Reading Challenge 2022

Saddleworth2 said:
Hi @RobMCFC I used to read loads. Last year hardly anything so this thread might act as an encouragement to change that. I like 'classics' both ancient and modern and if I had to choose a favourite it would probably be Great Expectations. I'm a sucker for Tolkien and some of Stephen Kings stuff. I would class The Stand as a modern classic.
Can someone recommend a book to get me started this year? Preferably a real 'can't put down' page turner to get me back in the habit.
Thanks in advance.
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So, you like Tolkein and Dickens? - I've got just to book for you as it happens to be my favourite of all time - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. I recommended it on here last year and @Paladin enjoyed it.

It's set in the fantasy city of Camorr, which is clearly based on Venice .... but it's a little different to some fantasy books. It's about a group of con men who pull off outlandish cons. The "Dickensian" bit comes in the form of the back story where we find out about how a young Locke Lamora comes to live with a group of petty thieves and how he quickly outgrows them.

The story unfold in two timelines - then and now - and there are several genuine WTF plot moments. The prose is, of course, exceptional: I've never read a book like it and doubt I ever will again.

Anyway, even if you don't start with it, stick it on your list.
 
It's great that we are getting so many joining in - lets see who's still standing in December!
 
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journolud said:
This is the one

Amazon product ASIN 0743492471
I’ve also read Zen Golf. Both books are helpful for the mental side of the game
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thanks a lot

I can recommend not just to you but generally

commander in cheat , how golf explains trump by Rick Reilly

a book about golf and Donald trump. It’s brilliant, the bloke interviews people who have played with him , how he cheats at golf , boasts about winning competitions he never played and how it reflects his character .

don’t have to like golf to enjoy.
 
Mozzer said:
Ah another John Steinbeck reader! I think I've read about 17 Steinbecks. Ask the man on the street to name 3 of his books and he'll probably say Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. I would say that Cannery Row is easily better than Eden. Grapes is an awesome book but Eden was a bit underwhelming for me. The Wayward Bus is my tip for less well known Steinbecks.

I don't want to be negative but avoid The Short Reign of Pippin lV, it's awful!
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Agree with you about East of Eden, a bit soap opera for me. My favourites besides the obvious are In Dubious Battle, a kind of forerunner to Grapes of Wrath and The Winter of our Disontent
 
kevin horlocks wand said:
thanks a lot

I can recommend not just to you but generally

commander in cheat , how golf explains trump by Rick Reilly

a book about golf and Donald trump. It’s brilliant, the bloke interviews people who have played with him , how he cheats at golf , boasts about winning competitions he never played and how it reflects his character .

don’t have to like golf to enjoy.
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Will have a look for this and download to the kindle. While I prefer physical books you can’t beat the convenience of digital and it will mean I won’t forget to get it
 
I would recommend Tom Threadgill - Collision of Lies. A new author to me when I read this last year and thought it was a good read. It was his first introduction of Det Almara Alverez who is asked my grieving parents to take another look into a high speed collision between a freight train and a school bus full of kids from three years ago.
I'm currently waiting for the next Alverez book to come back into the library, ha I still use it regularly. Hoping this one is as good.
 
Read 20 plus books a year so will join in with this year. Got a couple on the go at the moment.
James Ellroys Widespread Panic and David Peace's Tokyo Redux. Similar writing styles and Peace is probably my favourite writer and has been described as the UK's answer to Ellroy. Read mainly at break and lunch at work but start a book at home to take to once I've finished the other. Read mostly crime fiction (UK,US and Nordic) but dip into the odd autobiography or non fiction. Got Paul Morley's autobiography on Anthony H Wilson next but it's a real doorstep of a book I got for Christmas
 
Didn't read as much as I wanted last year as we had a baby and just didn't have the time I anticipated but I recently read Bob Mortimers autobio (which I bought my brother as an xmas gift lol) & started A History of Bees by Maja Lunde on NYD - Will dip into the thread with any recommends & pick up a few that tickle my fancy to bump my number up this year.
 
RobMCFC said:
@ob @Paladin

As a “thank you” for reading my books, I have set “The Mysterious Mr Gooch” to FREE for a few days from 8.00 AM tomorrow morning (just double-check that it is £0.00 before downloading because sometimes the Amazon timings can be slightly off - it all runs on Pacific Standard Time).

The book is a short story related to the trilogy and as long as you’ve read “Monkey Arkwright”, it can be read at any time without spoiling the main plot.
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Fantastic, loved it, thanks
 
Am re reading all Anne Rule's books at the moment, mainly because they are free on Kindle Unlimited ;-)
I love true crime.
I'm not a massive fan of AR though, mainly because the victim always appears angelic. However, she is a great scene setter and always makes you feel you are "there." Not Truman Capote style obviously, but she had a way of telling a true crime story.
Going to read 1984 by Orwell next.
 
mackenzie said:
Am re reading all Anne Rule's books at the moment, mainly because they are free on Kindle Unlimited ;-)
I love true crime.
I'm not a massive fan of AR though, mainly because the victim always appears angelic. However, she is a great scene setter and always makes you feel you are "there." Not Truman Capote style obviously, but she had a way of telling a true crime story.
Going to read 1984 by Orwell next.
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I finally got around to reading 1984 a couple of years ago and was really disappointed. Fantastic idea, obviously, and scary how some of the ideas about doublespeak etc have come true, but I just didn’t connect with the characters.
 
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RobMCFC said:
I finally got around to reading 1984 a couple of years ago and was really disappointed. Fantastic idea, obviously, and scary how some of the ideas about doublespeak etc have come true, but I just didn’t connect with the characters.
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I find that problem occasionally with "classic Science fiction". A lot of it was written for the ideas and the story/characters were of secondary concern. I think it's where some of the snobbery concerning genre fiction comes from.
 
Excited to have found this thread!

I'm traditionally a very big reader but a busy work schedule eating into my time and a mental health dip eating into my concentration levels has cut my reading down over the past year or so.

I'm a chronic re-reader of beloved books too, I hope that counts with you guys!

Recently finished Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Much recommended for anyone who likes to be delightfully confused by a fantasy world, and for finishing a book to feel like waking up from a fever dream.

I actually really connected with the main characters in 1984, but I am someone who can connect with characters in pretty much anything. I am fussy with my sci-fi too, though - my first intro to the genre was the Hitchhiker's Guide and so am chronically unable to get on with any sci-fi that feels like it's taking itself too seriously.
 
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It's going to be very hard, impossible really to keep up with all the recommendations on this thread. My staple reading for years has been crime novels, I've read all the Rebus and Banks and probably most of Michael Connolly's novels and various other authors of the genre I've dipped in and out of. I also enjoy the Ed Mcbain precinct 87 novels, I'm not sure how many I've read. I stopped reading the Matthew Hope one I had, couldn't get into it.

I've previously mentioned I'm going to be rereading some Steinbeck and have Catcher in the Rye to read. I think I'd like to read more of the "classic" 20th century literature, whatever that is but the secret to reaching any sort of reasonable target will be to make them shortish ones!
 
journolud said:
It's going to be very hard, impossible really to keep up with all the recommendations on this thread. My staple reading for years has been crime novels, I've read all the Rebus and Banks and probably most of Michael Connolly's novels and various other authors of the genre I've dipped in and out of. I also enjoy the Ed Mcbain precinct 87 novels, I'm not sure how many I've read. I stopped reading the Matthew Hope one I had, couldn't get into it.

I've previously mentioned I'm going to be rereading some Steinbeck and have Catcher in the Rye to read. I think I'd like to read more of the "classic" 20th century literature, whatever that is but the secret to reaching any sort of reasonable target will be to make them shortish ones!
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My favourite authors from the crime genre that I've read so far are Chris Brookmyre (started with a humorous slant to his writing but took a more serious route later on), Ken Bruen (Irish Noir), Pierre Lemaitre (Verhœven trilogy, violent but so good) & Fred Vargas (slightly oddbeat characters but very enjoyable).

I've now moved on to the 2nd in Carey's Rampart trilogy. Really enjoyed the 1st so it's a no-brainer to continue and will probably move straight on to the final instalment of this post-apocalyptic story when I finish this one.
 
Good thread, I read a lot, typically 1-2 books a week though many are trash novels free with kindle unlimited. For Comedy Horror I recommend RR Haywood The Undead series, he also has 3 other shorter series which are excellent, "The Code" and "Extracted" series are 2 of my all time favourites

Devon C Ford Toy Soldiers series is excellent post apocalyptic stuff, and for historic fiction (Roman Era) I would recommend SJA Turney Marius Mules series and Simon Scarrow Eagle of Rome series.

Finally Arisen series by Michael Stephen Fuchs is good zombie apocalypse stuff if thats your thing
 
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