What are you reading now?

[Daniel]

Norwegian wood splits during chapter 6. I have the red and green copy and apparently when it was released in japan it became a cult hit and fans would dress in red or green depending on which half of the book they most identified with.

[nickgodfrey]

Thanks mate!

Mmm, I'm unsure which volume I relate to at the moment.

[Kieran76]

I have just started reading The Good Companions by J.B Priestley. Don't know why I picked it up it, it just seemed tojum out from my bookcase.

[gossi the dog]

In defence of global capitalism

http://www.johannorberg.net/?page=indefense

Is the book heavy going?

[gossi the dog]

In the past week I've read both Forrest Gump and Gump & Co by Winston Groom. Both are good but the first one is better. Started reading The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy last night.

[Ish]

I can't speak highly enough of Norwegian Wood. That book effected me in a major way this year. Fantastic stuff.

Currently reading Across Realtime by Vernor Vinge.

[PeteJ]

Regarding the 'Da Vinci Code'.

Jesus, almost everyone says that. I'm thinking of starting it soon; wonder what I'll make of it? It seems millions have bought it, yet thought it was ****e - word of mouths gone a bit wrong.

I thought it was excellent, well worth reading.

[Ish]

I read it because the central plot idea interested me. But I just couldn't get past the awful writing and dreadfully shallow characters. At best I would describe it as clumsy.

[gamelife]

Just nearing the end of Clive Barker's Abarat (for the second time). just wanting to refresh my memory of the story before my my signed copy of Abarat 2 turns up in the post

Has anyone else had a chance to read Abarat yet, not Barker's best work but well worth a look...

Anyway, does anyone have any good horror book recommendations? apart from anything clive barker/stephen king...

ta, rich

[mt50]

I started to read blackfoot is missing last night, first book i've started to read since i read some only fools and horses book a few years ago.
so far it seems quite good. it's about the vietnam war(or something to do with it) by william f owen(never heard of him) only got it as it was under 2quid in asda.

[Zanza]

I finished reading 'Norwegian Wood' and 'The Wind up Bird Chronicles' whilst I was staying in Japan. What a joy Murakami is to read, I found both very difficult to put down, reading them for hours at a time. I always get that empty feeling when nearing the end of his books, knowing that everything will soon be over and I will have to return to reality. When I finished his books, I almost felt so insignificant, they leave me with a sense of not really knowing what to do next.

I could happily read his style of writing all day long, the man is a genious. Going to hunt down another of his books this weekend, or maybe start re-reading The Wind up Bird Chronicles.

[Ajay1986]

Currently reading Vellum by Hal Duncan. Only just started it.


Just finished Vampire Hunter D Vol 1 and 2 which are the classic 1980's japanease novels which have been published for the first time in English this year. There is 17 in total so there is still some way to go but the first 2 rock. Also its the first book which insipred the inferior movie, having read the book it shows how much it was altered in the movie.

[JRMacumber]

Right now I'm reading a new novel entitled "The Traveler" by an author known as John Twelve Hawks, and it really is amazingly good. Here is the blurb on it from Publisher's Weekly:

"Twelve Hawks's much anticipated novel is powerful, mainstream fiction built on a foundation of cutting-edge technology laced with fantasy and the chilling specter of an all-too-possible social and political reality. The time is roughly the present, and the U.S. is part of the Vast Machine, a society overseen by the Tabula, a secret organization bent on establishing a perfectly controlled populace. Allied against the Tabula are the Travelers and their sword-carrying protectors, the Harlequins. The Travelers, now almost extinct, can project their spirit into other worlds where they receive wisdom to bring back to earth?wisdom that threatens the Tabula's power. Maya, a reluctant Harlequin, finds herself compelled to protect two na?ve Travelers, Michael and Gabriel Corrigan. Michael dabbles in shady real estate deals, while Gabriel prefers to live "off the Grid," eschewing any documentation?credit cards, bank accounts?that the Vast Machine could use to track him. Because the Tabula has engineered a way to use the Travelers for its own purposes, Maya must not only keep the brothers alive, but out of the hands of these evil puppet-masters. She succeeds, but she also fails, and therein lies the tale. By the end of this exciting volume, the first in a trilogy, the stage is set for a world-rending clash between good and evil."

It feels like it's drawn influence and inspiration for every corner of modern popular culture, especially Highlander and The Matrix, and I can't seem to put it down. It's a fast and easy read too. I hope some of you check it out as well, and I hope you like it as much as I am.

[jezzace]

I was reading "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" by Peter Biskind until it annoyingly disappeared (read got stolen) from my house. It was just getting good too. Scorsese was entering the business...

[Scoey]

I finished reading 'Norwegian Wood' and 'The Wind up Bird Chronicles' whilst I was staying in Japan. What a joy Murakami is to read, I found both very difficult to put down, reading them for hours at a time. I always get that empty feeling when nearing the end of his books, knowing that everything will soon be over and I will have to return to reality. When I finished his books, I almost felt so insignificant, they leave me with a sense of not really knowing what to do next.

I could happily read his style of writing all day long, the man is a genious. Going to hunt down another of his books this weekend, or maybe start re-reading The Wind up Bird Chronicles.

I pretty much agree with you. Having read it obsessively for the last few days, i finished "The Wind Up Bird Chronicles" last night. Great book overall, although to be honest I did think there was a stage when for about 100 pages or so, I sort of lost interest in the characters and had to trudge through it. It picked up again after that though, and overall was a very enjoyable experience that made me think a lot more than pretty much any novel I've read. I'm gonna go about reading the rest of Murakami's books in the near future.