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Original poster

which of this random selection of books on my shelf should I read?

39 replies

hatwoman · 19/08/2010 22:19

Down and Out in Paris and London; The Grapes of Wrath; Brave New World; American Pastoral; Wolf Hall; some essays on guilt by Bernard Schlink; the Cruel Sea; the Damned United; Moby Dick

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pointydog · 22/08/2010 17:13

I'm wondering whether all that was meant by 'blokey' was male author. Although, that doesn't make any difference to me either.

BelligerentGhoul · 22/08/2010 14:55

Agree Pointy. However, I always think of Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes as particularly 'blokey' poets - never thought it about novelists though.

pointydog · 22/08/2010 13:29

I don't see them as blokey at all and am always surprised at how some people do seem to instinctuvely categorise books as male/female.

CaptainNancy · 21/08/2010 23:32

The Schlink, definitely- I loved "the reader"

wukter · 21/08/2010 23:29

Ulysses

Chortle

BelligerentGhoul · 21/08/2010 23:09

White Tiger is good.

Original poster
hatwoman · 21/08/2010 23:06

DP - interesting comment about them being blokey...they were all bought by DH. Other ones on my shelves that I forget to mention are the Bell Jar and the Lighthouse. Not blokey at all.

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Original poster
hatwoman · 21/08/2010 23:04

thanks for all the input. I'm obviously on a bit of a misery wave at the moment. last 2 books I read were Eichmann in Jerusalem and The Road. Then tonight just watched Waltz with Bashir about the Lebanon war (particularly Sabra and Shatila).I Have decided I need some light relief so have gone for The White Tiger (which wasn;t on my original list). After that it's Grapes of Wrath I think. Or possibly the Third Reich.

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BelligerentGhoul · 21/08/2010 22:40

Googling him - have never heard of.

FellatioNelson · 21/08/2010 22:00

BG - Or some David Sedaris - he can put a wry smile on anyone's face. Good for picking up and putting down, as well.

sungirltan · 21/08/2010 21:52

the grapes of wrath isnt as good as east of eden.

american pastoral is love it or hate it.

read brave new world and come back and we can all discuss it :-)

FellatioNelson · 21/08/2010 21:49

Ullyses is a drag.

NoahAndTheWhale · 21/08/2010 21:43

Read Brave New World.

BelligerentGhoul · 21/08/2010 21:37

Georgette Heyer over Ullyses any day!

I think Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods would be a good counter to The Grapes Of Wrath.

DilysPrice · 21/08/2010 21:29

They're all a bit blokey apart from Wolf Hall aren't they - not that there's anything wrong with that.

Of the ones I know about Brave New World is probably the easiest read, and it will give you the most cultural cv points for time expended - but who knows, you may be some wierdo who reads for enjoyment rather than ticking boxes. I would recommend it first though, as I think you're really missing something if you haven't read it.

DH re-reads Moby Dick regularly and claims that it's a cracking read once you get into it. Whenever I say "what shall I read?" he always answers either Moby Dick, Gibbon, or Ulysses - and I always end up grabbing a battered Georgette Heyer.

JeanLouiseFinch · 21/08/2010 21:26

The Grapes of Wrath, but like F Nelson says, you need something light-hearted afterwards.

FellatioNelson · 21/08/2010 21:23

OK, read Grapes of Wrath but top it off with something heeee-larious, like Travels with my aunt, by Graham Greene, or Three men on a boat by Jerome K. Jerome - just to stop you killing yourself. Or are you trying to work through your backlog without buying any more? That's my worst habit.Blush

pointydog · 21/08/2010 21:21

I don't think I would manage Moby. I have only read excerpts and they send me t sleep.

pointydog · 21/08/2010 21:20

Grapes of wrath, read it so long ago that I can't remember detail, only that I liked it but found it a little stodgy.

pointydog · 21/08/2010 21:20

I want to read Wolf Hall. I quite like Mantel. Yes, read.

I love Down and Out in Paris and London. Read that one.

American Pastoral I found a bit too grim but def worth the read.

Essays on Guilt sound v interesting. You will need to read them and then tell us what they were like.

Who wrote Cruel sea and damned united?

RonansMummy · 21/08/2010 21:18

brave new world is one of my favourite books! I've not read any of the others.

wukter · 21/08/2010 21:17

I am reading A Place of Greater Safety now, there are 3 main male characters in that, yet it's always He Said... you have to take take note of the fact that 'He' is sitting on a blue chaise longue when he 'says' it...

BelligerentGhoul · 21/08/2010 21:14

Of Mice And Men is v short. Grapes Of Wrath is a hefty volume of pure misery!

stripeywoollenhat · 21/08/2010 21:13

moby dick first, but read them all, i say: can't advise about the essays or the cruel sea, haven't read them, but all the rest are fantastic books. except for the damned united, couldn't be doing with it. don't even think of giving moby dick to a charity shop until you've at least tried it, it's a great and frequently beautiful read.

CatIsSleepy · 21/08/2010 21:10

it was a bit confusing but I kind of liked that I had to work a little bit harder to follow it. Slowed me down-i just steam through books normally and finish them too fast. Dh found it confusing too though...it helped that i realised whenever the main character TC said anything, it was just 'he said', it never his name