# General > Literature >  What Are You Reading Just Now?

## armanisgirl

Just about to finish my latest book and wonder what orgers recommend for my next read? I'll read almost anything. I've got all the Patricia Cornwall books, lots of non-fiction, fiction, a few autobiographies. I'm not really into romance unless there's a big twist in it, so no Mills and Boons please!! I did see a biography advertised that I thought might be interesting, but can't remember who it was by!!  ::

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## Julia

Your post  ::

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## Victoria

Whilst I was visiting Durness I went into the Balnakeil Bookshop and bought...

The Next Big Thing - A Fable of Modern Scotland by Michael Russell.

the blurb reads:

_"This much is true; John lennon did spend some of his childhood holidays in the remote north westerly Scottish village of Durness. But what if he had left something behind? Something which the powers that be, backed by American fizzy drinks money, could turn into 'the next big thing' of scottish tourism, even if it destroyed the place._

_Faced with the overweening ambition of a University principal, the fight for survival of a political peer and a millionaire's dream of ever greater riches, can an off-beat academic, an underemployed tourist office and an imaginative local builder put the genie of progress back in its bottle before a remote Highland community is ruined forever?"_

Quite fitting, seeing as I was in Durness for the John Lennon Festival!!

I'm half way through and I think its a really good read. My only compaint is that its quite a short book!

You can find the book here.. http://www.balnakeilpress.com

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## armanisgirl

> Your post


 ::  very good Julia!! Guess I walked into that one!!

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## Julia

Sorry could not resist!  :Wink: 

I'm not reading anything at the moment but generally I read crime fiction.  I particularly like the old crime club classics or anything by Ian Rankin.  I don't like romance or horror of any kind, too scary  ::

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## trix

hey guys!! - brilliant thread  :Grin: 

i love readin, i read all e time. even on e way til work...an a walk til work....!! (unless im feelin lazy an i fone e auld chile - thanks dad!!) fancy pickin me up at 20 - 7 tomorrow mornin?? (only jokin....)

e best book that i hev ever read is ladykiller by martina cole. it is brilliant. all her books are, ye will love them. there are aboot 13 o them. im readin her latest - the close, its brill. really nitty gritty. kwite, nearly...gangsterish?? but written by a woman so they are based on wemin characters. absoloutly brilliant - even e auld chile wis impressed an hes read every one o them, cept iss one, but il gie it til him next...(promise ye dad)  :Smile: ..... - (if ye gie me a life til ma work 2moro) ha ha...

i no long ago feneshed e godfather....brilliant. 
ma auld time favourite is The Stand by Steven King. ultimate favourite, favourite....brilliant

ever heard o salem falls by jodi piccoulti? (or somethin) its real guid too...

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## _Ju_

"The Boar Stone" by Jules Watson. She has written a triology ( at least so far) on historical Alba. I don't know how exact she is, but it is a delightful read ( some of it in pre-historic Caithness/Orkney/hebrides)- Better than Diana Gabardon, in my opinion. Start with "The white Mare", followed by "Dawn Stag". Both are at the library.

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## Ricco

You could do worse than reading the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan.  Lolabelle must know of her books, 'cos Trudi is Australian.

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## Thumper

The matchbreaker by Chris Mamby-her books are so funny, the last one I read (can't remember the name of it0 I was actually laughing out loud at parts of it.I love Virginia Andrews as well, infact I have very book she ever wrote x

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## karia

'Wild Fire' by Nelson Demille

A political thriller with great Pace and even greater wit. :Wink: 

karia

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## johno

*  the real gorbals......im re reading it.    funny stuff.*

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## angela5

> * the real gorbals......im re reading it. funny stuff.*


Interesting.
Have you read~ Up oor close?

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## telfordstar

I quite like Marian Keyes her books are brilliant and a good few to choose from i picked up a few from the cancer shop.  I also liked Katie Prices book Angel was a good read and now thinking about it must go and get the nxt book :Grin:

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## helenwyler

I'm reading The Pickwick Papers by good ol' Dickens :Smile: , which I've been meaning to read for about 20 years!!

It's full of brilliant laugh-out-loud comedy and satire :: , but never contemptuous.  Dickens must have enjoyed people so much!

Before that I was reading a very old copy of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos...quite light, but good fun!!

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## Victoria

> I quite like Marian Keyes her books are brilliant and a good few to choose from i picked up a few from the cancer shop. I also liked Katie Prices book Angel was a good read and now thinking about it must go and get the nxt book


I love Marian Keyes too.

Telfordstar have you read Sophie Kinsella's book 'The Undomestic Godess' ?

If you like Marian's books then you'll like this.

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## johno

> Interesting.
> Have you read~ Up oor close?


no, but i,ll make a point of it.

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## Jeemag_USA

If you like biography's, David Bowie's is a good read, but you have to get the right one, some of his earlier ones were not fully fact if you know what I mean, he liked to spin yarns to the people writing them, but there was one written in like the late eighties or around 1990 that was really good, and also I thought Robert Maxwell's biography was a fascinating read.

The Bowie one I read was from 1987, just found it at amazon

*Alias David Bowie: A Biography (Paperback)*
by Peter Gillman (Author), Leni Gillman (Author)

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## zappster

Im reading D-day by Stephen Ambrose..astounding..Just finished reading the chapter about the rangers assaulting Pointe Du Hoc so thought i'd look up images..the craters are immense from the allied bombardment fae the sea...scary stuff!!
for anyone interested  htheres some images/info here
http://www.strijdbewijs.nl/normandie8/noreng8.HTM

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## karia

Can I recommend a few of the  books that delighted me of late?

'Black swan Green'  by David Mitchell of 'Cloud Atlas' fame..superb coming of age novel.

'The Time traveller's Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger..simply outstanding by whatever criteria you place it in, or choose to judge it by.

'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini.........Honour, love and morality, simply stated ,  but so  beautifully detailed.

Thank you for indulging me! :Smile: 

karia

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## armanisgirl

A few good sounding titles here! Miriam Coles sounds like my kinda thing. I'm sure the biog that I saw advertised was plugged on 'This Morning' or 'The PAul O'Grady Show' or something like that, the author being someone I thought as potentially being very interesting to read about. It's gonna bug me til I remember who it was. Probably wake up at 4am and remember now!

One autobiog I read, by Trevor Rees Jones, was good. I feel very sorry for him, being the lone survivor of that awful crash, and often wonder, does he really remember more than he's letting on? And how awful for him if he does remember. I don't envy his position at all, it must have been awful for him to go through, surive and then write about, with so much speculation as to the cause of the crash.

My other half (who isn't a reading fan) is slowly making his way thorugh Allan Ball biog, but as football really isnt my thing, I won't be reading it and raving about it on here!

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## trinkie

I love reading books about    The woman behind.......
A real eye-opener was 'The Invisible Woman'   ( Nelly Ternan Charles Dickens )  written by Claire Tomalin
Another I enjoyed was    ' Lady's Maid '  by Margaret Forster
My favourite 'Woman behind'  has to be Dorelia who eventually became the wife of Augustus John.  She said something like  '' If he turns out not to be a great artist, then I have wasted my life.''

Both Tomalin and Forster are great Biographers and have had access to such amazing archives.
Future Biographers must dread the lack of letters now - since the telephone, emails etc.   I wonder what will happen.

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## Angela

> Interesting.
> Have you read~ Up oor close?


angela5, have you read She was aye workin' ?- it's a similar book, by the same publisher (White Cockade) about tenement life in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

armanisgirl, if you enjoy Patricia Cornwell's books, you could check out Kathy Reichs and Linda Fairstein. I read a lot of crime (fiction) and I like their books -good plots and characters, some gore, but not too much  :Smile:   ::

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## telfordstar

> I love Marian Keyes too.
> 
> Telfordstar have you read Sophie Kinsella's book 'The Undomestic Godess' ?
> 
> If you like Marian's books then you'll like this.


 
Hi no i havnt read that one but might give it a go thanks for the recomendation :Grin:

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## peedie

stuart macbride is really good!! sorta rebus style but set in aberdeen really enjoy them. i also enjoy tess gerriston's books. off the crime fiction the undomestic goddess is hilarious but i cant remember the name of the author. i'm reading next by Michael Crichton at the mo and enjoying that to!

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## Valerie Campbell

I'm reading The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W. E. Bowman. Meant to do it 20 years ago but finally got round to it now! Hilarious book on how NOT to go mountain climbing with too many sherpas!

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## Ricco

Just bought and am reading 'Indian Food Made Easy' by Anjum Anand.  She recently had a series on BBC.  Good recipes, nice and easy.... unlike all my Pat Chapman Curry books.

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## Bobinovich

Having read and re-read the Courtney series by Wilbur Smith I found he'd since written a few more, so am ploughing my way through those just now.  Current one is The Triumph of the Sun

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## wifie

I too am reading a Dickens just now - Great Expectations.  Did it in school but like most stuff I read in school did not enjoy it.  Happily I am enjoying it just now.  Before that I read Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray which was a bit of a plough at times but very interesting.  If you like biogs (and old b/w films) Katharine Hepburn by A Scott Berg is brilliant.  Happy reading!

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## karia

Hi Wifie,

I think that Dickens should carry an age limit as we are so often confronted by his work at an age when the sublety and humour in the writing are not easily  accessible..and the same goes for shakespeare who is the master of great wit and clever plot construction and yet often ruined by 'having to' study his works at a tender age rather than coming to them when one is inclined and receptive.

We are taught that Dickens and Shakespeare have inherent worth at an age when we are challenging such assertions and almost HAVE to disregard the perceived views on the matter.

Their PR stinks! :: 

Nice to see both providing pleasure as they should.

kariax

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## wifie

Yes, hated Shakespeare until a theatre company came to the High School and did the scottish play (not sure if it is unlucky to utter the name on the Org but I am taking no chances) and it was absolutely fantastic.  Been a fan ever since!

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## karia

No doubt about it wifie, plays were made to be performed,

..even if only in your head! :Smile: 

'As You Like It' is my favourite play by shakespeare ..but only just! :Wink: 

I don't have a 'bard' word to say about him!

kariax

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## golach

> Having read and re-read the Courtney series by Wilbur Smith I found he'd since written a few more, so am ploughing my way through those just now. Current one is The Triumph of the Sun


Wilbur Smith is one of my favourites too

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## Moira

> .......
> e best book that i hev ever read is ladykiller by martina cole. it is brilliant. all her books are, ye will love them. there are aboot 13 o them. im readin her latest - the close, its brill. really nitty gritty. kwite, nearly...gangsterish??


Books are like music - I enjoy a wide variety. I like Martina Cole but found her latest publication (The Close) a bit of a disappointment - too repetitive for me. Jodi Picoult is next on my list - a few folk have mentioned her to me recently.

Right now I am back in the 18th Century with Diana Galaldon and I am truly hooked. "Cross Stitch" is the name of the first novel in the series, if anyone is interested.

I'll be checking out some of the recommendations on this thread too - thanks folks  :Smile:

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## karia

Hi moira,

If going for a Jodi Piccoult novel then I'd recommend 'My sisters Keeper' which I think is by far her best, and will really make you think!

Keep a bucket of mini-stollen to hand..and paradise awaits! :: 

Kariax

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## Rheghead

I am reading This book, but I believe the story isn't over yet!! :Wink:

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## Moira

> Hi moira,
> 
> If going for a Jodi Piccoult novel then I'd recommend 'My sisters Keeper' which I think is by far her best, and will really make you think!
> 
> Keep a bucket of mini-stollen to hand..and paradise awaits!
> 
> Kariax



Thanks Karia - I'll keep this in mind  :Smile:

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## Anne x

On The Edge ---Richard Hamster Hammond its Other Halfs but borrowed it !!

Hoping he gets Seve Ballesteros book for xmas then I can borrow that !!!

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## Blondie

> Hi moira,
> 
> If going for a Jodi Piccoult novel then I'd recommend 'My sisters Keeper' which I think is by far her best, and will really make you think!
> 
> Keep a bucket of mini-stollen to hand..and paradise awaits!
> 
> Kariax


That book is amazing!  Have you read 'The Pact' also by Jodi Picoult?

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## henry20

I'm currently reading a book called The Step Child by Donna Ford - its a true story where Donna was abused by her stepmother and her stepmother sent her to local gentlemen for 'errands'

So far its been a really good read, but its terrible to know that people like this really exist! At the stage I've reached, the step mother has left the family home for good - leaving 2 step children behind (the 3rd ran away) and her own 3 children. What makes the story worse is the fact that Barnardo's were involved and sent the 3 step children into the situation and despite regularly checking on the family, they weren't removed.

I know from the blurb on the book, that Helen - the step mother - was later sent to prison, but I'm sure it was only for 2 or 4 years. A disgraceful sentence for the torment she caused her step children  ::

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## Saveman

> Wilbur Smith is one of my favourites too


The man is a genius!
Unputdownable.

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## karia

> That book is amazing!  Have you read 'The Pact' also by Jodi Picoult?


Hi Blondie,

Yes,  I have read 'The Pact', quite good but I  didn't like it quite so much as 'My Sister's Keeper'.

By the time I'd got through 'Salem Falls' and 'Vanishing Act'  I'm afraid I had had enough of Jodi Picoult. :Frown: 

I think I started one called 'Keeping Faith' but decided half way through that I didn't care what happened to any of the characters and gave up.

karia

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## Mr_Me19

Definately read some Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings are the best books ever written. I've read mine so much that I have had to purchase new copies recently because the older ones are falling to bits! 

In between reading these (I'm always reading them) I have been looking at Terry Pratchet. Only on the 4th novel in the DiscWorld series but I like what I have read so far. Very similar to Douglas Adams (who you won't go wrong with either).

Finally, and I know these are branded as kids books, but, try 'His Dark Materials' trilogy by Philip Pullman. These books can be an easy read but have a lot more depth to them than most people will realise on the first read. I would say that you should give these a look.

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## erli

Read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (my most fav book ever), 'The Catcher in the Rye', 'Brave New World' or 'The Unbearable lightness of Being'. All fantastic reads. Any James Patterson would also be worth your while. 

I am today reading Aurthur Miller's play, 'The Crucible', tomorrow I plan to start, for the second time as I couldn't get into it, 'Catch 22', by Joseph Heller.

Oh, also try Dalton Trumbo's, 'Johnny Got His Gun' which 'Metallica's, 'One' was based on or 'Heminway's, 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' or 'Song of Solomon' By Toni Morrison, I have been taken far away from own life while reading these classic novels, well worth a try.

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## nanoo

_I loved 'The Lord of The Rings' trilogy and have read them quite a few times, however a friend of mine introduced me, many years ago to David Eddings books 'The Belgariad' These books are fabulous and consist of five, to complete the story. About ten years later he started writing a follow on series and he called that, 'The Mallorean' it  also consists of five books. I can guarantee anyone who loves Tolkiens L.O.T.R. will love these books too. A friend of mine recently read all ten books and absolutely loved them, she incidentaly is an out and out L.O.T.R. fanatic. As far as i know the library has these books. Go on give them a try, you won't be disappointed._

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## horseman

James Clavell with his Shogun series,reread many times, superb.
 Patrick O'Brian, his entire Aubrey-Maturin series, now even my wife says-'you are not doing those sea stories again'?-yes I am :Wink: 
  James Herriot with his funny vet tales,an Lillian Beckworth!her series about life on the hebridean of Bruach an her crofters are so humourous, an as she would say 'beautiful just'.Scottish classic. :Smile:

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## Oddquine

So many books mentioned that I've read............including the Dark Materials Trilogy. 

On my bedside table at the moment are Devil's Corner (Lisa Scottoline),, Under the Knife (Tess Gerritsen) and Next (Michael Crichton)......and open on the coffee table is Thriller, a collection edited by James Patterson. Authors include Lee Child, David Morrell, Gayle  Lynds and David Dun.........and so far the stories are good.

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## JamesMcVean

I picked up a sizeable book at aberdeen airport on tueday...
ORCS by Stan Nicholls
Fantasy trilogy omnibus
720pages told from the Orc's point of view...

Read 20 pages in the half hour flight to wick...Brilliant stuff ...action packed, funny, gory...original in a genre that is hard to find new thoughts for...
Buy it!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Orcs-Omnibus.../dp/0575074876

It is for sale on here for as little as 90p!!

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## sjj278

I normally read crime books and as i was going on a course and having to travel for 6 hours on the train i tried to find a patricia cornwell book in tesco, but they didnt have any so i picked up "the hard way" by Lee Child in two days i finished the book it was so gripping!!! i definately think i will try to find some of his other books now.

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## sassylass

I'm a little behind times, just now starting The Poisonwood Bible...very interesting. Has anyone else read it, and what did you think?

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## Angela

> I'm a little behind times, just now starting The Poisonwood Bible...very interesting. Has anyone else read it, and what did you think?


I've tried to get into this one twice, Sassylass, but gave up! Most people speak very highly of it, it just wasn't for me.  :Frown: 

I love your avatar!  :Grin: Is it specially for Hallowe'en?

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## Kenn

Just read "Out of the dark," was an amazing book about a very sad medical condition, depression and suicidal tendencies.
However it was written from the viewpoint of both the sufferer and her analyst in a very readable form.
Well after that serious read it's back to Terry Pratchett!

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## zenmaster

> _I loved 'The Lord of The Rings' trilogy and have read them quite a few times, however a friend of mine introduced me, many years ago to David Eddings books 'The Belgariad' These books are fabulous and consist of five, to complete the story. About ten years later he started writing a follow on series and he called that, 'The Mallorean' it also consists of five books. I can guarantee anyone who loves Tolkiens L.O.T.R. will love these books too. A friend of mine recently read all ten books and absolutely loved them, she incidentaly is an out and out L.O.T.R. fanatic. As far as i know the library has these books. Go on give them a try, you won't be disappointed._


In my teens I loved The Belgariad and The Mallorean, and I read the latter to my daughter when she was in primary school - she loved it too. I remember both books having good humour throughout.

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