Last Book You Read....

[RH33]

2 minutes ago, Shandon Par said:

I’ve never gone back and re-read the early books but the ones as Rebus gets close to retirement age are worth sticking around for. It may be because so much of it is set in and around places that are familiar to me that makes me like them more though.

Through in your neck of the woods there’s a good hitman trilogy by Malcolm Mackay. A bit more bare bones than Rebus books. It’s like a Rebus tale but told from the perspective of one of the low-lifes.

I liked William McIlvaney.

I’m not one for re reading boos.. Not much of a reader at all. But my sons dyslexic (me too) and after two years refusing to read a combination of new school having different reading system and a fabulous teacher he started show interest. He’s still couple years behind in terms reading age but he’s doing great. So to encourage him we’ve been sitting on my bed reading our respective books in evenings.

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Finally got around to reading Catcher In The Rye. Essentially felt like 200 pages of Salinger telling me that I was a c**t when I was a teenager but it's sensationally written, worth all the hype.

Edited January 8, 2020 by YassinMoutaouakil

[welshbairn]

On 05/01/2020 at 05:53, Saigon Raider said:

Skinny Dip and Star Island by Carl Hiaason + I think he might be my favourite author when I just want a fun blast. The South Florida setting and brilliant characters make his books very enjoyable.

Worth reading his columns in the Miami Herald, the stories of corrupt politicians and cops, along with dodgy and environmentally damaging property deals, make his novels look tame and more realistic.

https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/carl-hiaasen/

[welshbairn]

Just finished Philip Kerr's final book in the Bernie Gunther series. Recommended. Not a bad place to start with them, won't spoil things if you then start the whole series from the beginning, think he got a bit more concise with his writing as he went on. The series is about an honest cop trying to stay politically neutral and solve crimes in Berlin and elsewhere throughout the pre, actual and post Nazi era, this one is before they get power. Felt a bit sad reading it, and more so finishing it, because the reason it's the last is he died last year. Born in Edinburgh, must have done an immense amount of research, most of the basics are historically accurate.

[paul-r-cfc]

Night flight to Paris - David Gilman

Had a productive 2019 in Reading terms so hoping to keep that going this year. First of the year finished, although I started it ages ago! Took me about a month t I get halfway in and then blitzed the second half between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Can only be a good sign. Solid WWII thriller based in occupied France. Characters are believable, dialogue is good, excellent protagonist and genuinely gripping. Flew through the second half because I was desperate to see how it all panned out. Clearly very well researched in terms of resistance tactics, mindsets etc. Picked this up randomly in ASDA a while ago and seen a few people reading it. Definitely recommend it.

[paul-r-cfc]

Reading the Rebus series. Not sure I get the hype.
Detective with drink problem, can’t maintain relationships, usual takes a beating. Rinse and repeat.
But I’ve started so I’ll finish!

I've had half of them sitting on my shelf for years and never get round to reading them! Read a good few when I was still in school and enjoyed them but they weren't in order so that has put me off starting again as I don't like reading books if I haven't read the previous ones. Also don't want to re-read so but I'll bite the bullet at some point and get them all read in order....

[sjc]

On 25/11/2019 at 16:47, tongue_tied_danny said:

Heinrich Gerlach - Breakthrough at Stalingrad.

No holds barred story about the fate of Axis troops trapped in The Cauldron during the battle of Stalingrad. Pretty grim.

An interesting story behind the book. The author was captured at Stalingrad and wrote the book in a POW camp. The Russians confiscated the completed manuscript when he was released. It was found decades later in some archive in Moscow then finally published.

Sounds good. Have you read the forgotten soldier  by Guy Sajer? He managed to escape back to Germany though.

[oldbitterandgrumpy]

On 07/01/2020 at 22:03, RH33 said:

Reading the Rebus series. Not sure I get the hype.

Detective with drink problem, can’t maintain relationships, usual takes a beating. Rinse and repeat.

But I’ve started so I’ll finish!

They're as much about Edinburgh and Scotland as they are about him. 

He's the central character that everything revolves around, but it's really more about the views of an un-reconstructed Scottish dinosaur who can't get beyond 60's/70's music and Old Testament black and white beliefs and values even though the times around him are changing rapidly.

He's a troubled man for sure, and he relies a bit too much on the booze and fags. Stick with them though. They're worth it. 

[tongue_tied_danny]

7 hours ago, sjc said:

Sounds good. Have you read the forgotten soldier  by Guy Sajer? He managed to escape back to Germany though.

Yeah, I read that a few years ago. I've always been fascinated by the Eastern Front.  I read most of Sven Hassel's books when I was a teenager. They're not exactly realistic but they piqued my interest and I pretty much read anything I can find on it.

[KnightswoodBear]

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King.  Thought I'd give this a read before I watched the film.  Pretty disappointing.  Has absolutely none of the terror that The Shining has.  Could very easily have just been another story about different characters without tying it to the The Shining.

As a book on it's own, it's passable 5/10.

I've gone back to read The Shining again now, a book that I first attempted to read in my teens and never actually managed to finish until I was in my 30's.  Would always get to one particular bit and have to stop.

I never put it in the freezer.

[Tartan Dave]

Went to buy a book there... £35 for the Kindle version. Jesus wept.

[Monkey Tennis]

Just finished Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones.

Absolutely magnificent - the best thing I've read in ages.  

Set in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea during the 90s conflict, it's narrated by Matilda, a 14 year old girl, and is a Hell of a lot better than it sounds.

[Thane of Cawdor]

On 07/01/2020 at 22:03, RH33 said:

Reading the Rebus series. Not sure I get the hype.

Detective with drink problem, can’t maintain relationships, usual takes a beating. Rinse and repeat.

But I’ve started so I’ll finish!

Bugger. No point in writing my autobiography if it's all been done.

[Saigon Raider]

Just finished The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Story of a boys correctional facility just after desegregation in the South. Very interesting but quite grim reading.

[coprolite]

Alan Warner--dead man's pedal

Coming of age nostalgia featuring forensic recreation of a highly unionised British Rail and some beautifully realised class system angst. 

It's really really well written and textured. You can almost see most of the background and characters. The plot is a little bit episodic and rambling, but overall it was well worth reading. 

 

Charles Stross - atrocity archives

The best of his I've read so far. The supernatural civil service is just a brilliant creation. Having worked in the actual civil service recognise the bureaucracy and the mix with fighting interdimensional demons puts both in stark relief and is comedy gold. 

[Clough85]

With Clough by Taylor 

Read a few books on Brian Clough now, this take being slightly different as it was from Peter Taylor’s perspective whilst still at forest and before they fell out. 
 

Fair read although a bit on the short side.     Always enjoy hearing about the great Scottish players that played for them and lifted European cups. 
 

Gemmell, Burns, McGovern and of course John Robertson . 

[Thane of Cawdor]

On 14/02/2020 at 14:37, Clough85 said:

With Clough by Taylor 

Read a few books on Brian Clough now, this take being slightly different as it was from Peter Taylor’s perspective whilst still at forest and before they fell out. 
 

Fair read although a bit on the short side.     Always enjoy hearing about the great Scottish players that played for them and lifted European cups. 
 

Gemmell, Burns, McGovern and of course John Robertson . 

Hadn't realised that Kenny Burns got 20 caps, don't remember him in any Scotland team. McGovern would have "walked  over broken glass up the M74" to play once for Scotland. Now that's poignan,t and a very different era to this.

[Clough85]

5 hours ago, Thane of Cawdor said:

Hadn't realised that Kenny Burns got 20 caps, don't remember him in any Scotland team. McGovern would have "walked  over broken glass up the M74" to play once for Scotland. Now that's poignan,t and a very different era to this.

McGovern lifted the European cup twice and was never capped. 
 

Kevin Kyle has Scotland caps.. 

[tongue_tied_danny]

17 hours ago, Clough85 said:

McGovern lifted the European cup twice and was never capped. 
 

Kevin Kyle has Scotland caps.. 

According to the Wikipedia McGovern and Ken McNaught of Aston Villa are the only two Scottish players to win the European Cup but never be capped. I can't be bothered checking but does that mean that every member of the 1967 Celtic team won caps?

[Mark Connolly]

3 minutes ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

According to the Wikipedia McGovern and Ken McNaught of Aston Villa are the only two Scottish players to win the European Cup but never be capped. I can't be bothered checking but does that mean that every member of the 1967 Celtic team won caps?

A quick google tells me that all 11 who played in the final were capped. John Fallon, the sub keeper, was not. Of the 4 others who played in the competition, only Willie O'Neill wasn't capped, and he played for the League XI.