BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » What are you reading at the moment?

Davina · February 22, 2014 11:07 pm

No he plays him as a Brit tonnaree. Once you have read the book try and watch the film as well. Benedict and Tom Hardy are very good in it. It made me cry though.,

Lily · February 23, 2014 6:04 pm

Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

besleybean · February 23, 2014 6:08 pm

Really want to read this.

tonnaree · February 23, 2014 10:49 pm

Davina wrote:
No he plays him as a Brit tonnaree. Once you have read the book try and watch the film as well. Benedict and Tom Hardy are very good in it. It made me cry though.,

Thank you D!

Book is wonderful so far. I think it's going to be an emotional roller coaster.

Davina · February 23, 2014 11:32 pm

Was going to read 12 Years A Slave which I have downloaded but I am reading Coriolanus first. After those two I think I may just need to read something a wee bit more cheerful.

Lily · February 25, 2014 9:28 pm

Lily wrote:
Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I don't understand why this book is so highly praised. I didn't like it much.
The main character was neither likeable nor relatable and - in my opinion - not a good despiction of a person with autism. I felt like the author looked up a list of characteristics of people with autism and just cramped as many aspects as possible into this book while forgetting to give his protagonist a proper personality.

tonnaree · February 25, 2014 10:06 pm

Lily wrote:
Lily wrote:
Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
I don't understand why this book is so highly praised. I didn't like it much.
The main character was neither likeable nor relatable and - in my opinion - not a good despiction of a person with autism. I felt like the author looked up a list of characteristics of people with autism and just cramped as many aspects as possible into this book while forgetting to give his protagonist a proper personality.

I have to respectfully disagree wtih you there Lily.

My son is a high functioning autistic and I was very moved by the main character's portryal. I really related to both him and his father.

Lily · February 25, 2014 10:47 pm

tonnaree wrote:
Lily wrote:
Lily wrote:
Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
I don't understand why this book is so highly praised. I didn't like it much.
The main character was neither likeable nor relatable and - in my opinion - not a good despiction of a person with autism. I felt like the author looked up a list of characteristics of people with autism and just cramped as many aspects as possible into this book while forgetting to give his protagonist a proper personality.
I have to respectfully disagree wtih you there Lily.

My son is a high functioning autistic and I was very moved by the main character's portryal. I really related to both him and his father.

I hope I haven't offended you, tonnaree! Maybe it's a stupid thing for me to say that I find it an unrealistic portrayal, since I don't know people with autism myself. I had a great interest in the topic some time ago and read several books about autism and many of them written by autistic people, and I liked those much more than this book. It's just... maybe it was the writing style, I don't know.I just wasn't able to find anything likable about Christopher.
Also the fact that no one really seems to care about the fact that an innocent animal got brutally murdered in this story. 'Oh, it's just a minor crime, nothing to worry about.'
I know that many people love this book but I just don't understand it.

Tinks · February 28, 2014 6:22 pm

I'm reading Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer.
About a guy who cuts contact with his family and travels into the Alaskan wilderness where he's found dead some time later.
The book is a sad and sometimes frustrating account of his behaviour and travels up to that point.

tonnaree · February 28, 2014 6:47 pm

Lily wrote:
tonnaree wrote:
Lily wrote:

I don't understand why this book is so highly praised. I didn't like it much.
The main character was neither likeable nor relatable and - in my opinion - not a good despiction of a person with autism. I felt like the author looked up a list of characteristics of people with autism and just cramped as many aspects as possible into this book while forgetting to give his protagonist a proper personality.
I have to respectfully disagree wtih you there Lily.

My son is a high functioning autistic and I was very moved by the main character's portryal. I really related to both him and his father.

I hope I haven't offended you, tonnaree! Maybe it's a stupid thing for me to say that I find it an unrealistic portrayal, since I don't know people with autism myself. I had a great interest in the topic some time ago and read several books about autism and many of them written by autistic people, and I liked those much more than this book. It's just... maybe it was the writing style, I don't know.I just wasn't able to find anything likable about Christopher.
Also the fact that no one really seems to care about the fact that an innocent animal got brutally murdered in this story. 'Oh, it's just a minor crime, nothing to worry about.'
I know that many people love this book but I just don't understand it.

No no, not insulted at all. Just offering another opinion.
Needless to say with my son the subject is very close to my heart.

Another book I really liked was "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult
http://www.amazon.com/House-Rules-Novel-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0743296443/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393612947&sr=1-13&keywords=jodi+picoult"When your son can’t look you in the eye . . . does that mean he’s guilty?Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brilliant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject—forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he’s always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he’s usually right.But when Jacob’s small hometown is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob’s behaviors are hallmark Asperger’s, but they look a lot like guilt to the local police. Suddenly the Hunt family, who only want to fit in, are directly in the spotlight. For Jacob’s mother, Emma, it’s a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it’s another indication why nothing is normal because of Jacob.And over this small family, the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?"

I think that JP did a great job of showing how a child with autism effects the entire family dynamic.

One of the problems people with autism face is seeming very unlikeable on the surface, through no fault of their own.

Lily · February 28, 2014 6:50 pm

Oh, I loved House Rules!
My mum gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago and I enjoyed it very much.

Regina Alexandra · March 2, 2014 2:07 pm

I am reading The Secret Lives of Code Breakers: The Men and Women who cracked the Enigma Code at Benchley Park by Sinclair McKay. A fascinating look at the daily lives of people both ordinary and extraordinary people who broke the code and saved many lives.

Kerkerian · March 12, 2014 8:07 pm

I've recently read (or rather, worked off my still-have-to-read-these-heap):

The Sebastian Bergman series by Hjorth and Rosenfeldt
and
The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin (and this last one has made me really happy because it's the latest Tales of the City novel and each new one of those is like meeting old friends, especially Anna)

dartmoordoggers · March 13, 2014 12:38 pm

Just started my first Bateman book; 'Mystery Man: Murder, Mayhem and Damn Sexy Trousers'. As recommended by Benedict.

http://colinbateman.com/titles/mystery-man/

Reviewed by Benedict

belis · March 13, 2014 1:12 pm

Lily wrote:
Lily wrote:
Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
I don't understand why this book is so highly praised. I didn't like it much.
The main character was neither likeable nor relatable and - in my opinion - not a good despiction of a person with autism. I felt like the author looked up a list of characteristics of people with autism and just cramped as many aspects as possible into this book while forgetting to give his protagonist a proper personality.

The author stated that he didn't aim for this book to be about someone with a specific disorder. It was supposed to be about an 'outsider'. It was his aim for the character to be difficult to relate to. It sounds like he achieved this goal. I enjoyed the book but I agree with you that Christopher isn't a quintessences of likable. He has grown on me though as I read through.

Last edited by belis (March 13, 2014 1:12 pm)

Zatoichi · March 13, 2014 4:01 pm

I just finished 'The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly' - amazing book, but I had better stopped for a second and thought first before plunging into it.. not the best read for someone with hospital trauma.. o_O

tonnaree · March 21, 2014 1:51 pm

About half way through with "Joyland" by Stephen King.
Been a SK fan all my life. Read "Carrie" in middle school and have read everything the man has ever written since.

besleybean · March 21, 2014 5:38 pm

Misquoting Jesus, Bart Ehrman.

SusiGo · March 21, 2014 5:40 pm

Christopher Isherwood, "Goodbye to Berlin"

besleybean · March 21, 2014 5:46 pm

I love that book,Susi.