Oystercatcher Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 On 12/05/2023 at 09:13, Ross. said: Finally got round to reading the last Orwell book I hadn’t yet read, The Road to Wigan Pier. Almost 100 years on and nothing of importance in the UK has changed much, with some of the attitudes described becoming more embedded in UK culture, if anything. If you like Iain Banks try espadair street. Read it a long time ago but enjoyed it 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 2 hours ago, Oystercatcher said: If you like Iain Banks try espadair street. Read it a long time ago but enjoyed it One of the few Iain Banks books I have yet to read. Keep forgetting to get hold of a copy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSU Posted May 19, 2023 Share Posted May 19, 2023 Espedair Street was my first Iain Banks, then Complicity, and then The Bridge. Never really got The Bridge or why everyone seemed to think it was his best work, so it's probably time to revisit it. Those black and white covers still look great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019. Edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. Interesting but ultimately a bit disappointing. Gets bogged down in minutea instead of focusing on what could have been incredibly fascinating subjects too often. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coineanach Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 "Crooked House" by Agatha Christie. I'd usually be mare of a Poirot man, but this is a good yin. There's a preface in the edition I bought where she says she was never really sure if a book she was writing was a shiter or a cracker, but with Crooked House she just knew it was a winner - agreed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 54 minutes ago, coineanach said: "Crooked House" by Agatha Christie. I'd usually be mare of a Poirot man, but this is a good yin. There's a preface in the edition I bought where she says she was never really sure if a book she was writing was a shiter or a cracker, but with Crooked House she just knew it was a winner - agreed. Was shocked to discover recently that Agatha Christie was a well known roller skating enthusiast. I don't know why that surprised me, but it did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coineanach Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 6 minutes ago, coprolite said: Was shocked to discover recently that Agatha Christie was a well known roller skating enthusiast. I don't know why that surprised me, but it did. To be fair, the image of the bold Dame Agatha shredding on her rollerskates doon the skatepark in a long dress and a fascinator is quite the picture. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesP_81 Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 4 minutes ago, coprolite said: Was shocked to discover recently that Agatha Christie was a well known roller skating enthusiast. I don't know why that surprised me, but it did. Listened to a podcast about her a while ago , some woman from the sounds of it! Faked her own death which led to a nationwide (wo)manhunt including Arthur Conan Doyle calling in clairvoyants to contact her spirit . 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coineanach Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 4 minutes ago, JamesP_81 said: Listened to a podcast about her a while ago , some woman from the sounds of it! Faked her own death which led to a nationwide (wo)manhunt including Arthur Conan Doyle calling in clairvoyants to contact her spirit . Can you mind the name of the podcast? I'm gonnae fire that on in work noo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesP_81 Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, coineanach said: Can you mind the name of the podcast? I'm gonnae fire that on in work noo Check out Agatha Christie from Short History Of... on Amazon Music. https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/2a464c7c-4d73-480f-9759-0064a1f5a4da/episodes/a385b355-d4a9-4347-9261-e83fe65955f4/short-history-of-agatha-christie?ref=dm_sh_Ly6nWNLcWtXqYTkBMz9M74bTk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted May 25, 2023 Share Posted May 25, 2023 One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Just wonderful. A modern sci-fi romance with a fantastic cast of characters. This wouldn't have been my thing even a few months ago, but so glad I opened up my horizons. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted May 29, 2023 Share Posted May 29, 2023 (edited) The Shards New one from Brett Easton Ellis Suppose you’d call it auto fiction (though at first I did have to google LA serial killers in the 1980s). Centres around the common Ellis world of teens who live like adults. Ellis is “narrating” the story of how a serial killer staked his final years of high school. Standard stuff from him of murder, drugs, shagging and unreliable narration. Thought it was delicious. He creates his mood of “ennui” where nobody seems that interested in the fact peers are being mutilated, so wrapped up are they in their own little dramas. Edited May 29, 2023 by Shandon Par 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velo army Posted May 29, 2023 Share Posted May 29, 2023 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gayman. It's about a young boy whose family are murdered when he's a toddler. He escapes and ends up in a graveyard where he is brought up by ghosts. It's a charming story with some lovely details. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a young adult book as I felt the story went along too quickly. It's full of heart and the characters of the dead are suitably vivid and loving in their own way. The ending felt incongruous and unsatisfying, as well as having heartbreaking implications. It was a world I wanted to stay in a wee bit longer though which is a credit to Gayman. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathematics Posted May 29, 2023 Share Posted May 29, 2023 10 hours ago, velo army said: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gayman. It's about a young boy whose family are murdered when he's a toddler. He escapes and ends up in a graveyard where he is brought up by ghosts. It's a charming story with some lovely details. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a young adult book as I felt the story went along too quickly. It's full of heart and the characters of the dead are suitably vivid and loving in their own way. The ending felt incongruous and unsatisfying, as well as having heartbreaking implications. It was a world I wanted to stay in a wee bit longer though which is a credit to Gayman. Reported for homophobia. (great kids book) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 On 18/05/2023 at 19:12, tongue_tied_danny said: Just started The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. It's been on my radar for years but I'm finally getting to round to it. Pretty good so far... Probably in my all time top One of books. Picked up Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison in Dunoon recently and just finished it. Its the loose basis for the film Soylent Green. Set in the late 1990s with overpopulation screwing the planet up its an interesting read, well written but to be quite honest, f**k all happens. IMO. So much potential but Harry fucked it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thane of Cawdor Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 36 minutes ago, Melanius Mullarkay said: Probably in my all time top One of books. Picked up Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison in Dunoon recently and just finished it. Its the loose basis for the film Soylent Green. Set in the late 1990s with overpopulation screwing the planet up its an interesting read, well written but to be quite honest, f**k all happens. IMO. So much potential but Harry fucked it. The Wasp Factory was Simon Pegg's choice of reading material on a recent Desert Island Discs broadcast. Seemed a strange choice to me given the unusual twist, but you may be pleased/appalled to find such a kindred spirit in celebrity form. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Just now, Thane of Cawdor said: The Wasp Factory was Simon Pegg's choice of reading material on a recent Desert Island Discs broadcast. Seemed a strange choice to me given the unusual twist, but you may be pleased/appalled to find such a kindred spirit in celebrity form. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted May 30, 2023 Share Posted May 30, 2023 Was on holiday last week so managed to get a couple of books finished. A Song for the Dark Times - Ian Rankin Typical Rebus fare, although his former police partner Siobhan Clarke features just as much. Decent enough read. Killing for Company, The Case of Dennis Nilsen - Brian Masters A forensic insight into both the murders and the murderer, with the author having become a confidante of Nilsen when he was on remand. Fascinating but gruesome in parts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted May 31, 2023 Share Posted May 31, 2023 (edited) Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart. I'd not read Shuggie Bain - I think the fuss put me off, but will now do so pretty soon. This is an excellent book. It's an easy read in that it's so well written with such fluent dialogue. It's anything but easy though in terms of its content, which is really grim in places, although it can be funny and uplifting too. It's superb. Read it. Edited June 1, 2023 by Monkey Tennis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 12 hours ago, Monkey Tennis said: Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart. I'd not read Shuggie Bain - I think I the fuss put me off, but will now do so pretty soon. This is an excellent book. It's an easy read in that it's so well written with such fluent dialogue. It's anything but easy though in terms of its content, which is really grim in places, although it can be funny and uplifting too. It's superb. Read it. I've had this on my shelf pretty much since it came out, but haven't gotten round to it yet. Will need to recitify that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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