Reading Books For Pleasure

[FurryFury]

In my Fetlife book group, The Kinkster's Book Club, we are reading Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce this month among others. It's a noir. Have you read Malcolm Pryce? This will be my first book of his.

Hard crime noir is my thing (I write white trash noir) but I've exhausted the fund of good noir, so now I'm reading John O'Hara's old novels and short stories. From the 20s - 60s he wrote a premium grade of middle class porn where the women were ladies, the men were prosperous executives and fucked the wives/daughters of their friends. The girls who go to Smith and Vassar are the same as the ones who serve donuts and work at the school cafeteria, but the Smith girls are more interesting. Liz Taylor and Paul Newman filmed many of O'Hara's novels. I think Marilyn Monroe did one.

 

[desertslave]

After a 7-book run of 'smut' I'm back to SF. Currently partway into The Selling of Suzee Delight by Holly Lisle. Sounds like porn, huh? It's not! Holly created this world in Enter the Death Circus (a nifty/creepy bit of world building), and this second installment is a fascinating continuation. Deliciously disturbing.

 

[seela]

Yes, we don't hear that much about that part of the world in the news.
I thought about that when I was reading Bolano's 2666.

Yep. Sad but true. We mostly hear about the drug war and people getting killed, but the human trafficking angle is pretty much neglected.

I'm currently reading the very first Finnish novel ever written. So far it's delightful, but the frilly style might beat me in the end. I'm not usually a fan of it.

 

[desertslave]

Yes, we don't hear that much about that part of the world in the news.
I thought about that when I was reading Bolano's 2666.

Living so close to the border is a very different experience. We hear about the human trafficking through/out of Mexico at least weekly.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Living so close to the border is a very different experience. We hear about the human trafficking through/out of Mexico at least weekly.

I can imagine.

One of my friends does a lot of his post doc work in that part of the world and he often comments on how different the coverage in our papers is, depending on what part of the world the news are from.
Then he usually spams me with articles in Spanish and demands I read them.
My Spanish is limited to "Vamos a la playa" phrases and things that seem similar to my limited French or Italian.
The things we do for our friends.

Yep. Sad but true. We mostly hear about the drug war and people getting killed, but the human trafficking angle is pretty much neglected.

I'm currently reading the very first Finnish novel ever written. So far it's delightful, but the frilly style might beat me in the end. I'm not usually a fan of it.

Now you had me googling again.
Seven Brothers?

 

[seela]

Now you had me googling again.
Seven Brothers?

No, Murgrönan by Fredrika Wilhelmina Carstens. Seven Brothers was the first one to be published in Finnish though.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

In my Fetlife book group, The Kinkster's Book Club, we are reading Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce this month among others. It's a noir. Have you read Malcolm Pryce? This will be my first book of his.

Never heard of him till now. I'm curious!

I ordered a copy of the above as its reputed to be in the style of Raymond Chandler.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[IrisAlthea]

No, Murgrönan by Fredrika Wilhelmina Carstens. Seven Brothers was the first one to be published in Finnish though.

Googling again.
Seven kids and a famous novel in 12 years.

 

[seela]

Googling again.
Seven kids and a famous novel in 12 years.

Add to that the women's right movement and charity work. She liked to keep busy.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Never heard of him till now. I'm curious!

I ordered a copy of the above as its reputed to be in the style of Raymond Chandler.

Thanks for the tip.

Now I'm curious too. I like Chandler.

Add to that the women's right movement and charity work. She liked to keep busy.

Well, I suppose she needed the reason to get out of the house.

 

[FurryFury]

YW

Btw, tonight I read a noir story written by my oldest adult child that was very good. If it gets published I may recommend it one day!

Never heard of him till now. I'm curious!

I ordered a copy of the above as its reputed to be in the style of Raymond Chandler.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[FurryFury]

31.) A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz 4/5

This bizarre, funny, complex book was a good read for me. I just can't imagine how someone came to write it. I'm glad I read it. It was the Reader of the Month's choice at my Fetlife book club, the Kinkster's Book Club.

Amazon sez:

Meet the Deans

“The fact is, the whole of Australia despises my father more than any other man, just as they adore my uncle more than any other man. I might as well set the story straight about both of them . . .”

Heroes or Criminals?

Crackpots or Visionaries?

Families or Enemies?

“. . . Anyway, you know how it is. Every family has a story like this one.”



Most of his life, Jasper Dean couldn’t decide whether to pity, hate, love, or murder his certifiably paranoid father, Martin, a man who overanalyzed anything and everything and imparted his self-garnered wisdom to his only son. But now that Martin is dead, Jasper can fully reflect on the crackpot who raised him in intellectual captivity, and what he realizes is that, for all its lunacy, theirs was a grand adventure.
As he recollects the events that led to his father’s demise, Jasper recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking discoveries—about his infamous outlaw uncle Terry, his mysteriously absent European mother, and Martin’s constant losing battle to make a lasting mark on the world he so disdains. It’s a story that takes them from the Australian bush to the cafes of bohemian Paris, from the Thai jungle to strip clubs, asylums, labyrinths, and criminal lairs, and from the highs of first love to the lows of failed ambition. The result is a rollicking rollercoaster ride from obscurity to infamy, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends all their many shortcomings.
A Fraction of the Whole is an uproarious indictment of the modern world and its mores and the epic debut of the blisteringly funny and talented Steve Toltz.

 

[seela]

I finished Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) last night.

I liked it! It was a really light read, got some laugh-out-loud-laughs out of it too. It felt like I was watching The Mindy Project and reading a glossy magazine at the same time. I don't even like to read glossy magazines, but I still liked the book.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Someone here recommended ABERYSTWYTH: Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce to me.

I ordered it from Amazon and started reading it.

Its shit. Its not awful shit or bad shit, its shit in a boring sense. Like a LIT BDSM get together where all are ugly, stupid, and labile. Like my high school reunion that charged a fortune to get in the door and offered nothing to eat, drink, no band, nada. I wonder if Malcom Pryce was in charge of my reunion.

Don't waste your money.

 

[FurryFury]

Sounds fun!

I finished Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) last night.

I liked it! It was a really light read, got some laugh-out-loud-laughs out of it too. It felt like I was watching The Mindy Project and reading a glossy magazine at the same time. I don't even like to read glossy magazines, but I still liked the book.

 

[FurryFury]

Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce 2.75/ 5 was a strange noir book for me. First of all Wales is a very odd country to me and one that I feel some bit of disconnect to. All in all it was a decent read. I'm glad I read it. I just didn't love it though.

Amazon sez:

Schoolboys are disappearing all over Aberystwyth and nobody knows why. Louie Knight, the town's private investigator, soon realises that it is going to take more than a double ripple from Sospan, the philosopher cum ice-cream seller, to help find out what is happening to these boys and whether or not Lovespoon, the Welsh teacher, Grand Wizard of the Druids and controller of the town, is more than just a sinister bully. And just who was Gwenno Guevara?

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce 2.75/ 5 was a strange noir book for me. First of all Wales is a very odd country to me and one that I feel some bit of disconnect to. All in all it was a decent read. I'm glad I read it. I just didn't love it though.

Amazon sez:

Schoolboys are disappearing all over Aberystwyth and nobody knows why. Louie Knight, the town's private investigator, soon realises that it is going to take more than a double ripple from Sospan, the philosopher cum ice-cream seller, to help find out what is happening to these boys and whether or not Lovespoon, the Welsh teacher, Grand Wizard of the Druids and controller of the town, is more than just a sinister bully. And just who was Gwenno Guevara?

The book is a wasted fuck, it aint awful its more like a boring date with a miser.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

'361' by Donald Westlake.

Its hard crime noir of the early 60s. A kid is discharged from the Air Force and visits his dad in Brooklyn. They go out for dinner and the dad takes a bullet in the head from a drive by shooter.

A great opening.

 

[innerMILFsub]

I'm reading Wild by Carol Strayed right now. I just started it on Friday. So, I'm not far into it yet, only a few chapters.

 

[FurryFury]

I'm looking forward to seeing it one day!

Sometime ago I mentioned BBC had done an adaptation of mr Norrell and Jonathon Strange. I was premature. Its showing on uk tv now, mid series. What I have seen is rather good for adaptation I think, so worth a watch for fans, or to share with non readers who would like the tale. I think its eight episodes of an hour each.

I've heard much about this book. Let us know what you think!

I'm reading Wild by Carol Strayed right now. I just started it on Friday. So, I'm not far into it yet, only a few chapters.

 

[song_bird]

Sometime ago I mentioned BBC had done an adaptation of mr Norrell and Jonathon Strange. I was premature. Its showing on uk tv now, mid series. What I have seen is rather good for adaptation I think, so worth a watch for fans, or to share with non readers who would like the tale. I think its eight episodes of an hour each.

I've been watching the series and overall, I like it. I haven't read the books yet and I'm pleased to know that they exist.

 

[FurryFury]

The book is 800 pages or so. The footnotes, something I tend to hate are some of the best parts.

I've been watching the series and overall, I like it. I haven't read the books yet and I'm pleased to know that they exist.

 

[song_bird]

The book is 800 pages or so. The footnotes, something I tend to hate are some of the best parts.

Good to know!

 

[FurryFury]

A Dog's Life the Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin

Was a tough, yet sweet, in a way book. I was so happy when she finally found a good home with decent humans.

Amazon sez:

Newbery Honor author Ann Martin's "heartwrenching and heartwarming" (Kirkus) dog story, now in paperback, with After Words bonus material.

Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a toolshed behind someone's summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their mother is taken from them suddenly and too soon, the puppies are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and the changing seasons. When Bone and Squirrel become separated, Squirrel must fend for herself, and in the process makes two friends who in very different ways define her fate.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I didn't want to read this book. I read it only because it's a BOTM in one of my groups. It was likened to Gone Girl which did not speak well of it. It had two things in common. 1) No one was likeable. 2) Someone it pulled you along even so.

Personally, I like books with decent human beings in them. I like relationships that are not violent, and full of lies.

Amazon sez:

A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives.

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.

FYI it did not change my life forever. LMAO!