Last Book You Read....

[Miguel Sanchez]

On 21/04/2021 at 09:24, Pato said:

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

800 pages of a bunch of rich people going to each other's houses. I gained a bigger appreciation of why the Russian revolution was a vital and necessary event after reading this novel than any number of history books.

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Anna herself was annoying as f**k and I'm glad she gets run over by a train

 

You should read Middlemarch.

[SANTAN]

4 minutes ago, Rasputin said:

Have you been hacked by a bot Stormz? Quite a similar writing style. Was hoping for a link to some diet pills at the end. 

Ahah I don't know if I should feel complimented you think my usual posts are better or attacked at my shit review.. I feel like such a basic bitch. What would @Miguel Sanchezsay?! 

Oh yeah, use Stormzy1690 on www.slimpills.com if you're fussed and want a discount!

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

2 minutes ago, Stormzy said:

Ahah I don't know if I should feel complimented you think my usual posts are better or attacked at my shit review.. I feel like such a basic bitch. What would @Miguel Sanchezsay?! 

Oh yeah, use Stormzy1690 on www.slimpills.com if you're fussed and want a discount!

 

why do I care what you post about the books you read

[SANTAN]

17 minutes ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

why do I care what you post about the books you read

It was a compliment because your reviews of games are really well articulated unlike my write up. 

[WhiteRoseKillie]

That's me just finished Colour Of Magic.
Terrific book, some delightful concepts and plenty of thought provoking quirks hidden in their. I'd have loved to have read these books as a child when I was probably more imaginative, had to stop myself a few times whilst reading this and actually process what the f**k was going on, some of the stuff is almost impossible to visualise I'd love to see some concept artwork. I kinda don't want to watch the tv version because there's no way they can do what I've imagined justice. I've already got the second one so will probably start that sometime soon. 
Would give it a solid 8.5/10

Great to see another reader discovering the genius of Sir Terry, enjoy your journey. Because you will read every single word he wrote.
Still can't believe we'll never see another Discworld book.
Oh, and you're probably right - most of the adaptations of his work have been entertaining enough, but for me at least missing that spark of magic the books never failed to deliver.

[SANTAN]

45 minutes ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Great to see another reader discovering the genius of Sir Terry, enjoy your journey. Because you will read every single word he wrote.
Still can't believe we'll never see another Discworld book.
Oh, and you're probably right - most of the adaptations of his work have been entertaining enough, but for me at least missing that spark of magic the books never failed to deliver.

I've already read Small Gods after being recommended it by a friend and that was brilliant, you can probably guess I don't read loads but that was one of the best books I've read, definitely convinced me to do the whole series. Do you have a particular favourite? 

I know he was quite protective over his work and recall something about him getting his pc steamrollered or similar, is there anything to do with the rights to his work or do you think there is potential for future TV adaptation

Edited May 6, 2021 by Stormzy

[Miguel Sanchez]

1 hour ago, Stormzy said:

It was a compliment because your reviews of games are really well articulated unlike my write up. 

Ah! You should frequent this thread more and see how my book reviews compare.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

I've already read Small Gods after being recommended it by a friend and that was brilliant, you can probably guess I don't read loads but that was one of the best books I've read, definitely convinced me to do the whole series. Do you have a particular favourite? 
I know he was quite protective over his work and recall something about him getting his pc steamrollered or similar, is there anything to do with the rights to his work or do you think there is potential for future TV adaptation

A particular favorite, probably not. I did think his writing became better as Discworld matured and lent itself to some cracking allegories, as in Jingo!
I liked Nation, which was a bit different, but if pushed I'd be back to the later Discworld stuff. Making Money, Raising Steam..
Best standard Discworld? Soul Music, Reaper Man, Moving Pictures..
Oh, and anything with Witches, preferably with appearances by the Mac Nac Feegle.

Big Jobs!

[Deanburn Dave]

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. I was given it by a work colleague who recommended it. Compelling story based on interviews of a Holocaust survivor. Well paced read. Glad I read it. Damn those Nazis.

[Shandon Par]

The Piranhas, by Roberto Saviano

He’s the chap in permanent hiding from the mafia for writing Gomorrah. If you’ve watched the series, this could be the back story of Enzo and his gang. Quality crime fiction with a coming of age angle. His trademark is the way you think you can relate to characters or be drawn in by some glamour, then he brutally shows them up to be beneath contempt. Yet still they captivate. 

[Moomintroll]

23 hours ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

A particular favorite, probably not. I did think his writing became better as Discworld matured and lent itself to some cracking allegories, as in Jingo!
I liked Nation, which was a bit different, but if pushed I'd be back to the later Discworld stuff. Making Money, Raising Steam..
Best standard Discworld? Soul Music, Reaper Man, Moving Pictures..
Oh, and anything with Witches, preferably with appearances by the Mac Nac Feegle.

Big Jobs!

Just reread the 2 Moist books, going to do Unseen Academicals or Monstrous Regiment again after I finish the latest DCI Logan book.

[NotThePars]

In an effort to confound the algorithms I read the Star Wars Episode 3 novelisation which was actually not too bad. Did a good job of fleshing out a bad movie with good ideas. Liked a lot of the ways it develops peoples internal narratives.

Anyway I’m back to type and I’m finally cracking through Losurdo’s defence of Joseph Stalin. He’s already tearing strips off of Krushchev’s secret report and pointing out how, despite the prevailing narrative, Stalin actually broadly did well in the opening stages of World War Two through a reference to the Russian archives and highlighting what the British and Germans were writing in the build up to and execution of Operation Barbarossa.

Have to take it all with a massive pinch of salt as I can’t think of any figure where people bring their pre-existing opinions to more than Uncle Joe but like every Losurdo work he’s incredibly meticulous with the amount of quotations he brings to bear in support of his argument. It’s at the same level as Arno Meyer.

[Wardy]

Just finished reading Andy Woodward’s position of trust book. Very harrowing stuff indeed, but couldn’t put it down.
 

Finished about half the book in the last 2 days. 

[NotThePars]

Loads of people are dunking on Martin here but I think both of these are cool reads on Lord of the Rings. It is fun to speculate and overthink on a story like that which while rich with symbolism and themes also glosses over minutiae which might be inconvenient or irrelevant to the story.

[NotThePars]

2 hours ago, ThatBoyRonaldo said:

I'm sure a friend of mine once told me that he couldn't take Harry Potter seriously after it dawned on him that literally everyone seems to either work for the state or a tiny number of private sector small businesses.

Thinking too much about big franchises is very my shit (why else would I listen to a podcast that does 3 hour pods on 2 episodes of the Clone Wars) and #thinking about the implications of the Harry Potter is extremely funny especially when movies and media get more obsessed about the minutiae (Marvel movie climactic fight scenes all happening in empty warehouses/ Minions movies having to explain that the Minions were absent for the years 1815-1980 and Harry Potter itself basically saying Dumbledore was too sad to stop the Holocaust). That shit's extremely funny to me so it's funny to see that George R R Martin made himself insane thinking about the Aragorn monarchy.

[scottsdad]

Victory by Julian Stockwin.

Been battering through this series, only takes a day or two to read one but real proper adventure. This book can be taken as the second of a two-parter with Invasion. Both are about the build-up of Napoleon's forces for an invasion of Britain, and the navy's blockades to stop the French from "breaking out". A big build up to get to the end that was really excellent. The second book, Victory, unsurprisingly climaxes at the Battle of Trafalgar and actually leaves Kydd out and focuses on Nelson in the Victory. Truly excellent.

My only concern is the second main character in the series, Renzi. He seems to have lost his purpose in the series, and is essentially hanging about with Kydd for some lively discussions but doing not much more. Hopefully Stocking will find a place or purpose for him soon.

[scottsdad]

On 06/05/2021 at 19:09, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Great to see another reader discovering the genius of Sir Terry, enjoy your journey. Because you will read every single word he wrote.
Still can't believe we'll never see another Discworld book.
Oh, and you're probably right - most of the adaptations of his work have been entertaining enough, but for me at least missing that spark of magic the books never failed to deliver.

Every adaptation of PG Wodehouse books have the same problem. The magic of the writing is lost.

[Miguel Sanchez]

On 10/05/2021 at 20:23, NotThePars said:

Thinking too much about big franchises is very my shit (why else would I listen to a podcast that does 3 hour pods on 2 episodes of the Clone Wars) and #thinking about the implications of the Harry Potter is extremely funny especially when movies and media get more obsessed about the minutiae (Marvel movie climactic fight scenes all happening in empty warehouses/ Minions movies having to explain that the Minions were absent for the years 1815-1980 and Harry Potter itself basically saying Dumbledore was too sad to stop the Holocaust). That shit's extremely funny to me so it's funny to see that George R R Martin made himself insane thinking about the Aragorn monarchy.

My favourite part of this is wondering how any wizarding children gain any literacy or numeracy skills - Arthur Weasley is functionally illiterate yet he's the magic state's most senior figure on muggle relations. It must be about 12 years since I read the books but I don't know if the hilarity I'd get from doing so would outweigh my contempt for their author.

[Miguel Sanchez]

Flappers and Philosophers (1920) by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Knowing that Fitzgerald's short stories only improve from this point on, I can barely contain my excitement for the next two collections. 

[WhiteRoseKillie]

1 hour ago, scottsdad said:

Every adaptation of PG Wodehouse books have the same problem. The magic of the writing is lost.

As a massive Stephen King fan (and not just the stuff which would require extensive sfx), I have always been of the opinion that the world's best cinema screen is inside your head. For such a (imho) superb storyteller, it seems massively problematic to transfer the stories to film. I didn't get on with the movies of The Shining, Christine, or even Carrie. Probably because a lot of the narrative relies on the characters' emotions, and even Jack would struggle to convey other Jack's inner turmoil, let alone Sissy Spacek being given the impoossible job of turning Carrie's mental contortions into moving pictures.