RealMaroon Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 relentless by simon kernick. Been reading alot of his books lately and they are all fucking awsome. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Idiot Bástard Son Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 i've been reading a lot of short stories recently, mainly by Kafka and James Hogg, and i've found that i'm enjoying it a lot more than i thought i would. there's something very skilful about being able to convey an entire story in a relatively small number of pages. If that’s the case then I’d thoroughly recommend any of the collections by George Mackay Brown. Some very fine material indeed. Also James Kelman’s Not Not while the Giro has got some great stuff. There’s one short story a mere half a page long that knocks you flat on your back. I read it then re-read about five times and was open mouthed. Won’t give it away but it a short story described as a “swift punch in the stomach” which it definitely is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I've read a number of books where I've thought "You know, cut out the filler and this could easily have been 150 pages and a better book for it". Absolutely, I made comments along these lines reagrding one day. Loads and loads of novels - modern and "Classic" - are filled to the brim with pointless filler,especially descritptions. When I read a two page descritiption of the bricks which make up the house which the main character visits once, i zone out 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowers Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Tempted to buy "the gulag archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn........is it worth reading? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo*1 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Some of Kafka's stuff is top notch, particularly 'The Metamorphosis'. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckles Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Tempted to buy "the gulag archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn........is it worth reading? Yes, I recommended it on here a few weeks ago....also try his much shorter, "One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich"...which is also about life in the Gulag . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealMaroon Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 thinking about reading "the triumph of the sun" by willber smiith. Anyone recommend it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckles Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) thinking about reading "the triumph of the sun" by willber smiith. Anyone recommend it? Wilbur Smith is the H. Rider Haggard of the 20th./ 21st centuries, and most of his reviews have at least one "rattling good read" comment. His books are adventure/romance on a grand scale and are really good and easy reading. The problem is that quite a few have developed into family sagas...The Courtneys, The Ballantynes etc., so it's best to start at the beginning of these tales and as I don't know if the book you mentioned is in this category, it might be best to check. Good reads of his that "stand on their own", are "Dark of the Sun"...a mercenary tale compares quite well with Forsyth's "Dogs of War", ..also,"The Sunbird", "Eagle in the Sky", and "Goldmine", a story good enough to withstand the wooden Roger Moore in the movie version ! Or you could kick off way back at the beginning with "When the Lion Feeds". Happy reading !! Edited October 20, 2011 by chuckles 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_S_A_R Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 1Q84 came this morning. it's an absolute brick, the postie did not look best pleased. recently i've read suttree by cormac mccarthy: an apparently semi autobiographical novel about a young man's time spent living amongst the poorest people in 1950s knoxville tennesse. it's quite realistic in that that there isn't much of a plot, it just details live amongst the destitute which is unsuprisingly sad but never depressing. as ever with mccarthy the writing, particularly the dialouge, is fantastic with a bit more of a friendly conversational tone to it compared to the grave doom in some of his other works. a great read, hopefully he will publish something new shortly. coming through slaughter by micheal ondaatje: another poverty ridden book set in the deep south. this time its the early 1900s describing the life of jazz pioneer buddy bolden. bolden is credited as inspiring a lot of modern jazz but he was never recorded and very little is known about his life. ondaatje takes the bare flesh of the bolden legend and creates a man and a world with true depth, he manages his characters feel familiar and a mystery at the same time. it's quite a slim novel but i don't think there is a wasted word. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMDP Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 1Q84 came this morning. it's an absolute brick, the postie did not look best pleased. Ha, turns out my gf had ordered me it as a surprise and it was delivered to my work. Delighted. -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 Anyone ever read any Michel Houellebeque? I did years ago, and I can't remember if i thought it was genius or utter shite. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archie guevara Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Tempted to buy "the gulag archipelago" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn........is it worth reading? Hard, very hard. Start with "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckles Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Hard, very hard. Start with "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch". Mmmm.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_S_A_R Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Anyone ever read any Michel Houellebeque? I did years ago, and I can't remember if i thought it was genius or utter shite. i thought atomised was excellent but platform was nowhere near as good. atomised was about two half brothers one of whom is a scientist and the other pretty much a full time pervert, it's a bit bleak but a good read. platform is about a guy and his new girlfriend planning to set up a sex tourism agency and has it's moments but it seemed to me more an excuse for a bit of filth and racism than a fully realised novel. has his latest book been translated yet? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I'm currently roughly a third of the way through Moneyball and finding it enjoyable, despite my ignorance of baseball lingo and slang Moneyball was ultimately very enjoyable, although my overall ignorance of most things baseball probably hurt my overall enjoyment of it. I might be tempted to watch a baseball game at some point now, although i think the World Series has just finished raises loads of great questions about "common wisdom" and "baseball men" which could be easily transferred to football, so in keeping with the theme i'm now reading Why England Lose which is basically Freakonomic meets Football meetsMoneyball. Enjoyable stuff, the section on Lyon is quite interesting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 i thought atomised was excellent but platform was nowhere near as good. atomised was about two half brothers one of whom is a scientist and the other pretty much a full time pervert, it's a bit bleak but a good read. platform is about a guy and his new girlfriend planning to set up a sex tourism agency and has it's moments but it seemed to me more an excuse for a bit of filth and racism than a fully realised novel. Yes, you are spot on. Atomised was excellent, and Platform was shit. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo*1 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Any good 'horror' books? Not your Stephen King or Layman stuff either, I'm looking for something psychologically terrifying? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Has anyone read The Handmaid's Tale? I am currently doing that book at school and I am intereted in your opinions if you have read it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superwell87 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Stephen King - Cell 9/10 Fourth time ive taken the book out the library and it will not be the last. Belter of a read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
young buck Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 not the last book I've read but the most enjoyable. I cannot scrawl back the huner odd pages to see if it's been recommended before but if youhaven't read this get it for xmas or something man you'll pee your panites 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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