What are you currently reading, how do you feel about it, and what's next on the list?

[IceIceBabyBump]

Currently:
I'm currently about half way through "Enter Ghost" by Isabella Hammad.

Feeling:
I've been working my way through the six books shortlisted for the Women's Prize and this is the last one. It's probably bottom of my list of those books. I haven't at all clicked with the characters and I'm finding it quite boring to be honest.

Next:
I've just had my next stack of four books delivered and I think I'll try George Orwell's "1984" next. I'm excited.

@Citygirlrurallife i read Birnam Wood recently and raced through it, it was really good!

Currently reading

I joined in on The Count of Monte Cristo read along thread, so I’m working my way through that at a chapter a day. It’s not what I expected at all, really enjoying it and I’m itching to read ahead.

Also reading Royal Assassin, by Robin Hobb which is the second in a series. I only started dipping my toe into the fantasy genre last year and I’ve had some mixed success, but I have to say I’ve really loved Hobb’s style so far.

Next

I might try Martyr! or Pachinko next. I have so many books on my kindle to read so we’ll see.

Thanks @mrstea301 !

@MonOncle

I loved Pachinko, Martyr! Not so much

Caroline Criado Perez is brilliant, I get her Substack newsletter - hope you enjoy Invisible Women (if that’s the word as it’ll probably make you cross)

Very relived to have finished The Fraud by Zadie Smith. Not an awful book but couldn’t get on with it despite trying. Each chapter was only a couple of pages long which didn’t help build momentum.

Now halfway through The Corrections by Franzen. Very good, he is such a clever writer, but I think Crossroads was better.

Just read another in the Blue Moon series by Steve Higgs. They’re easy to read, good stories, and there’s lots of books in the series so you get to know (and love) the characters. I alternate them with more serious books.

Just deciding what to read next.

I really enjoy Franzens stuff. Reminds me to keep an eye out for anything new by him.
I'm now well into Barnaby Rudge by Dickens. Read it as a kid and loved it, loving it again now. It's great. And I love the illustrations, they make me smile.

A woman at my book club said she avoids Franzen because she suspects he is a misogynist and it is clear from his work that everything is told from the male perspective. Can’t say I’ve picked up on that in the two books I’ve read so far.

After the 3rd book I’d read I’d say I’d agree. I really got sick of his POV tbh despite loving the 1st I read and liking the second…

Isn't Franzen the one who "left his wife for Natalie Portman" only to discover she wasn't remotely romantically interested in him?

I hadn’t heard about that. Sounds like a bizarre plot line that wouldn’t be out of place in one of his books!

I have no illusions about the majority of privileged white men. Dickens also paints women poorly. I read mainly women these days but still like a good well told story.

Funnily enough the book I’ve just complained about reading, The Fraud, actually does a really good job of describing just how vile many famous male writers (including Dickens) were to the women in their lives. Sadly I don’t think a huge amount has changed since the 19th century.

I'm so glad this thread is still going.

To a PP who mentioned it - go for Panchinko next, best book I've read in years.

I've currently reading "The Fraud" by Zadie Smith.

Like @eastie77returns I can't get into it. It's weirdly written - short chapters but something else that I can't quite put my finger on. There's very little character development and it took me until about page 150 to actually figure out who the fuck anyone was.

Up next is "Orbtial" for book group. I'm a bit non-plussed about it to be honest so not particularly looking forward to it.

Honestly at one point I almost gave up trying to work out who the various characters were. The whole thing was so disjointed in places. Smith is a talented writer, of that there is no doubt. But this book just didn’t do anything for me.

I'm currently reading 'brother do you love me' which is the autobiography a man and his Down's syndrome brother reconnecting after he takes him out of a residential home. It's absolutely lovely, and growing up with my Down's syndrome uncle, so much of it resonates and breaks my heart / makes me smile in equal measure.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit that was Jonathan Safran Foer, left his wife for Natalie Portman who then told him he'd misread the situation! Think loads of their emails got printed in the New York Times

I've just finished Rose Nicolson set in 16th century Scotland. Quite a dense tale set in a time of political and religious tension. These were violent and uncertain times as various factions wrestled for control of the land and influence over the young king, all tied up with the Catholic/Protestant question. I found it hard going at the start however I loved the reiving parts and got really into it as the book progressed. It's an original piece of writing and a book that will stay with me.

Now on to a reread of Trespasses for book group.

I've never got on all that well with Zadie Smith's writing. I can see it's impressive but it just doesn't grab me for some reason. Incidentally, I had a nice chat with her husband Nick Laird at a book festival ages ago. We were both sitting on the grass, he was with their baby and she was appearing at an event. He told me about them meeting at university, and that in those days he was generally thought to be the one who was going to be a big success as a writer - he actually won a competition that they'd both entered - but then White Teeth came along and everything took off for her. He wasn't resentful but a bit wistful about not having succeeded to the same degree himself. And understandably not delighted about people being interested in him primarily for being Zadie Smith's husband. Looking him up today, I can see he has published several books, is a respected poet, has won prizes and taught at universities so life doesn't seem to have turned out too badly.

@mrstea301

That's the one! I stand corrected!

@highlandcoo I recently found out that Zadie Smith's married to Nick Laird and that her brother is Doc Brown 😲 😲

Like you, I've never fully got on with ZS writing. It's not bad writing at all, and I'm rarely bored during her books. But I always feel like there's something missing from them. I'm never captivated, I rarely care much about her characters and I forget about them quickly once I'm finished. I find her work a bit 'amateur' (for want of a better word). I also find her attempts at humour awkward and cringy.

Nevertheless, a hundred-ish pages of "The Fraud" to go 🤣

Hi have you read Freedom by Frantzen? on my shelf, haven't read it yet

Currently reading A Stranger in The Family by Jane Casey, which will bring me bang up to date with the Maeve Kerrigan series before the next one is released (GREAT series, which I found from a rec on one of these threads, so thank you to whoever it was!) also still reading Butter, which I am enjoying but not getting through as quickly as the Jane Casey books - just need to sit down and put some proper time into it.

Next up - either Nobody Walks by Mick Herron or Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld. Also want to give Shogun by James Clavell a go, but it's massive so might be one to save for a holiday. Also have The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell for book group, and Really Good Actually for my other book group!

Feel like I'm on a really good wave of reading just now - good variety and really enjoying what I'm Reading and looking forward to what's coming next! Really enjoying this thread too!

@mrstea301

There's a Maeve Kerrigan fan thread in chat in case you missed it. Love them also got the rec from here.

Currently- Conviction by Jack Jordan
Feeling quite intrigued by the storyline and it's keeping me guessing so far.
next- lessons in chemistry

Currently reading Girl A by Abigail Dean, which has gripped me. Though it's an unpleasant story behind it all she doesn't dwell on the nasty details (child abuse basically) but the aftermath and how the family are all affected differently. I'm sort of enjoying it and certainly I look forward to what's happening next. Her next book out in a month or so, The Death of Us, sounds even better I think.