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.

I finished two novellas yesterday Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke and Amelia by A W Rene.
I'm not sure what to read next, I need to have a good look through my Kindle library.

Loving this thread.

Just read The Bone Clocks and loved it.

Now re re-reading Villette. It's been a while but like being with an old friend.

Next will probably be slow horses but I do have a lot of unread books on my kindle to choose from

I've just finished You Are Here by David Nicholls. Having really not enjoyed One Day, I was a bit wary of his novels but I liked Us, and I loved this one. The characters, Michael and Marnie were engaging and witty. The concept of a novel exploring a growing friendship/potential relationship set on a long coast to coast walk over tough terrain and often even tougher weather was interesting, but it really worked. It was a solid 5/5, which is a rare accolade from me!

Current: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Feeling: It Just Goes On, and On, and On

Next: The Island of Missing Trees

@IceIceBabyBump you may like Wifedom by Anna Funder, which is about Orwell’s wife and how she was erased by both him and his biographers from her key roles in various events.

Wuthering Heights is my all time favourites and I reread it annually. People really aren't randomly dying! It's a complex story and more about obsession and the power of passion rather than a traditional love story.

Thank you, I'll most definitely have a look at that.

I'm now reading "All Names Have Been Changed" by Claire Kilroy and absolutely loving it. It's got very "Secret History" vibes.

Up next, "Young Mungo" (Douglas Stuart) and "Ashland and Vine" (John Burnside) are waiting on my shelf. Not sure which one to go for.

Current - Demon Copperhead
Feeling - interesting modern reimagining of David Copperfield. Very dark but also very astute observationally and very funny.
Next - 84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff.

I bloody love 84 Charing Cross Road. The film is great too. We went to look at Helene Hanff's apartment in NYC.
Just started and abandoned Blast From The Past by Ben Elton. I really hate his writing style.

84 Charing Cross Road is one of my comfort reads. I decided to read it again after seeing the film, yet again, a few weeks ago. Very jealous of your pilgrimage in NYC.

I read We Had To Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets. I didn't love it.
Then I read the first volumes of The Beauty and Happiness, I like comics and graphic novels and I'll read more of both.
I'm now reading Murder Road by Simone St. James, it's not gripping me so far.

My current reads are A Very Private School by Charles Spencer. I can only read a little bit at a time as it's so harrowing. It's upsetting reading about the abuse that he and a lot of his school friends suffered at the hands of their headmaster and his staff in their boarding school.

Countering this with Why Mummy Drinks on Holiday by Gill Sims, which is lightweight and amusing but I think perhaps the series has started to go off the boil now. She's gone back in time with the family and the children are young again, so it's more of an infill story that might slot into the series earlier on. The previous ones were when the children were teenagers, so it's a little confusing as to why this one has gone back in time. Perhaps there's nowhere left to go with the teenagers as they were moving on with their independent lives. Which I would have thought would lead to a natural conclusion to this series.

Think I was reading a different version! Didn’t get ‘obsession and power of passion’ at all.

84 Charing Cross Road is on my TBR, I didn’t know there was a film!

After finishing My Beautiful Friend I moved straight onto The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante, which I finished last night. I was totally absorbed by it. I had to push myself through My Beautiful Friend a bit, but it was worth it. I’ve been straight out to the library today to get books 3 and 4 in the quartet. I absolutely need to know what happens to these two women.

Currently heavily influenced by the "greatest novel" thread I'm now re reading 1984. It's been a long time and I'm pleased to say I'm loving it as much as ever

Just read Precipice by Robert Harris. Absolutely fascinating and so interesting. It’s his latest book and preordered it so received it on day of release for half price (hard back).

Agree that Wuthering Heights is a wonderful book. Loved the characters and wept buckets when Cathy died and Heathcliffe begged her to haunt him. Always said if I had a daughter (I was 11 years old then) I would call her Cathy. I had a daughter and I called her Cathy or Catherine.

@HappydaysArehere Precipice is the first book for ages that I really was looking forward to have time to read it and wanted to see what happened next.

Same here BigDahliaFan 👍

I recommend the book Orwell read before starting 1984, We by Yevgeny Zamytin published in 1924.
It's dystopian and clearly the foundation for many of the themes and architecture we still expect today in our tales of the future.
My edition had magnificent, thoughtful essays from Margaret Atwood & Ursula le Guin.

Currently reading The Examiner by Janice Hallett. I'm enjoying it a lot more than I did The Twyford Code and The Alperton Angels. This feels much better, the characters are more interesting to me. There's complexity to it in the same way as her first novel The Appeal and its keeping me turning the pages to find out what's happening next.

I have a day at the North Cornwall book festival this weekend so I'm busy with my reading!

Finished Orbital by Samantha Harvey.
It's on the Booker short list, only 130 ish pages. The authors essay made me warm to the book more, hoping her talk will make me want to revisit it but I found it a slog.

Zipping through Alan Hollingshurst new novel One Evening. Only 70 pages in of 500 but such an easy read. The house, family, characters are all being beautifully sketched out, looking forward to moving through their stories.

Listening to Empire land by Sathnam Sanghera
The chapters on looting and museums fascinating worthy of a book themselves. Other chapters are muddled, lots of anecdote, then trying to cover too much or too little across time & geography.
Again, hoping the authors talk will inspire me to pick up more of his work. Interesting topic but the lack of women's stories, we get the collective blame as people, is giving me the 'what abouteries'

The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson, about becoming a very successful STIRT trader in his early 20s. I'm enjoying it, it's very readable but my god the further you get into it, the more of an insufferable twat he becomes. I will admit my impression of him did go down when I stumbled upon an article by someone claiming to have worked with him saying a lot of what he wrote was exaggerated, and quite hurtful to those who worked with and supported him.

Thanks for this. Never heard of it. I've just downloaded to my kindle but first I'm reading Middlemarch.

The Lucy Barton book by Elizabeth Stroud and I'm not enjoying it.
I am all for introspection in stories but I find myself mentally writing torrid sex scenes and explosions into it to liven it up a bit.