scottsdad Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Help needed please. My dad gave me two Richard Osman books yesterday. He's doing crime fiction these days. Question is - are these books any good? I normally don't bother with celebrities writing books unless it is an autobiography. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesP_81 Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I read his first one , Thursday murder club I think it's called. Was alright for a light read , a bit like a James Patterson but based in a very English old folk's home. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 1 hour ago, scottsdad said: Help needed please. My dad gave me two Richard Osman books yesterday. He's doing crime fiction these days. Question is - are these books any good? I normally don't bother with celebrities writing books unless it is an autobiography. I read the first one this time last year. I think I briefly reviewed it on here at the time. It was quite smartly plotted and harmlessly jolly as I recall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Someone gave me a lend of the first set of short stories for The Witcher. Quite enjoyed it. They warned me about the misogyny which I was close to pushing back against as it seemed alright then wooft hit the last story with Yennefer. Also finished Sally Rooney's latest. Probably the worst of the three but still enjoyed it. The email exchanges were enjoyable as the author speaking fairly eloquently if pompously about how they view the world. It's also a way more explicit book than the other two. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 10 hours ago, NotThePars said: Someone gave me a lend of the first set of short stories for The Witcher. Quite enjoyed it. They warned me about the misogyny which I was close to pushing back against as it seemed alright then wooft hit the last story with Yennefer. Also finished Sally Rooney's latest. Probably the worst of the three but still enjoyed it. The email exchanges were enjoyable as the author speaking fairly eloquently if pompously about how they view the world. It's also a way more explicit book than the other two. I'm up to date with these books (never seen the show). Yennefer is treated very badly, like most women in fantasy books. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 I'm up to date with these books (never seen the show). Yennefer is treated very badly, like most women in fantasy books. Love when an author repeatedly writes about how a woman is ugly but also somehow isn’t. Murakami kinda does it as well.Enjoyed it mostly though! Think I’ll check out the next one after I finish The Lathe of Heaven. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Love when an author repeatedly writes about how a woman is ugly but also somehow isn’t. Murakami kinda does it as well. Just finished Kafka on the Shore. Not my favourite of his but I can see why others have it as their number one.He does do that well, he also does incestuous paedophilic sex as well as anyone I've read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Just finished Kafka on the Shore. Not my favourite of his but I can see why others have it as their number one.He does do that well, he also does incestuous paedophilic sex as well as anyone I've read. I think he’s fine but definitely overrated. I think my favourite was The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle because the short stories set in the Soviet labour camp were good. All of Murakami’s female protagonists always be noticing the size of their breasts and relative attractiveness though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 You should try out some Wilbur Smith if you want some proper misogyny-that-isn't-but-really-is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Speaking of Japanese weirdos I've recently read The Ruined Map by Kobo Abe and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima. The Abe book is an excellent Japanese noir with a bit of existenalism thrown in. The Mishima one isn't as good as the others of his I've read but it has an extremely unsettling ending. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 42 minutes ago, NotThePars said: I think he’s fine but definitely overrated. I think my favourite was The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle because the short stories set in the Soviet labour camp were good. All of Murakami’s female protagonists always be noticing the size of their breasts and relative attractiveness though. Wind Up Bird, Wild Sheep, Dance Dance Dance and Norwegian Wood are all excellent. Hardboiled Wonderland and IQ84 are a slog but rewarding. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duszek Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 John Le Carré’s last book, Silverview. Easy and engaging read, recommended if you like JLC (and who doesn’t, I wonder?). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Wind Up Bird, Wild Sheep, Dance Dance Dance and Norwegian Wood are all excellent. Hardboiled Wonderland and IQ84 are a slog but rewarding. I really enjoyed 1Q84, read it while isolating, the length didn't trouble me at all. Killing Commendatore I liked a lot, too.On the weirdo Japanese author tip, Kenzaburo Oe is another mad one keen on some incest. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detournement Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 6 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said: I really enjoyed 1Q84, read it while isolating, the length didn't trouble me at all. Killing Commendatore I liked a lot, too. On the weirdo Japanese author tip, Kenzaburo Oe is another mad one keen on some incest. IQ84 is probably the perfect book for isolating. It's pretty much about people sitting alone in rooms. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 51 minutes ago, Detournement said: IQ84 is probably the perfect book for isolating. It's pretty much about people sitting alone in rooms. I've got 1Q84 on Audible and planning on tackling it this year. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 21 hours ago, NotThePars said: I think he’s fine but definitely overrated. I think my favourite was The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle because the short stories set in the Soviet labour camp were good. All of Murakami’s female protagonists always be noticing the size of their breasts and relative attractiveness though. I had read people raving about Murakami online, so read the three books known as "The Rat trilogy" during a week of nightshifts about six months ago. They helped to pass the time but the "quirkiness" felt a little forced at times. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Finished two audiobooks today. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman. No one can make you care about their characters quite like Fredrik Backman. You care so much about every single person in every one of his books. This is another absolute triumph Star Wars: The High Republic - The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray. The best book in the High Republic series so far. Absolutely ruthless and sets up the future really well 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 2 minutes ago, Craig the Hunter said: Finished two audiobooks today. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman. No one can make you care about their characters quite like Fredrik Backman. You care so much about every single person in every one of his books. This is another absolute triumph I read A Man Called Ove last year. It was a really good book. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop. Won the International Booker. I can see why. Absolutely beautifully written. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWalksBehindTheRows Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 On 20/01/2022 at 12:56, Craig the Hunter said: Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel. A fascinating portrait of what the end of the world as we know it would look like. You come to know and care about the characters and the end leaves you satisfied, but at the same time wanting more. Cracking read. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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