What are you reading at the moment?

Lixarto

I gave up drugs and spent a couple of years doing PKD.

Jalapeno

EricTheWeary said:

Lee Child ( that the right way round?) was on Radio 2 this week, he is an Aston Villa fan and apparently uses Villa player's names for characters in his book. He has also written in fan's names. That seemed quite cool. Slightly tempted to try one of the books.

There's 19 of the Jacl Reacher books - warning they're addictive !

xSkarloey

@imalone

I like PLF too. "Silence" is a gem of a book.

The Broken Road is good too. I finished that recently and I think the editors just about got away with it though I don't like the title.

I admit though that I find it typical but also cynical and sad that both Road and the biography of PLF came out realtively soon after his death. Yet he struggled with Road for at least 20 years. Why the hell didn't his publishers offer him practical help, so he could have published it in his lifetime?

Rant over I'm doing my usual and
have several on the go concurrently:

Tolstoy- Kreutzer Sonata
TE Lawrence- 7 Pillars of Wisdom
Huysmanns- A rebours
Kurt Vonnegut- Bluebeard
Ted Simon- Dreaming of Jupiter

Skipped

Just finished Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust  by Ken Scott.

It is very detailed but in non technical way. He is obsessed with drum sounds and talks about it a lot, and talks about winning over many drummers when they hear what he has done. He also goes into great detail about the sound of the first album he did with Supertramp (Crime of the Century). I don't know the album (I only know about their singles) but I am going to listen to it after finishing this post!

Obviously there is a lot about working with Bowie and Mick Ronson. A great read.

mudslide73

The Nowhere Men by Michael Calvin - behind the scenes in the world of football scouting/analysis. 

fretmeister

Jalapeno said:

EricTheWeary said:

Lee Child ( that the right way round?) was on Radio 2 this week, he is an Aston Villa fan and apparently uses Villa player's names for characters in his book. He has also written in fan's names. That seemed quite cool. Slightly tempted to try one of the books.

There's 19 of the Jacl Reacher books - warning they're addictive !

Is there? Blimey. I've only read the first one!

fatherjack

I'm working my way through the Jack Reacher books at the moment.  Decent page-turners, but the style of the first one nearly put me off.

Jack Reacher book are mostly written in the third person, but some are first person.  The first one (Killing Floor) is in the first person, and it starts with loads of really short sentences, as if it was dictated by a fifty-year-old with high blood pressure at the closing stages of a marathon.

DrJazzTap

Finally finished the Miles Davis autobiography....hmm not exactly his biggest fan.

 I'm halfway through "The Girl in Hitchcock's shower". Regarding the mystery of what happened to Janet Leighs nude body double from Psycho. Not really enjoying it, scanned some amazon reviews and they are all really negative. By all accounts no mystery involved, and lots of schoolboy lusting of the model by the author. It's the same author who wrote about the Zodiac killer. Chances are I'll end up ditching it. I've read about the filming of the famous shower scene (and that was the only thing that i was interested in really).

I've stoppped buying books at the moment. Simply because I have such a back log to read. Have to stop myself from buying new ones at the moment.

xSkarloey

@DrJazzTap

That Miles autobiography is one of tbose odd examples of someone doing a hatchet job on themselves.

Have you read Iain Carr's biography of Davis? It's a superb book IMO.

equalsql

'Tracks' by Robyn Davidson.
Was mesmorised by the recent film starring Mia Wasikowska. It was an excellent movie and the book is even better. The best travel type book I've read for many years.

jonnyburgo

Read Eeny Meeny on holiday, it was a good page turner cops and grimey murders thing

Read A kestrel for a knave too for the 3rd time. I loves that book it reminds me of my childhood.

imalone

Skarloey said:

@imalone

I like PLF too. "Silence" is a gem of a book.

The Broken Road is good too. I finished that recently and I think the editors just about got away with it though I don't like the title.

I admit though that I find it typical but also cynical and sad that both Road and the biography of PLF came out realtively soon after his death. Yet he struggled with Road for at least 20 years. Why the hell didn't his publishers offer him practical help, so he could have published it in his lifetime?

He was a notorious perfectionist who revised every sentence till it was perfect, I think he'd have released The Broken Road when he was ready. Due to its biographical nature I guess Artemis Cooper would have worked on it and the biography at the same time, have just discovered she edited Words of Mercury with him ten years before, so at least they got someone in who had some involvement.

DrJazzTap

 @skarloey

No I haven't. I really struggled with the Miles one, it was like the most uncomfortable second course. I struggled to muster the enthusiasm to motor through the last 80 pages. Finally did that in one day. Overall I don't mind salty characters. But some of his bs was a little hard to stomach. Left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
Part of me thinks, well he was a musician that's what he should be judged on, not neglecting to spend christmas day with his grand children etc. He just didn't portray himself in the best light.
I will check out that other book though. Decided to either start reading the Dave Grohl book or the book about Phil Spector.

xSkarloey

@imalone

I'm sure you'll like TBR. It's laregly based on a manuscript/ typescript written in the early 60's but stands up very well with Gifts/ Woods+Water.

I reckon PLF could have got it finished, but the death of John Murray his publisher robbed him of a guide and ally.

I really need to work my way back to his books on Greece (Mani and Roumeli).

dogload

Lixarto said:

I gave up drugs and spent a couple of years doing PKD.

Possibly inducing worse psychosis.

Lixarto

It was the closest we had to rehab in those days.

Philly_Q

I've been reading a lot of Shirley Jackson.

d8m

Finished 'Hammer Of The Gods' last night.

 It started well but from about halfway through started to lose momentum.

Philly_Q

Robert Aickman.

PolarityMan

I'm trying the void trilogy by Peter Hamilton again. For some reason jsut really can;t get into his writing style. Im over halfway into the first one this time round which is a record.