footiechick Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 (edited) Guernica by Dave Boling "An extraordinary epic of love, family, and war set in the Basque town of Guernica before, during, and after its destruction by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War. In 1935, Miguel Navarro finds himself in conflict with the Spanish Civil Guard and flees the Basque fishing village of Lekeitio to make a new start in Guernica, the centre of Basque culture and tradition. Once there, he finds more than just a new life – he finds someone to live for. Miren Ansotegui is the charismatic and graceful dancer he meets and the two discover a love they believe nothing can destroy . . . Rich in the history of the region, the Red Baron, the Luftwaffe and even Picasso make appearances in Guernica as the fate of the Navarro family is traced through the early decades of the twentieth century." This was a good read, enjoyed it. Edited March 5, 2010 by footiechick 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidger Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh Don't normally like reading, last book I read was last August or something and that was for school but Trainspotting had me hooked from start to finish. Awesome book IMO. 'Porno' is great book for reading in public, you always get some funny looks! Glue and Filth are also easy reading and interlink in part with the same charachters. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowden Blue Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 'Porno' is great book for reading in public, you always get some funny looks! Glue and Filth are also easy reading and interlink in part with the same charachters. It has always amused me that one of the greatest authors this country has produced, and in some peoples opinion, one of the finest ever of his genre, is almost seen as something you should be embarassed to admit to enjoying. I read Porno on my meal break at work, and my gaffer took me aside later and suggested that I find "something more suitable" to be reading at work. As an experiment, the next day I bought a copy of Maxim, read it at lunch, and no issue whatsoever! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsh Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 I enjoyed The Motorcycle Diaries.he was a bit of a lad in his day.won't spoil it for you but you can seehim changing throughout the book. Ps.if it's the same copy I have,there is a picture of Che,clean shaven,looking very like Richard Park. Strange. Nice one, I'm looking forward to reading it, I reckon I could probably have it finished by the time we land in the states cos its pretty thin-ish. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 'Porno' is great book for reading in public, you always get some funny looks! It's a shame that it's a terrible, terrible book. Imho 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivo den Bieman Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 I agree with Knightswood Bear. The only Irvine Welsh worth bothering with are the first three- The Acid House, Trainspotting and Marabou Stork Nightmares. The gap in the quality of the writing between Trainspotting and Porno is pretty stark. The main interest in the book is working out where Welsh took these five characters next, but otherwise it's a poor, poor book. Glue is alright-ish but about 200 pages too long, and a bit of a re-tread. Filth and If you liked school, you'll love work are just embarrassing and not worth the paper they're printed on. Welsh is a bit of a cash register on the basis of his first three novels, but the number of copies you'll find of his books from Glue onwards in charity shops or for 1p on e-bay shows that that's pretty much dried up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Thompson Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Yes, I totally agree with this. What put him off stride with this trilogy was all the stuff with Hurricane Katrina, as the book is set in New Orleans, therefore he delayed it for ages, and when he did get round to it, it did indeed feel very rushed. A shame, as up until then, it was shaping up to be an excellent trilogy. Yeah, I read that after my earlier post. I felt the ending was particularly badly handled, a trait which is becoming more common with Koontz's books, the somewhat awful 'Relentless' being a prime case in point. 'Relentless' was a strange one. Along the same lines as many of his other books, it had the potential to be a really good story, but it never really went anywhere. And, as you say, the ending just didnt really work. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Sionnach Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Cassandra Eason - Pagan in the City (Quantum Publishing - £11.99) An excellent guide to adapting the principals of a nature based ethos into the modern city environment. There are somevery good tips on how to maintain your natural solar and lunar bio-rhythyms within an increasingly 24/7 city lifetsyle, and advice on reducing work induced stress levels. There is a very helpful section on bringing nature into the modern home, for example creating a focal hearth point for families to gather round and communicate rather than live separate existences within the fabric of the same house. She also has advice on how to de-stress the workplace to make it more harmonious, productive and self-enriching. A very helpful book that brings a new slant to an ancient practice existing within the 21st century and the bullet points suggesting courses of action at the end of each Chapter are recommended as a useful aide-memoire. Och, it's a Friday, knock yerselves out! *Promises to read a Mills and Boon 'bodice-ripper' next.....* -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monster Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Cassandra Eason - Pagan in the City (Quantum Publishing - £11.99) There are some very good tips on how to maintain your natural solar and lunar bio-rhythyms within an increasingly 24/7 city lifetsyle 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmys Beard Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 A Game of Thrones. My mate lent it me, apparently it's part of a series of 7. Bloody good read, got the kinda scope of Lord of the Rings but properly brutal. Just started reading the second one. Just about every charater is a vile, despicable human being but the writing is so good that you want to see where everyones plans are going and what everyone's gonna do next. If you like fantasy, deffo give it a read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uberman Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Donovan - The Hurdy Gurdy Man 7/10 Autobiography of the man who started flower power and psychadelic music, some good pictures of him with The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartyMac Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 On the subject of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', some lassie who sat next to me on the train tonight was reading it. Well, when I say reading it, she read a few words, turned over about 3 pages, then read some more, and repeated this numerous times. Probably one of those people who likes being seen to read what they perceive as a 'cool' book in public, without actually paying attention to the words on the page. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Taranbino Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Maybe she just really really loves the book With my fav book - I have read it that many times I can pick it up - flick to a chapter read it and then dive off to a different chapter I like 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowden Blue Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 With my fav book - I have read it that many times I can pick it up - flick to a chapter read it and then dive off to a different chapter I like I didn't know Spot Goes Camping had chapters? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Sionnach Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Your chakra's obviously need major re-aligning! I lied about a Mills & Boon. Currently reading The Philosophy of Wicca by Amber Laine Fisher (ECW Press £19.95). I may let you know how I get on..... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartyMac Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 "Doors Open" by Iain Rankine. Somewhat dull crime thriller set across the backdrop of Edinburgh's art world. Few guys plan an art heist, get involved with local gangster, things turn messy. Blah blah. Mildly enjoyable, but the characters are, for the most part, one dimensional and very unlikeable. Overall, just a bit meh. 4/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Cuddy Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Finally got around to reading some Carl Hiaasen after I found it in the college library. Tried Stormy Weather. It was pretty good, but I've read better. It was weeks ago though, so I can't remember much else about it other than that. Nice happy ending though. 7/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint dave Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 The Last Godfathers. 8/10 about the rise and fall of the Corleonese mafia clan in Sicily.charts the rise to leadership and eventual downfall of Toto Riina and Bernard"the tractor"Provenzano,who shared control of the clan. Some very brutal methods of elimination,including dissolving victims in drums of acid and roasting people over giant grills. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyblair Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Just read all 6 stories in the Tweenies book my youngster got the other day. Really heavy going. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pride Of Scotland Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 (edited) Currently reading 'A Brief History of The Cold War' by Colonel John Hughes-Wilson. Quite interesting so far but I'm not that far in. Edited March 7, 2010 by Pride Of Scotland 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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