rooreynolds.com: Recent Reading

The phrase "through the medium of Welsh" is surprisingly common online. It makes me smile a lot. Through the medium.. of Welsh! 22 hrs ago
At home, thinking and writing. Who knew that strategy could be interesting. 1 day ago
It took me 5 minutes to notice that the old man sat next to me (on his phone, got on at Bournemouth) is not drunk, just speaking Welsh. 1 day ago
Grabbing a bite to eat in Weymouth College student lounge. As a consequence I can overhear students talking. 'Deny!' seems to be popular. 1 day ago
Heading to the station. Going to spend quality time writing on the train en route to Weymouth. I'll miss you, Internet. (Must get 3G card). 1 day ago
More updates...

Recent Reading

David Maine, The Flood - re-telling of the Noah’s ark story, from multiple points of view. Charming.
Michael Collins, The Meat Eaters - collection of short stories. Mixed, but generally enjoyable.
Lorraine Adams, Harbor - as you can tell by the spelling of the title, an American book. A tale of immigration and (hints of) terrorism. Misable, but apparently well received in the US.
Ian McEwan, Amsterdam - I read this in one sitting (during the flight from O’Hare to Austin) and loved every word. I wanted it to be longer, and it was no ‘Saturday’, but it’s good.
Simon Ings, The Weight of Numbers - Meh. I wanted to enjoy it more than I did. Involved and full of character development, but let down by dull sections and some badly written sex (which was not even central to the book). Meh.
Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beach - I love McEwan, and enjoyed his latest, but it was no ‘Saturday’ or even ‘Amsterdam’. His weakest yet, or was I just in a bad mood?
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion - stuck in an Austin airport, surrounded by Best Sellers, I was desperate to buy anything that wasn’t by Crichton, Binchy, Grisham etc. Eventually settled on Dawkins, who turns out to be a good read. Thought provoking (obviously) but also surprisingly readable.

Tags: books · reading · readinglist

1 Nick O'Leary // Apr 21, 2008 at 6:52 pm

As you know, I’ve been meaning to read more McEwan since you put me onto Saturday, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I wasn’t all that impressed with On Chesil Beach either. It’s hard to put a finger on what didn’t work for me - but I was slightly surprised to see it win Book of the Year at the recent British Book Awards.