Granny Danger Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 1 hour ago, Paul Kersey said: I'm off work this week so I'm trying to catch up on my reading. I'm about half way through Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It's considered a dystopian classic and is often mentioned alongside 1984 and A Clockwork Orange. I am enjoying it and I like the concept, however I feel Huxley doesn't have the flair of Orwell or Burgess. His writing style isn't as engaging and I'm finding that it just kinda plods along. I'm still glad that I've finally got around to reading it though. I read BNW years ago and really enjoyed it. Tried to read it a few months back (inspired by the shit TV serialisation) and couldn’t get into it. Not a patch on Orwell’s writing. AS AN ASIDE: I’m trying to give away 30+ boxes of books, mainly fiction, and having no success. Anyone wanting them? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnash Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 7 hours ago, Paul Kersey said: I'm off work this week so I'm trying to catch up on my reading. I'm about half way through Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It's considered a dystopian classic and is often mentioned alongside 1984 and A Clockwork Orange. I am enjoying it and I like the concept, however I feel Huxley doesn't have the flair of Orwell or Burgess. His writing style isn't as engaging and I'm finding that it just kinda plods along. I'm still glad that I've finally got around to reading it though. I really liked Brave New World but it is chalk and cheese compared to 1984. While the 1984 world is an absolute hell, BNW actually seems like quite a good idea. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, Granny Danger said: AS AN ASIDE: I’m trying to give away 30+ boxes of books, mainly fiction, and having no success. Anyone wanting them? 1940s Readers Wives Annuals imo. Edited June 10, 2021 by Melanius Mullarkey 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted June 10, 2021 Share Posted June 10, 2021 6 hours ago, Granny Danger said: AS AN ASIDE: I’m trying to give away 30+ boxes of books, mainly fiction, and having no success. Anyone wanting them? We stuck loads of books and DVD’s outside our office when the first lockdown came along. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 Protector by Conn Iggulden. Excellent writing as usual, continuing his story of war between the Persians and the Greeks. My only issue was that the climax of the book happened about two thirds of the way through it, leaving an Act Four that meandered on without much purpose. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 The Last Days of Disco by David F Ross. Set in the 80s in Kilmarnock. Funny, sad, engaging. There's two more in the series and I'm looking forward to them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnash Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 (edited) The Testaments by Margaret Atwood Sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. It's a worthy follow up, written from the POV of 3 very different women, all crucial to the collapse of the patriarchal Gilead regime. I don't know if it was intentional, but for me there are echoes of ISIS in the Gilead society, which make it all the more terrifyingly possible. Overall, a good book. Highly recommended it you liked The Handmaid's Tale, still recommended as a stand alone book. Plot spoiler below. Spoiler The one annoying thing for me was how unrealistic it was that Jade / baby Nicole was not just willing but actually pursuaded to make the dangerous journey back to Gilead. The author could have thought up a more plausible reason for her to go there. Edited July 1, 2021 by Gnash 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 Finished The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jonasson today. It was fine, a decent ending probably made me rate it a bit higher than I would have otherwise. Jonasson is definitely at his best when writing his Ari Thor books, this definitely wasn't up to their standard. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duszek Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 I decided 2021 would be the year I read William Faulkner. Started with As I Lay Dying, an atmospheric road trip with a Southern family transporting a decomposing corpse. Then moved onto The Sound and the Fury, where a dysfunctional Southern family tear themselves to pieces as the Negros look on. Both brilliant reads. As I Lay Dying has you wondering what the f**k is going to happen with the corpse, while Sound and Fury features a great villain with the funniest lines in either book. Best writer the American South has produced, I suggest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 17 hours ago, Duszek said: I decided 2021 would be the year I read William Faulkner. Started with As I Lay Dying, an atmospheric road trip with a Southern family transporting a decomposing corpse. Then moved onto The Sound and the Fury, where a dysfunctional Southern family tear themselves to pieces as the Negros look on. Both brilliant reads. As I Lay Dying has you wondering what the f**k is going to happen with the corpse, while Sound and Fury features a great villain with the funniest lines in either book. Best writer the American South has produced, I suggest. He stole that first one from National Lampoon's Vacation 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan. Absolutely wonderful. Raucous and heartbreaking in equal measures. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSU Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Been on a bit of a binge over the last week or so. The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel -- follow up to Station Eleven. It's probably my least favourite of hers. Beautifully written but way too much navel gazing about the operation of a failed Ponzi scheme. 3/5 Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake -- apparently this is a bonkbuster. It's been all over my Twitter feed so I gave it a go. Fiftysomething women involved in the world of TV and soap operas, all with perfect breasts topped with perfect nipples, all of them never more than a passing rumbling truck away from multiple earth-shattering orgasms. Quite amusing in places, not always intentionally. Utter trash. 2/5 Phrase Seven by Chase Hughes -- one of my Lockdown Rabbit-holes on YouTube has been The Behavior Panel, a group of body language experts who pass opinion on interviews by celebrities and royal nonces and highlight their giveaway red flags. Chase Hughes is one of the panel, has signed up for Dan Brown's Masterclass, and come up with a high-hokum bit of people running around explaining the plot to each other which secret phrases are enough to hypnotise, corrupt, and even kill (dum-dum-dum). 3/5 The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes -- pick of the bunch, a super short novel about memory and refelction and reliability and betrayal. My first foray into Julian Barnes' work and I thought it was something of a triumph, let down my a frustratingly obtuse event in the denouement. 4/5 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRoseKillie Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 Oranges and Lemons - Christopher Fowler. The latest in his Bryant and May series. You kind of know what to expect now he's written twenty or so, but still a good old fashioned copper story - with everybody's favorite old fashioned coppers.After finishing this,I felt the need to read (alright, re read)a bit more of his non-series stuff (Rune, Roofworld, Soho Black, Spanky and the like) and to my delight discovered that there are a good half a dozen short story collections and a few novels I had never heard of newly released on Kindle. Some of the early stuff reads like early stuff, but all full of his deep love of London and its history. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genuine Hibs Fan Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 1 hour ago, MSU said: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes -- pick of the bunch, a super short novel about memory and refelction and reliability and betrayal. My first foray into Julian Barnes' work and I thought it was something of a triumph, let down my a frustratingly obtuse event in the denouement. 4/5 My favourite Barnes (middle England is really good as well if you want more of his, although very different) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSU Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 2 minutes ago, Genuine Hibs Fan said: My favourite Barnes (middle England is really good as well if you want more of his, although very different) Thanks for the recommendation. After The Sense of an Ending, I can see me working my way through his stuff. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. A historical fiction and mystery novel set on board a ship during the 17th century. Not my usual bag, but readable. However... Spoiler The ending. What the f**k? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 I've not long finished Young Adam by Alexander Trocchi. It obviously had the Ewan McGregor adaptation but it seems to fly under the radar as a Scottish classic probably due to the nastiness of both the narrator and Trocchi himself. It's a great book and quite similar to Camus's The Outsider only it's set on the Edinburgh-Glasgow canal rather than Algeria and has loads of shagging. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DA Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 On 15/07/2021 at 14:53, WhiteRoseKillie said: Oranges and Lemons - Christopher Fowler. The latest in his Bryant and May series. You kind of know what to expect now he's written twenty or so, but still a good old fashioned copper story - with everybody's favorite old fashioned coppers. After finishing this,I felt the need to read (alright, re read)a bit more of his non-series stuff (Rune, Roofworld, Soho Black, Spanky and the like) and to my delight discovered that there are a good half a dozen short story collections and a few novels I had never heard of newly released on Kindle. Some of the early stuff reads like early stuff, but all full of his deep love of London and its history. I made the mistake of reading the paperback Spanky on the bus on the way to work. I've managed to get a seat to myself ever since. Would read again. BTW B&M has been an excellent series. I've got Oranges and Lemons lined up for September (it's tradishniul, OK?) but I believe it has the hint of an ending to the series so I'm a bit conflicted. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DA Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 22 hours ago, Detournement said: I've not long finished Young Adam by Alexander Trocchi. It obviously had the Ewan McGregor adaptation but it seems to fly under the radar as a Scottish classic probably due to the nastiness of both the narrator and Trocchi himself. It's a great book and quite similar to Camus's The Outsider only it's set on the Edinburgh-Glasgow canal rather than Algeria and has loads of shagging. I remember flicking through a copy in Waterstones on Sauchiehall Street years back. I was reading the page with the wee bit of poo on the end of his Johnson after a bit of the old backdoor fun, when I sensed this old dear looking over my shoulder. I declined her unspoken offer. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRoseKillie Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 I made the mistake of reading the paperback Spanky on the bus on the way to work. I've managed to get a seat to myself ever since. Would read again. BTW B&M has been an excellent series. I've got Oranges and Lemons lined up for September (it's tradishniul, OK?) but I believe it has the hint of an ending to the series so I'm a bit conflicted.Be fair - the PCU is under threat of closure in every book. Plus Bryant and May must be about a hundred and fifty by now, and still going strong. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.