Who's reading what?

[Milum]

I was reminded by Paul's comments that the break from the course has
given us all an oppurtunity to cath up on our reading. Was wandering
what people are reading now, and wether the course has enhanced their
reading experience.

I read The Damned United recently, David Peace's novel about the 44
days tenure of manager Brian Clough at Leeds United. I really enjoyed
the first-person narration and the way in which parts of the book were
very poetical. The story alternates between the sixties (when Clough
was starting out in management) and the 70's (when he was extremely
famous). Still under influence from the course, I found myself looking
at how the author maintained the character's voice and juggled a huge
cast of real-life characters.

I got to see the film version on Sunday night as well, which I enjoyed
just as much. It still felt like the book, but that may be down to the
brilliant performance by Michael Sheen.

[Emma Powell]

Hi

I've just finished reading Wide Sargasso Sea, the prequel to Jane
Eyre. I was really disappointed with it. The characters were so flat
and the narrative just tedious. Mr Rochester, who is never named in
the book, was completely dull (his character is so much more vibrant
in J.Eyre). Only the last few pages of the book, where Antoinette/
Bertha is taken to England and locked in Mr Rochester's home, were
interesting and thought provoking.

[Jane Dey]

Hi

I'm reading Michele Roberts 'mud stories of sex and love' not that
it's salacious but she has a beautiful and image forming way with
words which reveals her part-French heritage perhaps. It is full of
observation and quite metaphoric. She seems to be able to select the
right detail to create meaning though watch out boys, it's writen from
a very female point of view. For lighter reading I've just finished
'Nurse on Call' by Edith Cotterill which is autobiographical and set
in the 1950s - very funny and sad at times. It totally transports you
to the era. Would never have considered autobiography until A215!

Jane

> > brilliant performance by Michael Sheen.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Paul Loebig]

Recent Reading:

Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough.
A real labour-of-love timeline of the American gangster era which was
mainly 1933-4 and how they interacted with one another ... think of
the recent Johnny Depp as Dillinger film, and then knowing how
Pierpoint, Van Meter and the Barker Gang dovetail in, and how Bonnie
and Clyde were never famous outside of Texas until the film.

The Whisperers by John Connolly.
A dark thriller that one reviewer said was so literary that one forgot
it was a dark thriller. Much like A Phiolosophical Investigation by
Philip Kerr that lifted the genre into other territories, though I
would recommend anyone new to Connolly to start with Every Dead Thing.

The three published Steig Larsson novels. There is a fourth his
partner won't release, and he planned ten, but died prematurely.
Persevere through the opening unnecessary chapter of The Girl With The
Dragon Tattoo that sets the scene and you will be richly rewarded.
Each novel just gets better.

Breakfast Of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut.
Anything by this guy is a masterclass. He makes writing look so
deceptively simple that you want to try yourself – and then discover
why it isn't!

Male readers might like to discover Robert Crais if they haven't
already, though female readers apparently love the enigmatic Joe Pike
as well. Modern LA Private Eye
genre, but L.A. Requiem is bordering on a superlative classic of its
kind.

Fancy trying something new? Put your unwanted books on
ReadItSwapIt.co.uk and try out a few readers' swaps you might
otherwise have overlooked.