Last Book You Read....

[Miguel Sanchez]

Flappers and Philosophers (1920) by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Knowing that Fitzgerald's short stories only improve from this point on, I can barely contain my excitement for the next two collections. 

[WhiteRoseKillie]

1 hour ago, scottsdad said:

Every adaptation of PG Wodehouse books have the same problem. The magic of the writing is lost.

As a massive Stephen King fan (and not just the stuff which would require extensive sfx), I have always been of the opinion that the world's best cinema screen is inside your head. For such a (imho) superb storyteller, it seems massively problematic to transfer the stories to film. I didn't get on with the movies of The Shining, Christine, or even Carrie. Probably because a lot of the narrative relies on the characters' emotions, and even Jack would struggle to convey other Jack's inner turmoil, let alone Sissy Spacek being given the impoossible job of turning Carrie's mental contortions into moving pictures. 

[dysartrovers]

As a massive Stephen King fan (and not just the stuff which would require extensive sfx), I have always been of the opinion that the world's best cinema screen is inside your head. For such a (imho) superb storyteller, it seems massively problematic to transfer the stories to film. I didn't get on with the movies of The Shining, Christine, or even Carrie. Probably because a lot of the narrative relies on the characters' emotions, and even Jack would struggle to convey other Jack's inner turmoil, let alone Sissy Spacek being given the impoossible job of turning Carrie's mental contortions into moving pictures. 

I'm currently rereading the Dreamcatcher. I forgot how good a book it was but how anyone thought that could be made into a movie is beyond me.

[NotThePars]

3 hours ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

My favourite part of this is wondering how any wizarding children gain any literacy or numeracy skills - Arthur Weasley is functionally illiterate yet he's the magic state's most senior figure on muggle relations. It must be about 12 years since I read the books but I don't know if the hilarity I'd get from doing so would outweigh my contempt for their author.

That series is especially good because it doesn't sustain a critical or thorough reading and yet Rowling has spent years trying to retroactively add context to the series and it only makes it worse. Nothing but respect for someone who tweets apropos of nothing "wizards didn't need toilets for centuries because they just shit themselves and magicked away the evidence." Superb stuff.

[Monkey Tennis]

13 hours ago, scottsdad said:

Every adaptation of PG Wodehouse books have the same problem. The magic of the writing is lost.

Totally agree on Wodehouse.

The narrative is always funnier than the dialogue, but only the dialogue transfers to film.

[Academically Deficient]

36 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said:

Totally agree on Wodehouse.

The narrative is always funnier than the dialogue, but only the dialogue transfers to film.

Agree. And the dialogue is great, which gives an idea how good the rest of it is.

I always imagined Jeeves as a bit like George Sanders- world weary, deep voice. Stephen Fry was quite good 

[Utter Roaster]

Just finished a binge of Django Wexler's Thousand Names series. Read the first one ages ago, got stuck for a long time on the 2nd but it picked up eventually, then ran through the last 3 in about a week. Wee bit of an anti-climactic finish IMO but scope for sequels if he decides to pick it up again. Overall, similar to Brian McLellan's Powder Mage books. 

Next up, starting Joe Abercrombie's A Little Hatred. Same setting as The First Law books, moved forward about 20 or so years as far as I can see - some of the characters who appeared before still in the background but looks like a new generation of central protagonists. 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

On 23/04/2021 at 14:03, Melanius Mullarkey said:

Moved on to his next one For the Good Times now.  So far so good.

9/10.

Great book.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. I remember reading the serialisation of this in the Observer magazine back in the 70's, and it was cheap on Kindle, so thought I'd read the full version.
Absolutely riveting, to be fair, with the sheer horror of the crash survivors' situation resisting the deadpan reporting style of Read's writing. Recommended - not for vegetarians, mind.

[Craig fae the Vale]

Finished Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann this week. Really enjoyed the biting social commentary and it was really funny in places, but it was definitely far too long.

[Bairnardo]

This weekend my Irvine Welsh run will be interrupted by starting Four Kings, the story of the Hagler/Hearns/Leonard/Duran era.

[madwullie]

On 17/02/2021 at 09:35, Sebastian Williams said:

I start reading Ulysses by Irish writer James Joyce. I tried to read this modernist novel several times already, but the maximum reached the third chapter. This time I want to read to the end, no matter how long it takes me. Who read this book guys? Share the secret of success how you did it. I am in medical college and have a lot of writing assignments. But my passion for reading fiction and Joyce is enormous. Because of reading, I sometimes cannot complete my nursing writing assignments, so I turn to the company LINK REMOVED for help, which provides assistance in writing assignments in short lines and with the highest quality.

@Cardinal Richelieu

Better just to nuke the entire site from orbit imo 

Edited May 22, 2021 by Cardinal Richelieu

[madwullie]

On 14/05/2021 at 16:48, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors. I remember reading the serialisation of this in the Observer magazine back in the 70's, and it was cheap on Kindle, so thought I'd read the full version.
Absolutely riveting, to be fair, with the sheer horror of the crash survivors' situation resisting the deadpan reporting style of Read's writing. Recommended - not for vegetarians, mind.

Used to be obsessed with this film when I was younger. Inspirational stuff. 

[Cardinal Richelieu]

20 hours ago, madwullie said:

@Cardinal Richelieu

Better just to nuke the entire site from orbit imo 

It's thanks to concerned and vigilant citizens like you that has allowed me to delete 3 (THREE) spammers in one fell swoop. The world is a slightly safer place this evening. 

[Craig fae the Vale]

Just finished Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. It's the story of generations of Ghanian families from the 1700s up to the present day. It's heartbreaking, eye opening and quite frankly brilliant. I've go her next book Transcendent Kingdom on Audible, and I'll be diving into it soon as well.

[GiGi]

Finished up the 4th main instalment of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, Rhythm of War. A chunky read but a very good one.

Bit hard to keep up, however, with his wider Cosmere universe. The books are starting to tie in with his other works. Some parts obviously, others really subtle that you'd need to pay attention to/have outstanding memory of some minor sequence in another book from another series. 

I've read a few of the books back and will also need to reread a few of his novellas that he likes to add in between books for world-building and context.

Some project and he's not even half way done after nearly 20 years.

 

[scottsdad]

My niece got 100 books for a fiver from someone shifting them online. I looked through them and she said I could take what I wanted. One stood out - Star Trek Memories by William Shatner. I read this as a teenager and got it again. 

It's very warm and funny and full of funny stories. The one that made me laugh out loud related to Susan Oliver and the green paint. She was made up as an Orion slave girl (below) and covered in a smelly paint. She stood dancing but the paint had a pretty bad effect on her and she felt ill. The director laid her down in her caravan and called a doctor. The doctor arrives on set and is pointed towards a caravan where all he's told is "a girl is ill". He walks in and is confronted with a woman who has apparently turned green. 

Took a while before someone explained to the doc that it was make-up and not a side-effect of some sudden illness.

[Slacker]

On 14/04/2021 at 21:03, Perkin Flump said:

Anti-social, a book by a guy called Nick Pettigrew about working as  a Housing Association ASB Officer. Dark humour throughout & a terrible indictment of the lack of mental health services in a lot of areas in this country for people who really need help that they will never receive.

I’m halfway through this right now, it’s excellent. I have a lingering feeling of despair every time I put the book down.

Couldn’t pay me enough to do his job. 

[Moomintroll]

1 minute ago, Slacker said:

I’m halfway through this right now, it’s excellent. I have a lingering feeling of despair every time I put the book down.

Couldn’t pay me enough to do his job. 

Yeah it does get you that way, I wouldn't get past the first week in that job, it would utterly break me .

[Craig fae the Vale]

Finished Daisy on the Outer Line by Ross Sayers the other day. Really good fun time travel adventure set in Glasgow and written in Scots. Some surprisingly deep themes running through alongside the humour, really enjoyed it.