what book you reading at the moment? (incl poll)

[Bunk]

"Cannery Row" is brilliant. Only read it myself recently.

Regarding Bkowski - I like all his of Henry Chinaski-led books (including "Factotum") but if you want to move closer to Bukowski at the top of his game, even though Hank is his thinly-veiled avatar, then I would recommend "Ham On Rye".

"South Of No North", "Hot Water Music" and "The Mathematics Of The Breath & The Way" are all great reads if you want to dip in and out of Bukowski's world without committing to a novel.

There's a few posthumous collections of his work - "On Drinking", "On Writing", etc... but forget them - they're fairly crap.

Nice wan. Will check Ham on Rye.

 

[Crisp Sandwich]

Nice wan. Will check Ham on Rye.

You can usually pick up his books (the Ebury and Cannongate edtions) for about a fiver in places like Vibes & Scribes. If you're not too interested in the quality of the paper - or cover design.

 

[Bunk]

You can usually pick up his books (the Ebury and Cannongate edtions) for about a fiver in places like Vibes & Scribes. If you're not too interested in the quality of the paper - or cover design.

Not even remotely bothered. As long as the words are good, I'm happy.

 

[dukeroyale]

i’m making an awful go of sticking with one book lately. that said, i’m gripped by all quiet on the easter front right now. it was staring me down in the library a few days ago as i was dropping other books back so i had to take it.

it reminds me a lot of a day in the life of ivan denisovitch which i read once and donkey’s years ago so maybe i forget the tone.

it’s easy to see why it’s a classic. i haven’t seen either film but i’ll probably have a look at the latest one once i’m finished with the book.

 

[Two Pour Bore]

A shmalleen book on colour theory.

 

[Roxetten]

Just finished "The Mystery Of The Disappearing Cat" by Enid Blyton. 10/10.

I'm going to pick up something by Chomsky in the near future, probably "Manufacturing Consent", because I never read it and know it's one one of his most important books.

 

[El Guapo]

Finished The Bee Sting. Enjoyed it for the most part. The ending...... surely too contrived. There does seem to be a list of boxes to tick though for most novelists these days, including the same sex sex one.

Just finished the Bee Sting

I thought it was great. I liked the shifting perspective with each Narrator more unreliable than the last your sympathies shift all over.

Agree on the story but that was nearly besides the point.

I thought it nailed the various Characters of celtic Tiger and recession Ireland.

 

[Matlock]

The truth about Ruby Cooper- Liz Nugent. I generally enjoy her books. She writes nasty characters really well, and this is no exception. Elements of it didn't work for me, which I can't go into without spoilers. Overall though I liked it. 7/10

Old Parish- Ciarán Murphy- Second captains dude's book about the summer he went playing club hurling in Waterford. Very easy read, I started and finished it in just over an hour. Definitely a love letter to parochial GAA. Worth a read, but you'd want to be interested in hurling. 6/10

 

[El Guapo]

Just finished "Mother Night" by Kurt Vonnegut

It was the March Pick for Jesselnik Book Club.

It's written as a confession/memoir/defence of a ficitious American version of Lord Haw-Haw who also happened to be a double agent working secretly for the allies. He would broadcast coded messages by coughing or stuttering over certain words. But never knew the intent, the audience, the cypher or the impact of these messages.

None of these are spoilers they are dealt with in the first few pages

Really quick read you'd knock it out in a few hours.

To say he's a morally ambiguous character is an understatement. He is heralded by American Nazi sympathisers as the the perfect Nazi who inspired a generation and despised by everyone else as the official US government position is they "won't confirm or deny" he worked for them

I thought it was brilliant. Dark and Funny.

They made a movie out of it in 1996 starring Nick Nolte. I'll have to check it out

 

[Channa]

Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria - Loubna Mrie - 9780349013350

Loubna Mrie was raised a staunch Syrian Alawite, the same sect as then President Hafez al-Assad. Her mother's father helped plan the coup that saw Hafez seize power in 1970 and bring the Alawites out of hiding and into a position of total control. Her father was intimately involved in Hafez's...

www.omahonys.ie

Just finished A Hymn To Life by Gisele Pelicot - even more depraved than you could imagine.