What are you reading now - and then

[LibertyHarkness]

ian banks - use of weapons

[Absarokah]

[ed_jaxon]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Shit was as depressing a read as I have ever had.

[MdR Dave]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Shit was as depressing a read as I have ever had.

For the most part I like his prose- every once in awhile he goes into a paragraph where you can tell he is really indulgent with himself- but in general he seems ok.

If you like his style try "All the Pretty Horses"- I read that a week or so ago and enjoyed it more than "The Road". Still pretty dark, but no looming apocalypse to consider.

[Odelay]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Shit was as depressing a read as I have ever had.

Like MdrDave, I've enjoyed Cormac McCarthy, too, a couple of times but I haven't read The Road. And I agree, his prose can be challenging at times.

[Odelay]

Currently, I'm about 100 pages into John Irving's, In One Person. Although Irving has had transgender characters in several of his novels, this one seems to be a deeper dive into the topic. I haven't gotten that far yet, but Irving seems to be focusing on the bisexual nature of transgenders and the people who like them.

[Stavros]

Thanks for the tip, Odelay, as I have never heard of Irving. I cant believe you find Cormac McCathy's prose challenging, though, his books often sound to me like Hemingway on steroids; yes, it really is that bad.

I am reading an English classic, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, for the first time in my life. The fluency of the writing makes one realise how insipid and dreary so many other novels are in comparison.

[Odelay]

I've seen the movie versions of Jane Eyre, but haven't read the novel. Recently read Wuthering Heights by her sister. That's a trippy book.

Irving's an odd duck and his work is not consistent. Some of his books are such a hard slog that I can't finish them. But then Cider House Rules and Prayer for Owen Meany I found to be very good. World According to Garp is probably his most popular - which had a couple of transgender characters.

[Stavros]

Thanks -I recognise the Irving titles from the films, The World According to Garp being the only one I have seen, although I thought John Linlithgow was miscast as the transexual; but at some point I will investigate the books further. Wuthering Heights is such an odd book when compared to the one her sister wrote -very bleak, rough, crabbed writing style, in effect the record of a form of child abuse, I detested it which is why it was such a pleasure to begin reading Jane Eyre.

[Prospero]

Just finished The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson - a slight but beautifully written little tale about the witch trials in Lancashire during the reign of James the 1st of England.
And reading....The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman a wonderful book of history about the latter part of the 19th century and early years of the 20th century preceding WW1... and The Great Partnership by Jonathan Sacks, the UK's chief Rabbi about the conflict and possibllity of harmony between science and religion.