mighty meadow Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Just finished reading Pack Men by Alan Bissett which follows a group of old friends as they travel down to Manchester for the UEFA cup final between Rangers and Zenit. Nearly stopped reading about quarter of the way but struggled on and ended up reading the last half in a couple of sun-soaked hours. The football takes a back seat once the story really gets started and ends up as a good old-fashioned tale of friendship through adversity. 7.5 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locheedfcno1 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Just read ex boro player bernie slaven and robbie savage both goid reads Sent from my GT-I9300 using Pie & Bovril mobile app 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Currently reading Olaudah Equiano's 'The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings' about the writers experiences as a slave and then a freeman in the 18th Century. My review is carefully hidden in the title. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Skagboys - Irvine Welsh - 9/10 Brilliant book and hilarious in parts. It's written as the prequel to Trainspotting, if you enjoyed watching/reading Trainspotting you'll love it. Just finished reading Pack Men by Alan Bissett which follows a group of old friends as they travel down to Manchester for the UEFA cup final between Rangers and Zenit. Nearly stopped reading about quarter of the way but struggled on and ended up reading the last half in a couple of sun-soaked hours. The football takes a back seat once the story really gets started and ends up as a good old-fashioned tale of friendship through adversity. 7.5 I thought both of these books were excelelnt,. and were my favourtie books respectively for each year they were out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOGI IS GOD Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I thought both of these books were excelelnt,. and were my favourtie books respectively for each year they were out. Have you read Boyracers by Alan Bissett? It's a great book as well 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banterman86 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Have you read Boyracers by Alan Bissett? It's a great book as well I've read all of Bisset's stuff. Boyracers was good, but I think Pack Men is better - probably because all the ground work is done setting up the characters so you can appreciate how they've changed, or not in some cases. Wasn't a fan of Adam Spark, felt like it ripped off "The Curious iNcident of the Dog in the Night Time" a bit. I was a fan of "Death of a Ladies Man" however. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_K_97 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 God is not great, religion poisons everything by Christopher Hitchens. Thought it was brilliant. I read the first few chapters of Religion Poisons Everything and thought it was magnificent. Only read the preview on google books since I was procrastinating when I was supposed to be writing my dissertation. I recently finished reading Pandaemonium by Chris Brookmyre, enjoyed it although some of the science stuff made me have to read some pages through twice to grasp what was happening, so 7/10. After that I went on to Filth by Irvine Welsh so as to know what to expect when the film comes out later this year. Thoroughly enjoyable, especially when Bruce Robertson reads a paper that says Killie beat Hearts 3-0 at RP. 9/10. Was going to start on When The Devil Drives by Brookmyre, but my neighbour's given me a loan of A Farewell To Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Never read any Hemingway before, so I'll read those before starting Disgusting Bliss: The Brass Eye Of Chris Morris by Lucian Randall. I hope that one's good. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthAyrshireKillie Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I read the first few chapters of Religion Poisons Everything and thought it was magnificent. Only read the preview on google books since I was procrastinating when I was supposed to be writing my dissertation. I recently finished reading Pandaemonium by Chris Brookmyre, enjoyed it although some of the science stuff made me have to read some pages through twice to grasp what was happening, so 7/10. After that I went on to Filth by Irvine Welsh so as to know what to expect when the film comes out later this year. Thoroughly enjoyable, especially when Bruce Robertson reads a paper that says Killie beat Hearts 3-0 at RP. 9/10. Was going to start on When The Devil Drives by Brookmyre, but my neighbour's given me a loan of A Farewell To Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Never read any Hemingway before, so I'll read those before starting Disgusting Bliss: The Brass Eye Of Chris Morris by Lucian Randall. I hope that one's good. Yeah It really is a work of brilliance!Also, The Greatest Show On Earth & The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins are amazing. I've been more into nonfiction recently, Obamas Wars by Bob Woodward is another one of my favourites. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_S_A_R Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 jazz by toni morrison. a black man in 1920s harlem murders his young lover and the novel weaves back and forth to reveal the family history that brought the man, his wife and his mistress from the rural south to new york city and what drove them towards the murder. an extremely evocative novel which paints a vivid picture of harlem and the lives of african americans at the time without ever wallowing in pity. alias grace by margaret atwood which based on a real 19th century woman who was convicted of a double murder in canada in the 1940s. a young doctor of psychiatry interviews grace in an attempt to find out if grace marks should be held culpable for the murders. a lot of the book is grace recounting her life from being born in ulster then crossing over to canada and entering domestic service leading up to the events of the murder but you can never be certain whether grace is being truthful or manipulative. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mak Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 (edited) Finished Doughnut by Tom Holt. First book I've read by him, and it was okay but I don't think I'll read any more. I quite like a bit of surreal humour, but this went to a point where it just seemed daft rather than funny. Also Ourika by Claire de Duras. Got to read it for uni next year, so thought I'd get ahead on it. It's a story about a female African being brought to France in the late eighteenth-century, saved from slavery and brought up by nobility. It spans across the Revolution etc, but it's really more about how she's never really 'accepted' into society. Pretty interesting. Now reading Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman, which is the first in a series and showed up on my Amazon recommendations. I'm about a chapter in; it's okay so far. Also about to start Bug Jargal by Victor Hugo, which is another one I have to read for uni next semester. #books Didn't really like Divorcing Jack in the end; the main character, Dan Starkey, basically just wasn't likeable enough (I like a bit of cynicism in a main character in this type of novel, but if it's constant it just becomes annoying) and there were quite a lot of glaringly obvious plot holes. I'm enjoying Bug Jargal, though. #swingsandroundabouts Edited June 19, 2013 by Mak 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paris Hilltoon Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Just finished "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. I'd like those hours back... So disappointed, for a book that's heralded as a classic, I must be missing something. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_S_A_R Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Just finished "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. I'd like those hours back... So disappointed, for a book that's heralded as a classic, I must be missing something. i loved it when i was younger and reread it last month and thoroughly enjoyed it. what didn't you like about it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthAyrshireKillie Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Has anyone read all of Stephen Kings Dark Tower series? I've never actually met someone who's read them all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 reading Moral Panics by Kenneth Williams (academic book on moral panics in the UK media, really good, pre-internet age though) and At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien, which I'm also really enjoying. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Nomad Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Just finished The Dirtiest Race In History by Richard Moore. Fascinating insight into the battle between Ben Johnson & Carl Lewis that culminated in the Seoul Olympics. The truth will probably die with two men Carl Lewis & Andre Jackson. Would recommend to anybody who has a passing interest of the doping culture in sport. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul-r-cfc Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Just read 'boyracers' by Alan Bisset. Follows a teenager from falkirk kicking about with his pals. Really enjoyed it. Lot of strong scots dialect too I've been meaning to start reading more of the books of pro-independence Scottish authors like him, gray, banks etc so this is me starting! Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Pie & Bovril mobile app 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 (edited) Just finished the Norseman Chronicles by Jason Born. This was the third one and is about a viking who ends up as Chief of a Native tribe in Canada during the 11th Century. Plenty of sex and violence. Decent enough read but dragged on in the end. The plots had a few surprises in them but preferred reading about the main character's time raiding Northern Europe than smoking a pipe in the Canadian forest. Just started reading 1354, about some archer in the 100 years war. Edited June 30, 2013 by Addie 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik's tongue Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Has anyone read all of Stephen Kings Dark Tower series? I've never actually met someone who's read them all. I have. It starts to get going at a fair pace half way through book 2 and ends up really engrossing. The last book in the series tends to divide opinion a bit but I loved it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthAyrshireKillie Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I have. It starts to get going at a fair pace half way through book 2 and ends up really engrossing. The last book in the series tends to divide opinion a bit but I loved it.Yeah I absolutely loved it, the ending took me a while to get used to but I guess it was the best way to do it.I've heard he wrote another called 'The Wind Through The Key Whole' I haven't read it though. I agree, midway through the second it picks up, but I also enjoyed 'The Gunslinger' it was much simpler than the ones that came after it but its a great short story. Supposedly they are looking into making a movie. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie95 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Before seeing the movie, I decided to start to read World War Z. Being a fan of The Walking Dead, I was keen to get this book. I wasn't disappointed and really enjoyed it from start to finish. The book is set in a report/interview style which I was worried about but the writer manages to nail the different styles nicely. It gives a good run through of how the pandemic starts and spreads and how people would re-act to a zombie outbreak. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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