Books - What are you reading?

Someone recommended 8 perfect murders yesterday cool!

Yes!

I loved Jonathan Strange, but did feel overly long at time. Pre ordered and got a signed copy of piranesi, was for some reason expecting to be a similar style to JS, but completely different, and think I enjoyed it more.

I had this silly feeling that with Jonathan Strange the author hadn’t read a novel before (obviously bollocks) but the pacing and the strange rambling style did drag in places. But I guess this was deliberate and Clarke has a kind of innate ability to draw on barely remembered folklore and tales and doesn’t reveal as much as we would like.

Piranesi is absolutely perfect. Reminded me of House of Leaves

Does anyone know of any good histories of Japan, especially of the student movements in the late 60s? I've always found that period fascinating as it sounds completely mental - Mishima, the violence, etc....

Anyone interested in reading either of these ?

Free but you just need to cover postage which will be about £2.50 each I think.

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I would like the Ishiguro, please. PM incoming

I have just finished The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley; it's military SF so not to everyone's taste but probably the best new book I have read this year, very powerful and some massive concepts handled very well

Just finished the Depp Blue Good-By by John D MacDonald which is meant to be a pulp classic.

It's about 50% descriptions of women and their place in the world and 50% thriller.

^ is that good then?

I read this, which was fine

Got these 4 from the charity shop

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Alone in Berlin is great. Pretty bleak though.

I think I had it, decided I'd never read it, took it to the charity shop and now bought it back again.

Looking forward to the Ellroy, and the Anaïs Nin is nice and short :)

A classic move. Quite often I'll be poking around in a charity shop and think "that's a great book" then remember that I donated it.

+l for Alone in Berlin

Great book. V. depressing. "The Drinker" is also very good.

Although still not cheery.

Thanks! Will check it out.

Would love some holiday reading recommendations, to contextualise, these are some of my favourites/recent enjoyments:

The Goldfinch
Any Iain M Banks
Utopia Avenue (actually all of David Mitchell)
Brandon Sanderson
The North Water
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle...

If you like Iain M Banks I think perhaps the closest comparison I have read is Alastair Reynolds

If you like Sanderson, the Joe Abercrombie books are great, preferably the original Bloody Nine trilogy (sorry forgot the names).

Or if youve not read it, The Name of the Wind by Rufus Something (and the follow up one)

Bang on, because I've read (and really enjoyed) all the Joe Abercrombies and Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind and follow up. Impatiently waiting for the third in that trilogy...

I've tried one Alastair Reynolds and just didn't quite get one with it - missing the humour from Iain M Banks I think...

Ann Leckie or Adrian Tchaikovsky if you like Iain M Banks. Not quite the same but notes of similarity. Also Sea of Rust by Robert C Cargill.

V.E. Schwab (particularly the Shades of Magic series) reminded me somewhat of Brandon Sanderson. Maybe also Brent Weeks, although they were a bit variable in quality.

It was certainly of its time but found it fairly average.

My current and most recent reading list looks like this. I've been putting Harari off given it's girth. This seems to be something i always do, i'm sure i'm not alone.

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I’ve nearly finished watch the man in the high castle. So thought it best to read the book now.