Books - What are you reading?

I’d read What a Carve Up and the Rotters Club years ago. I think this is quite different - an ode to film rather than a black comedy. Apparently a lot of Billy Wilder’s dialogue was lifted directly from interviews.

Wise Blood

+1 on the recommendations for this, Flannery O’Connor is great.

Great book.

I'm a few stories in to Things We Lost In The Fire by Mariana Enrique.

A collection of short horror-ish stories and they're very dark but pretty enjoyable.

What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt is Stoner-esque. Just don't be put off by the first third of the book, it does pick up for the remaining 2/3rds.

Mark Beaumont must own a solid gold bicycle by now - just been gifted my third copy of his The Man Who Cycled The World.

I was given The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie by my wife for my birthday a couple of weeks ago, after she was shocked to find out I hadn't read anything by her before.

I've just stayed up late after a very tiring Christmas Day to finish reading it, because it was great - I think I've read the whole thing in about 3 days.

I'm fully intending to work my way through John Curran's list of her 10 best works now.

Just started reading

Paper cuts by Colin Bateman
Kitchen confidential by Anthony Boudain

Seems I managed 46 books with an average length of 373 pages last year. A bit down on previous years but more than I expected.

I don’t know page length but I “read” 40 books...30 of which were on audiobook and 12 were actual reading (kindle or physical). I know I often listen to audiobooks twice but I didn’t keep a record of that, so the 40 represents “new titles”.

I read 22, which was a bit lower than I was hoping for (a colleague won our work challenge with 57 which is more than I could even imagine reading), but we did have a baby in March which meant no more reading in bed.

Pretty random mixture in the pile now. Some Christmas presents, some plucked from the shelves, some random purchases.

Order not quite right yet. The 3 at the bottom were the leftovers from the last pile so they need to be redistributed (although having read 1/3 of the Joyce once already it may permanently stay near the bottom of the pile).

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I dropped my target last year due to baby arrival but it actually turned out that there was a fair chunk of time where the only thing I could do was read a kindle quietly in the dark with the spare hand that I could move a little bit.

I managed 46 books last year. Doubt I'll manage anything like that this year. Unless I get another few months off work to sit in the garden drinking beers and reading.

Ah yes, also have the His Dark Materials trilogy to read once MiniGB has finished reading them (she's part way through the first book).

I loved those as a kid! Would be interested to know if you think they're worth a re-reading as an adult

We've really enjoyed watching the BBC series.

It's available on iPlayer for a while yet (Series 1 for 11 months, Series 2 for 5 months):

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000b1v2/his-dark-materials
  

I read them as an adult and remember them as good.

Might have to give them a punt then. Worth it for the nostalgia alone I reckon! I've got loads of slow books about miserable people and high concept sci-fi to get through first though.

The follow up trilogy to his dark materials is also worth a read for kids and adults alike.

I only just read them as an adult when my kids got them and thought they were excellent.

Currently very much enjoying the Broken Earth trilogy as well, whoever on here recommended that.

Currently reading Station Eleven, which I first picked up in 2016 but didn't make very much progress. Seems pretty apt just now

Ha! Just started this and quite enjoy it.

I just finished reading Stephen Chbosky's 'Imaginary Friend'. I'd requested it as a Christmas present. It's an homage to Stephen King, and in the manner of writing it is, but hell is it far too long at ~850 pages.