ThomCat Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I tend to read 2/3 at same time then change round so finished a few at the same time. The last week .... The papers of Tony Veitch: second in the laidlaw trilogy. Enjoyable and big fan of McIlvanney but can maybe cut the similes down. Saturday 3pm: Nice wee book on football, lots of mentions of Scottish football. The House with green shutters: Good Scottish novel, bit like Zola. Flowers for Algernon: Good sci-fi book, I hope to read more of the genre. Hotel du lac: Good writing, it won the Booker. The Cold War/John Gaddis: Good concise book on the politics of the era. ....Started but couldn't be bothered after ten pages - How late it was, How late/Kelman. Not for me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 4 hours ago, dysartrovers said: Currently reading the twelve by Justin cronin. 2nd book in the trilogy which is apparently being made into a series by fox. Hopefully that will be as good as the books I read The Passage a couple of months ago and I was hugely underwhelmed. It was incredibly drawn out, the premise has been used a hundred times and other books do it better. I've felt no urge to read the rest of the trilogy, coincidentally there's a much better 'vampire' series that begins with a book called Twelve by Jasper Kent, there's also quite a bit of Russian history in those books which i found interesting. Finished Wool by Hugh Howey last night which I really enjoyed and blitzed in a week. It's quite a slow book but it's actually needed to help explain the dystopian future. The surface of the earth is completely inhospitable and a small community of people are living in an underground silo with all of the strange politics they believe is necessary to ensure survival. I'll definitely be reading the rest of this trilogy. Just started Leviathan Wakes by James SA Corey, it's the first book in the Expanse series, Season 2 of the TV show should be arriving on Netflix in a month or two. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Bear Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I'm sorry, I should have specified the "all verbosity no style" bit as the target of my incredulity. You can have both. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Not since How Late it Was, How Late have I been so simultaneously heartened and depressed by the psyche of Scottish adults. Try reading Skagboys (Trainspotting prequel). That is unremittingly bleak. Sick Boy is a very dark character. I thought about buying Porno (aka Trainspotting 2) again. Can't even recall the storyline. All I can remember is Sick Boy sending gay porn to Begbie in jail. Made me laugh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milton75 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 On 1/26/2017 at 19:28, Ya Bezzer! said: I've never read any McCarthy and never claimed to. I was making a general point about 'The Great American Novel' which is almost always long, tedious and pretentious. Yeah. Like The Great Gatsby. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kincardine Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 (edited) On 1/30/2017 at 17:35, Miguel Sanchez said: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Not since How Late it Was, How Late have I been so simultaneously heartened and depressed by the psyche of Scottish adults. I read both on a holiday in about 1995ish and got divorced not long after. I'd like to think these facts are unrelated. I also left both for the bar manager in the last hotel we stayed in as he wanted to improve his English. I do wonder what he made of them. BUT it was amusing the difference between Weegie slang and Edinburgh slang between the two books. Edited February 3, 2017 by The_Kincardine 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Hetty Dorval by Ethel Wilson It's short, it's not as sweet as it seems and I can't shake the feeling that everyone in it is an inadvertent glance or word away from having a nervous breakdown. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis Horrifying 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomCat Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 The Noise of time by Julian Barnes. Fictional account of Shostakovich trying to create art and not get killed under the soviet regime. Good read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 16 minutes ago, ThomCat said: The Noise of time by Julian Barnes. Fictional account of Shostakovich trying to create art and not get killed under the soviet regime. Good read. Good, just bought it yesterday. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Co.Down Hibee Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Last Of the Giants by Mick Wall A brilliant read telling the true story of Guns n Roses . I've read a lot of Walls stuff and this is up with the best . Would recommend for any fan. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Leviathan Wakes - James SA Corey, the first book in the sci-fi series The Expanse which was recently made into a TV series. The book was enjoyable enough but it's not a patch on Iain M Banks, Peter F Hamilton or Alastair Reynolds stuff. Doesn't help that the character Holden is as sanctimonious as the Dalai Lama, annoyed me considerably. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessmagic Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Tender is the night - F. Scott Fitzgerald Went into it with an open mind expecting an enjoyable insightful read. Didn't enjoy it at all - couldn't emphasis with the characters and found it all a bit dull to be honest. Maybe i'm just a philistine and it is a great American novel but not for me Geoff. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Fifth Business by Robertson Davies Somewhat thought-provoking but needed more nervous breakdowns. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Hew and Cry, by Shirley McKay. It's a murder mystery set in sixteenth-century Scotland (with a cameo by creepy little James VI). This is the first in a series, so I'm looking forward to the rest. It's refreshing to read 16th-century crime fiction which isn't all about Tudor London. It's all full of brilliant little tidbits about Scottish everyday life in the period, and gorgeous descriptions of St Andrews. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranaldo Bairn Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Leviathan Wakes - James SA Corey, the first book in the sci-fi series The Expanse which was recently made into a TV series. The book was enjoyable enough but it's not a patch on Iain M Banks, Peter F Hamilton or Alastair Reynolds stuff. Doesn't help that the character Holden is as sanctimonious as the Dalai Lama, annoyed me considerably. Came on to talk about this one too! I enjoyed it, pretty gritty stuff and not too worried about the science part of sci-fi.Just splashed out for the set of six books for my Kindle, and currently motoring through book two.Will look forward to region two DVD getting released. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saintee Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Red or Dead by David Peace. Stunning novel about Bill Shankly and his obsession with all levels of football. Bit of socialism chucked in too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 The Manticore by Robertson Davies Lots of sex and somewhat derivative despite being a retelling of one person's life. World of Wonders by Robertson Davies Even more sex followed up with an ending in no way satisfactory to the three life stories which preceded it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya Bezzer! Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Just finished my first novel of the year but I've been pretty ill recently and therefore sleeping on the train home from work and then going straight to bed. This has cut into my reading time. Anyway read 'The Centurions' by Jean Larteguy. Pretty long at over 500 pages with a bewildering catalogue of different characters and a subtle and cerebral philosophy this was, not so much tough to read, as tough to extricate a coherent theme from. Definitely the sort of book you would have to read several times before really getting to grips with it. Unfortunately I'm not immortal and don't have the time to do that, but if I was, I would. The first half of the book dealing with the war in Indo-China and their interment in Vietminh prison camps was the part that left the greatest impression on me. Next up is Eric Gambler's 'Uncommon Danger'. Never read Gambler before but at first glance and by reading the blurb I'm assuming this is a sort of John Buchan style espionage adventure. At 200 pages I'm guessing this will be an easier read and I'll get it read in a week at most. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Phillip Kerr - A Quiet Flame A Bernie Gunter detective series novel. Still not sure what to make of it. Good story (Nazis escape to Argentina and get nawty) but I found the portrayal of women a bit uncomfortable (and that's coming from a dedicated fan of the MILF/strumpets thread). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Sanchez Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard Riveting tale, chap. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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