Granny Danger Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Packing up my books recently reminded me that I haven’t read a ‘paper version’ of one in at least seven years, I don’t think I could go back to the inconvenience. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin.Hood Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Peaky Blinders by Carl Chinn. Aye its decent. i should read more but i don't 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the aggressive beggar Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 On 08/05/2020 at 16:56, topcat(The most tip top) said: I endorse this message This was on my next to buy list. Will give it a miss for now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the aggressive beggar Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 On 06/05/2020 at 12:49, Richey Edwards said: Finished Down and Out in Paris and London. Really enjoyed it. Great writing. Swiftly followed that with Dubliners by James Joyce. A collection of short stories set in Dublin. Now onto Dead Mans Trousers by Irvine Welsh. Finished Down and Out last week, brilliant. I could have read a full book just about him working in the kitchens in Paris. Just finished Brief Answers to the Big Questions. The publishers took some of Stephen Hawking's talks and essays and condensed them to cover a number of the subjects he covered throughout his career. Fascinating, even if I only understood about a third of it. Now on to Skagboys, Irvine Welsh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 17 minutes ago, the aggressive beggar said: Finished Down and Out last week, brilliant. I could have read a full book just about him working in the kitchens in Paris. There were times during the book that I genuinely forgot that it was biographical. You could almost see and smell the places he was describing, such was the vividness of the wonderful writing. It read more like a novel at times. Now I'm onto In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck. There's another writer who makes you see and feel the places he describes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Richey Edwards said: There were times during the book that I genuinely forgot that it was biographical. You could almost see and smell the places he was describing, such was the vividness of the wonderful writing. It read more like a novel at times. Now I'm onto In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck. There's another writer who makes you see and feel the places he describes. Steinbeck’s best novel imo, and that is from a catalogue of great work. Cannery Row is a more enjoyable read but is more lighthearted. ETA the opening sentences of Cannery Row are the most poetic and poignant prose I have probably read. Edited May 9, 2020 by Granny Danger 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrewDon Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 'Travellers in the Third Reich' by Julia Boyd. Really good read - well written, thoroughly researched and packed with fascinating anecdotes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcor Roar Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 'Last exit to Brooklyn' by Hubert Selby Jr and 'In praise of older women' by Stephen Vizinczey. Both absolute belters. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, Falcor Roar said: 'Last exit to Brooklyn' by Hubert Selby Jr and 'In praise of older women' by Stephen Vizinczey. Both absolute belters. Last Exit is indeed superb. I believe there was an obscenity court case surrounding it. The film was shite though... I haven't heard of the other book there. I will check it out though... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcor Roar Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 2 hours ago, tongue_tied_danny said: Last Exit is indeed superb. I believe there was an obscenity court case surrounding it. The film was shite though... I haven't heard of the other book there. I will check it out though... Selby's writing is so authentic. I'm always looking for novels which are written in this way. No bullshit language, every word counting. Vizinczey's writing is similarly straight to the point. I rattled through each short chapter quickly. There are elements of dirty realism but his character is an intellectual teetotaller. Some of the insights into the female mindset are profound while others were a bit laughable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 22 hours ago, Granny Danger said: Steinbeck’s best novel imo, and that is from a catalogue of great work. Cannery Row is a more enjoyable read but is more lighthearted. ETA the opening sentences of Cannery Row are the most poetic and poignant prose I have probably read. I've just finished In Dubious Battle... Spoiler That ending was unexpected. HOLY f**k. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya Bezzer! Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 (edited) 'Therese Raquin' by Emile Zola 4 out of 5 By a strange coincidence my second 'Therese' novel from my last three books. I know a lot of people don't like old books (this one is from 1867) but I've always been fascinated by the glimpse back in time that they give you. 'Therese Raquin' tells the story of matriarch Madame Raquin, her sickly, mollycoddled grown up son Camille and an adopted cousin Therese Raquin who are married at the behest of Madame Raquin despite neither party having any great passion for the other. Things pass off quietly until Camille introduces his old friend Laurent and the emotionally and sexually repressed Therese blows a gasket (and possibly other things) for the new man who, unlike the asexual, illness ravaged Camille, is big, strong and very, very lusty. The affair between the two reaches fever pitch and the lovers decided to bump off poor old Camille and get married. The first half is your standard sort of love triangle set up but it's great and reads smooth as silk. The way everything in the story knits together is really well done and there is lots of foreshadowing. The second half of the novel is almost a horror novel - both real and psychological - as the lovers are confronted with the physical reality of what they have done (the morgue scene is memorably horrible and creepy) and are beset with a tremendous mental stress composed of guilt, fear and horror. Nonetheless the plan is successful, they commit the perfect murder, get married and Laurent moves in to become Madame Raquin's 'second son' (I liked this secondary level of betrayal by Laurent on Madame Raquin) but from then on it's all downhill for the couple with misery drying up their libidos and fear and loathing looming. The destructive influence of ego and self interest are the main themes and the role of the river in the novel is quite interesting although I'd still cogitating that. NEXT UP - The next two will be 'Wide Sargasso Sea' by Jean Rhys and 'Near To The Wild Heart' by Clarice Lispector, not decided in which order yet. Edited May 12, 2020 by Ya Bezzer! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charger29 Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Maybe I just haven't noticed it before but on the Overdrive site you can easily recommended ebooks and audiobooks for your library to purchase. I thinks it's a new feature added post lockdown.I recommended 2 last week and just got an email saying they'd been added to the collection and I have them on hold for now. Think they've reduced it to one recommendation per month now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 (edited) Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Sillicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. A tremendous read, highly recommend it. I only found it as I was looking through GoodReads and seen that Bill Gates spoke very highly of it. I'm not a massive reader (getting better atm) but I fired through this and it was well written. 9/10 Edited May 14, 2020 by Central 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy1970 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 Just finished The Mirror and the light. Mantel is a truly gifted writer and she really brings her version of Cromwell to life. She’s taken one of the most reviled figures in English history and created a plausible antihero. Over the course of the trilogy he is the true Man for all Seasons and not More, who is brought low by his inflexible religion. As I was reading it I found myself picturing Mark Rylance saying the lines. Hopefully the BBC will complete the Wolf Hall adaptation 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartsOfficialMoaner Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 19 minutes ago, murphy1970 said: Just finished The Mirror and the light. Mantel is a truly gifted writer and she really brings her version of Cromwell to life. She’s taken one of the most reviled figures in English history and created a plausible antihero. Over the course of the trilogy he is the true Man for all Seasons and not More, who is brought low by his inflexible religion. As I was reading it I found myself picturing Mark Rylance saying the lines. Hopefully the BBC will complete the Wolf Hall adaptation Yep, I was only watching this over the last few weeks. I couldn't find the next episode. WTF happened? They must have ran out of money. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaboz Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Baptism of Fire, probably the first of the Witcher series that really gets going. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Pikey Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 The Institute by Steven King. 6/10 Good enough to keep me interested in finishing it but wont be rushing to the cinema if it's made into a film 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Tourette Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Just finished The Mirror and the light. Mantel is a truly gifted writer and she really brings her version of Cromwell to life. She’s taken one of the most reviled figures in English history and created a plausible antihero. Over the course of the trilogy he is the true Man for all Seasons and not More, who is brought low by his inflexible religion. As I was reading it I found myself picturing Mark Rylance saying the lines. Hopefully the BBC will complete the Wolf Hall adaptation Didn’t realise there was a new book out. I’ve read Wolf Hall and Bring out the bodies and they were both excellent. Haven’t had that much time for book reading past couple of years but will definitely be reading The Mirror and the LightWas Thomas Cromwell the original spin doctor? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saigon Raider Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 I just reread Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies in preparation for the new one. I never read books again but they are both still excellent a second time round. Definitely my favourite series of books.Currently reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Saw it mentioned a few pages back and it is really good. I love Good Omens and American Gods so this is right up my street. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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