Last Book You Read....

[Thane of Cawdor]

22 minutes ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

I'd recommend  The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer, my favourite war novel. I've tried reading The Fight and Armies of the Night but couldn't get into them.

Good shout with Stoner. I read it a few years ago and I found it mesmerising, even though little actually happens. It reminded me if my own mortality, as pretentious as that sounds. You live then you die was the message I took from it.

Dorothy Parker was supposedly introduced to Mailer at a party where her opening gambit was: ah, you're the man who can't spell f**k. I read Stoner a couple of years ago and didn't enjoy it. The first poster to mention it noted its banality and I have to agree. However it got great reviews and my conclusion was that many reviewers identified with Stoner, his chosen career and his love of literature and,so, seriously overrated the book.

[ICTChris]

7 minutes ago, Saigon Raider said:

2 hours ago, ICTChris said:

My mate has just had his second novel published, the launch was last night in Edinburgh.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gathering-Evidence-Martin-MacInnes/dp/1786493454
It's had some good reviews - 
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/12/gathering-evidence-martin-macinnes-review
https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-gathering-evidence-martin-macinnes-1995767
https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/18173684.review-gathering-evidence-martin-macinnes/

Both of his books sound right up my street - added to the Want To Read list - cheers.

I've not read the new one, just bought it last night at the launch.  I really enjoyed the first one, it kind of gets inside you. 

 

[sugna]

On 23/02/2020 at 18:22, Ya Bezzer! said:

2. 'Notes from Underground/The Double' Fyodor Dostoevsky. Notes from Underground is prime Dostoevsky, all proto existential agony and so forth. The Double is an earlier tale with Dostoevsky trying to find his feet as a writer, it's very reminiscent of E. T. A. Hoffman, who is one of my favourite authors, and to an extent Gogol, but the fact that it's more like other people than Dostoevsky should alert you to the fact it's not his best work. Still kind of weird and freaky but other people did this sort of stuff better.  3.5/5 overall, 4 for Notes, 3 for The Double.

My favourite Dostoevsky is The Raw Youth. It's basically where he goes on to explain how science can't really find answers for the deeper human need.

[murphy1970]

Stalingrad- Vasili Grossman

 Thoroughly enjoyed this, probably the best war novel I’ve read. Epic in scale, weighs in at nearly 900 pages but didn’t feel like a chore at all, apart from when lugging it about in bag.

Next I want to read Life and Fate which continues the story

[coprolite]

I'd just like to say that i love this thread. The diversity of stuff that people enjoy and the lack of judgementalism is beautiful. 

Anyway, Britain in Europe by Brendan Sim. A historical perspective of (mainly england) the Uk's relationship with Europe focused on hard power and foreign policy. Written in advance of the referendum. He was a notable neutral among prominent historians. If, like me, you are a layman as far as history goes you may, like me, find this hard going.  I was unconvinced by his arguments for British exceptionalism but sold on his views about eurozone integration. Not essential, but if you like this stuff it's worth a read. 

[Fact177]

On 23/02/2020 at 19:04, ThatBoyRonaldo said:

Finished 'The Age of Surveillance Capitalism' by Shoshana Zuboff earlier. When it's good it's very good but it can be a little bit repetitive.

Just listened to the Adam Buxton podcast with her, it’s an ok hour if you need to waste time on a drive. The book joins the ‘i’ll get to it’ list.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Dt4nS36DO4YyGV5fux7T0?si=wY2t8sc2QnCywo0Xm1RrDg

 

[Richey Edwards]

On 23/02/2020 at 18:22, Ya Bezzer! said:

Been cutting back on internet and trying to read more books.

A couple of years ago I deactivated all of my social media profiles and cut back on my internet use (apart from P&B, because I love this forum), and I read a massive amount of books in the space of four months.

I felt more "present" because I wasn't constantly refreshing newsfeeds etc.

I should do that again actually. It was great.

[tongue_tied_danny]

On 28/02/2020 at 15:21, murphy1970 said:

Stalingrad- Vasili Grossman

 Thoroughly enjoyed this, probably the best war novel I’ve read. Epic in scale, weighs in at nearly 900 pages but didn’t feel like a chore at all, apart from when lugging it about in bag.

Next I want to read Life and Fate which continues the story

I'd recommend Breakout at Stalingrad by Heinrich Gerlach.

The author was in the German army at Stalingrad. The book was written in a Russian POW camp. The manuscript was confiscated by the authorities and then discovered in some archive in Moscow in the 90s.

It's a really good read and perfectly captures the sense of doom hanging over the soldiers as they awaited their fate.

Edited March 5, 2020 by tongue_tied_danny

[Shandon Par]

James Ellroy's This Storm

Finished this a while back and wasn't sure what to make of it. I didn't think I'd liked it that much but it has stuck with me. The plot is fairly inconsequential. The whole thing could probably be wrapped up in about a tenth of the pages he uses. It's more of a leap into another world. I totally accept that some of the language he uses is problematic but it's also clear he builds a world where the rules of today don't apply. Life is cheap, morals are non-existent, reality is hazy thanks to booze and drugs. This reminded more of a Hunter S Thompson novel than a traditional crime novel.

Maybe it's his advancing years and him wanting to cram as much as possible into his last couple of books, maybe he's just out of step with the world and this is a cry for attention? Expansive is the way I'd probably sum it up. More than his other works I can see people just thinking "WTF is this pish?" and it's not something I'd confidently steer people towards in the way LA Confidential or The Black Dahlia may appeal to folk who like their crime novels but have not experienced Ellroy. 

I think it was @welshbairn a couple of years back on here who said he didn't get on with Ellroy's last novel. That was probably my favourite Ellroy so if Perfidia wasn't for you then This Storm is definitely best avoided! 

[welshbairn]

2 minutes ago, L'immortale Par said:

James Ellroy's This Storm

Finished this a while back and wasn't sure what to make of it. I didn't think I'd liked it that much but it has stuck with me. The plot is fairly inconsequential. The whole thing could probably be wrapped up in about a tenth of the pages he uses. It's more of a leap into another world. I totally accept that some of the language he uses is problematic but it's also clear he builds a world where the rules of today don't apply. Life is cheap, morals are non-existent, reality is hazy thanks to booze and drugs. This reminded more of a Hunter S Thompson novel than a traditional crime novel.

Maybe it's his advancing years and him wanting to cram as much as possible into his last couple of books, maybe he's just out of step with the world and this is a cry for attention? Expansive is the way I'd probably sum it up. More than his other works I can see people just thinking "WTF is this pish?" and it's not something I'd confidently steer people towards in the way LA Confidential or The Black Dahlia may appeal to folk who like their crime novels but have not experienced Ellroy. 

I think it was @welshbairn a couple of years back on here who said he didn't get on with Ellroy's last novel. That was probably my favourite Ellroy so if Perfidia wasn't for you then This Storm is definitely best avoided! 

Strangely I found Perfidia a bit too plodding and conventional after the Underworld USA trilogy, and was pleased to see that this was going back to 3 word sentences staccato  Cold Six Thousand style, which I loved. Was a bit distracted when I started it and found it hard to get into the rhythm, put it down after a hundred odd pages but I'll give it another go soon when I'm in a better mood for it. Good to see Sid Hudgeons back! Think I'd recommend American Tabloid as a first go. 

[Detournement]

On 23/02/2020 at 18:22, Ya Bezzer! said:

Been cutting back on internet and trying to read more books.  I was a bit burned out though so I've had two weeks off.

1. 'American Dream' Norman Mailer. My first Mailer book, his writing was very consistent to his character.  His archaic masculinity is why is probably wouldn't go down very well these days and it's very of it's time but it's also, funnily enough, the reason for reading it today. It's his brawny style that's interesting rather than the story. 3/5

Kills his wife, gets away with it. Anally rapes the nanny, she loves it. Steals a gangsters' girlfriend and gives her first orgasm. The main character is a Congressman/War Hero/ TV Host/Professor. 

An American Dream is the most ridiculous book I've ever read. 

Stoner is a powerful read but you wonder why everyone is so unceasingly miserable for decades on end. 

 

[Saigon Raider]

I've gone back to read Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies again before starting the new one. I think Wolf Hall may be my favourite book of all time, I never usually reread books but it's still brilliant the second time.

Before that I finished The Handmaids Tale. Was on my Kindle as my wife had read it and I had never seen the TV show. Thought it was alright but it never seemed to go anywhere - not sure I will bother with the second one.

[Richey Edwards]

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky - 7.5/10

Wasn't as good as other books of his I've read, was quite boring in places as a few of the chapters were driven by details about the times, the characters and philosophical ideas rather than the actual story. At times it was almost as if the story was being used as a vehicle to peddle such ideas rather than the ideas contributing to the story. It was still an enjoyable book and worth reading, but Crime & Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov were much better.

I've started Dead Souls by Gogol as he is another Russian writer who is highly regarded.

[Stirlingblue]

A Gentleman in Moscow - 8/10.
A good read. Sole burner but really enjoyed it in the end. Interesting premise about someone under house arrest in a hotel. After 100 pages had no idea where the story could have gone in the next 350 but kept me engaged all the way through. Highly recommend but get the feeling it wouldn't be for everyone.

[scottsdad]

Been on a wee binge so I'll go through them here:

Like Lions Brian Panowich. Many years since I read a whole book in a single day, but I did with this one. Thoroughly enjoyable. It is a sequel to Bull Mountain which I've not read but I didn't need to. Set in Northern Georgia, about families of outlaws and the local sheriff. Very enjoyable

Sword of Kings Bernard Cornwell. Latest The Last Kingdom book. These don't seem to run out of steam for me, enjoyable adventure yarn with the usual Cornwell stuff - a big baddie, big battles, hiding out, and a fantastic visualisation of early 'Englaland'

A book of Bones John Connolly. Unlike the above, the Charlie Parker series has well and truly run out of steam. Parker and co hunt a baddie, find him, kill him - same as the last few books. This is a rela shame as the first 7-8 books in this series were absolutely fantastic, and I'd recommend these any day.

A Million Tears and The Tears of War and Peace both by Paul Henke. Enjoyable saga about a powerful family's origins from the mines of South Wales in the 1890s to running a business and political empire in the early 1920s. My dad gave me these and I enjoyed them a lot - think, if you are between Wilbur Smith books, this is a good alternative. Not as good perhaps (nobody beats Wilbur!) but a lot of fun nonetheless.

[Sinner-to-Saint]

It's telling that this forum has dedicated music and TV sub-forums, but there isn't one dedicated to literature! 

I have just purchased The Young Team, by Graeme Armstrong, and was looking to see what others thought of it. #

The Guardian has written a review:

Quote

The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong review – a swaggering, incendiary debut

The use of dialect in this autobiographical Scottish debut about gang culture, drugs and sex is dazzling

“Yir main man. Alan Williams. Azzy, A git called. Rangers daft. YT legend in the makin.” So swaggers the hero of Graeme Armstrong’s incendiary Airdrie-set debut. Based on the real-life experiences of its author, this near-400-page blast of a book follows Azzy from age 14, when he joins the gang that gives the novel its name, through his first sexual experiences, to drug addiction, and finally to rehabilitation at 21, and the promise of a better life – an escape from bleak post-industrial North Lanarkshire.

With its descriptions of violence, drug use and chronic poverty, the novel portrays lives rarely seen in fiction. Through the prism of this world, Armstrong explores universal themes of adolescent confusion and the value of community, even if the latter is found within the camaraderie of gang culture, and nights spent fighting, “tannin cans” and getting “right oot our barnets”.

Azzy is as vulnerable as any young man, suffering in silence when asked to express his feelings: “A’m a young Scottish male n A’m supposed tae be hard as nails.” When he falls for the “subtle n feminine” Monica, he’s confronted by adult emotions for the first time and the insurmountable barrier of class. Meeting Monica’s university mates, he feels them judging “ma family, ma prospects, ma financial status n ma intelligence”.

(Continues at link)

 

If anybody's read it let me know what you think, just be careful to hide spoilers. Thanks.

[++Ammo - Airdrie++]

It's telling that this forum has dedicated music and TV sub-forums, but there isn't one dedicated to literature! 

I have just purchased The Young Team, by Graeme Armstrong, and was looking to see what others thought of it. #

The Guardian has written a review:

The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong review – a swaggering, incendiary debut

The use of dialect in this autobiographical Scottish debut about gang culture, drugs and sex is dazzling

“Yir main man. Alan Williams. Azzy, A git called. Rangers daft. YT legend in the makin.” So swaggers the hero of Graeme Armstrong’s incendiary Airdrie-set debut. Based on the real-life experiences of its author, this near-400-page blast of a book follows Azzy from age 14, when he joins the gang that gives the novel its name, through his first sexual experiences, to drug addiction, and finally to rehabilitation at 21, and the promise of a better life – an escape from bleak post-industrial North Lanarkshire.

With its descriptions of violence, drug use and chronic poverty, the novel portrays lives rarely seen in fiction. Through the prism of this world, Armstrong explores universal themes of adolescent confusion and the value of community, even if the latter is found within the camaraderie of gang culture, and nights spent fighting, “tannin cans” and getting “right oot our barnets”.

Azzy is as vulnerable as any young man, suffering in silence when asked to express his feelings: “A’m a young Scottish male n A’m supposed tae be hard as nails.” When he falls for the “subtle n feminine” Monica, he’s confronted by adult emotions for the first time and the insurmountable barrier of class. Meeting Monica’s university mates, he feels them judging “ma family, ma prospects, ma financial status n ma intelligence”.

(Continues at link)

 

 

I got this last Sunday, and finished it on tuesday.

It was a bit more personal for me, I grew up in the same village with the same folk the author Graeme did. Hing about "the mansion", cemetery and grey lady that the author mentions frequently and had more or less an identical teenage experience as the author.

It takes a few pages to get to grips with the language used in the book but once you're in, you're well in.

It's a great book and tells the tale of probably 80% of teens growing up in surrounding Glasgow towns, addiction, death, fighting, drinking etc.

I enjoyed it and it brought back a lot of good memories for me, as well as a lot of memories of darker times and friends now departed.

 

[++Ammo - Airdrie++]

The young team by Graeme Armstrong.
I got this last Sunday, and finished it on tuesday.
It was a bit more personal for me, I grew up in the same village with the same folk the author Graeme did. Hing about "the mansion", cemetery and grey lady that the author mentions frequently and had more or less an identical teenage experience as the author.
It takes a few pages to get to grips with the language used in the book but once you're in, you're well in.
It's a great book and tells the tale of probably 80% of teens growing up in surrounding Glasgow towns, addiction, death, fighting, drinking etc.
I enjoyed it and it brought back a lot of good memories for me, as well as a lot of memories of darker times and friends now departed.

[Sinner-to-Saint]

1 minute ago, ++Ammo - Airdrie++ said:

 I got this last Sunday, and finished it on tuesday.
It was a bit more personal for me, I grew up in the same village with the same folk the author Graeme did. Hing about "the mansion", cemetery and grey lady that the author mentions frequently and had more or less an identical teenage experience as the author.
It takes a few pages to get to grips with the language used in the book but once you're in, you're well in.
It's a great book and tells the tale of probably 80% of teens growing up in surrounding Glasgow towns, addiction, death, fighting, drinking etc.
I enjoyed it and it brought back a lot of good memories for me, as well as a lot of memories of darker times and friends now departed.

Thanks for your reply, pal! From what you say it sounds a bit like A Clockwork Orange, which I read before seeing the film. I think contemporary teens are a bit more coddled from what I have noticed, they seem to sit in their rooms playing games on consoles with their mates online. 

[8MileBU]

The young team by Graeme Armstrong.
I got this last Sunday, and finished it on tuesday.
It was a bit more personal for me, I grew up in the same village with the same folk the author Graeme did. Hing about "the mansion", cemetery and grey lady that the author mentions frequently and had more or less an identical teenage experience as the author.
It takes a few pages to get to grips with the language used in the book but once you're in, you're well in.
It's a great book and tells the tale of probably 80% of teens growing up in surrounding Glasgow towns, addiction, death, fighting, drinking etc.
I enjoyed it and it brought back a lot of good memories for me, as well as a lot of memories of darker times and friends now departed.

Met up with yer boy Lovey last weekend. He was telling me about being at the book launch the previous night and was gave me a brief insight to the book. Sounds good, will need to get a copy, see what trouble you ruffians caused running amok in Glenmavis and the like.