What are you reading at the moment? Recommendations welcome

[HannahCRose]

I'm currently reading Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee. I was lucky enough to be sent an ARC, and it's just beautiful. Her writing is really lovely and I'm so invested in the characters.

 

[Seth Lynch]

I'm currently reading Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee. I was lucky enough to be sent an ARC, and it's just beautiful. Her writing is really lovely and I'm so invested in the characters.

Cunning women looks interesting. I'm about 3/4 of the way through The Little Stranger by Sara Waters, she's an excellent writer I'd certainly recommend it.

 

[Hannah F]

Just read "The Good People" by Hannah Kent. Historical fiction that delves into the strong beliefs involving faeries in rural West of Ireland in the early nineteenth century. Both disturbing and fascinating. A very atmospheric read.

 

[Paul Angliss]

It's not that I'm stuck for reading anything at the moment, but it's nice to know what Litopians are reading - might provide valuable material for a writer or a pleasant diversion away from the genre s/he are writing in. I was going to say 'Bookshelf,' but that's recently been mentioned as a possible scam. But it would be quite nice to peruse our own 'Litopian Library' as an accompaniment to local bookshops/Amazon, etc.
Someone in the Welcome Lounge mentioned writing about walking the entire UK coast with his dog, and I asked whether he'd read The Salt Path and Five Hundred Mile Walkies.
No need to write a review, just author, title and genre (if not apparent).

I've just finished Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis a YA Horror. I'm now reading Colin Wilson's Ritual in the Dark (the terrifying thriller of murder most macabre) and for the past few months I've been dipping into Folk Horror Revival: Field Studies, Essays and Interview -Various Authors. The latter has been brilliant for ideas with my WiP and it led to me reading Colin Wilson who I'm enjoying and may never have otherwise discovered.
Anyway, just floating it out there.

Hi Galadriel. I've made a start on Moby Dick, which is more amusing than I had imagined, although I have been told it gets quite nautically technical. Nautical but nice. If you fancy an uplifting non-fiction read about the economic future of the planet, I thoroughly recommend Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth. It's very accessible, challenging classical economic theory and the blind pursuit of economic growth. Solutions abound.

 

[Jonny]

I've never read any Stephen King, unless you count On Writing. This year my reading has been mostly via audio books when I'm on my daily walk and I recently got The Green Mile.

Almost finished and it's really blown me away. The combination of King's writing, the story and the narrator (Frank Muller) is sublime. The claustrophobic atmosphere of Death Row is beautifully portrayed. The interaction between the characters is wonderful. The characters themselves are so well-rendered and lifelike that you could invite them to the pub. Not a single two-dimensional cypher to be seen anywhere.

Cliché Klaxon: I don't want it to end. I really don't. Can't recommend it highly enough.

 

[KateESal]

I've recently finished our Pop-Up Submissions panellist, Emma Robinson's latest His First Wife's Secret and I have to say, I was properly gripped. Excellent slice-of-live emotional drama, highly recommended. Well-drawn, believable characters, well-observed and highly readable. AND it's on offer for £1.99 on Kindle at the moment.

Just started another panellist's book — Jack Byrne's Under The Bridge. I'm enjoying it so far

 

[SarahC]

I accidentally read two "sliding doors" stories in a row. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, which I've seen recommended lots, but which I found quite pedestrian and uninspiring I'm afraid to say, especially compared to what came after...

...To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - which is a pretty technical exploration of the butterfly effect/chaos theory as told through a highly entertaining romp in the silliness of Victorian Oxford a la Three Men in a Boat (hence the title). I don't know how she came up with it, but it was very original and enjoyable. (Note also the very brief mention of a 2018 Pandemic even through the book was written 20 years ago...)

Also just finished Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan. If anyone likes Sally Rooney's stuff, check this out, it's very similar.

 

[Hannah F]

I accidentally read two "sliding doors" stories in a row. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, which I've seen recommended lots, but which I found quite pedestrian and uninspiring I'm afraid to say, especially compared to what came after...

Oh! I loved "The Midnight Library". I was so willing her to live! I found it a clever twist to Sylvia Plath's tree-branch metaphor.
Horses for courses, I guess.

 

[RK Wallis]

I accidentally read two "sliding doors" stories in a row. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, which I've seen recommended lots, but which I found quite pedestrian and uninspiring I'm afraid to say, especially compared to what came after...

...To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - which is a pretty technical exploration of the butterfly effect/chaos theory as told through a highly entertaining romp in the silliness of Victorian Oxford a la Three Men in a Boat (hence the title). I don't know how she came up with it, but it was very original and enjoyable. (Note also the very brief mention of a 2018 Pandemic even through the book was written 20 years ago...)

Also just finished Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan. If anyone likes Sally Rooney's stuff, check this out, it's very similar.

I loved it too, great concept. A different style than I'm used to but I was totally sucked in for the journey.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I’ve been working my way through a collection of Zen and pre-Zen writings called Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

Compiled by Paul Reps, a renowned haiku poet, most of the short stories are flying way over my head, leaving me looking like the chap on the cover of my 1976 Pelican edition.

To add to my inscrutability, I’ve just acquired a copy of Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing.

 

[Hannah F]

"Hamnet" by Maggie O'Farrell. I love Maggie's use of language and this is no exception. I did, however, feel like an outsider, watching a beautiful painting form and change, rather than being immersed so much as to be part of the story. The exceptions being the chapters around Hamnet's death. Oh! What heart gripping writing!

 

[Julie]

I've recently finished a memoir by Guardian journalist, Alys Fowler: Hidden Nature: A Voyage of Discovery. Her journey along Birmingham's canal ways in a blow up kayak (much of which are abandoned or border on old industrial sites), where wildlife and flora finds ways of living, even flourishing in difficult terrain is allegorical of her own inward to outward journey from accepting she is a gay woman coming out of a straight marriage.

I picked it up because I love nature writing, and this doesn't disappoint. Many gorgeous, evocative lines: " Amid the pollution it was still possible to detect the smell of a forgotten August when, in childhood, summer stretched out and everything bleached itself in the slanting light." Or, " For an hour or so I belonged to nothing but the water. I was tethered to no more than the journey."

Having myself, grown up in Birmingham, and being familiar with some of the old canals, I found myself longing to return to the place of my birth and at least, go and seek out the old towpaths.

A really beautiful book. My only quibble is the very interesting part about eels - it's unclear whether the anecdote is her story or her friend who is conversant with eels. Did you know that in medieval times, eels were so common in UK that they were used as currency?

 

[Hannah F]

I've recently finished a memoir by Guardian journalist, Alys Fowler: Hidden Nature: A Voyage of Discovery. Her journey along Birmingham's canal ways in a blow up kayak (much of which are abandoned or border on old industrial sites), where wildlife and flora finds ways of living, even flourishing in difficult terrain is allegorical of her own inward to outward journey from accepting she is a gay woman coming out of a straight marriage.

I picked it up because I love nature writing, and this doesn't disappoint. Many gorgeous, evocative lines: " Amid the pollution it was still possible to detect the smell of a forgotten August when, in childhood, summer stretched out and everything bleached itself in the slanting light." Or, " For an hour or so I belonged to nothing but the water. I was tethered to no more than the journey."

Having myself, grown up in Birmingham, and being familiar with some of the old canals, I found myself longing to return to the place of my birth and at least, go and seek out the old towpaths.

A really beautiful book. My only quibble is the very interesting part about eels - it's unclear whether the anecdote is her story or her friend who is conversant with eels. Did you know that in medieval times, eels were so common in UK that they were used as currency?

1 stick of (25) eels = 2pence (approximately £6 or $9US). [yuk!]

 

[Julie]

1 stick of (25) eels = 2pence (approximately £6 or $9US). [yuk!]

Is that what they call them - a stick? Eew! sounds like rigor mortis. Fowler says "in the early 2000s eels could fetch up to £600 a kilo!
I also never knew that they all originate in the Sargasso Sea, and that's where they return to spawn.

 

[Hannah F]

Is that what they call them - a stick? Eew! sounds like rigor mortis. Fowler says "in the early 2000s eels could fetch up to £600 a kilo!
I also never knew that they all originate in the Sargasso Sea, and that's where they return to spawn.

Wow! I didn't know that either! That'd be why they're all so big and scary by the time they get here.

 

[Tracey (T)]

"Hamnet" by Maggie O'Farrell. I love Maggie's use of language and this is no exception. I did, however, feel like an outsider, watching a beautiful painting form and change, rather than being immersed so much as to be part of the story. The exceptions being the chapters around Hamnet's death. Oh! What heart gripping writing!

I’m struggling with this book and wondered if it was just the wrong book for me at the moment. It’s interesting that you’ve commented on feeling like an outsider because that’s exactly how i feel and as a result i don’t care enough. Usually i love Maggie O’Farrell but this one just isn’t working for me so far.

 

[Hannah F]

I’m struggling with this book and wondered if it was just the wrong book for me at the moment. It’s interesting that you’ve commented on feeling like an outsider because that’s exactly how i feel and as a result i don’t care enough. Usually i love Maggie O’Farrell but this one just isn’t working for me so far.

Do read on to the Hamnet's death chapters. They have that heart-gripping quality of her other work.

 

[Paul Mackay]

Currently reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Off to a decent start. Reminds me of the film The Village but with zombies.

 

[Jonny]

Another Chris Brookmyre for me: A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil. A fascinating crime thriller switching between an ensemble cast of kids, progressing from day one of primary school, then on to secondary, meshed with their early middle-age, all caught up in a murder investigation to a greater or lesser extent.

The narrative follows two timelines. The kids now as adults and then as five-year-olds onwards. It's deftly plotted and full of dark black Scottish humour. A masterclass in the portrayal of the interactions and power dynamics between kids in school and how that shapes their futures.

He's rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. This is the third of his books I've read now and he has yet to put a foot wrong for me.

Warning - If bad language is not your thing, then perhaps give it a swerve but you'd really be missing something. It's not gratuitous but blisteringly authentic.

 

[SarahC]

Over the last few weeks I've been on what can only be described as a frenzy of reading since our local library opened again. Some good stuff in there if anyone is looking for something to read:

- Adrian Tchaikovsky - Children of Time - if you like evolutionary biology and/or far future space travel sci-fi. This one stayed with me - a unique and fascinating concept, well done. Also read The Doors of Eden by him which I didn't enjoy as much. Preferred Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's Long Earth series for my "parallel worlds" fix.
- The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue - a nice wee afternoon read, nothing too taxing, nicely told story
- High Fire by Eoin Colfer - book about a Flashdance-loving, martini-drinking dragon set in the Louisiana swamps. Good fun and has one of the most psychopathic villains I've read in a long time
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin - a short portrait about what it was to be a woman in late 1800s Louisiana - short but perfectly formed
- Circe by Madeline Miller - retelling of the Greek myth of Circe. I'm not usually into historical fiction or mythology, but I tore through this one, increasing my knowledge of Greek mythology by about 4000%.
- The Stranger Times by CK McDonnell - Pratchett-esque romp through a Manchester where odd things are going down - some laugh out loud bits

Currently reading The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells - it's short but I can't read it at night owing to the terrible nightmares it induces. If I had to recommend one book that I've recently read it would definitely be Children of Time - even if you aren't into sci-fi (I'm not particularly) - it's just so intelligent and original.

 

[RK Wallis]

Another Chris Brookmyre for me: A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil. A fascinating crime thriller switching between an ensemble cast of kids, progressing from day one of primary school, then on to secondary, meshed with their early middle-age, all caught up in a murder investigation to a greater or lesser extent.

That sounds a similar format to Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party (which I just finished), even set in Scotland, but at a remote holiday destination for New Years Eve. Lots of red herrings. I'll have to try Brookmyre too.

The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue - a nice wee afternoon read, nothing too taxing, nicely told story

That's my comp title Love the poetry hidden in this.

Circe by Madeline Miller

Loved that!

 

[RK Wallis]

Just finished Writing Unforgettable Characters: How to Create Story People Who Jump Off the Page by James Scott Bell - old ideas and some new ones too, and Guards! Guards by Terry Pratchett - too many funny lines, I love his humour! Now reading Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel and it's the best omniscient I've read, you can see the strategy.

 

[RK Wallis]

Started listening to The Green Mile by Stephen King

 

[Tracey (T)]

Just finished Writing Unforgettable Characters: How to Create Story People Who Jump Off the Page by James Scott Bell - old ideas and some new ones too, and Guards! Guards by Terry Pratchett - too many funny lines, I love his humour! Now reading Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel and it's the best omniscient I've read, you can see the strategy.

Read Clan of the Cave Bear so many many years ago and loved it

 

[Tracey (T)]

Do read on to the Hamnet's death chapters. They have that heart-gripping quality of her other work.

I persevered Hannah and thank goodness, cried buckets, completely involved in the story. I should have known as i’ve loved everything else that Maggie O’Farrell has written

 

[Jonny]

Started listening to The Green Mile by Stephen King

Just listened to it last month. Is it this version? If yes, Frank Muller's narration is spellbinding and stunning. Together with the writing and the story itself, it's been my book of 2021.

 

[Jonny]

I've gone highbrow and have been listeneing to James Joyce's Ulysses on my walks. Now 7 hours in and I'm hooked. In no small measure thanks to its wonderful narrator, Jim Norton.

But it was a hard buy in. I started two years ago when I got the complete unabridged version (all 27 hours plus) on an Audible Daily Deal £2.99 (UK) But I just couldn't 'get it' and packed in after trying my best.

Then again about a year ago with the same outcome. But this time I crashed through the wall. It somehow bit me and I'm now wallowing in it. The writing is phenomenal. Stunning at times, waspish at others and so often hilarious. Joyce takes few prisoners when he has a target in his sights .

Jim Norton's mastery of the accents, turns of phrase and impeccable portrayal of the Irish way of speaking could not be bettered. Peerless. If you are familiar with the excellent sitcom, Father Ted, you may know him as Ted's oftentime boss from hell, Bishop Len Brennan.

Give it a go if you see this version on a special. What have you got to lose? And what's more, think of all that swanky literary drivel you'll be able to trot out at your own first big book interview.

 

[RK Wallis]

Just listened to it last month. Is it this version? If yes, Frank Muller's narration is spellbinding and stunning. Together with the writing and the story itself, it's been my book of 2021.

That’s the one. I can’t tell who’s more brilliant, King or Muller!

 

[Jonny]

That’s the one. I can’t tell who’s more brilliant, King or Muller!

Absolutely. It's a real treat from every angle.

 

[RK Wallis]

Absolutely. It's a real treat from every angle.

Thanks for the recommendation, Jonny!