Mel Hutchwright Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 The Easter Parade ~ Richard Yates Yates is an author I've been intending to read for a while, as he's frequently cited as an influence on people like Richard Ford, who's novels I really admire. This novel follows the lives of two sisters over 40 or so years, and the complex relationship both between each other and their family. Despite following completely divergent paths from each other, both sisters are in their own ways unfulfilled and trapped by the way their lives have turned out. Yates somewhat misanthropic view is almost unremittingly bleak, sometimes painfully so, but he's such a wonderful writer that it's a completely absorbing and thought provoking work. I thought it was masterful. I'm now about a third of the way through the same novelists Revolutionary Road (as adapted into a recent film which I've yet to see) and, thus far, it's another very impressive novel. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesc Fabregas Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Boyracers by Alan Bissett - 8/10Catcher in the Boag? At first I thought it was heading down the Trainspotting-rip off route (mad adventures described in local dialect) but it turns into a fantastic tale of growing up in a shithole town with nothing to do. A real novelty reading a good book set in Falkirk. Believe it or not, I met Alan Bissett in the taxi que in Falkirk last night. Awfy nice guy. Really happy to talk about his books and that. Said that I would be his "dream first date" if I had been a woman. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calum_gers Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Ford County Stories - John Grisham I normally really like his books, but this read like a load of half-baked ideas which he couldn't quite make into a book on their own, so he bundled them together and flung them out. There was one or two decent ones, the rest were pretty grim. Just about to start on Spartak Moscow - A history of a people's team in the Workers' state, and I'm looking forward to it. Also a book about Garrincha which i got for Christmas. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee jerk reaction Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 just read NATION by terry pratchett, isn't a disc world novel and is the better for it. the last few disc world novels have been a bit similar, and although still good books not as good as they were. really enjoyed nation, i got into it right away and stayed gripped throughout the book. i'd say 8/10. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Believe it or not, I met Alan Bissett in the taxi que in Falkirk last night. Awfy nice guy. Really happy to talk about his books and that. Said that I would be his "dream first date" if I had been a woman. He's my mate's cousin and is indeed a thoroughly decent bloke. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 "MY SHIT LIFE SO FAR" ...... the Frankie Boyle autobiography, received it as a Christmas gift. It had several funny and interesting sections but, as it progressed, it became increasingly tiresome reading about Boyle's obsession with his bodily parts, repetitively coupled with his cruel, rude and often offensive humour. Its all been done before by more notable Glaswegians than Boyle, e.g. Connelly. If you are a Boyle fan then by all means spend your tenner on it and you will most likely enjoy it. If you prefer Boyle in smaller doses like me then, then wait a short while and buy it second hand, its not the worst but, then again its not he best autobiography I have ever read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyblair Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 I read The Gruffalo to my youngster at bedtime last night, good book and it also made me fall asleep on her floor for 10 minutes!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundermonkey Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Believe it or not, I met Alan Bissett in the taxi que in Falkirk last night. Awfy nice guy. Really happy to talk about his books and that. Said that I would be his "dream first date" if I had been a woman. If you bump into him again, tell him I gave up with his latest after 100 pages and started on a Where's Wally. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GypsyTillIDie Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Read Dy Jekyll and Mr Hyde last week. Fantastic novel - best RL Stevenson book I've read so far. Got Kidnapped still to read, will have a bash at that soon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Confessions of a Highland hero - Steve Paterson. Autobiography of former Elgin City, Huntley, Inverness Caley Thistle, Aberdeen, Forres and Peterhead manager Steve Paterson. He is a real hero for our fans due to his absolutely fantastic job managing our club but the book is really lays bare the addictions which have blighted his life. Pele always had a reputation as a boozer but reading the book it's the gambling that really destroyed many aspects of his life. The book is honest, to the point of being painful as he recounts the gambling splurges that lead to him losing over a millin quid (he estimates) in his lifetime. Some of it is really close the bone - Pele losing his daughters holiday money or blowing over £100,000 he had planned to use to open a hotel with spring to mind. The book does give an insight into Pele's managerial successes at Elgin, Caley Thistle and Huntly though. He really did create tight-knit squads with great team spirit who played for each other - he also had a good eye for a player and made some astute signings. Sadly, by the time he'd got to Aberdeen his demon's were starting to overcome him and, as he says in the book, he should never have taken the job. Fundamentally, I think Pele comes across as a decent guy - his working life outside football has been dedicated to helping others and despite his failings he seems to have a loyal set of family and friends, testimony to his true character. I'd recommend the book to anyone that would normally read football autobiogrphies, mainly because it's a far better read than most of them every will be. I'd imagine that ever Caley or Huntly fan will have already bought it. I'm currently working my way through Generation Kill by Evan Wright. It's an account of the invasion of Iraq by Wright, a Rolling Stone journalist embedded with the First Recon Marines. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 (edited) The Associate---John Grisham It was a good read,but not as gripping as previous books, and it kinda fizzled out. I have enjoyed some of his previous books a lot more. 6.5/10 Edited December 30, 2009 by capybara 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 The Broons Annual 2009. Great stuff. Good to see Granpaw is still in good form, though you would have thought by now the rest of the family would check their facts more before rushing in with instant conclusions, leading to hilarious misunderstandings. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randolph carter Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 'Skin' by Mo Hayder quite like her books as they are a wee bit darker than the average crime fiction, and a bit disturbing in places. That woman has some inner issues i think. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Ninteen Eighty Four George Orwell Finally got round to reading this classic. Brilliant, but utterly depressing. Not that I want to spoil it for those that haven't read it, but the ending is one of the saddest things I've ever read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Cuddy Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Ninteen Eighty Four George OrwellFinally got round to reading this classic. Brilliant, but utterly depressing. Not that I want to spoil it for those that haven't read it, but the ending is one of the saddest things I've ever read. I actually only got around to reading it for the first time a month or so back. Have to say, what an incredibly pointless, boring book. Although, I do now think, when reading ClydeNewcomer's posts, that there is hope... -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I actually only got around to reading it for the first time a month or so back. Have to say, what an incredibly pointless, boring book.Although, I do now think, when reading ClydeNewcomer's posts, that there is hope... I loved it. I've also now got the John hurt, Richard Burton film from Amazon for £3.99 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty meadow Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Paul Oakenfold - The Authorised Biography by Richard Norris I'm only a fan of Oakenfold through some of his remixes but this book gives a good insight into how he became one of the most successful DJs in the world. 7/10 [The hardback is seling for £16.14 on Amazon but I got it for £1 in Poundland ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBairn Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 just read NATION by terry pratchett, isn't a disc world novel and is the better for it. the last few disc world novels have been a bit similar, and although still good books not as good as they were. really enjoyed nation, i got into it right away and stayed gripped throughout the book. i'd say 8/10. I started reading that, but ended up picking up Hogfather instead (thats what Im up to on chronological order ) I will go back to it, once Ive finished all the Discworlds. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Tender Is The Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald Read "The Great Gatsby" last year in Higher English and thought it was great. Both books run along a similar line but they are very good. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 I'm currently working my way through Generation Kill by Evan Wright. It's an account of the invasion of Iraq by Wright, a Rolling Stone journalist embedded with the First Recon Marines. Finished this. An excellent journalistic account of the invasion of Iraq. Evan Wright went in with a platoon of Recon Marines, the 'shock troops' of the Marine Corps. Effectively what they were asked to do during the invasion was drive on ahead of the bulk of the USMC forces and draw out ambushes from Iraqi soldiers and Fedayeen militias. Wright details the characters of the Marines in the platoon well, highlighting the diversity of class, race and views among the men. One thing that I found interesting was the attitudes of the men towards the invasion and towards what they were doing in Iraq - many of them supported the war but just as many voiced cynicism for the motives of the operation and at points were horrified by what was happening. Another remarkable aspect of the book for me was the utter incompetence of some of the commanding officers. One particular character, only named as 'Captain America', sounds like thelast person you'd want with you in a war zone. In one incident Captain America attempts to bayonet a restrained prisoner, for which he is reported. He also takes a far more gung-ho attitude towards the invasion than the other marines, practically whooping with delight when he discovers that the platoon has been fighting Syrians who he considers 'terrorists'. Other commanders call in artillery strikes when there are friendly forces within the blast range of the shells and order the strafing of areas where civilians have been observed. This all adds to the cynicism among the 'grunts', who are the ones dealing with dead and brutally injured civilians on the ground. Towards the end of the book a theme emerges that could be considered the story of how a relatively quick victory for the coalition in terms of the invasion of Iraq turned into the long lasting and bloody insurgency. The architects of the invasion emphasised manouverability and speed over large levels of firepower, meaning that they valued units like First Recon taking the battle to the enemy and smashing through the relatively demoralised Iraqi army. What this meant was that after contact with enemy forces the Marines would race through towns and villages onto the next engagemetn, to keep the targets on the run. While this approach saw success in the invasion stage it was planting a terrible seed in terms of a long-term occupation - Wright points out after one large engagement in a town that the Marines have effectively bombed a town, overthrown the Ba'ath leaders and then left. Most Ba'athist irregulars didn't engage the US forces directly, they got rid of their uniforms and disappeared. Thsi means that after destroying infrastructre the invasion forces didn't actually occupy many places in Iraq. Later, in Baghdad, the Marines of First Recon are told they will be establishing control over areas of Sadr City by setting up a base and conducting patrols. This sounds all well and good but the platoon is moved several times to other areas, meaing no effective controlor US presence can be established. As violence escalates the Marines are told not to go out after dark, due to the violence between Shia militias and former Ba'athists. There are even reports of some Marine commanders giving weapons from captured arms dumps to Shia militants as they are seeking to destroy Ba'ath Party members. Of course, with hindsight the militias became a huge security issue, only really resolved in the last 18 months with the improved performance of the Iraqi security forces. Also, the lack of US presence in much of the country left a vacuum quickly filled with insurgents and jihadi militants, which quickly turned parts of Iraq into a charnel house. I'd heartily recommend this book to anyone and am looking forward to watching the DVD box set, which I also received for Christmas. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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