I love reading and I plough through books at quite a speed. So I enjoyed a post on the Howies blog about books recently.
I am going to steal their idea and ask you 3 questions:
– What book did you last read?
– What are you currently reading?
– What’s next on your pile of books to read?
My answers:
– Junior Officers’ Reading Club
– Penguin History of the 20th Century (may take a while!)
– The Well-Loved Stranger
What are you reading now? Please share with us in the comments…
Cool idea! And I get to start it off! Woohoo!
ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand
THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand
BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard
‘- Lolita
– A Passage to India
– A Death in the Family
Nice idea!
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Err i don’t think mine are that impressive but i love reading fast books…
1. Harry Potter and the Philospohers Stone
2. It’s not about the bike (Lance Armstrong). I guess you’ve read that alistair!
3. Ten Lessons from the road! lol!
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Shorts stories of Ernest Hemingway
The process ( Kafka)
There are other rivers
hey everyone – thanks for sharing these. More books to add to my Xmas wish list…
Al
Moods of Future Joys
Thunder and Sunshine (because the two have got to be read together, don’t they?)
Disgrace by JM Coetzee
Patrick, I think your comment is a Disgrace! How could you choose a Nobel Prize winning book next over the Triple Crown and downstairs loo Spectacular that is 10 Lessons from the Road?! ;-)
Papillion
Castaway (by Lucy Irvine, not the Tom Hanks film)
Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon
‘- The Man Who Cycled The World – Mark Beaumont
– Solo: The North Pole: Alone & Unsupported – Pen Hadow
– Slow Coast Home – Josie Dew
1. The Happy Isles of Oceania – Paul Theroux (loved this – will be working my way through a few more of these I reckon)
2. After The Ice – Steven Mithen (this will take a while!)
3. The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown (should I be ashamed?)
Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
To Kill A Mockingbird – HArper Lee
The Art of War – Sun Tzu
Great question!
Past: The Mystery of the Nile by Richard Bangs
Present: Olivetti Cronicles by John Peel
Future: Some kind of history of latin american music if I can find one…
The Da Vinci Code
Shackleton – R. Huntsford
A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemminway
1. The Reader
2. Oryx and Crake, War & Peace, several manuscripts, On The Road, the DMZ series. I always have lots of books on the go.
3. The Year of the Flood.
And now it’s plug time! *assumes deep movie trailer voice* From the publishers of best-selling writer Alastair Humphreys comes an extensive list of fascinating adventures. Gasp! As a well-known documentary maker exposes life on the road in Africa in Walking Away by Charlotte Metcalfe! Be Astounded! As an interpid band of media warriors set up Afghanistan’s first post-war radio station in Waseem Mahmood’s Good Morning Afghanistan! Find Inspiration! As we follow the adventures of a British couple who leave a comfortable life behind in order to try and make it in the Yukon Wilderness in The Good Life by Dorian Amos!
/plug
*ahem*
Point And Laugh! As a publisher forgets how to type and/or spell!
Some suggestions from my friend Clare:
“I totally devour books, and no charity shop is safe from me, no matter how full my brompton pannier!
I have recently finished “The Broken Window” by Jeffry Deaver (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Broken-Window-Jeffery-Deaver/dp/0340993707/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255004675&sr=1-1). I like a bit of Deaver- I think his crime fiction is very clever… maybe too clever for me sometimes!
I am currently reading “The Little things” by Erica James (£3 in Sainsburies (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Its-Little-Things-Erica-James/dp/0752884336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255004571&sr=8-1) which Is beautifully written, essentially chick-lit, relatively predictable (so far!)…. Read more
Next on my pile of books is “Iceland Inside Guide” (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iceland-Insight-Guide-Apa/dp/9812587578/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255004747&sr=1-2) as we’re off on our exciting Iceland Honeymoon next friday and I haven’t had a chance to really look through it all!
Arktika of gilles elkaim. The russian coast from north cape to eastern tip of russia near alaska in 4 years
Hi Bastien,
I did not know about this journey, so thanks for enlightening me. Wow!
Here’s a link for people:
http://www.arktika.org/uk/menu_expedition.htm
Al
‘- The Island at the Center of the World.
– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
– Affinity Bridge or Atmospheric Disturbances
Great scott – the collective mind is working overtime today. Was about to post my current book on Twitter then saw this blog…
Last: Cycling Home From Siberia by Rob Lilwall
Current: 1001 Arabian Nights translated by Sir Richard Burton
Next: Grimms Fairy Tales
Learning to Breathe – Andy Cave
The Secret Hunters – Ranulph Fiennes
Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
Frost Bitten- Kelley Armstrong
Cycling home from siberia- Rob lilwall
Up till now- Wiliam shatner
Tales from the Farm – Jeff Lemire
Cycling Home from Siberia – Rob Lilwall
Waterlog – Roger Deakin
Last read :
Caves of steel / Isaac Asimov
current read (s) : Untold Stories / Alan Bennett
The God Delusion / Richard Dawkins
The Naked Sun / Issac Asimov
Next read :
The White Tiger / Aravind Adiga
Bel Canto – Ann Patchett
Mother London – Michael Moorcock
God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
Kathy, George, you are both reading great books at the moment!
Here’s the shortlist for the Boardman Tasker Mountain Literature award: http://www.boardmantasker.com/site/shortlist2009.htm
(Thanks, Tomo [http://twitter.com/Tomo_Thompson])
First among sequels – Jasper Fforde
Chocky – John Wyndham
Independent people – Halldor Laxness
Past – Love Letters from a Desert (book of letter written by a Scottish soldier during WW2)
Present – The Canoe Boys by Alistair Dunnett (the story of a kayak expedition from Glasgow to Skye in 1934)
Future – Dreaming of Jupiter by Ted Simon (the story of Ted retracing a 3 year motorcycle journey he first did in the 1970s …the orginal book Jupiters Travels was the reason I learned to ride a motorcyle)
Great idea, I love seeing what everyone is reading.
Love My Rifle More than You – Kayla Williams
Superpowers for Parents – Dr Stephen Briers (I need all the help I can get!)
Next…still deciding, it’s one of my favourite things, choosing the next book. Probably The Book Thief By Markus Zusak as am hosting a book club on it in Nov, or maybe Feminista by Erica Kennedy as was recommended by a fellow blogger. How was The Junior Officers’ Reading Club Al as it is on my pile?
Last read
Right Ho, Jeeves – P. G. Wodehouse
Currently reading
Three Men in a Float – Dan Kieran & Ian Vince
Coming up next
The Medway and its Tributaries – R H Goodsall
Last Read: Foundation – Asimov.
Currently reading: The Vanished Man – Jeffery Deaver
Next: See what tickles my fancy – I’m starting to feel like reading one of Stephen Ambrose’s books (Band of Brothers et al).
Ryan- How great is Papillion? I’ve never read anything like it before- what a brilliant book! Al- you must try to read it- this gentleman has a tenacity like I’ve never seen before!
Clare – I agree, it’s a stunning book!
Hi Saff,
I think you would hate the Junior Officers’ Reading Club! I quite enjoyed it, though he tries a bit hard to be re-writing Dispatches…
:59 seconds
The mind in the cave
Quirkology
‘- FLOW, by Mihaly Csizentmihalyi
– UTOPIA, Thomas Moore [not liking it]
Just read:
– 50/50 — Secrets I learned running 50 marathons in 50 days, and how you too can achieve super endurance!, by Dean Karnazes
– Steppenwolf, by Herman Hesse
Reading:
– FLOW, by Mihaly Csizentmihalyi
– UTOPIA, Thomas More [not liking it]
Next reads:
Still undecided from dozens of already-bought options… =)
Currently reading-Crow Country by Mark Cocker. Read it, or let the corvids pick your bones clean! There’s more to the British countryside than meets the eye.
Into thin air, John Krakauer
Driving mr Albert, Michael Paternity
Born to run ,Christopher McDougal
Also on chapter 7 of 10 lessons from the road.
The Carpenter’s Pencil – Manuel Rivas
All The Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy
????? – The to read pile is VERY big. I normally pick what I’m going to read next on the basis of how I feel after the latest book I’ve read. :-)
Ransom – Jay McInerney
The Way of the World – Nicolas Bouvier
The Balkans – Misha Glenny
The Pilgrim by Paulo Coelho got me started on the walking and thinking!!
Sorry, The book is called ‘The Pilgrimage’. Plan to do the Way of St James in the Spring.
I’ve compiled everyone’s contributions into one for me to add to my Christmas wish list…
ATLAS SHRUGGED – Ayn Rand
THE FOUNTAINHEAD – Ayn Rand
BATTLEFIELD EARTH – L. Ron Hubbard
Lolita
A Passage to India
A Death in the Family
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey
Harry Potter and the Philospohers Stone
It’s not about the bike – Lance Armstrong
The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner
The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
—
Disgrace – JM Coetzee
Papillion
Castaway – Lucy Irvine
Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon
The Man Who Cycled The World – Mark Beaumont
Solo: The North Pole: Alone & Unsupported – Pen Hadow
Slow Coast Home – Josie Dew
The Happy Isles of Oceania – Paul Theroux
After The Ice – Steven Mithen
The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown
Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
To Kill A Mockingbird – HArper Lee
The Art of War – Sun Tzu
The Mystery of the Nile – Richard Bangs
Olivetti Cronicles – John Peel
Some kind of history of latin american music if I can find one…
The Da Vinci Code
Shackleton – R. Huntsford
A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemminway
The Reader
Oryx and Crake
War & Peace
On The Road
The DMZ series.
The Year of the Flood.
The Broken Window – Jeffry Deaver
The Little things – Erica James
Arktika – gilles elkaim.
The Island at the Center of the World.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Affinity Bridge
Atmospheric Disturbances
Cycling Home From Siberia – Rob Lilwall
1001 Arabian Nights – Sir Richard Burton
Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Learning to Breathe – Andy Cave
The Secret Hunters – Ranulph Fiennes
Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
Frost Bitten – Kelley Armstrong
Up till now- Wiliam Shatner
Tales from the Farm – Jeff Lemire
Waterlog – Roger Deakin
Caves of steel
Untold Stories – Alan Bennett
The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins
The Naked Sun – Issac Asimov
The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga
Bel Canto – Ann Patchett
Mother London – Michael Moorcock
God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
First among sequels – Jasper Fforde
Chocky – John Wyndham
Independent people – Halldor Laxness
Love Letters from a Desert (book of letters written by a Scottish soldier during WW2)
Present – The Canoe Boys – Alistair Dunnett
Future – Dreaming of Jupiter – Ted Simon
Love My Rifle More than You – Kayla Williams
Superpowers for Parents – Dr Stephen Briers
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
Right Ho, Jeeves – P. G. Wodehouse
Three Men in a Float – Dan Kieran & Ian Vince
The Medway and its Tributaries – R H Goodsall
Foundation – Asimov.
The Vanished Man – Jeffery Deaver
Band of Brothers – Stephen Ambrose
59 seconds
The mind in the cave
Quirkology
FLOW, – Mihaly Csizentmihalyi
UTOPIA – Thomas Moore
50/50 – Secrets I learned running 50 marathons in 50 days, and how you too can achieve super endurance! – Dean Karnazes
Steppenwolf, – Herman Hesse
FLOW, – Mihaly Csizentmihalyi
Crow Country – Mark Cocker.
Into thin air – John Krakauer
Driving Mr Albert – Michael Paternity
Born to run – Christopher McDougal
The Carpenter’s Pencil – Manuel Rivas
All The Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy
Ransom – Jay McInerney
The Way of the World – Nicolas Bouvier
The Balkans – Misha Glenny
The Pilgrimage – Paulo Coelho
very impressive list….will include many of the books in my reading list as well.
Last read: Nelson Mandela’s biography by Martin Meredith
Currently reading : Hitler by Ian Kershaw (it is a one volume tome -combining Hubris and Nemesis – completed about half of the book – brilliant one volume biographical analysis if Hitler and his motivation)
Next in the pile: A history of the twentieth century – volume 1 – Martin Gilbert – covering the period from 1900 to 1933
1. Louis de Bernieres- Red Dog
2. Ryzard Kapuscinski- Shadow of the Sun (!!!)
3. Isabel Allende- House of the Spirits
Matt,
I love Ryzard Kapuscinski…
I love this collection of book recommendations! Especially given the demographic of your blog followers.
– A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller
– Born To Run (A hidden tribe, superathletes, and the greatest race the world has never seen) by Christopher McDougall
– A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren
Thanks for your additions, Heather
last: Moods of Future Joys
current: Thunder & Sunshine – I am currently in Uzbekistan – vicariously
next: 10 Lessons
Not meaning to be a creep or anything, but as I saw them in Waterstones on a recent trip back to the UK… It just so happens I am reading your trilogy, saw the post whilst flicking through your website and enjoy the serendipity of being able to promote your books as inspirational page turners.
Just realised… I also Have “Allen Carr’s Easyway to give up smoking” on my to-read pile. Which should it be? “10 Lessons from the Road” or the use of my lungs?
1. World War Z
2. A Scanner Darkly
3. Live and Let Die
‘- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
– Interview with The Vampire by Anne Rice
– Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden
Barring Mechanicals by Andy Allsop
Super Tramp by WH Davies
[…] One of my most popular blog posts was when I asked you what books you were reading at the moment. […]
“In The Shadow Of The Sun” – Ryzard Kapuscinski.
In the top 5 books I’ve read and the reason I did Cape2Cairo.
Fantastic list Al – don’t know how I missed it before.
I was just thinking I need some book recommendations so thanks everyone!
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning – Laurie Lee
WildWood – Roger Deakin
Papillon –
My girlfriend and housemate have been raving about Papillon and after these recommendations it’s definitely next on the list!
Nothing new in mountaineering or adventuring circles, but these are classics:
Dougal Haston: The Philosophy of Risk – Jeff Connor
The Wild Places – Robert MacFarlane
The Worst Journey in the World – Apsley Cherry-Garrard
On that not, I think I might create a book section on my blog…
did not check complete list so do not know if this is a duplicate, it definitely is a must read,it is life at its worst and the sadness of loss, I just think it is an incredible journey of resilience, friendship and true meaning of comradeship. I found it very sad yet inspiring.
“The Long Walk – Slovomir Rawicz”
I’ve grabbed all these books and pasted them into one list for easy access:
The Long Walk – Slovomir Rawicz
1001 Arabian Nights – Sir Richard Burton
50/50 – Secrets I learned running 50 marathons in 50 days, and how you too can achieve super endurance! – Dean Karnazes
59 seconds
A Death in the Family
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller
A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemminway
A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren
A Passage to India
A Scanner Darkly
Affinity Bridge
After The Ice – Steven Mithen
All The Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy
Arktika – gilles elkaim.
As I Lay Dying – William Faulkner
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning – Laurie Lee
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
Atmospheric Disturbances
Band of Brothers – Stephen Ambrose
Barring Mechanicals by Andy Allsop
Bel Canto – Ann Patchett
Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
Born to run – Christopher McDougal
Castaway – Lucy Irvine
Caves of steel
Chocky – John Wyndham
Crow Country – Mark Cocker.
Cycling Home From Siberia – Rob Lilwall
Disgrace – JM Coetzee
Dougal Haston: The Philosophy of Risk – Jeff Connor
Driving Mr Albert – Michael Paternity
First among sequels – Jasper Fforde
FLOW, – Mihaly Csizentmihalyi
Foundation – Asimov.
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Frost Bitten – Kelley Armstrong
Future – Dreaming of Jupiter – Ted Simon
God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Harry Potter and the Philospohers Stone
Independent people – Halldor Laxness
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Interview with The Vampire by Anne Rice
Into thin air – John Krakauer
Isabel Allende- House of the Spirits
It’s not about the bike – Lance Armstrong
Learning to Breathe – Andy Cave
Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
Live and Let Die
Lolita
Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden
Louis de Bernieres- Red Dog
Love Letters from a Desert (book of letters written by a Scottish soldier during WW2)
Love My Rifle More than You – Kayla Williams
Mother London – Michael Moorcock
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Olivetti Cronicles – John Peel
On The Road
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey
Oryx and Crake
Papillion
Present – The Canoe Boys – Alistair Dunnett
Quirkology
Ransom – Jay McInerney
Right Ho, Jeeves – P. G. Wodehouse
Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon
Ryzard Kapuscinski- Shadow of the Sun
Shackleton – R. Huntsford
Slow Coast Home – Josie Dew
Solo: The North Pole: Alone & Unsupported – Pen Hadow
Steppenwolf, – Herman Hesse
Super Tramp by WH Davies
Superpowers for Parents – Dr Stephen Briers
Tales from the Farm – Jeff Lemire
The Art of War – Sun Tzu
The Balkans – Misha Glenny
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
The Broken Window – Jeffry Deaver
The Carpenter’s Pencil – Manuel Rivas
The Da Vinci Code
The DMZ series
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins
The Happy Isles of Oceania – Paul Theroux
The Island at the Center of the World.
The Little things – Erica James
The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown
The Man Who Cycled The World – Mark Beaumont
The Medway and its Tributaries – R H Goodsall
The mind in the cave
The Mystery of the Nile – Richard Bangs
The Naked Sun – Issac Asimov
The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
The Pilgrimage – Paulo Coelho
The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
The Reader
The Secret Hunters – Ranulph Fiennes
The Vanished Man – Jeffery Deaver
The Way of the World – Nicolas Bouvier
The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga
The Wild Places – Robert MacFarlane
The Worst Journey in the World – Apsley Cherry-Garrard
The Year of the Flood
Three Men in a Float – Dan Kieran & Ian Vince
To Kill A Mockingbird – HArper Lee
Untold Stories – Alan Bennett
Up till now- Wiliam Shatner
UTOPIA – Thomas Moore
War & Peace
Waterlog – Roger Deakin
WildWood – Roger Deakin
World War Z
[…] Please do let me know. I wrote a post like this last year and it generated a great response (see “What book are you reading right now?”). Fingers crossed for more this year… This year I asked the question on Twitter and received […]
Hi, Al
Just finished reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid. Enjoyed it because (a) i normally read a lot of non fiction and (b) its an revealing and scary introduction into how much of the Islamic world views the West…..
ATB
Ed.
1: moods of future joys.
2: thunder and sunshine
3: a bit Scott-ish.
Can you spot a thread here…
I don’t only ear cycling books, but bought a new bike after christmas with the intention of riding lots again and losing weight – I sit firmly in your list of the percentage who are overweight!
I have been riding most days; doing my shopping by bike rather than car now, and have lost a stone in six weeks. Crashed hard a few days ago – was surprised by a rogue manhole cover on a wet corner and in trying to avoid it hit the kerb and landed on my shoulder. Got a week away now, so time to recover and get back on asap.
Also planning a trip around the outer Hebrides this June.
Thanks for the books, they are great, and inspire my forthcoming trip – however short it may be in comparison!
Oops, meant to say “read books…”
Congratulaions on buying a bike, losing a stone, crashing, getting back on the bike and planning your Hebridean adventure.
Funny to re read this a year later!
Lost another stone, riding the woods on my mountain bike most days now.
Book I’m reading now – and well worth a read – three cups of tea; factual about a climber who devotes his life to building schools in Baltistan; Pakistan, in the Himalayan foothills after a failed attempt on K2. Check it out Al.
Was reading some essays and ‘Nature’ by Emerson,needed something lighter after that so jumped to Dharma Bums-Jack Kerouac now.
Nick Sanders-extraordinary life of an ordinary man
Kipling- letters of travels
war and peace
Hi Al,
I’m currently reading The Way of Zen written by Alan Watts.
The last book which had an impact on me was Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel and the one that I plan to purchase next is The Element by Sir Kenneth Robinson.
Thanks for sharing your stories with us,
Kris
Thanks Kris.
[…] WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? […]
[…] WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? […]
last book read was The World of Cycling According to G by Geraint Thomas, an interesting insight into life in the peleton.
Current book I am reading is Walking Home by Poet Simon Armitage about walking the Pennine Way ‘the wrong way round from Kirk Yetholm to Edale. I am enjoying the book. Simon writes in an engaging way, and is quite amusing and poignant at the same time.
The next book that I would like to read is Mood of Future Joys because I read mistakenly read Thunder and Sunshine first. This would give me an excuse to read the second book again.
Just finished run or die – Kilian jornet
Reading now suffocation – James Wallman
On order The summit’s of my life Kilian Jornet and book I had for Christmas The book of the bothy