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William Gibson
Elmore Leonard
Bret Easton Ellis

Thinking about it, I don't believe I've ever read an Orwell book. Seen the films, never read the books. Feel like a bit of a heathen for that.

Really need to get back into reading again, although I can't seem to stay focussed after reading like 10 pages, i'll start skim reading and eventually just put the book down.

I've been on a Elmore Leonard blitz recently as I can usually get through his books in a couple of sittings, fairly pulpy stuff. GF has lent me Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, then I've got a couple of books from Christmas to read (some Idiot Abroad anthology, then James May's "How To Land An Airbus 320 & Other Skills The Modern Man Needs", which I'm not expecting a lot from.


[NB; I consider neither James May nor Karl whatshisname to be great writers]

If you like girl with the dragon tattoo check out Joe Nesbos Harry Hole series, It's on a similar tip, detective thrillers set in scandinavia, they are all really good though.

My dad always bangs on about Kingsley Amis being his favourite writer but i haven't checked any of his stuff out.

huxley,

wub wrote:Thinking about it, I don't believe I've ever read an Orwell book. Seen the films, never read the books. Feel like a bit of a heathen for that.

I'm the same with Easton Ellis. It's a nightmare being a book fan in 2012, there's too much to read...

Orwell's definitely worth it, though. Animal Farm is pretty much short enough to do in an evening or afternoon in the park, too. I lent 1984 to my ex and never got it back.

I had a bit of a phase on 'modern' classics last year, re-read a few and filled in some gaps... HG Wells, Orwell and Huxley mainly, but I started to get a bit completist on Orwell... Road To Wigan Pier and Homage to Catalonia are both excellent. I've got Down & Out in Paris and London sat on my shelf waiting for a quiet moment.

On a non-fiction tip, I'm a sucker for Simon Schama and Peter Ackroyd. Schama can be a bit of a wet blanket occasionally, but he's got a great knack for making history come alive... his History of Britain and American Future are superb. Ackroyd's Biography of London is utterly sublime though... EVERY Londoner should find time to read it.

Gabriel Garcia marquez

I still rate Katherine Dunn quite highly.
But I`ve only read Geek Love which is amazing

wub wrote:Thinking about it, I don't believe I've ever read an Orwell book. Seen the films, never read the books. Feel like a bit of a heathen for that.

seen the films? i heard 1984 is absolutely shit. but i highly recommend the book

wub wrote: Bret Easton Ellis

only person who I have read all of their shit... kinda had a big effect on me.
also met him at a book signing once, was with another lad, we were both proper preppy dressed, pretty sure he made a pass at us

Also-

Haruki Murikami

coetzee

think thats how you spell it

Hemingway is very good, The Old Man and the Sea being a classic and one you can read in an afternoon. I'm a big fan of Steinbeck I don't know anyone else that captures the essence of that period of American history, Tortilla flats and Cannery Row both being very good.

I picked up the Hunter S Thompson Gonzo stuff just before Christmas and I'm looking for a time and I've still to read Cryptonomicon from Neal Stephenson which I have on good authority as very good.

scspkr99 wrote:I picked up the Hunter S Thompson Gonzo stuff just before Christmas

Surprisingly, I'm a big fan.


Which ones did you get?

F. Scott Fitzgerald (obv)
I think Patricia Highsmith is amazing
Choderlos de Laclos

Hank Moody.

topmo3 wrote:

wub wrote:Thinking about it, I don't believe I've ever read an Orwell book. Seen the films, never read the books. Feel like a bit of a heathen for that.

seen the films? i heard 1984 is absolutely shit. but i highly recommend the book

Nah, John Hurt smashes it!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sherlock Holmes is one of the greatest characters ever invented.

wub wrote: Surprisingly, I'm a big fan.


Which ones did you get?

I picked up an anthology that has the 4? Starting with the great shark hunt though to better than sex confessions of a political junkie. I've not read any of his stuff not even Fear and Loathing so I'm looking forward to it.

Great Shark Hunt drops off a bit in quality after pt 1, and a lot of the pieces in pt 2 form the basis for Fear & Loathing On The Campaign Trail.

Rum Diary is a good craic and an easy read if you're after some Thompson fiction.

Milan Kundera (you need to read "slowness" it's a-fucking-mazing)
the whole russian thing Tolstoi, Nabokov, Soljenitsyn, Dostoyevski is fascinating if you take the time to deeply read them
Hemingway
Faulkner
Wilde
Orwell books are very cool
I got a thing for french writers though (maybe because I speak french), Hugo, Bazin, Mauriac, Balzac, Tournier, Gary (or Ajar depends on the book)