What Are You Reading??

Hater - David Moody.

Didn't really make it past the first page...

Simmons, regional manager for a chain of high street discount stores, slipped his change into his pocket then neatly folded his newspaper in half and tucked it under his arm. He quickly glanced at his watch before leaving the shop and rejoining the faceless mass of shoppers and office workers crowding the city centre pavements outside.

The perils of the self-published? I looked up on goodreads, and people do like this book. It, hell, isn't even just one book but the first of at least three in a series. But I want to be able to tell good writing from bad. I don't know what the standards really are, but I've decided that excising pointless adverbs must be one. SO WHY DOES THE MAN QUICKLY GLANCE AT HIS WATCH? IS AN ORDINARY GLANCE NOT QUICK ENOUGH FOR THE INFECTED?!

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulowayo
The title already had me.It's a semi autobio which got short listed for the Man Booker prize.It is wonderful. 

Hater - David Moody.

Didn't really make it past the first page...

Simmons, regional manager for a chain of high street discount stores, slipped his change into his pocket then neatly folded his newspaper in half and tucked it under his arm. He quickly glanced at his watch before leaving the shop and rejoining the faceless mass of shoppers and office workers crowding the city centre pavements outside.

The perils of the self-published? I looked up on goodreads, and people do like this book. It, hell, isn't even just one book but the first of at least three in a series. But I want to be able to tell good writing from bad. I don't know what the standards really are, but I've decided that excising pointless adverbs must be one. SO WHY DOES THE MAN QUICKLY GLANCE AT HIS WATCH? IS AN ORDINARY GLANCE NOT QUICK ENOUGH FOR THE INFECTED?!

"city centre pavements outside"...hmm...redundancy. I find that pavements are rarely to be located inside.

Have started reading Dr. Schama's trilogy on the history of Britain. Quite good.

Saw piglet mentioned the Man Booker Prize. Decided to have a look at the finalists for last year, as its not my usual kind of fiction choice. Am starting with The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin. Interesting even just a few pages in. Intense.

Been reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The idiot. Been reading a lot of Russian lit lately.

Calach I "obtained" all the Man Booker prizes and shortlisted books and I am going to work my way through them.But now taking a short break with Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" so far nice light train reading.

Piglet, where did you obtain these novels??? I would like to also obtain them...

Torrents.

And a hail cthulhu or two for absolution.

ETR go to any torrent site e.g kickass and just input Man Booker in the search box.

The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton.

It won the Man Booker, is long, and Kindle says I stopped reading at 6%. It has a spayshul structure, which might end up being interesting, but I found the first chapter tedious. I found the first section of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas tedious in the same way, and that went on to contain wonders and had a spayshul structuring too. But of The Luminaries...

Just finished 'The Small Bachelor" by Wodehouse. I know of no other author who can so thoroughly engage the reader and lift even the gloomiest of spirits.

Now on to 'In Search Of Oblivion -- A Social History of Drugs"...

I don't know why I am not enjoying Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" .I usually enjoy him but am feeling a little bogged down and considering throwing in the towel..

"American Gods" is not his best one. I found it slow and a little disorganized.

I've never quite got Neil Gaiman. I am supposed to like him and I love Sandman and Death etc. But I can't get not the novels. I admit, I gave up with American Gods.

In some ways it reminds me of Stephen King. I could never never actually make it through The Stand but I liked other books. Later when I tried to re-read some I decided that they where mostly crap but his short stories were awesome.

Someone tell Gaiman to put out another graphic novel, I'd be interested in that.

Stil, did you read the graphic novel he published called...err...Punch and Judy...Mr Punch...something along those lines. It was good.