DiegoDiego Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 1 minute ago, Antlion said: 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. Cheers for that. I've read Mandeville's book and though it seems plausible up to Jerusalem, after that the trip reads more like one of the LSD kind. And to think it was taken more seriously than Marco Polo's accounts at the time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 4 minutes ago, DiegoDiego said: Cheers for that. I've read Mandeville's book and though it seems plausible up to Jerusalem, after that the trip reads more like one of the LSD kind. And to think it was taken more seriously than Marco Polo's accounts at the time. Not to spoil anything, but that’s about as far as Milton accepts his tale. It’s not a full history of Istanbul, I should add (and doesn’t try to be), but it has some really interesting little nuggets: Milton has more a journalist’s eye than an historian’s, which makes everything lively and keeps the pages flying. I picked up a copy for a penny on Amazon (looking now at Milton’s other books. His “Big Chief Elizabeth” was also fantastic). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverton End Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 (edited) To my shame, I have only recently discovered William McIlvanney & his 'Laidlaw Trilogy'. Always have enjoyed Crime fiction, and these books are excellent, currently on The Papers of Tony Veitch (no.2 in the series). Highly recommended Edited May 30, 2018 by Silverton End 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 (edited) I normally stick to non-fiction but there's a good range of fiction books available to borrow in my workplace so I've decided to read as many of them as possible. I started and flew threw Catch 22 last week - an excellent book that will merit reading over again. Having read Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk previously, its influence on Heller's work was striking - both authors excel in deriving farce from putting their hopelessly flawed civilian characters in a wartime context. I'm currently about one third of the way through Turgenev's Fathers and Sons - it's obviously well written, but the running theme of whiny, intellectual rap lectures between petty Russian gentry and their sprogs isn't capturing my interest so far. Edited June 1, 2018 by vikingTON 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 40 minutes ago, virginton said: I normally stick to non-fiction but there's a good range of fiction books available to borrow in my workplace so I've decided to read as many of them as possible. I started and flew threw Catch 22 last week - an excellent book that will merit reading over again. Having read Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk previously, its influence on Heller's work was striking - both authors excel in deriving farce from putting their hopelessly flawed civilian characters in a wartime context. I've watched the film countless times but never got round to reading the book. I may just have to get my hands on a copy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sujan Azad Parikh Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 (edited) Force of Nature by Jane Harper - Five women go on a hike. Only four return. When a group of colleagues are forced to participate in a team-building exercise in the Giralang Ranges, they reluctantly start walking down the muddy track.... Good read. Edited June 2, 2018 by Sujan Azad Parikh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Kill Your Friends by John Niven It remains fast-paced enough to not become annoying 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre I should have read it a long time ago 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverton End Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 The Papers of Tony Veitch by William McIlvanney. Great stuff. Now for the final book in the trilogy 'Strange Loyalties'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya Bezzer! Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Pierre and Jean by Guy De Maupassant. A mother, a father and two brothers have a pretty normal life until a family friend leaves his entire fortune to the youngest brother Jean. The elder brother Pierre goes into a strop and tries to figure out why the entire fortune was left to his brother but when he figures out the reason things only get worse, for him, and the entire family.... Pretty short, pretty good but claims that is his best novel aren't quite right in my opinion, that's still 'Bel Ami' but De Maupassant is pretty safe bet for a good read. Now starting 'The Conquest of Bread' by Pyotr Kropotkin. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert Raccoon Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Recently finished reading through all the Christopher Brookmyre books for the third time so decided I needed something new, so have decided to work my way through the Rebus novels. Onto the third now and I'm loving them, so glad I've plenty still to get through. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Doing a bit of promo for a friend, who has had a first novel published that’s set in Paisley in the past (1500s). Looks to be a murder mystery, like the C J Sansom Shardlake novels (which I have read, and liked). I’ve downloaded it to Kindle and will start tonight. I can’t seem to get an option for the paperback - so it might only have been released as an ebook. Anyway, the book is called “The Abbey Close” by Steven Veerapen. It’s only 2.99 and he said on FB he’d appreciate support, so if you have a couple of quid to spare, go for it. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DNZVN7C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528915240&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=steven+veerapen&dpPl=1&dpID=51uBUeF47HL&ref=plSrch 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 On 09/06/2018 at 00:38, Bert Raccoon said: Recently finished reading through all the Christopher Brookmyre books for the third time so decided I needed something new, so have decided to work my way through the Rebus novels. Onto the third now and I'm loving them, so glad I've plenty still to get through. Lucky you! Loved getting to know him and Big Ger. a few books back it felt like Rebus’ time had come to an end but Rankin incorporates him into the modern world very well. . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Dodgers, by Bill Beverley Young boys old before their time, working for drug gangs are sent out on a bleak mission. A bit like Stand By Me with tough subject matter but very natural and true interaction between the young characters. Can see it being a film before long. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 The Acid House by Irvine Welsh Hilarious, depressing, exasperating, horrifying and relatable in equal measure 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Miguel Sanchez said: The Acid House by Irvine Welsh Hilarious, depressing, exasperating, horrifying and relatable in equal measure The film version has a couple of things in it that make it worth checking out Edited June 21, 2018 by Shandon Par 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Finished the Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Shamefully I had not read it before. Thoroughly enjoyed it though and plan on reading the rest of the series. Currently reading The Count of Monte Christo. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Electric Dreams by Philip K. Dick A largely more enjoyable experience than the television series based on the ten stories in this collection. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sliced Bread Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Just finished "A Decent Ride" by Irvine Welsh, which was fun. Before that it was "Dreamcatcher" by Stephen King. I'm a big King fan, this was the 50th King book I've read, and if I were to rank them all this would be 50th. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 11 hours ago, Sliced Bread said: Just finished "A Decent Ride" by Irvine Welsh, which was fun. Before that it was "Dreamcatcher" by Stephen King. I'm a big King fan, this was the 50th King book I've read, and if I were to rank them all this would be 50th. Yeah, that one was shite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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