Shandon Par Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 ZeroZeroZero Roberto Saviano (him who wrote Gomorrah La Serie and lives in permanent hiding from the mafia. This was made into a drama for TV (see it on Sky Atlantic) but the book is a non-fiction look at the drugs trade and how it gets its tentacles into everyday life. Even sleepy RBS gets blasted for its role in laundering narco/Russian mafia money. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DA Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 19 minutes ago, WhiteRoseKillie said: 1 hour ago, The DA said: 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. Let's just say that I identify just a little... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 On 15/07/2021 at 13:49, MSU said: 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 See, I really liked The Glass Hotel. Thought the character work was excellent. Haven't read Station Eleven yet, but it is in my ever growing to read pile. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSU Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 1 hour ago, Craig the Hunter said: See, I really liked The Glass Hotel. Thought the character work was excellent. Haven't read Station Eleven yet, but it is in my ever growing to read pile. If I hadn’t read her other work and loved it so much I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed The Glass Hotel more, and there’s still plenty to admire in it. I’ll be interested in your thoughts on Station Eleven once you get round to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Traitors of Rome by Simon Scarrow. I'm getting convinced that it's the same book over and over again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duszek Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Currently re-reading Paul Auster, a hero from my student days. Moon Palace and The Music of Chance still hit the spot. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 On 15/07/2021 at 14:56, Genuine Hibs Fan said: My favourite Barnes (middle England is really good as well if you want more of his, although very different) I take it you mean 'England, England'? 'Middle England' is a Jonathan Coe book. They're both decent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genuine Hibs Fan Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 6 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said: I take it you mean 'England, England'? 'Middle England' is a Jonathan Coe book. They're both decent. Yeah you're right, my gf read Middle England recently so had them confused! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 I've read The Periodic Table by Primo Levi. It's well written and the thing he attempts in marrying Chemistry to narrative is interesting and sort of successful, but not necessarily sustainably convincing. It's a mixture of autobiography and fiction which sees each chapter given the name of an element. His life story is such that the non-fiction parts work better than the short stories. I found it a slog early on, but it picks up. One of those books that feels a bit self consciously important, but actually is, if that makes any sense. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 4 hours ago, Duszek said: Currently re-reading Paul Auster, a hero from my student days. Moon Palace and The Music of Chance still hit the spot. I've only read 4321 by Paul Auster and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I've got his New York Trilogy sitting on one of my shelves, might pick it up fairly soon now you've refreshed my memory. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duszek Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Just now, Craig the Hunter said: I've only read 4321 by Paul Auster and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I've got his New York Trilogy sitting on one of my shelves, might pick it up fairly soon now you've refreshed my memory. New York Trilogy is classic Auster - you’re in for a real treat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustOneCornetto Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 (edited) I pledged a book on the Unbound online publishing site, got my copy delivered and enjoyed reading it and seeing my name on page 377. It's called Work In Progress by Dan Brotzel and is written in a series of emails between members of the newly formed Crawley Writers Group. All the members are a bit oddball, eccentric or just a bit crazy and I found it very funny and extremely easy to whizz through the 300 odd pages. Edited July 26, 2021 by JustOneCornetto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSU Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan. Given the rave reviews, and recommendation a page back, I was surprised by how much I hated this book. I just took against the characters from the start, so by the time we got to the emotional second part, I was already wishing them all dead. I think it just reminded me of a couple of stag dos I've been on and how I really don't want to read a novel about those stag dos. A Small Revolution by Jimin Han. Quite an interesting tale of a college hostage situation, set in the 1980s against a backdrop of political upheaval in Korea. A very short read told in a couple of threads in time and a debut novel, I understand. Decent stuff. I'm now on to The Thursday Murder Club by that tall chap off of out of Pointless. I'm not far in but the writing is so crisp and effortless and engaging, I have high hopes for the rest of it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Finished Young Team by Graeme Armstrong Currently reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 A Kestrel for a Knave (book which was adapted for Kes). Bit of a heartbreaking story hadnt read it in years. Whilst Hines writing is great, his attention to detail is too much for me sometimes. Terminal Boredom - Izumi Suzuki. A few short translated stories from a Japanese writer who starred in pink movies and topped herself. Some interesting sci-fi concepts though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Terminal Boredom - Izumi Suzuki. A few short translated stories from a Japanese writer who starred in pink movies and topped herself. It would have been more noteworthy had a Japanese author not been connected to suicide. They're constantly writing about folk killing themselves. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Melanius Mullarkey said: A Kestrel for a Knave (book which was adapted for Kes). Bit of a heartbreaking story hadnt read it in years. Whilst Hines writing is great, his attention to detail is too much for me sometimes. One of those rarities where the film really is better than the book. It's obviously a good story, but Hines gets terribly bogged down in superfluous detail, which can threaten to derail the themes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 13 minutes ago, Monkey Tennis said: One of those rarities where the film really is better than the book. It's obviously a good story, but Hines gets terribly bogged down in superfluous detail, which can threaten to derail the themes. Indeed. But I suppose the film drew upon that detail to a large extent. Easier to digest it visually than reading about the details of a kitchen table/his maws legs etc. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Hounded by Kevin Hearne. Pedestrian urban fantasy with stilted dialogue and an uneven story. I'll not be continuing with the series. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 Highway to Hell by Clinton Walker. Biography of Bon Scott. The book itself was very detailed and showed the character of Scott well. What I didn't like was how dismissive the author was on everyone else related to AC/DC. The Young brothers were, in turn, stupid, ruthless, tasteless, classless and so on. Managers were invariably incompetent or rip off merchants. On it went - everyone who didn't speak to him in the book was utterly slated. At least I now know the story of Whole Lotta Rosie 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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