What are you reading? (2025)

Omg I’ve just discovered there’s a film version of A Pale View of Hills premiering at Cannes this year :disco:
 
Half way through and loving this. Different narratives of women growing up in modern China.

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jyxz said:
I couldn’t get into the style of writing. Either I don’t like East Asian writers or I have been incredibly unlucky with my picks so far

Off the top of my head Convenience store woman/Till the coffee gets cold/ Dallergut Dream department store have all left me feeling meh due to the writing style
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I tend to agree now I've finished it. The killer as some sort of Hannibal Lecter type master manipulator was woefully unconvincing.

Overall - :meh:
 
I absolutely tore through My Brilliant Friend when I was on holiday, and ended up paying far too much in an English language book store in Zurich for the second one (The Story of a New Name). It's equally good - which makes sense as it's basically just a continuation of the same book - but by God the narrator is a bitter, judgey little cunt in this one. :D
 
Oddly I've just started on Ian Rankin's first book 'Knots and Crosses'. I picked up a load of books at a spring fete a few weeks ago and needed some fiction in between the hard history and politics books that take weeks.

I had to go by name recognition so picked this up. It's remarkably forward thinking (almost woke!) for what's essentially a gritty detective story from 1987.

Don't judge me for discovering Ian Rankin in 2025.
 
Dashed through the Rankin book. He really set the template for every detective story for the next 35 years didn't he?

Anyway back to my pile of history books with the king of medieval Dan Jones writing about the War of the Roses. Seeing him in a few months hosting a book launch in the city castle. Might fuck him.

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AGinAg (37) said:
Dashed through the Rankin book. He really set the template for every detective story for the next 35 years didn't he?

Anyway back to my pile of history books with the king of medieval Dan Jones writing about the War of the Roses. Seeing him in a few months hosting a book launch in the city castle. Might fuck him.

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Finished. Love Dan Jones.

I had intended to read at least a book a month this year, so with three complete in the last 12 days, I'm up to date!
 
Some of these books! I can't get through a Freida McFadden without having to lie down with a cool flannel on my forehead.
 
Must say I'm VERY MUCH ENJOYING 'A ROOM ABOVE A SHOP'

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Yes that was good. Now reading: CALEDONIAN ROAD

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NAR: Who ARE these people who write bad reviews of books that say "THE CHARACTERS WEREN'T LIKEABLE SO I DIDN'T CARE WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM"? :eyes:
 
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Nowhere near as enjoyable as ‘Nothing to see here’ where the children spontaneously combust.
 
I've been getting through a few bits and bobs on my Mexican trip, and will throw a few posts together.

This annoyed me most of the way through, but was thankfully short. Relentlessly BLEAK in that MISERABLE GREAT "OOH WE'RE NORTHERN" way. I didn't really feel the mining backdrop worked and the bits with the "OOH AREN'T WE SOUTHERN" academics were just boring, whereas the Simon and Ryan bits were much better. 5/10.


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This was equally short, but on the whole, I found it quite CHARMANT. The ending felt a bit rushed, but I quite liked the concept and it astonished me that I'd completely overlooked it and that it was 25 years old, but the references to things like DVD players gave it away. I got the impression that I wish I'd read it in its original French.

7/10

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As obsessed as I am with communist era- Germany/ Eastern bloc, this bit of queer lit was RIGHT UP MY STREET though, again, I felt the ending let it down a tad and it all wrapped up a little quickly. I had thought I'd worked out the denouement very early into the book and that had annoyed me, so I was pleased when it wasn't QUITE the case.

8.5/10

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Now, unsurprisingly, when you consider it's 80s athletics doping (probably my Mastermind subject if ever there was one), I absolutely loved this. You have to take it with a SLIGHT pinch of stanozolol, as it feels sympathetic to the point of being slightly sycophantic, but it shed a lot of new light on a subject I already thought I knew a lot about and I breezed through it in a couple of days. Well recommended for anyone interested in this kind of business:

9.5/10

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My continuing journey with the 33 1/3 books has its ups and downs- far too many lose the angle of actually being entertaining and read as stuffy academic studies with little reference to the actual music or artists (the Madonna Erotica one was insufferable- which was even more annoying considering how much there IS to say about that album)- but every now and then, you pick up a couple that reinforce your Faith in the series, and this was very much one of them. Pretty much a straight (second pun intended) dive into the George phenomenon of the time, it touches on his image, his closet homosexuality but puts the music at the forefront. Top notch, enjoyed every word.

10/10

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And finally got around to this one too. The concept of this was fascinating, though I feel it was dulled slightly by the author trying desperately to prove just how awful Celine's music is, before almost a begrudging acceptance at the end, whereas a more nuanced, balanced approach throughout would have suited the idea better.

7/10

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Sheena said:
My continuing journey with the 33 1/3 books has its ups and downs- far too many lose the angle of actually being entertaining and read as stuffy academic studies with little reference to the actual music or artists (the Madonna Erotica one was insufferable- which was even more annoying considering how much there IS to say about that album)- but every now and then, you pick up a couple that reinforce your Faith in the series, and this was very much one of them. Pretty much a straight (second pun intended) dive into the George phenomenon of the time, it touches on his image, his closet homosexuality but puts the music at the forefront. Top notch, enjoyed every word.

10/10

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Tempted to delve into this series but want to start with the right one... maybe Velvet Underground & Nico or Low..
 
And this annoyed the living BAPS out of me. The concept was similar to the 33 1/3 books, but artists were "tossed off" in often short chapters. I was excited to read about "the strangest women in pop", but none of their oddities seemed to be explored. Let's give just one example. I found the chapter on Shakespear's Sister really frustrating- how can you discuss the "hidden" meaning behind The Trouble With Andre without suggesting he was a closet case, how can you discuss Hormonally Yours without mentioning the concept of the album originally being about space, how can you throw away discussion involving the ACTUAL TITLE OF YOUR BOOK in less than a sentence, how can you not mention the FEUD, even in passing, and decide Goodbye Cruel World is not worthy of even a cursory GLANCE? I wonder if the 33 1/3 books have spoiled me with being more in-depth, but everything just felt diluted and not in enough depth. I even skipped a couple of the later chapters on artists I couldn't be arsed with.

4/10

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Suedehead said:
Which 3 would you recommend as starters SheeShee?
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It depends what you're looking for- maybe you ARE more of an academic lover than I am...but I would say my favourites have been:

George Michael: Faith
Donna Summer: Once Upon A Time
Kylie Minogue: Kylie (Australian 33 1/3 release, but widely available)
Britney: Blackout
Abba: Gold
Janet Jackson: The Velvet Rope
Michael Jackson: Dangerous

I'd LOVE someone to read the Erotica one so I know it isn't just me :D

About to start The Go-Go's Beauty and the Beat as my next one.
 
Sheena said:
As obsessed as I am with communist era- Germany/ Eastern bloc, this bit of queer lit was RIGHT UP MY STREET though, again, I felt the ending let it down a tad and it all wrapped up a little quickly. I had thought I'd worked out the denouement very early into the book and that had annoyed me, so I was pleased when it wasn't QUITE the case.

8.5/10

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THIS is amazing. I think I’ve posted about it here before.
 
Sheena said:
As obsessed as I am with communist era- Germany/ Eastern bloc, this bit of queer lit was RIGHT UP MY STREET though, again, I felt the ending let it down a tad and it all wrapped up a little quickly. I had thought I'd worked out the denouement very early into the book and that had annoyed me, so I was pleased when it wasn't QUITE the case.

8.5/10

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Love
 
I'm finally getting round to finishing There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak which is great. I regret taking a big gap in the middle though.

Also reading Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd.

Read Stag Dance by Torrey Peters last month which was jarring but good.
 
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