What are you reading at the moment? Recommendations welcome

[anaximander]

what I'm reading:
- Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Wallace & Burrows (2001)
- Memory, 3rd edition by Baddeley, Eysenck & Anderson (2020)
- Into the Woods - How stories work and why we tell them by John Yorke (2013)

Gotham and Memory are tomes that I can put my car on when I'm exchanging tires, whereas Into the Woods is a bit more accessible as paperback.

 

[Hannah Faoileán]

what I'm reading:
- Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Wallace & Burrows (2001)
- Memory, 3rd edition by Baddeley, Eysenck & Anderson (2020)
- Into the Woods - How stories work and why we tell them by John Yorke (2013)

Gotham and Memory are tomes that I can put my car on when I'm exchanging tires, whereas Into the Woods is a bit more accessible as paperback.

I read Into The Woods twice. I needed to because there's so much in there to absorb. And it helped that, in between, I had more writing experience under my belt, but it's a great how-to text, imo.

 

[Matthew WP]

Scalzi is always fun, and this is great!

The Kaiju Preservation Society

 

[wrightstuff]

Just finished Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending'. At one point I struggled a bit, wondering if I was grappling with an unreliable narrator, but it's not so simple...

The framing of the story as flashbacks, then current narration, can be trite, but he handles this exceptionally well. I've just started The Blind Assassin by Margaret Attwood, which compounds this by having a story within a story in addition...it seems I have a bit of a theme going.

Anyway, The Sense of an Ending pulls the skeletons out of the closet in a very satisfying way, and although short, feels substantial. I'm glad I read the novel, if only to get it off my 'to read' list, but not sure I can recommend it. It's brilliantly-written, and gathers all the threads in well, but the antagonist is too 'out there' to pull you into her world, which means that the denouement comes out of thin air, generating little sympathy other than conventional reactions to the situation.

 

[Sedayne]

Just finished Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending'. At one point I struggled a bit, wondering if I was grappling with an unreliable narrator, but it's not so simple...

The framing of the story as flashbacks, then current narration, can be trite, but he handles this exceptionally well. I've just started The Blind Assassin by Margaret Attwood, which compounds this by having a story within a story in addition...it seems I have a bit of a theme going.

Anyway, The Sense of an Ending pulls the skeletons out of the closet in a very satisfying way, and although short, feels substantial. I'm glad I read the novel, if only to get it off my 'to read' list, but not sure I can recommend it. It's brilliantly-written, and gathers all the threads in well, but the antagonist is too 'out there' to pull you into her world, which means that the denouement comes out of thin air, generating little sympathy other than conventional reactions to the situation.

I loved The Sense of an Ending.
I've read a few Julian Barnes novels, and although his writing can feel a bit dry sometimes (for me, he lacks the wit of contempories like Tremain and McEwan), there's a lot to learn from it.

And I quite like stories that head to an earlier timeline before bringing us back.

 

[wrightstuff]

I loved The Sense of an Ending.
I've read a few Julian Barnes novels, and although his writing can feel a bit dry sometimes (for me, he lacks the wit of contempories like Tremain and McEwan), there's a lot to learn from it.

And I quite like stories that head to an earlier timeline before bringing us back.

I appreciated and was impressed by the novel. However, I don't think it's for everyone, for the reasons I gave. It will not surprise you that I also appreciate McEwan's novels.

 

[Sedayne]

It will not surprise you that I also appreciate McEwan's novels.

Yeah, McEwan's never fails. Looking forward to his new one later this year.

 

[Hannah Faoileán]

Just finished Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Crouther (YA). Oh, my! The best book I've read in ages. Who'd have thought a story told with so much humour could be so utterly utterly emotive? My eyes are burning with the tears I've cried through Act 3: tears of anguish, tears of tension, tears of - well, I won't tell you. You'll have to read it for yourself.

 

[RK Wallis]

I just finished White Fang by Jack London and even tough the style is over 115 years old, the story is rock solid and a snippet into history.

 

[Claire G]

I'm reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation on the recommendation of @Trey to help with the opening of my WIP. Thanks, Trey xx

 

[Trey]

I'm reading The secret Hours by Mick Herron. One of the best opening pages i have read in a very long time.

 

[David Newrick]

I am currently reading The Way We Live Now, an 800+ page novel by Anthony Trollope a true giant of literature. Half way through this novel is a clear departure for the elderly Trollope with some seriously cynical and horrible characters. It also delves into the abuse of aristocratic titles and privilege just as my own novel Scenes From A Dying Planet does. Well worth a read.

 

[E G Logan]

For anyone seeking possible comps for psychological thrillers, THE LAST TRUTHS WE TOLD by Holly Watt is an interesting subject. [Sorry: this title was confused previously. There are about four in all very similar titles.]

Its pluses include: strong, well-differentiated characters, a catch-your-breath opening, a (largely) convincing plot, gradually unravelled, and, above all, an absolutely cracking pace which kept me happily (!) turning the pages until much too late at night. I'm afraid I did guess 'whodunit' about a quarter of the way in, but I think that was something of a fluke. It wasn't that obvious and even very close to the end it still wasn't entirely clear.

But then, the last 55 or so pages. Aah.
Somehow this part managed to feel both long drawn-out and at the same time rushed, as if a huge amount was being shoe-horned into it. The author set quite a task for herself, with nine protagonists, with complicated – and changing – inter-relationships, and for the most part the plot held up. But when the villains side was revealed 'in their true colours', it was quite a sudden about-turn. Similarly for the 'side of the angels'.
I felt, too, that the rather bolted-on hints of the supernatural, and the 'tragic history repeating itself' in the final section represented unnecessary flavours in a by then rather dense cake.

 

[wrightstuff]

For anyone seeking possible comps for psychological thrillers, ALL THE LIES WE TOLD by Holly Watt is an interesting subject.

Its pluses include: strong, well-differentiated characters, a catch-your-breath opening, a (largely) convincing plot, gradually unravelled, and, above all, an absolutely cracking pace which kept me happily (!) turning the pages until much too late at night. I'm afraid I did guess 'whodunit' about a quarter of the way in, but I think that was something of a fluke. It wasn't that obvious and even very close to the end it still wasn't entirely clear.

But then, the last 55 or so pages. Aah.
Somehow this part managed to feel both long drawn-out and at the same time rushed, as if a huge amount was being shoe-horned into it. The author set quite a task for herself, with nine protagonists, with complicated – and changing – inter-relationships, and for the most part the plot held up. But when the villains side was revealed 'in their true colours', it was quite a sudden about-turn. Similarly for the 'side of the angels'.
I felt, too, that the rather bolted-on hints of the supernatural, and the 'tragic history repeating itself' in the final section represented unnecessary flavours in a by then rather dense cake.

Thank you - added to my 'to read' list.

 

[wrightstuff]

I've just read Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

For the uninitiated, it's about a female scientific researcher in the 50s, who finds herself the star host of a daytime cooking programme. The novel manages to cram just about every likely obstacle and hazard into the narrative. Having said that, I didn't find it too much, nor did it require too much suspension of disbelief. Perhaps I should declare my personal interest - my eldest daughter is a chemical engineer and environmental researcher, so I know that some things haven't changed as much as they should have done (in Singapore, anyway).

The style is somewhat flattened, which conveys the main character's personality effectively. It also allows for some wonderfully understated humour and social comment. Managing to maintain this for the full novel is impressive. Well, it would be impressive were it not that the final few chapters seem to have been written by someone else for a completely different novel, and lightly edited to use as the ending. I was so disappointed, as I'd been looking forward to finding out how the author would leave matters.

Definitely worth reading, but tread lightly.

 

[E G Logan]

final few chapters seem to have been written by someone else for a completely different novel, and lightly edited

I've seen reviews that suggested it had been edited quite hard ahead of publication. 'Seriously hacked about' was a phrase I remember.

 

[Sedayne]

I've just read Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

For the uninitiated, it's about a female scientific researcher in the 50s, who finds herself the star host of a daytime cooking programme. The novel manages to cram just about every likely obstacle and hazard into the narrative. Having said that, I didn't find it too much, nor did it require too much suspension of disbelief. Perhaps I should declare my personal interest - my eldest daughter is a chemical engineer and environmental researcher, so I know that some things haven't changed as much as they should have done (in Singapore, anyway).

The style is somewhat flattened, which conveys the main character's personality effectively. It also allows for some wonderfully understated humour and social comment. Managing to maintain this for the full novel is impressive. Well, it would be impressive were it not that the final few chapters seem to have been written by someone else for a completely different novel, and lightly edited to use as the ending. I was so disappointed, as I'd been looking forward to finding out how the author would leave matters.

Definitely worth reading, but tread lightly.

Lessons in Chemistry was the last novel I read before I started on my current WIP(s), about three years ago now. Hugely motivating.

 

[wrightstuff]

Lessons in Chemistry was the last novel I read before I started on my current WIP(s), about three years ago now. Hugely motivating.

Is it relevant to your work?

 

[Sedayne]

Is it relevant to your work?

Indirectly, I think it is. Although I haven't dared use it as a comp.

The story isn't similar, and mine is set a couple of decades later, but it made me suspect there's an interest in historical fiction set in the second half of the 20th century.

More than that, as I was reading it, I heard a voice similar to mine, and with that, it gave me voice. If that makes any sense at all.

 

[Sedayne]

I think the other thing, is that here was on older writer with a hugely successful debut novel. And that was inspiring for a woman like me.

 

[wrightstuff]

Indirectly, I think it is. Although I haven't dared use it as a comp.

The story isn't similar, and mine is set a couple of decades later, but it made me suspect there's an interest in historical fiction set in the second half of the 20th century.

More than that, as I was reading it, I heard a voice similar to mine, and with that, it gave me voice. If that makes any sense at all.

I think you're right. The last gasp of the twentieth century was a quarter of a century ago. The novels of Tony Parsons, Nick Hornby et al now feel like period pieces.

I know what you mean about a similar voice. I read John le Carre's final novel (published posthumously) a few months ago, and found an echo of my voice. I don't mean that I write like him, just that there was un underlying attitude and world-view. In that case, the plot was sufficiently similar to the novel I had already completed that I panicked!

Interestingly, I caught echoes of the flattened style of that same work in Lessons in Chemistry.

 

[wrightstuff]

I think the other thing, is that here was on older writer with a hugely successful debut novel. And that was inspiring for a woman like me.

I'm finding that quite a few of the more recent novels that I like were written by novelists who had significant careers before writing fiction (notably as journalists, screenwriters and copywriters), which I also find encouraging.