read any good books lately...

Done with Faulkner, I am truly impressed.

Now, onto my favorite ever writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, reading La Mala Hora.

(the romanian "cover )

Geck0 wrote: I read The Signal-man (Dickens), The Withered Arm (Hardy) and The Country of the Blind (Wells) at school and thoroughly enjoyed them.So school didn't ruin my reading pleasure of great books.

As I remember, my English Literature exams were done on Chaucer's 'Pardoner's Tale' and Shakespear's 'Julius Caesar'

The Pardoner's Tale put me off Chaucer for life, but Julius Caesar (thanks to a great teacher, Mr Nelmes) instilled a love of the Bard, so 50/50's not too bad, I guess.

I read The Signal-man (Dickens), The Withered Arm (Hardy) and The Country of the Blind (Wells) at school and thoroughly enjoyed them.

So school didn't ruin my reading pleasure of great books.

I'm still reading Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan.  It's getting better and better and the humour is terrifically subtle (and I ended up sniggering on the train too).

Tony R wrote: I've been revisiting a couple of 20th Century American Classics from my schooldays:     Enjoyed them both immensely!

I had to read them recently as school assignments and found them immensely boring

I've been revisiting a couple of 20th Century American Classics from my schooldays:

Currently reading:



Using regimental records & personal letters the book traces the last years of three soldiers, one British, One American & one German - all of whom are known to have fallen in the same area, none of whose bodies were ever recovered. The book then goes on to the attempts by their families to find out where their loved ones fell to be able to bring them home, the political struggles at the time to get the unknown fallen recognised at all & the eventual granting of the now famous tombs of the unknown soldier.

An excellent read & a real soldiers insight into day to day life in the trenches (unusually, from both sides).

Into Strugatsky brothers lately. Finished Hotel Of The Dead Alpinist and Definitely Maybe(if you translate the Russian title directly it's "One billion years before the end of the world")

Gonna read Devil amongst people, The Doomed City, The Details of Nikita Vorontsov's Life, and Search for Designation next. Reading them all in Russian oiriginals. It's really great that I can read this stuff in its original language

fandango wrote: ^^^ that sounds like a fascinating read...   ...if you're interested, I've recently finished reading 'The Great Mortality' by John Kelly... about the spread of the Black Death from the Russian Steppes in 1347, across Europe, looking at both the 'pestis' plague virus and the medieval reaction to it... fascinating reading and thoroughly recommended.

I've seen that book in shops, and thought about getting it. Being European, I am quite aware of the extent of the epidemic, and of the consequences it had on the fabric of society at the time - including the cultural life of the various countries.

Thanks a lot for the heads up - I'll buy that book ASAP, though yesterday I ordered almost £100's worth of books on folklore and fairy tales for my PhD dissertation, and at some point I'll have to read them.

fandango wrote: ^^^ that sounds like a fascinating read...   ...if you're interested, I've recently finished reading 'The Great Mortality' by John Kelly... about the spread of the Black Death from the Russian Steppes in 1347, across Europe, looking at both the 'pestis' plague virus and the medieval reaction to it... fascinating reading and thoroughly recommended.

Cheers Jared

I shall look out for that one

started an interesting book last night...

Fatal Silence by Robert Katz

about Pope Pius XII and the German Occupation of Rome..


fascinating read so far


have recently read..

D.H. Lawrence - Etruscan Places
Carlo Levi - Christ stopped at Eboli