Books - What are you reading?

Just finished Red Notice: How I Became Putin's No. 1 Enemy, was a great audiobook, as good as any spy thriller expect its a true story from the last decade, would recommend for some light entertainment.

That's impressive! I managed 36 with an average length of 216 pages. Target was 30, aiming for 40 this year. I tend to prefer shorter books it seems, I must have a short attention span.

I'm about halfway through Hard To Be A God by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky at the minute. It's not really what I was expecting but I'm quite enjoying it. The only other thing I've read by them is Roadside Picnic which the Tarkosky film Stalker was based on. That was a lot more unsettling and uncomfortable, I was expecting more of the same.

Just finished Hard To Be A God. Was alright, I've got the film version which I might watch later, see how they compare.

Book 2 of 2020 was Waiting For The Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee. First thing of his I've read, took me a while to warm up to it but enjoyed it once I did. Any recommendations for other books by him?

This is my goal for the year too - any tips? I’m 3 down so far.
Secret commonwealth
The Collector
Zonal Marking

You're welcome. I'm reading very slow, about halfway through now. Great book.

One thing that did help was, for various reasons, I barely cycled on my commute last year. That gave me another three hours or so a week of reading. I've got to say that having a kindle helped as well. You can read in the dark in bed and fill it up with loads of stuff so you've always got stuff you want to read.

I'm fairly focused in reading, I read one book at a time rather than flitting between them and very rarely give up on books.

The Warden by Trollope is our next book club read (Capital by John Lanchester was the most recent), haven't started it yet. Got 5 or 6 books for Christmas that I need to wade through at some point too.

Currently doing Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden by Steve Coll, pretty good and thorough so can see why it won a Pulitzer a the time. Really shows what a clusterfuck the middle east and how the current stuff going on goes back a long way and with a lot of dubious decisions at every turn

I liked Life and Times of Michael K, but like most of his books, it's a bit bleak.

Youth and Boyhood are good too.

I like a bit of bleakness. Will check those out! Thanks.

Disgrace is probably his most acclaimed book though. I had to study it at school, but I've read it again since and it's just as harrowing.

I rated ghost wars. Another in that theme is Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. It’s even more insane/depressing but again very readable

Doing the first three Patrick Melrose volumes.

I got Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf translation. But that works best if I read it out loud in a thick West Country accent, so not one for the quiet carriage

Norse Mythologies by Neil Gaiman. Might be a bit old hat, but really good read.

Pretty short though.

Next in the list, Moby Dick... it’s been in the backlog for years, so should probably get it done.

Doing the first three Patrick Melrose volumes.

We did Never Mind for our book club last year I think, I believe there was a collective gasp (no we don't all read in silence in the same room) when getting to *that* specific part.

Bought the next two but haven't read them.

I got Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf translation. But that works best if I read it out loud in a thick West Country accent, so not one for the quiet carriage

It comes up quite a bit in The Salt Path by Raynor Winn which is some non-fiction that's also worth a read. Always wanted to walk the SW Coastal Path.

Thanks, I'll add it to the list

Salt Path sounds interesting...I am a fan of covering ground.

The Melrose thing is pretty fucking savage.

The Melrose thing is pretty fucking savage.

Especially when you realise it was autobiographical.

The Border Trilogy & Blood Meridian are recent reads which I've found to be superb.

What should I read by Mccarthy now or any other recommendations for similar authors?

I'm on a real Sci-fi binge at the moment.
Any new stuff I should check out? Post-Apocalyptic / dystopian future stuff preferred.

Really like all the pretty horses by Mccarthy. It’s a book that goes through the gears

Avoid the film

No Country For Old Men and The Road are well worth a read!

Have you read Annihilation? The book the Natalie Portman film is very loosely based on. I enjoyed it a lot.