Dan Steele Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Carl Hiassen's crime fiction is very funny. Wee environmental message there as well. Good summer reading. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaboz Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Any history recommendations that aren't too heavy? Scottish history preferred but would read anything. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmouth Strikes Again Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 7 minutes ago, Bigmouth Strikes Again said: That’s an old photo. More like this these days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishopburn boy Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 (edited) The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern the worst journey in the world , apsley cherry-Garrad Anything by Tim Powers , personal fave the Anubis gates , on stranger tides runs it close and it is much better than the pirates of the Caribbean film of the same name , and if you want a series , dig in to the rivers of London books by Ben Aaranovich Edited July 30, 2019 by bishopburn boy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Man Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 31 minutes ago, Bigmouth Strikes Again said: @D TOTAL Make this first on your list if you haven't read it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Stellaboz said: Any history recommendations that aren't too heavy? Scottish history preferred but would read anything. 58 minutes ago, MixuFixit said: Arthur Herman - The Scottish Enlightenment Antony Beevor - Stalingrad Norman Davies - Europe: A History Last one is quite a big tome but surprisingly readable. I've read it through twice and might do it again now you've put it in my head. Stalingrad is good although I preferred Enemy at the Gates by William Craig. I've just finished reading Russia's War by Richard Ovary, which gives a fairly detailed overview of the ostfront from the Soviet perspective. I'm keen to read more about the Eastern Front in WW1 but there's not much out there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the jambo-rocker Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Vernon God Little by D.B.C Pierre. It's quite marmite, and in this case I really like Marmite. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DA Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 13 hours ago, MixuFixit said: Arthur Herman - The Scottish Enlightenment Antony Beevor - Stalingrad Norman Davies - Europe: A History Last one is quite a big tome but surprisingly readable. I've read it through twice and might do it again now you've put it in my head. Tom Devine's The Scottish Nation is possibly the best history of post-1707 Scotland. A bit hard going at times but well worth the time and effort for the overall picture it builds. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRoseKillie Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 17 hours ago, The Skelpit Lug said: Carl Hiassen's crime fiction is very funny. Wee environmental message there as well. Good summer reading. His collected newspaper columns are good value as well. Florida politics is fucking mental, and occasionally even more absurd than his fiction. On Hiaasen, if you like his sense of the absurd, try Tim Dorsey. If it's the crime/thriller aspect of his work that appeals, Randy Wayne White is good value. It would be easier to recommend books if the OP was clearer as to his/her preferences. Saying that, I'm currently reading a collection of Neil Gaiman Short Stories, "Me, Cheetah" - the autobiography of Tarzan's sidekick, and the Fallout 4 Vault Survivor's Guide*, so I reckon you could say my reading is pretty diverse. * Just picked up all the DLC in the Steam Sale, so I'm having another go at it. I'd forgotten what a great game it is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRoseKillie Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 15 hours ago, Stellaboz said: Any history recommendations that aren't too heavy? Scottish history preferred but would read anything. If you really mean "anything", try the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser. Pretty light reading adventure books, but with some serious footnotes which will pique your curiosity to learn more about some of the events he writes about. Mr American is good, too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 20 hours ago, The Skelpit Lug said: Carl Hiassen's crime fiction is very funny. Wee environmental message there as well. Good summer reading. I'd always recommend Carl Hiassen to people as he is good on so many levels. It's very accessible without being too lightweight. It's absurd but still involving. It has this burning anger about the environmental situation bubbling underneath and uses all the funny, likeable characters and absurd baddies to make serious points. And if you just like a crime caper then you'll enjoy it. I'd say if you've enjoyed anything by Christopher Brookmyre you'd like Hiassen and if you enjoy a Rebus novel then you'd also enjoy it as there's plenty of crime and intrigue but in a sunnier climate and with baddies who may have a pet nutjob monkey rather than a Staffie. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crroma Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Lol at people reading books in 2019, go play a videogame or something grandad 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 19 hours ago, Stellaboz said: Any history recommendations that aren't too heavy? Scottish history preferred but would read anything. Anything by Tom Holland is worth reading, no Scottish history in there (apart from proto Scots appearing in Aethelstan's Court) but they are written as narrative not as an evaluation of evidence. Mainly covers 500bc to 1000ad across Europe and Middle East. Agree with the recommendation of Devine's Scottish Nation. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netan Sansara Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 20 hours ago, Stellaboz said: Any history recommendations that aren't too heavy? Scottish history preferred but would read anything. Currently reading A short history of Europe by Simon Jenkins which is good. Also, the shortest history of Germany is really good. Gives a nice insight to the history of the country. Particularly nice since you live here (if I’m not mistaken). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tibbermoresaint Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Crroma said: Lol at people reading books in 2019, go play a videogame or something grandad Do you feel threatened? 20 minutes ago, Serious Business said: Like the Roman: The Life of Enoch Powell - Simon Heffer An outstanding and intimate look at the life of one of the great scholars, linguists, orators and ultimately patriots of the last century. "Too often today people are ready to tell us: ‘This is not possible, that is not possible.’ I say: whatever the true interest of our country calls for is always possible. We have nothing to fear but our own doubts." -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Steele Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 4 hours ago, Crroma said: Lol at people reading books in 2019, go play a videogame or something grandad I know. Books, eh? Another short-lived fad, I'd say. Can't see them catching on at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaboz Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Currently reading A short history of Europe by Simon Jenkins which is good. Also, the shortest history of Germany is really good. Gives a nice insight to the history of the country. Particularly nice since you live here (if I’m not mistaken). Already have A Short History of Germany. Great read, will look into the Europe book. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallochSonsFan Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 8 hours ago, Crroma said: Lol at people reading books in 2019, go play a videogame or something grandad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountyFan Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 On 30/07/2019 at 19:03, bishopburn boy said: and if you want a series , dig in to the rivers of London books by Ben Aaranovich Thanks for this recommendation. Battered through the first half of the first book tonight, cracking stuff. No idea how I hadn't come across it before because it's right up my street. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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