Books: What are you reading tonight? - Page 660 - The Lounge Discussion and Review on Literature, Arts, Culture

I'm rereading Of Human Bondage. I really liked it the first time around but can barely remember the details. Maugham seemed to know a lot about human nature iirc.

I felt like Wind-up Bird didn't finish that strong, but I still liked it a lot and would put it ahead of Kafka by the Shore and 1Q84. I plan on reading Wild Sheep Chase as soon as my library copy becomes available and call that good for Murakami for now.

Last edited by kioshk; 07-30-2017 at 08:24 AM.

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07-30-2017 , 06:34 PM

#16477

The Yugoslavian

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Loved wild sheep chase. That + dance dance dance (which isn't as good but is a sequel) are excellent.

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07-30-2017 , 11:44 PM

#16478

riverboatking

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can anyone recommend some good legal thrillers similar to presumed innocent?
i've read most of grisham so don't need any recs of his stuff.

the only turow novel i've read so far is presumed innocent which i absolutely loved so if anyone can let me know if i should just read all his stuff or if there are certain books to read and some to skip.

while i do really love court room thrillers i am open to any good mystery novel.

i have been reading almost exclusively non-fiction last few years but i love a good novel and would appreciate some good recs.

cheers.

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07-31-2017 , 12:29 AM

#16479

Quickben00

banned

Join Date: Jun 2017 Posts: 148

Just finished The Unholy Consult, the 4th book in the Apect Emporer series (7th overall in the Prince of Nothing world)

Really enjoyed the book, and the series as a Whole, although I admit much of the philosophy flew over my head. Second best fantasy world to Malazan IMO.

The author has already outed there is going to be another series in this world and I cannot wait.

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07-31-2017 , 05:48 PM

#16480

Gioco

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Quote:

Originally Posted by riverboatking

My Life in Court by Louis Nizer, not exactly fiction, but a great read or Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Raver.

Any of Michael Connelley's Mickey Haller series, I liked The Gods of Guilt and The Brass Verdict.

And, when you tire of the delays and obfuscations of the legal system, see P.G. Sturges and the Shortcut Man series. Angel's Gate is a good beginning.

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07-31-2017 , 09:07 PM

#16481

KennyJPowers

old hand

Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 1,379

Finished Interview with a Vampire 9/10 loved this book, the characters are amazing and the story is gripping couldn't put in down.

Have already ordered The Vampire Lestat the sequel.

Have got my fiction bug back after reading Stephen King and any Horror, Paranormal books to get my fix

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07-31-2017 , 09:35 PM

#16482

TheHip41

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Quote:

Originally Posted by riverboatking

I've read three of the Greg iles books and I like them.

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07-31-2017 , 09:35 PM

#16483

TheHip41

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Quote:

Originally Posted by KennyJPowers

I love this book. Louie might be my favorite character ever.

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08-01-2017 , 02:07 PM

#16484

ChaseNutley26

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4,594

rbk,

I'd recommend Helter Skelter. It's a true crime account of the Manson murders as told by the prosecuting attorney for the case. Plenty of courtroom drama and a wicked good story behind it all.

I finished We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor. It starts off great -- a guy who comes into sudden money signs a contract to be cryogenically frozen. He wakes up courtesy of an evangelical program and is forced to do their bidding. I like some of the lite philosophical questions raised early on, and I like how the novel expands halfway through. It's definitely meant to be part of a series, as not everything gets a bow put on it, and I'll probably be reading onward.

Last edited by ChaseNutley26; 08-01-2017 at 02:12 PM.

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08-01-2017 , 06:00 PM

#16485

KennyJPowers

old hand

Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 1,379

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHip41

I love this book. Louie might be my favorite character ever.

Yes I agree, I think the book is almost a philosophical account of being a vampire with Louie struggling to come to terms with his nature as a killer and his very existence, Claudia also. Lestat is a very dark character who shows no remorse and enjoys making people suffer.

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08-01-2017 , 11:31 PM

#16486

Cranberry Tea

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jalfrezi

It's his most celebrated book, but The Blind Watchmaker gives a much better description of the process of evolution and answers doubts that people may have such as "How could something as complex as the eye be the result only of evolution?".

Ya, in Selfish Gene I think Dawkins makes the dubious assumption that the reader has already read Blind Watchmaker and understands that he's using idiomatic language when he says genes "want" to do certain things. To be fair, it's tricky to describe how evolution works without being a little anthropomorphic.

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08-02-2017 , 08:19 PM

#16487

The Yugoslavian

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Quickben00

I'm finally reading the great ordeal. Just started and read the back story. Amazing how much sounded vaguely familiar even though the events were pretty major. Hope I am not adrift and confused the whole book.

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08-03-2017 , 03:20 AM

#16488

riverboatking

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Gioco

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHip41

I've read three of the Greg iles books and I like them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaseNutley26

tyvm for the suggestions n i welcome anymore that ppl have for me.

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08-04-2017 , 08:55 AM

#16489

Gioco

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Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,410

Finished reading Black Betty by Walter Mosley. A good read, it isn't your usual white-bread detective story. Worth reading.

Finished Black and Blue by Ian Rankin. A good Inspector Rebus with a complicated plot and the writing one expects from Rankin. Rebus approaching retirement, considers his legacy and works.

Started A Stained White Radiance by James Lee Burke; Blind Man with a Pistol by Chester Himes; and re-reading, for the ?th time, Stein on Writing by Sol Stein.

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08-05-2017 , 09:10 AM

#16490

ChaseNutley26

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Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4,594

Finished Lucifer's Hammer by Niven & Pournelle. Disaster epic that revolves around a comet in Earth's path. Well-researched as always -- they tell the story from many angles (not all of them interesting), taking into account flood plains, power resources, post-apocalypse warfare, scarcity, etc.

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08-06-2017 , 07:54 AM

#16491

ChaseNutley26

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4,594

Kioshk with all his oohing and aahing at Murakami got me to pick up What I Talk about When I Talk about Running. It's Murakami's short memoir on long-distance running, writing, and life in general. Simply written, honest, and insightful -- all around very enjoyable book.

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08-06-2017 , 09:07 AM

#16492

Gioco

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Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,410

Started a re-read: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.

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08-06-2017 , 11:27 AM

#16493

kioshk

Nixonian

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 92,845

ooh aah

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08-07-2017 , 12:48 PM

#16494

kioshk

Nixonian

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 92,845

The Abominable Mr. Seabrook by Don Ollmann is a top notch "graphic novel/biography" aka comic book, if you're into that type of thing. About the notorious travel writer Robert Seabrook, famous for popularizing the term "zombie." Also his cannibalism and penchant for women in chains.

I can't say it's like real reading or a real book but it's fun and interesting. The artwork is top notch, and the content is way beyond somebody like Harvey Pekar, for instance.

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08-07-2017 , 05:04 PM

#16495

igotnext

centurion

Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 105

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxThe_Lebowskixx

Catch Me if You Can

It goes into much more detail than the movie. Very inspiring. A really great read.

I always recommend this to ppl

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08-08-2017 , 01:15 AM

#16496

TheHip41

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CMIYC is great. easy read. Fun story.

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08-08-2017 , 02:34 AM

#16497

Gioco

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Finished reading in Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein. This collection of hard to describe poems is experimental and sort of cubist literature. Stein deserves credit for attempting to create something genuinely new and different. I've read through it before and find it a very difficult, opaque, and dense read. It may have failed in its quest to change literature, but it isn't someone trying to write a better or interesting "standard" poem.

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08-08-2017 , 11:00 AM

#16498

RussellinToronto

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Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,200

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gioco

For her impact on Hemingway alone, I would argue that she did change (English-language) literature.

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08-08-2017 , 04:11 PM

#16499

Gioco

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Quote:

Originally Posted by RussellinToronto

For her impact on Hemingway alone, I would argue that she did change (English-language) literature.

I agree (though recent scholarship proves her impact on Hemingway may not have been as great as previously thought. Hemingway spent days and days in museums figuring out for himself what change in the arts had occurred concurrent with modernity and how to apply that change to literature.).

I was referring solely to this collection of poems (Tender Buttons).

Finished A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. I've probably read this half a dozen times beginning at age 16. Age substantially effects my understanding of it. If you haven't read it, it's worth reading.