Tommy Nooka Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 On 12/8/2016 at 11:35, Ross. said: Fired up the e-reader last night and put a few Roddy Doyle books on it. Not read any of his stuff before but have seen The Commitments, which was one of the books I bought as they were on a decent deal. Anyone much to say on his work? I've read The Barrytown Trilogy, guy in work gave me a copy. The Commitments was enjoyable stuff, The Snapper was even better but I was expecting more from The Van as I really liked the film. I've also read Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha which has some very funny parts (stealing knickers from the washing line) but other bits are quite dark, worth a read but it's certainly not 'light'. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 29 minutes ago, Tommy Nooka said: I've read The Barrytown Trilogy, guy in work gave me a copy. The Commitments was enjoyable stuff, The Snapper was even better but I was expecting more from The Van as I really liked the film. I've also read Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha which has some very funny parts (stealing knickers from the washing line) but other bits are quite dark, worth a read but it's certainly not 'light'. I finished The Commitments at lunch time. Found the book difficult to follow at times due to the fairly haphazard and chaotic writing style that seemed to go from one person to the next without much in the way of grammatical format. Amusing but nothing like as funny as the film. Started on The Snapper, which seems a lot better in terms of structure. The Van was also part of the deal, which was the Barry Town Trilogy, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and I think a book called "2 Pints" which cost me about 12 quid for the 5. It'll keep me going for a week or two while I try to remember what else I want to read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Ian Rankin - Rather Be The Devil (latest Rebus book Spoiler Ending more Hollywood than Holyrood but very satisfying. Rebus and Big Ger look set to get their second wind and a short story at the end hints at a possible tangent of more of Big Ger's back story. Carl Hiaasen - Razor Girl Hadn't read any of his stuff for many years and was pleased and how seamlessly he fits in modern technology and points of reference. Elmore Leonard - Swag Quite similar to Hiaasen but with the surreal stuff toned down. Cool guys, sassy chicks, heist capers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Bear Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Alexander McCall Smith - No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.Same lad - Tears of the Giraffe.The whole TV series thing passed me by, but these books are good. I'd been working my way through various Nigel Tranter books so these were a good change of direction. Mma Ramotswe is a private detective in Botswana. Clients come in and see her and she takes on their cases. Enjoyable reading.Just started The Centurions by Jean Larteguy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Carl Hiaasen - Razor Girl Hadn't read any of his stuff for many years and was pleased and how seamlessly he fits in modern technology and points of reference. I just finished this a wee while ago. Love CH's stuff, you know exactly what you're going to get.You should read Bad Monkey, it's also about Andrew Yancy but has some funnier scenes than Razor Girl imo. The crack smoking monkey for one! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Really not got a clue what i'm doing here. Keep replying rather than editing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swordfishtrombone Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Not a book I've finished yet but am reading Kim Newman's Anno Dracula and really enjoying it. I've never really been into horror as a genre but like alternative history novels and this is excellent so far. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arabdownunder Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Trevor Noah's autobiography Born a Crime. Would recommend. Much funnier than The Daily Show. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxman Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 On 02/01/2017 at 11:57, Tommy Nooka said: I just finished this a wee while ago. Love CH's stuff, you know exactly what you're going to get. You should read Bad Monkey, it's also about Andrew Yancy but has some funnier scenes than Razor Girl imo. The crack smoking monkey for one! Just finished reading Razor Girl the other day, great stuff but Bad Monkey is hilarious. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 (edited) On 1/2/2017 at 10:32, Scary Bear said: Alexander McCall Smith - No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. Same lad - Tears of the Giraffe. The whole TV series thing passed me by, but these books are good. I'd been working my way through various Nigel Tranter books so these were a good change of direction. Mma Ramotswe is a private detective in Botswana. Clients come in and see her and she takes on their cases. Enjoyable reading. Just started The Centurions by Jean Larteguy. I never got into his other stuff but I enjoyed the Ladies Detective Agency series. Gentle but but funny. He seems to capture the lingo so well. Edited January 5, 2017 by Shandon Par 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRoseKillie Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Just finished reading Razor Girl the other day, great stuff but Bad Monkey is hilarious. I thought Bad Monkey almost verged on Tim Dorsey excess, but Razor Girl restored my faith in my favourite Floridian writer.Recently, I've read a few by Linwood Barclay, and quite enjoyed his kind of Coben-lite thrillers. Recommend of you don't want to be challenged too much. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I thought Bad Monkey almost verged on Tim Dorsey excess, but Razor Girl restored my faith in my favourite Floridian writer. I have no idea who Tim Dorsey is but we are talking about the same Carl Hiaasen that had a guy with a strimmer for an arm in his earlier 'less excessive' works yes? [emoji1] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I don't know if anyone has spotted when Jame Ellroy's next book is due out? When Perfidia was released in Sep 2014 he said the next one would be along in 2 1/2 years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxman Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 On 02/01/2017 at 10:32, Scary Bear said: Alexander McCall Smith - No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. Same lad - Tears of the Giraffe. The whole TV series thing passed me by, but these books are good. I'd been working my way through various Nigel Tranter books so these were a good change of direction. Mma Ramotswe is a private detective in Botswana. Clients come in and see her and she takes on their cases. Enjoyable reading. Just started The Centurions by Jean Larteguy. Read loads of Nigel Tranter years ago, especially the Bruce Trilogy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteRoseKillie Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I have no idea who Tim Dorsey is but we are talking about the same Carl Hiaasen that had a guy with a strimmer for an arm in his earlier 'less excessive' works yes? [emoji1] You mean Chemo? Yep that's yer man.Dorsey reads like someone who read Native Tongue and thought, "Not bad, could do with more MH issues and substance abuse." Entertaining enough in his own way, but CH has much more of an eco-theme to most of his work, which seems heart-felt and add to the feeling of authenticity you get from his work. Some of his newspaper columns detail events and characters you'd never dare make up! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DA Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 1 hour ago, Taxman said: Read loads of Nigel Tranter years ago, especially the Bruce Trilogy. I've got The Bruce Trilogy sitting on my bookshelf ready to be read. But a thousand pages is a wee bit off-putting. Still, a journey of a thousand pages begins with an 'ah, f**k it - I think I'll browse P&B for another twenty minutes instead'. BTW I bought the first volume back in the 70s but my gran read it first and locked it away in the 'this depravity is not for you, young man' cupboard. Can't wait to get to that bit! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallochSonsFan Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Last book I read was The Sixth Watch by Sergey Lukyanenko. Re-read the entire watch series from Night Watch in anticipation of the latest (final) instalment. I got a job lot of ice hockey books - player biographies and history books - at Christmas. Started on a book about the NHL original 6. Will be moving on to The Rebel League about the World Hockey Association that was set up as a rival to the NHL in the 1970s when I'm done. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daydream Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Just finished the latest Roy Grace novel by Peter James. Another excellent instalment! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Blitzed by Norman Ohler Well researched and fascinating account of drug use and abuse in the 3rd Reich. It certainly offered a different perspective of WW2 that has scarcely been touched elsewhere. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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