The Saintee Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 The End of the Party by Andrew Rawnsley. Very interesting read, (that's also quite scary!) about the rise and fall of New Labour. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmothecat Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 The End of the Party by Andrew Rawnsley. Very interesting read, (that's also quite scary!) about the rise and fall of New Labour. I found that quite enjoyable, incredible how much inside information he got, particularly regarding the relationship between Blair and Brown. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saintee Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 3 hours ago, jmothecat said: I found that quite enjoyable, incredible how much inside information he got, particularly regarding the relationship between Blair and Brown. I think that a lot of it was fairly common knowledge around parliament/Westminster so he probably has loads of sources. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Cuddy Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 On 2017-6-6 at 19:25, Lisa Cuddy said: One of my residents at work is an avid reader after a cataract op. He loves crime fiction. I was telling him I was a huge Chris Brookmyre fan and I'd lend him some to have a read of. I was about to choose Quite Ugly One Morning and then thought that probably wasn't the most appropriate for an elderly/frail/dementia/palliative environment. I went with A Big Boy Did It And Ran Away instead. The man's loving it. "I didn't realise he was a local boy! He's very clever. And I tell you what, he's bloody right about Aberdeen an' aw!". He's on The Sacred Art Of Stealing now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 "Mary Anne", by Daphne du Maurier. It's a fictionalised account of the life of the author's great-great-grandmother, a notorious high-class prostitute who was for a time banging the (grand old) Duke of York. She was eventually dragged before the House of Commons for selling military promotions in a scheme with the Duke (who got off Scot free, of course), and was then locked up for libelling an MP. Great novel - it reminded me of the old Defoe-style tart-with-a-heart epics. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenconner Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Argos catalogue. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theminsk Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 I am currently on the last book in the conquerer series by conn iggulden Its about Genghis khan rise to power and alsoHis grandson kublai khan.I am not big reader some books take me longer to finish as i lose interest. Have lots of plans on books to read on my good reads app. Didnt take up reading tho just a few year ago now try enjoy a book when i can. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Ferrino Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 How many times is it socially acceptable to post the same answer on this thread? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillonearth Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 On 22/06/2017 at 09:54, jmothecat said: I tried to read Cold Granite but couldn't get past the first few pages. It just seemed a bit lazy compared with other books in the genre. Maybe I need to give it more of a chance but it just didn't seem real in the way Rebus or the Jo Nesbo books do. I've read most of the Logan MacRae books - always find them slightly odd because the broad comedy doesn't really sit well with the graphic bits somehow. One I've got into recently when I want a crime novel fix is the Lennox series by Craig Russell - Sam Spade-esque hardbitten private eye stuff set in 1950s Glasgow...bit different, but it works for me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 "Dimiter" by William Peter Blatty (best known for "The Exorcist"). It was a fast read (only took me a day). Blatty claimed it was his most personally important book, but I don't think it measures up to "Legion" or "The Exorcist". Still, it was a pretty strange, haunting book - a kind of religious mystery melded with a spy thriller. His usual poetic writing style (descriptions are very impressionistic) and deeply sarcastic, multi-meaning dialogue are the showpieces. Lots of haunted, pain-and-death obsessed, and faithless characters too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmothecat2 Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Speaking of crime novels I've just finished the latest Harry Hole book. Pretty good, you know what you are getting with them but they are still exciting. I think he does atmosphere incredibly well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Brilliant Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Fear and Loathing in La Liga, Sid Lowe. Really great for a football book. I found that a lot of my assumptions about the Real-FCB rivalry were wrong. Well worth a read if you like football and 20th century politics. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chlamydia Kid Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomCat Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Strange Loyalties/McIlvanney - The last book in the Laidlaw trilogy. A good read and written in the first person narrative which was different from the previous two. Not as good as the first but better than the papers of Tony Veitch IMO. Also recently finished: Things fall apart/achebe, The spy who came in from the cold/le carre. Both fantastic reads. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmothecat2 Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Strange Loyalties/McIlvanney - The last book in the Laidlaw trilogy. A good read and written in the first person narrative which was different from the previous two. Not as good as the first but better than the papers of Tony Veitch IMO. Also recently finished: Things fall apart/achebe, The spy who came in from the cold/le carre. Both fantastic reads. I thought Things Fall Apart was atrocious. I know I'm in a small minority with that view but after hearing it was a seminal African novel etc I was expecting a lot more. Thought it was written in an odd way that made it clunky to read, the story didn't grip me at all and I just didn't get it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomCat Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 3 hours ago, ThatBoyRonaldo said: Strange Loyalties is a brilliant book though - possibly my all time favourite but then I'm a McIlvanney fanboy. Same. As a writer and a person. Bit annoyed I didn't read his novels when he was still alive and doing festivals, talks etc. The only disappointment for me was Weekend. Docherty would have to be my favourite. Also thought Walking Wounded had some great short stories too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 22 hours ago, ThomCat said: Strange Loyalties/McIlvanney - The last book in the Laidlaw trilogy. A good read and written in the first person narrative which was different from the previous two. Not as good as the first but better than the papers of Tony Veitch IMO. Not long finished Laidlaw, need to get hold of the other two. Thought I had bought one of them at Edinburgh Airport along with the first of the trilogy, turns out I didn't, or I've lost it. The book itself was outstanding, very easy to see why he is considered the starting point in Scottish Crime. Finished "The Whistler" on my lunch break there. From what else I have read from him, I would best describe it as "Grisham by numbers". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chlamydia Kid Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Read 200 pages of this in the last few days. Decent read so far although, decent insight into the coalition period and his justifications for entry and his record. Talks a lot of pish as well right enough. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradHorse Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Just finished the first two books of 'The Kingkiller Chronicle' by Patrick Rothfuss. The Name of the Wind, the first book, was particularly great. The Wise Man's Fear was ridiculously long and suffered from too much information in general, but some of the pay-offs were more than worth the wait and Rothfuss has a genuinely beautiful writing style. For any fans of the Song of Ice and Fire series, or the Lord of the Rings series, or indeed probably Harry Potter (though I've never read it) I'd say this is pretty much a must read. It's utterly fantastic. Kvothe is one of the finest characters I've ever come across in any film or literature. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Nooka Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Just finished the first two books of 'The Kingkiller Chronicle' by Patrick Rothfuss. The Name of the Wind, the first book, was particularly great. The Wise Man's Fear was ridiculously long and suffered from too much information in general, but some of the pay-offs were more than worth the wait and Rothfuss has a genuinely beautiful writing style. For any fans of the Song of Ice and Fire series, or the Lord of the Rings series, or indeed probably Harry Potter (though I've never read it) I'd say this is pretty much a must read. It's utterly fantastic. Kvothe is one of the finest characters I've ever come across in any film or literature. Another series that should only be read by the most patient of readers. 2 books in 10 years and the last one was 6 years ago. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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