What book are you reading? & Book Recommendations

Someone else who is into parallel reading. Great!

I read Russell’s Principles and Kant’s Prolegomena when I was at uni. Both interesting reads, but I can’t see myself going back to either of them. As for what I am reading at the moment:

• Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest novel, Written on the Dark.
• Andreas Feininger, That’s Photography.
• David Duchemin, Photographically Speaking.
• Nick Walker, Neuroqueer Heresies.
• Petre Maican, The Asceticism of Emotions.
• Paul Fiddes (ed.), One Earth, One Love.

I read really quickly, I can easily read a book a day, sometimes more if I really go for it. I don't read that fast on purpose, but I do read a lot, so I guess it's partly practice. I'd love to have a pile of books waiting to be read, at the momment I'm finding it hard to find new books.

I love books. Problem is, I'm a really slow reader and am often too mentally tired to read, so I have a mountain of unread books. 

My next read will probably be one of the many Discworld novels I've collected. I recently finished Guards! Guards! and probably enjoyed it almost as much a Mort. I've also just finished Shakespeare's The Tempest and enjoyed that too. The average read time for it is apparently 90 minutes, but it took me a lot longer than that, due to having to decipher the Old English.

My next read will probably be Reaper Man, a James Herbert, or a classic sci-fi novel. 

If anybody is interested in science fantasy comedy, I've just published a novel of my own about two neurodivergent sisters who have to save their absurdly broken universe. It's called Ape to Zed, and it's on Amazon. My dad, who's a painter, did the cover art for me.   

Ape to Zed

I don't understand how people read things quickly. I have read lots of books, but it takes me weeks not days. I find I read paragraphs twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. When I pick up a book the next day to continue I skim the previous section and if I don't remember it I read it again. It is annoying and makes for slow going, but I can't stop myself.

I have to stop myself buying too many books as I buy them faster than I can read them.

I have various history and science fiction stuff waiting.

Title: The Garden Against Time: In Search Of A Common Paradise

Author: Olivia Laing

ISBN: 9781529066708

Waterstones Says: "Combining history, horticulture, art and biography, this stunning and erudite meditation on the role of the garden through Western culture from the author of The Lonely City ranges from John Milton to Derek Jarman in peerless prose."

I bought two paperback copies of this book (one for me to read and the other to gift to an elderly relative whose mobility is much reduced this year).

Since Easter, at our own pace, we have been dipping in and out of this book in parallel.

In times past; we might have met up at a notable regional garden and walked around until tired out - using the garden's themes to prompt our common experience conversation of the visit.

This year; my hope is that this book might achieve something similar - from the comfort of garden deckchairs at home.

I like parallel reading 4 books during the same span of time so all my SI's are properly attended to (I only allot an 1 hour reading session for each):

• The Principles of Mathematics, Bertrand Russel (which I tend to supplement with exercises on the Skillful Reasoning website);
• Prolegomena To Any Metaphysics, Kant;
• Science of Everyday Things Volume 1, Neil Schlager, Judson Knight;
• Dramatic Writing, Lajos Egri.

Ooo I think I’ve heard of that one. I should add that to my list.

I’m reading a book called Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Barry M. Prizant PhD & Tom Fields-Meyer.

I like this book. It’s well written, despite being a little outdated in some areas. I think a lot of people who are NT would benefit from reading this as parts of the book shows him advocating for people to be allowed to stim so long as they don’t hurt themselves, or others, without judgement and for people to use alternative communication rather than focusing singularly on verbal communication, which let’s be honest most of the autistic population struggle with.

This book is one of my faves to read. I wish more people would read it, especially those who are not autistic as there’s a lot to be taken and learned from it.

I'm currently reading The Ancient Alien Question by Coppens. Fascinating read, if you are in to aliens you'll enjoy it for sure and if you aren't, well it's certainly worth a go. I've read it before and will read it again.

The last book I read that I recommend is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I read it for the first time last year and wow. What a great book. My words couldn't do it justice. If you see it, buy it. You won't regret it, that is a guarantee.

Some science fiction recommendations – Miles Cameron’s Arcana Imperii series (so far 2 novels and a book of short stories); Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh; and the Teixcalaan duology (A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace) by Arkady Martine.

It's only about once every three or four years that I read something I really love, but when it happens, there's nothing better. The book I've enjoyed most is probably The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Some people say one of the main characters is autistic. The thing that struck me about the book was that it makes you feel like the member of a secret society, an elite group who know what's going on when ordinary people are in the dark. Many of my favourite books have a similar effect. I love spy stories, and Tinker Tailor is probably my all-time fave. 

I just started reading reading Skulduggery Pleasant, the first book in the series. I've not read it before but so far it's a really good book and I'm enjoying it.

Only seems to happen with young adult books for me. Last happened when I read The Inheritance Games series. This one is really sticking with me though, lol. It's a pain because I write YA myself! Hahaha

Oh I hate that, its horrible, I often want more and more and there ar elots of books I don't want to end, I think thats why I prefer series rather than stand-alones.

I just read The Prison Healer trilogy by Lynette Noni. It took a while for me to get into the first book fully, but then I was hooked and finished the series within days. Unfortunately, I've been in a book hangover ever since so I regret reading them haha (I'm laughing but it's actually very upsetting to me and I just posted my own thread about it lol)

I recently read the latest Patricia Cornwell, Kay Scarpetta novel, I can't say I was massively impressed, I used to love them, but then she seemed to make every book about something semi topical and changing the back stories of the characters which I found disconcerting. Another thing I don't like and it's something i find in a lot of American books is name dropping products in a way that feels like advertising and is like a written hiccough, I don't feel the need to know what expensive brand of watch or perfume the characters us.

Not yet. And Away was from a charity shop (bargain at 50p), but I would love to read those at some stage.

I have read both books, or rather listened to the audio versions available from the library. I wasn’t sure what to expect but they were brilliant.

I’m currently reading Life after life, orbital, he who drowned the world and spring. This time I haven’t made the mistake of reading multiple books with the same genre!

If anyone’s got any good fiction book recommendations with autistic characters let me know! I’ve read quite a few non fiction ones because I’ve just recently been diagnosed but it would be interesting to read some books with autistic characters.

Have you read any of his fiction books? I’ve read the satsuma complex and the avacado hotel and I found them both really funny!