Finished reading Moby Dick yesterday and was impressed. Having attempted to tackle it some years ago and losing interest after 20 pages I was surprised to find how readable it was. If you have not read it I would recommend it, although there are some graphic passages about the whaling industry. Part of the enjoyment came from the eclectic style (in my opinion), the narrative was interspersed with chapters on types of whales and other more ‘practical’ side notes. There were also some parts that were just plain funny, like the whales that had gained reputations and names like ‘New Zealand Jack’, ‘Timor Tom’ and of course ‘Rinaldo Rinaldini’ (Chapter 45). Strongly recommend it, may need to perservere through the first chapters, but once you get in the swing of it and adjust to the style it really picks up. The ending is also well done, with the central character (on who the whole book is based) being revealed right at the end and wrecking havoc.

Following on from that I am now a good way into something a good deal lighter: ‘The Falls‘ by Ian Rankin. I had not read anything by Rankin and very little in the way of crime fiction until last year, when I picked up a collection of his short stories at a charity shop, out of curiosity. Now I have almost completed the ‘Rebus’ series (three or four to go) and am wondering what will come next. They have been a handy read given that they so widely read and passed on, you can normally snag one in any charity shop for a couple of pounds. Got a copy of the final Rebus book a month ago and am just keeping an eye out for the last couple that I have not read before reading it. The books themselves are very easy to read and the story cracks along at a good pace, so each book normally lasts a couple of days. Also interesting way to find out about the history and geography of Edinburgh, a town that I visited once for a couple of hours.

After that there is a relatively substantial pile of books awaiting my attention that I secured at charity stores (have a big British Heart Foundation book store on the high road). Other titles waiting to be read include: Thunderball, No Country for Old Men, Don Quixote, The Call of the Weird, The President of Good and Evil, The Motorcycle Diaries (read The African Dream a little while ago) to name a few. Problem with having so many books to choose from is that it is hard to know where to go next and is especially disappointing if happen to pick a dud.

Here is a screen shot of my desktop showing all the ‘work related’ reading I have accumulated and am trying to get through (keeps me off the streets). As I finish one paper I find another one (or more) to read. Is a neverending struggle. The picture is a little small, but if you imagine each .pdf is a paper you will get an idea. There are a couple of clusters in there as well.