Last Book You Read....

[Stellaboz]

Why did you read the (current) last in a series of books?

[pittsburgh phil]

Yeah.  I read all of his books as stand-alone novels, to be quite honest.  

This. I've always read them as stand alone books but Wind Up Bird Chronicle is an amazing book, probably his best.

[NJ2]

This is weird, after starting Cold Granite a while ago, I’m going back to it today.

Finished this tonight. Picks up a fair pace towards the end but won’t say any more so as not to spoil it for BB should he still be reading.

[Ya Bezzer!]

'The Heron' - Giorgio Bassani.  A sort of Italian equivalent of a Camus style nightmare.  A middle aged man with an existential dread of life goes duck hunting in the marshes. I thought it was OK while reading it but since finishing it it has stayed with me.  As it's fairly short it might be worth reading again at some point.  3.5/5

'Diary of a Mad Man and selected stories' - Nikolai Gogol.  As with most compilations of short stories, a mixed bunch.  Although Gogol was Ukrainian and the stories are set in the Ukraine the early works seem very 'Russian'.  All larger than life characters, excellent story telling albeit with little of any consequence actually happening.  Later stories show more western influence, especially that of one of my favourite authors, E. T. A. Hoffmann.  'The Nose' is probably the best of the lot, weird, funny in its oddness.  3/5.

'The Girl on the Via Flaminia' - Alfred Hayes.  A US soldier serving in Italy wants 'the girl friend experience'.  A young Italian woman wants to escape the effects of war - hunger, poverty etc by hooking up with an American but both end up resenting each other and themselves.  Neither of the main characters got much empathy from me.  Robert tries to be a good guy put doesn't seem especially likeable.  Lisa is just a muddled pain in the ass.  The whole thing lacks warmth, perhaps that's the point, but the staging is almost soap opera-ish.  3/5.

'The Persian Expedition' - Xenophon.   The story of the Greek mercenaries extraordinary journey across Asia Minor after finding themselves in a tricky situation in the middle of Persia.  Questions have been raised on Xenophon's reliability as a historian, his bias is strong and usually self serving but as a tale, a story it's a good one.  For the ordinary reader the book may bog down in the final few chapters as the journey comes to an end to be replaced with negotiations and meetings between various parties but since I studied history this section was perhaps of more interest to me than to others.  4/5.

Currently reading 'Madame Bovary' Gustave Flaubert.    Lined up 'The Kites' Gary Romain.

Edited April 17, 2019 by Ya Bezzer!

[Ludo*1]

1 hour ago, Ya Bezzer! said:

'The Heron' - Giorgio Bassani.  A sort of Italian equivalent of a Camus style nightmare.  A middle aged man with an existential dread of life goes duck hunting in the marshes. I thought it was OK while reading it but since finishing it it has stayed with me.  As it's fairly short it might be worth reading again at some point.  3.5/5

 

Purchased this based on this short write up. Wanted something short that had aspects of dread that would stick with me and this seems to perfectly align with that wish.

[Blootoon87]

Beautiful You by Chuck Palahniuk.
Disappointed with this, it was almost completely devoid of humour despite the far fetched plot. Would not read again.

[Savage Henry]

Just finished Room to Dream which is both a biography and autobiography of David Lynch. He comes across as both supremely egotistical - it talks about his list of demands for hotels including him not being in the room when room service is delivered - and a pretty sound bloke.

The book is a bit odd, with only every even chapter being biography.

Lynch then writes every other chapter reflecting on what the biographer wrote about in the previous chapters. He doesn’t really talk that much about Twin Peaks, FWIW.

[Archie McSquackle]

Been away from this thread for a while, so a few I've read recently include
 
The Snowman - Jo Nesbo.  Wasn't a huge fan if I'm honest
Multiple Jack Reacher titles - all out of order, but it's a kind of you know what you're going to get with Lee Child.
 
Just on Jack Reacher, I've downloaded audible, to listen to books as I've started running and I need something to keep my mind from wandering and telling myself to stop, music doesn't cut it. So I listened to Tripwire - it the 3rd in the series. Finished it and am now on whatever book 4 is called.   Anyone else use audiobooks?
Found it really strange to begin with, very slow - I can read at a much quicker pace, but after a few chapters I got into it.  One thing that is annoying though is when the male narrator reads female speech.  Guess it's never going to be ideal though.
I would quite like to read conventionally alongside the audios, clearly better avoiding Reacher titles, but I'll see how reading/listening to different books goes.

I use the Glasgow libraries app to listen to audio books when driving for work. Just finished The Midnight Line which is the first Jack Reacher book I've read (listened to) and enjoyed it. A lot of it can come down to the narrator and I've given up on a couple where they just annoyed the hell out of me. I prefer podcasts for my running although I've found I can't use Athletico Mince as it's impossible to run while laughing (but that's probably for a different thread).

[sjc]

Blowback by Chalmers Johnson.

Excellent book highlighting the consequences of American interference and manipulation of other sovereign Countries politics and economies throughout the world since the end of WW2.

Probably more relevant now than at any other point in time.

[NJ2]

Trying to keep up the reading and read another Stuart Macbride book. This time shatter the bones. Didn’t enjoy it as much but I think may have been partly down to it not being in sequence so there was things I wasn’t really getting. It was still enjoyable enough though and I finished it quick enough. Hopefully start another book tomorrow.

[murphy1970]

Close your eyes- Michael Robotham.

Crime novel set in south west England. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Characters were well drawn and sympathetic and a good whodunit.

Read it by going through list of Gold Dagger winners/nominees. Glad I did as the book I'm currently reading, Force of Nature by Jane Harper was also on list and is an excellent read

[Shandon Par]

On 11/04/2019 at 15:38, WullieBroonIsGod said:

Been away from this thread for a while, so a few I've read recently include

 

The Snowman - Jo Nesbo.  Wasn't a huge fan if I'm honest

Multiple Jack Reacher titles - all out of order, but it's a kind of you know what you're going to get with Lee Child.

 

Just on Jack Reacher, I've downloaded audible, to listen to books as I've started running and I need something to keep my mind from wandering and telling myself to stop, music doesn't cut it. So I listened to Tripwire - it the 3rd in the series. Finished it and am now on whatever book 4 is called.   Anyone else use audiobooks?

Found it really strange to begin with, very slow - I can read at a much quicker pace, but after a few chapters I got into it.  One thing that is annoying though is when the male narrator reads female speech.  Guess it's never going to be ideal though.

I would quite like to read conventionally alongside the audios, clearly better avoiding Reacher titles, but I'll see how reading/listening to different books goes.

On Audible there’s a narrator called Will Patton. Really good IMO. Does lots of American crime novel stuff.

[Richey Edwards]

On 10/04/2019 at 18:03, Tartan Tammy 1297 said:

Just finished Dead Mans shoes by Irvine Welsh ashamed to admit it's his first book I've read and enjoyed it and going to pick up any of his works were ever I can

I haven't read Dead Mans Shoes but, aside from the obvious book, I remember enjoying Filth, Glue and Porno very much. Welsh is one of the few writers that have made me genuinely laugh like f**k.

[tongue_tied_danny]

2 hours ago, TheIntenseHummingOfEvil said:

I haven't read Dead Mans Shoes but, aside from the obvious book, I remember enjoying Filth, Glue and Porno very much. Welsh is one of the few writers that have made me genuinely laugh like f**k.

Atomized by Michel Houellebecq and The Wanderers by Richard Price are probably the funniest novels I've read. For non-fiction i'd say that PJ  O'Rourke and Bill Bryson are two that can raise a chuckle.

[Ya Bezzer!]

'Madame Bovary" - Gustave Flaubert.  One of those 'Sgt Peppers' of the literary world.  When he wrote it he was taken to court for obscenity but the story now seems like a well trodden path, character has affair, destroys everyone's lives.  However it is well, indeed stylishly, written and I agree with the notion that Flaubert is one of the first 'modern' writers.  And Madame Bovary as a character has a depth to her, this is not simply a morality tale.  4/5.

[Ya Bezzer!]

On 18/04/2019 at 01:18, Ludo*1 said:

Purchased this based on this short write up. Wanted something short that had aspects of dread that would stick with me and this seems to perfectly align with that wish.

Did you ever read this?  What did you think?

I get a bit nervous when people get something on my recommendation even though I was a little circumspect in my write up!

[ThomCat]

Homo Sapiens/Yuval Harari - Readable enough but seems to have pages of personal opinions/hunches with barely note of evidence/references. Bit of a non-fiction summer read IMO.

Docherty/McIlvanney - Probably my favourite Scottish Novel so re-read it again.

Laidlaw/McIlvanney - (eaudiobook) Read by the great man himself. Unedited so you can hear him correct himself and "sh*t I'll read that again"  Great novel/read.

Collected Stories/Nikolai Gogol - Gogol is one of the funniest and inventive writers. I don't feel he gets the attention he deserves compared to other Russian writers of the time.

 

 

 

[sugna]

How Not To Be a Boy. Robert Webb.

Enjoyed it a lot, but got him a bit confused with Jez a few times.

[jamieson87]

"The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against The United States" - Jeffery Lewis - An alternative history (albeit very likely) imagining of how a nuclear attack on the US might play out. The author is  well versed in nuclear technology and geopolitics, so it isn't hyperbole. President Trump is on the 18th tee at Mar-A-Lago when the first missiles are detected over the Pacific. The book is informative, with some black humour thrown in. A great easy read for anyone with a passing interest of current events. 

Edited April 29, 2019 by jamieson87

[Shandon Par]

On 4/28/2019 at 12:16, TheIntenseHummingOfEvil said:

I haven't read Dead Mans Shoes but, aside from the obvious book, I remember enjoying Filth, Glue and Porno very much. Welsh is one of the few writers that have made me genuinely laugh like f**k.

The Blade Artist (I think it was out about a year before) is a bit like an accompanying piece to Dead Man's Shoes following Begbie in his new career. Has he turned over a new leaf? 

Some very funny stuff in Dead Mans Shoes. Sick Boy's morals leave a lot to be desired but lead to some scandalous scenarios.