We thought it was about time we shared our current reads with you. First though, please welcome our newest rabbit to bounce down into the burrow – Woodie – he’s our new digital creative who joined us last week and has already settled right in, given his shared interest in zombie film making (with some of the team I hasten to add – not all of us are fascinated by flesh-eating cinematography). He also drinks green tea, but we’re trying to ignore that. Anyway, say hi to him if you’re on Twitter, he’s @Wooodie (yes, with three o’s – bet he gets asked that a lot).

Woodie ‘I’m reading Stephen King’s, Just After Sunset a collection of short stories. I used to read King a lot when I was younger and loved his style of writing. His ability to instantly capture the reader and submerge them in his dark and usually twisted world is excellently shown off with the short story format. Some of the stories are more like tales of the unexpected than horror. Haven’t finished it yet but would recommend it as a great introduction to Stephen King or a worthy insight into his ability to briefly dunk you into his cadaverous cup of macabre tea!

Pete ‘I’m reading Ilium by Dan Simmons – it’s a sci-fi novel that’s set in a post-human future, centred around the recreation of the events of Homer’s Iliad on Earth and Mars by beings so technologically advanced they’re akin to Grecian gods (the roles of which they occupy to oversee the events of the Iliad). It’s one of the better sci-fi novels that I’ve read, and is especially interesting for the intertextual references to Shakespeare and Proust. Definitely a must-read for anyone interested in literary science fiction.’

Dan ‘I’m currently reading Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland. I’m enjoying it, it’s awesome. So far it’s not quite as engaging as other stuff of his that I’ve read, but it’s still building at the moment which is one thing that his books tend to take a while to do. The connection with the characters isn’t quite there yet, but it’s got that underlying feeling of something strange is going to happen towards the end, which is quite a common theme with his books. There’s a thing called ‘the plants’ a place where they’ve done experiments and apparently it will take decades to clean up and it keeps getting mentioned so something interesting is going to come out of that I think. Or I could be completely surprised by the ending, like I was with All Families are Psychotic.

Tim ‘I’m onto the third book in Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy called Cities of the Plain. Not far enough into this book but have loved the first two – All the Pretty Horses and The Crossing. This brings together the two separate stories and the main protagonists from the previous two books. As you’d expect from McCarthy the use of local vernacular and turn of phrase immediately transports you to another time. In all three books the characters are battling adversity in the harshest of environments, but they do so with the stoicism and minimum of fuss that you’d expect of the time and their profession. That’s not to say that these books are devoid of any emotion, quite the opposite. As in The Road where there is relatively little dialogue McCarthy is able to convey their turmoil in such an unspoken way that you can almost feel the characters biting their tongues.  Not sure what I am going to do with myself once I’ve finished this one…’

Simon ‘I’m currently on Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman – it’s great and I think it’s one for the loo when I’ve finished it, not for flushing down, but for leaving for others to read as it’s one of those books where you can dip in when you like! As the name suggests it’s a series of tales explaining what the afterlife is like and what happens when you shed this mortal coil. Although I’m never quite sure who’s reading it to me, it’s very well written, witty and thought provoking. It’s short too, 128 pages, which is good for me because then I’m tackling the mammoth that is Stephen King’s Under the Dome, nearly 900 pages!’

Piers ‘I’m reading Get Me Out of Here by Henry Sutton. It’s released tomorrow (21 January) and was sent to BookRabbit for review. So far, it’s quite enjoyable. It tells the story of Henry, a city worker, in 2008 who is obsessed with the quality of branded products and who is having a bad day / week / month / year / life. It feels quite similar to American Psycho, as our would be hero’s life is starting to spin out of control (but you get the feeling it’s all just in his head) and you can tell it won’t end well for a number of people in the book! Lots of black humour and you can tell there is a hint of the credit crunch coming which will no doubt have an impact on the character.’

Sylvia I’m re-reading the Tower and Hive series by Anne McCaffery, starting with The Rowan – an old favourite of mine! Here’s a summary of the first book: Trapped under tons of mud following a huge mud slide, a three-year-old girl screams out telepathically for help. Every resource on her planet is used in her rescue mission, for she is no ordinary girl, but a Prime, and possessor of one of the most powerful minds in the Nine Star League.

Sarah ‘I’ve just finished The Hidden Heart of Emily Hudson by Melissa Jones, which I loved, it follows the fortunes of a young American orphan struggling with the constraints of 19th century society. It’s really well written and so well observed, Emily is an exhilarating character to read, and I’m a big fan of historical fiction anyway. There’s still time to win a copy of the book and listen to an exclusive interview with the author on our blog. I’ve just started Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger and am totally hooked already. It’s a classic gothic ghost story, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. I chose it because it’s also the first book in the new TV Book Club’s reading list – see the blog for our reaction to the first episode – the panel were a little flat about it, but I think the writing is top, and she creates such a menacing gothic atmosphere.’

Comments RSS