I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora The jacket said something to the effect of: Fantasy meets Ocean’s 11.
It didn’t live up to that hype, but it was fun and I enjoyed it. I think it could have been better.
I am in the middle of Shadow Man It is from the psychological thriller genre. I have been facinated with this genre since reading The Red Dragon 20 years ago. This one is well-written, but quite dark. If you are a fan of this genre, I recommend it.
I have many in the queue, but am too lazy to go see what is queued up.
I’m reading Freddy and Fredericka by my very favorite author, Mark Helprin. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him doing something so overtly comedic, but I’m quite enjoying it.
I think that’s a perfect description of the book. I finished it last week. It’s somewhat lacking in character development/depth, but the story was well-paced, and Lynch’s writing is clean enough.
I’m reading Provinces of Night by William Gay, who is my new favorite writer.
From the book:
No good ever comes of having a police cruiser pull into your yard and park. This was not something that Albright had to learn, it had been bred into generations of Albrights all the way back to the days when the law rode up on horseback. It was part of his genetic makeup.
I’m looking for cheap used copies for loaners, and will be buying everything Gay writes. He might even be better than Larry Brown, for down-to-earth gritty southern fiction.
Just finished David Brooks’ On Paradise Drive. All about the American Dream, which I guarantee you you don’t understand as well as you think you do, and which makes us do all sorts of stupid but (per Brooks) well-intentioned stuff.
My last two books were The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century by Thomas Friedman, and The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine, so I’m taking a break from nonfiction by reading George Orwell’s 1984.
I’m reading Memoirs of a Geisha, and it took me quite a few pages to get into it. I usually read more sci-fi and fantasy, so this was a change for me. I was about to give up and post it for trade, but it finally picked up enough I think I can finish it. I hate not finishing a book - the last one I remember not finishing was The Women (or Ladies) of the Club, which was the first novel of a woman (IFRC) in her 90s. The most boring piece of tripe I have ever attempted - I don’t think I made it to a hundred pages of a novel so thick it could have been used as a doorstop.
In the middle of Plain Truth, a novel about an Amish girl accused of murdering her newborn after hiding her pregnancy. It’s a little boggish at times but I’m enjoying it over all.
A fellow Doper loaned me To Rule The Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World some time ago. Due to the happenings in the last few months I did not have a chance to read it immediately, but I’m reading it now.
I mainly read historical fiction. I have a guide page on Amazon.com to which I add any title I really enjoyed. If anyone would like my recommendations for that genre, here ya go.
Just reading The Places In Between, by Rory Stewart. He decided to walk through Afghanistan in winter. It’s very good. I’m learning a lot about Afghan history, and his writing is thoughtful and lovely. Not funny, like a Bill Bryson book.
I’m in the middle of Invitation to a Beheading by Nabokov. Last thing I read was Handmaid’s Tale, last GOOD thing I read was House of Leaves. Loved House of Leaves.
Just finished Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton’s Little John?: Music’s Most Enduring Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed by Gavin Edwards and The Literary Detective by John Sutherland. In the middle of Flashman on the March by George MacDonald Fraser. Just started Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and Charles Stross’ Iron Sunrise.
I recently read about a new remastered, color reprint of House of Leaves here. I love books that feature houses that are not what they seem, and this sounds like it would be a good one, if I could get past all the experimentalism. I wonder if a topic on “house” books would be threadworthy, a la Moonheart, House of Leaves, etc.
I’ve just gotten into the Discworld books myself…I recently finished my first one, Thief of Time and next up are Carpe Jugulum, Monstrous Regiment, Interesting Times and The Light Fantastic (I went a little nuts in the B&N…)
I must slap myself for getting into another money pit of a series, but they are interesting.