King Kebab Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 This is obviously eating away at you, I'm so glad it got under your skin, it's pretty obvious to all that somebody is needing a wee lie down and it isn't me, now away you go and stalk me on a more appropriate Thread!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Bear Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 This is obviously eating away at you, I'm so glad it got under your skin, it's pretty obvious to all that somebody is needing a wee lie down and it isn't me, now away you go and stalk me on a more appropriate Thread!!! Glad we didn’t derail this thread!!! Serious business when a thread gets derailed!!! Never usually happens!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Kebab Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 ^^^ being eaten away slowly on the inside!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Bear Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 ^^^ being eaten away slowly on the inside!!! I don’t even eat sausage rolls!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow_bairn Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Just finished reading Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. Absolutely astounding and stunning compilation of his life from Birth to Death, his art and all his breakthrough achievements in various fields. A true pioneer and genius. Worried that it would be a bit of a slog but I flew through the 700 pages with ease. I think that was helped by the excellent structure and flow of Isaacsons writing. Now onto something more lighthearted with John Dies at the End by David Wong. So far, it’s really weird but funny 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topcat(The most tip top) Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 The Shortest History of Germany by James Hawes History of Germany from Caesar to Merkel in 227 pages. If you like this kind of thing then this is the kind of thing you’ll likeSpoiler: the Prussians were arseholes and still are 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerberus Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 And on that Philip Roth has died. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmothecat2 Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 And on that Philip Roth has died. Sad news. Enjoy his novels. Read The Plot Against America relatively recently and in a post-Trump world takes on a whole new meaning. American Pastoral and The Human Stain are two of my favourite books. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 I finished Bettany Hughes' "Istanbul" yesterday. It gave me a decent understanding of the history of the city, but 600 pages isn't enough to go into any real detail of 2,500 years (the second world war doesn't even get a mention) and I get the feeling I'd have learnt just as much from a hundred page annotated timeline. I had other grumbles. It didn't pay enough attention to the goings on of everyday people. It focused almost solely on minorities, be they high or low class. I don't know what source material she has to work with though so can't scold her too much. I also felt some affirmative feminist action as I read it, constant phrases like "...one of the many women who have shaped this great city." Like shortlists for new statues in Edinburgh, I got the feeling that many people were included in because of their gender rather than their contribution. Unsure as to whether I was letting my own prejudices cloud my feelings on the book I sought out a review. It picked out the same two points as me but used it to praise the book for "shining a light on those otherwise forgotten". Most people who pick this book up in WH Smith will only ever read one history of Istanbul and I imagine they'd want a balanced account rather than one giving undue focus on certain sections of society. I'm glad I read it, but would advise others to do a bit more research before buying. If you're wanting a history of Istanbul to read before a holiday there, then I imagine there are much better and more concise books which would do the job. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 1 hour ago, Jmothecat2 said: Sad news. Enjoy his novels. Read The Plot Against America relatively recently and in a post-Trump world takes on a whole new meaning. American Pastoral and The Human Stain are two of my favourite books. Was just thinking the same about The Human Stain earlier. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 5 hours ago, Cerberus said: And on that Philip Roth has died. I've only read The Great American Novel. It's absolutely terrific. No idea why I haven't read more. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Been reading all the original James Bond novels and just finished 'The Man with the Golden Gun'. Found it really jarring as I kept imagining Christopher Lee as Scaramanga and the book character is nothing at all like the one in the film. I know that as time went on the films had less and less in common with the books but at least the villains were a bit more of a match but not this one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yur maw punts cooncil Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 I’ve just finished tales from the dugout. Would seriously recommend it to anybody who loves Scottish football and hasn’t already read it. I also finished el Diego, which is Diego Maradona’s autobiography translated into English, a real fascinating insight into what can only be described as flawed genius, he’s brutally honest and extremely arrogant, but his story is like no other. 10/10 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner A strange book in that when I wasn't reading it I had no idea what it was about, but when I was reading it it was enthralling. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy1970 Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 The Handmaid's tale. Hadn't read Atwood since The Silent Assassin but glad I did, really enjoyed this & very timely with the referendum in Erie and the recent media interest over incels 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 17 hours ago, murphy1970 said: The Handmaid's tale. Hadn't read Atwood since The Silent Assassin but glad I did, really enjoyed this & very timely with the referendum in Erie and the recent media interest over incels it's been a while since i read that. whst's the incels reference? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy1970 Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 It's a label applied to a bunch of insecure mysoginists. Short for involuntarily celibate 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 Villa Triste by Patrick Modiano.I finished it in three sittings but didn't care for any of the characters and there was very little resolution or events of interest. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted May 29, 2018 Share Posted May 29, 2018 Finished "Dead Mens Trousers" on Friday. Not sure how I feel about it. Not his best effort by a long shot, not his worst effort by a longer shot. Worth a read if you are an Irvine Welsh fan. Picked up a copy of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in Prague Airport on Sunday. Getting stuck into that now. Don't recall having read any Hemmingway in the past, which is borderline criminal given the volume of stuff I have read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 On 23/05/2018 at 08:25, DiegoDiego said: I finished Bettany Hughes' "Istanbul" yesterday. It gave me a decent understanding of the history of the city, but 600 pages isn't enough to go into any real detail of 2,500 years (the second world war doesn't even get a mention) and I get the feeling I'd have learnt just as much from a hundred page annotated timeline. I had other grumbles. It didn't pay enough attention to the goings on of everyday people. It focused almost solely on minorities, be they high or low class. I don't know what source material she has to work with though so can't scold her too much. I also felt some affirmative feminist action as I read it, constant phrases like "...one of the many women who have shaped this great city." Like shortlists for new statues in Edinburgh, I got the feeling that many people were included in because of their gender rather than their contribution. Unsure as to whether I was letting my own prejudices cloud my feelings on the book I sought out a review. It picked out the same two points as me but used it to praise the book for "shining a light on those otherwise forgotten". Most people who pick this book up in WH Smith will only ever read one history of Istanbul and I imagine they'd want a balanced account rather than one giving undue focus on certain sections of society. I'm glad I read it, but would advise others to do a bit more research before buying. If you're wanting a history of Istanbul to read before a holiday there, then I imagine there are much better and more concise books which would do the job. I’d recommend Giles Milton’s The Riddle and the Knight. Milton journeys to Istanbul (and beyond) following the trail of legendary knight Sir John Mandeville (famous for his medieval “Travels” book, which featured him circumnavigating the globe and meeting all manner of bizarre creatures). Milton’s goal is to find out if Mandeville could have been real and how much of his journey could be possible, and the book records his own travels through Turkey, Cyprus, and the Holy Land. It’s a brilliant read, the characters he meets are all fascinating, and he uncovers the layers upon layers of history to these places. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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