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[KarmaTsunami]

Oh, it's not til September, I'm reading an advance copy. Advantages of working in a bookshop

Apologies!

[Godzilla Blues]

Ahhhh. Little miss fancypants. Ah well, means I can work on my backlog of reading before that arrives....

[*Amy*]

I've just finished a wee gem of a book about John McEnroe called..... 'On Being John McEnroe' by Tim Adams and thoroughly enjoyed it! Adams was almost obsessed with McEnroe during his time on the tour (and beyond but it's focussed on the '70s and '80s). The research he did ranging from sponsorship to partners was brilliant and the psychological side of the game is covered, which is clearly handy when you're speaking about a guy like McEnroe. The changes within the game and society (mainly British as the focus is on Wimbledon) over the years are wonderfully linked with the game and players at the time. Would definitely recommend this for a fan of the man and game or any sports fan really!

I've also almost finished 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith which I'm not entirely sure that I'll actually bother finishing. I expected to really like this but to be honest I've found it pretty boring and try-hard. If it didn't cover race, religion, gender etc in the way it did it would be dire. The time scale it's written in is pretty impressive in that you don't feel like you've missed out on chunks of any of their lives but I've never really warmed to any of the characters except Irie. Hmmmm.

[WoodyRATM]

I've just finished reading Angels and Demons. Alot better than i thought.

Got the new trudi canavan book at home but thats to wait till holiday... so i might read 1984 or wasp factory.

[Pierre Von Mondragon]

the current batch is;
John Brunner-The Sheep Look Up. Another ace dystopia from the master, this one from 1972. After classics on race/genetic engineering and overpopulation, this one is about pollution, and so up to the fucking minute that it practically bleeds. I'm just about 100 pages in, so can't fully judge it yet, but the advertorial asides and expository clips allow the creation of a more convincing dystopia than most, ace.

William Burroughs-Junkie. Consists of actual paragraphs and that. Really good, as I can imagine him speaking it in his drawl, and not so heavy on the sodomistic hanging, which kind of put me off of Naked Lunch.

Got some Norman Spinrad to read soon.

[DJ Jo-D]

Stuart McBrides first one Cold Granite - weird knowing the places he describes in the book!

[Larsen B]

I've got a choice of the following to read next:

The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy - Laurence Stern
If On a Winters Night a Traveller - Italo Calvino
Robinson Cruseo - Daniel Defoe
God Is Not Great - Christopher Hitchens

[Shaki]

Originally Posted by Murrr

At moment I'm reading Dean Koontz's "Frankenstein, Book 1: Prodigal Son" because I wanted a popcorn book after reading more Dostoyevsky than my brain could handle. It's hardly a masterpiece but it's a fun story and I'm absolutely flying through it. Thinking about a bit of Kerouac when I'm finished.

Nice to know I'm not the only one who does literature>popcorn>literature sandwiches

Currently on popcorn - The Drowning Man by Michael Robotham. Pretty good, quite similar to Dennis Lehane.

[Shaki]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blues

I am currently reading 'The Late Hector Kipling' by David Thewlis.

Only a few pages in, but I suspect I am going to enjoy it...favourite quote so far - "...to say that he's getting on my nerves doesn't do it justice; he's finding footholds on every f**king synapse".

That's been quite literally staring at me from my bookshelf for months, do update here when/if you finish

[Godzilla Blues]

Originally Posted by Shaki

That's been quite literally staring at me from my bookshelf for months, do update here when/if you finish

I'm now well into it, I'm finding it immensely readable, won't be long before it's finished.