Miguel Sanchez Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell It's a bit whiny 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Madame Bovary. For what it's worth I was slightly disappointed by it. Fantastic book, but I'm not sure its in the same league as Anna Karenina. Almost nothing is, to be fair. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilbowie's Finest Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Finally got round to reading this whilst I was on holiday . Thoroughly enjoyed it - have read a lot of Ben Elton's stuff and this was as good as any of them . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eednud Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Just finished The Undesired by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. First of her grown up books that doesn't feature a case for lawyer Thora Gudmundsdottir. Lot of jumping from the present back to 1974 but a worthwhile read. Next is Christopher Brookmyre's Black Widow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 4 hours ago, Savage Henry said: Almost nothing is, to be fair. Indeed. I'm not that well read, but I've been trying to consume most of the novels which consistently feature in "All Time Top 10" lists, I had high hopes for Bovary. Karenina's one of those pieces of art which makes you wonder why anyone else even bothers. I finished The Good Soldier @svejk and his Adventures in the Great War the other day. Some aspects are brilliant. It's good fun and it's take on war is certainly a different one from the norm. Svejk himself is a great character. I can see why Heller said that Catch 22 would have never been written without it. At 750 pages It doesn't half drag on though, and Hasek died before finishing it. So after a few hundred pages once I got the gist of it I did start to wonder why I was bothering to read another few hundred of a book with no ending. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 My mate has had his book published, you can buy it here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Infinite-Ground-Martin-MacInnes/dp/178239947X 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty meadow Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Finished Blood, Salt, Water by Denise Mina last night. Fairly typical Scottish crime story, sex, drugs and violence set in Helensburgh. Also finished Ghettoside by Jill Leovy earlier in the week. Pretty grim report on black murder rates in the States with one case involving a police officer's son being the central theme. Enough of crime for now, just about to start Tracey Thorn's second book, Naked In The Albert Hall. All above books were borrowed from the local public library. I;m not sure how things are in other areas regarding libraries but it seems like a case of 'use it or lose it' in North Ayrshire. Opening hours have been cut recently and it wouldn't surprise me if the local authorities were to close branches next. Back on topic of actual books, has anyone read much Ernest Hemingway? I was looking for a copy of The Old Man and The Sea but was a bit put off by the price in Waterstones. Instead I've ordered a collection of eight of his books from eBay for under £12. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 4 hours ago, ICTChris said: My mate has had his book published, you can buy it here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Infinite-Ground-Martin-MacInnes/dp/178239947X That looks promising, I'll maybe pick it up once it comes out as paperback. I finished "Between the Woods and the Water" the other day. It's the middle book of Patrick Leigh Fermor's three part account of his interwar trip from the Netherlands to Istanbul as an eighteen year old. This part covers Hungary and Romania. He's mainly hanging out with Archdukes and Counts which makes for great fun but I enjoyed his interactions with gypsies and peasants more. There's plenty of background history in it, he wrote the book some forty years after the trip and in the meantime he certainly did his research and perfected his writing skills. It's not fascinating travel writing, in that the story doesn't involve extreme conditions or remote exploration but it's very well written and forms a great picture of what Hungary and Romania were like after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and just as the Nazi Party were turning the screw. Enjoyable read, would recommend. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty meadow Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Now reading this ... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightswoodBear Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Even Dogs in the Wild The latest Rebus novel. Excellent as always. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackislekillie Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Espedair Street by Iain Banks. Best music biz novel ever. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Espedair Street by Iain Banks. Best music biz novel ever. Good choice. I need to read this again, it's been a long time. Apparently the main character was based on Fish from Marillion. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaboz Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Currently reading Tibor Fischer: Voyage to the end of the room. Previously read Slaughterhouse 44 (might have that number wrong, but a drag of a read, if a bit "different "). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 On 23 July 2016 at 21:25, Tommy Nooka said: I picked up the first 3 Shardlake books on Amazon for £3 a few weeks ago. Gave them to my mum to read just now, will need to get them back soon! Been reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman at the moment on a recommendation, not very impressed so far, feels like it's trying too hard to be an edgy Harry Potter. They found the Erebus, don't think they've found the Terror yet. No one will ever know what actually happened to the men though. Some human remains have been found and were cleverly wove into Simmons novel. They've now found The Terror: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/12/hms-terror-wreck-found-arctic-nearly-170-years-northwest-passage-attempt 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Been taking me ages to get through White Jazz. I've read all the James Ellroy books out of sync and this is my last one. It's incredible how much his style has improved from then to now. Looking forward to the follow up to Perfidia whenever it arrives. Also listening to Anna Karenina on an audio book. Not really one to listen to in the gym but goes very well with gentle chores etc. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessmagic Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Fatherland by Robert Harris. Brilliant thriller and really interesting. Going to delve into his quite substantial back catalogue now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 2 hours ago, jessmagic said: Fatherland by Robert Harris. Brilliant thriller and really interesting. Going to delve into his quite substantial back catalogue now. I recommend the Cicero novels. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pittsburgh phil Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I recommend the Cicero novels. Lustrum is a really good book 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty meadow Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 (edited) Just finished Sea Fever by Sam Jefferson Excellent book telling the true events that inspired the 'great' maritime/nautical authors. Got quite a list of books I want to read now thanks to 'Sea Fever' but first I've got this to read ... Edited September 23, 2016 by mighty meadow 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 On 13/09/2016 at 16:19, Shandon Par said: Been taking me ages to get through White Jazz. I've read all the James Ellroy books out of sync and this is my last one. It's incredible how much his style has improved from then to now. Looking forward to the follow up to Perfidia whenever it arrives. Also listening to Anna Karenina on an audio book. Not really one to listen to in the gym but goes very well with gentle chores etc. He's brought out a charming coffee table book of 1950's crime scene photos to keep you going.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lapd-53-James-Ellroy/dp/1419715852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474621953&sr=1-1&keywords=lapd+53#customerReviews 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.