister.

I went through a Gothick phase recently and read them both, together with Mrs Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho. I'm afraid Jane Austen spoiled it for me. Incidentally, a sign of John Thorpe's crudeness in Northanger Abbey is that he prefers The Monk to Mrs Radcliffe.
 

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Posted by chive (# 208) on :
 
This thread, and Keren-Happuch's blog, are an incredibly bad influence on my Amazon addiction. I may need an intervention.
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
The Personal Correspondence of Hildegard of Bingen – ed. J. Baird

Hildegard of Bingen could be regarded as the patron saint of feminism – this feisty lady from the Twelfth Century, an abbess telling prelates what to do and why, claiming the authority of subjective ‘visions.’

But she comes across as too pushy by half.
 

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Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
She was much admired by Matthew Fox OP, whereas Hilda and Teresa of Avila weren't. Not green enough.

I'd leave feminists to decide on their patron saint. All the above strong women were virgins. If you want a strong woman with sexual experience, you have Monica, and I'm not sure she is a good model of women.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Francesca Kay's book 'The Translation of the Bones' looks very promising. It won an award for books by new writers, and is about a woman who experiences a weeping, bleeding statue of Jesus, when she cleans an empty church. The effect this has on the whole community is gradually brought out by the unfolding story - I'm wondering where it might end (and fear it may not be happily).
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
She was much admired by Matthew Fox OP, whereas Hilda and Teresa of Avila weren't. Not green enough.

I'd leave feminists to decide on their patron saint. All the above strong women were virgins. If you want a strong woman with sexual experience, you have Monica, and I'm not sure she is a good model of women.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by leo:
Religion, Youth and Sexuality: Selected Key Findings from a Multi-faith Exploration – A. Yip et al

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:

I'd leave feminists to decide on their patron saint. All the above strong women were virgins. If you want a strong woman with sexual experience, you have Monica, and I'm not sure she is a good model of women.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by venbede:
I'm pissed off with everyone saying normal people have to be married and I have great comfort from the church's monastic and celibate tradition. Not being saddled with some berk of a husband must be a great help for many women in following the Christian life. Indeed a civilized and independent life.

However, I'm not a woman, and I wouldn't want to be thought to be telling women what's good for them. There are women who criticise the almost exclusively celibate number of women saints, as it ignores those women who have had husbands, or implies sexual experience is inconsistent with holiness.

Hildegard may well be a good feminist patron saint. I believe the Pope is due to declare her a doctor of the church.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Twilight:
Besides who says Leo isn't a feminist? If he believes in the full equality of women (virgins or not) then he's a feminist.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Twilight:
So we agree, I think.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by chive:
This thread, and Keren-Happuch's blog, are an incredibly bad influence on my Amazon addiction. I may need an intervention.

---

Stealing that for my sig!
 

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Posted by The Great Gumby (# 10989) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Jack the Lass:
I'm also reading Rob Bell's 'Love Wins' and to be honest wondering what all the fuss is all about - he's not said anything remotely controversial yet and I'm over half way through. I am pretty sympathetic to what he's saying, if I can figure out what it is amongst all the millions of questions.

What is riling me though
is his habit
of breaking up sentences
into smaller lines
like this.

Although I suppose it does mean that it makes it a really quick read.

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quote:

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Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
My holiday reading, that I'm still ploughing through, is the Gormenghast series. I'm glad I persevered with it, because I think the second book is better than the first.

I think the first one could have done with a better editor. The style gets a bit clunky sometimes. I find the second one more readable in this respect.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Nenya:

quote:

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Originally posted by Nicolemr:
I just replaced my long missing copy of Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I'm so happy!

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I felt the same when I replaced my copy of Joan Grant's "Scarlet Feather." I still get a warm glow when I see it on my bookshelf.

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