Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i am *not* reading the new Dan Brown, however someone linked this page of "The Lost Symbol and The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown's 20 worst sentences" in one of the discussion threads, so i am reading that, and it is HILARIOUS.

:teameetkeyboardyetagain:

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by benham

Well I'm reading Harry Bosch on my PDA because genius here bought The Lost Symbol for the wife and now my Sony has been hijacked.

further proof that dan brown will be the downfall of civilisation and litterature ?

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

:teameetkeyboardyetagain:

just doing my bit to keep your keyboard well-lubricated.

[MelC]

Life is happily paralleling art as I read "The Reader." - well except that so far the plot does not parallel my life, only the title, just to be clear for those who have read it.

Mel

[neilmarr]

As a full time fiction editor, I read for a living. Must confess, though, that since I got my hands on a wee ebook reader back in June (PRS-505), my 'recreational' reading has been quadrupled and is enormous fun. Just couldn't abide paperbacks and hardbacks in bed, which is the only time I get to read without fussing about whether I can improve every line presented. I bet chefs feel the same when they go for a meal at a strange restaurant.

A couple of recent reads I'd heartily recommend are Ken Follett's superb medieval fictions (with sound historical research), *The Pillars of the Earth* (a re-read for me to jog my memory for the follow up) *World Without End*. Both meaty, satisfying reads.

Also re-visited Twain with my reader -- his *Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc* and also *Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court*. Both superbly researched and beautifully written, and rippling with Mark Twain wit and insight. Public domain, by the way, so they're free downloads.

Re-read another public domain favourite, JM Barrie's hilarious short story collection of pipe-smoking folk (I am among their number) *My Lady Nicotine*. It's a scream.

Picked up a couple of self-published novels from the net to encourage their authors. Won't go into detail because -- like so much that hasn't gone through a rigorous selection process and thorough editing -- they were unfinishable codswallop.

And talking of rubbish, I picked up the ebook version of Dan Brown's *Lost Symbol* on Wednesday (call it research), finished it Thursday night, and bemoaned the waste of precious reading time. A very poor effort. His earlier books -- though by no means high literature -- packed some drive. *Lost Symbol* is a damp squib. It never takes off, just fizzles out.

So I've just downed tools for the week and am hunting around now for something to see me through the night and my Sunday off (I can get away with that because my Monegasque wife, Skovia, has just laid hands on *Bridges of Madison County* in French.

Some of the suggestions here look pretty good. I'm thinking of re-acquainting myself with Eco. It's been too long.

Thanks for the great suggestions, folks. I'll be popping into this thread often for your advice and recommendations. Will let you know whenever I find a piece worthy of the reading.

Happy weekend. Neil

PS: If anyone wants to take a look at something different, check my sig line below for some cracking wee novels. N

[zerospinboson]

Originally Posted by zerospinboson

I bought A Hero of Our Time (Penguin Classics) just yesterday, and I have to say I'm very happy with the purchase already, after only reading the introductory essays. Heartily recommended!

To get back to this: While the introduction/preface are formatted just fine, the book itself has lots of missing closing quotes, doubled-up opening quotes, and even has opening quotes on lines that don't contain dialogue at all. I've submitted feedback to FW, but I haven't the faintest if/when they'll (Penguin) be fixing this. Disappointing.
That said, the book itself remains interesting to read.

[Katosen]

bouncing between;

World War: Tilting the Balance - Harry Turtledove
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
The Warrior's Apprentice - Lois McMaster Bujold
The Sighs of Suzumiya Haruhi - Nagaru Tanigawa (the fan translated version)

[Libby Cone]

With sentences like that, why is this bloke giving me crap about "nectary velvet"?

[Moejoe]

About to re-read: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson and Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson.

New for me: WE by Yevgeny Zamyatin, Monster by A. Lee Martinez.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Libby Cone

With sentences like that, why is this bloke giving me crap about "nectary velvet"?

I wouldn't worry about it. The review part of that blog seems to be a thinly-veiled come on for the paid editing services. And would you pay for the editing services of someone who uses the term 'About Us' to describe a page that is clearly about a person, singular? This is also repeated on the 'Contact Us' page, which in reality only lets you contact 'Rob' - The mysterious, missing-a-surname reviewer.

Critics, can't live with them, can't brutally murder them and dump the body in a lime filled shallow grave ten miles outside of Nottingham

[dreams]

Originally Posted by Libby Cone

With sentences like that, why is this bloke giving me crap about "nectary velvet"?

I wouldn't worry about it either. I found the way that he wrote the "review" so boring that I started to just skim over what he said. The end result was that he made me really want to read the book.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

And would you pay for the editing services of someone who uses the term 'About Us' to describe a page that is clearly about a person, singular? This is also repeated on the 'Contact Us' page,

First maybe he is royalty... which I believe refer to themselves in the plural.

...or maybe he is just using a web site or template that uses those terms and isn't tech savy enough to change them.

BOb

[pilotbob]

I jut bought _The Lens_ and _Verdant Skys_ at Steven Jordan Books and loaded them on the Kindle. Steve, thanks for giving us such an easy to use store with DRM free ebook files that we can read they way we want to.

BOb

[radamo]

Just started to read "The Cabinet of Curiosities" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Wow! What a great book. Highly recommended and I am only 1/3 of the way through it so far.
RA

[lilac_jive]

Now I'm reading Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie. I already read Mysterious Affair at Styles, and I just picked up from here The Secret Adversary and also grabbed the four that were on sale at Sony.

Yippee!

[Libby Cone]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

First maybe he is royalty... which I believe refer to themselves in the plural.

...or maybe he is just using a web site or template that uses those terms and isn't tech savy enough to change them.

BOb

I thought it was quite funny, actually, and didn't feel so bad about it until I saw what Dan Brown is getting away with. But you can't walk around in this (or many other) businesses with a sense of entitlement.