Deanburn Dave Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 I finished the new "Jack Reacher" book "Better off dead". It wasn't great and gets a 3/10 from me. It's another joint effort by Lee Child AND Andrew Child. Like their first attempt (The Sentinel) you get the feeling Lee Child's contribution is merely letting his less talented brother use the Jack Reacher character to make them some money. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Audiobook of Jarvis Cocker’s Good Pop, Bad Pop autobiography. With his years on 6 Music, he does more with the audio format than is the norm. There’s a pdf to accompany it so you can see the stuff he describes. He decides to clear out the loft of his old house (stuff has been untouched for 20 years) and the items (he decides a time either keep or bin them) plot the story of his life until Pulp really took off. It’s very easy listening and has an almost ASMR quality to it. He name checks a few surprising inspirations to Pulp’s sounds. I’d never thought of them before but after he talks about it I could suddenly hear it in Pulp’s music. Barry White, for example, being what really gave them the “Hallelujah” moment. Can’t claim to be a huge Pulp fan and you really don’t need to be to enjoy this. Good 70s/early 80s social history and tales of being young and in a band. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic Joe Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 Meantime by Frankie Boyle. About an utter space heid attempting to solve a murder on a cocktail of drugs. Halfway through it. It's laugh out loud funny and extremely disturbing in equal measures. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairnardo Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 Finished yon Brookmyre one and moved onto El Diego, the autobiography of Maradona. Entertaining enough, can there feeling some of the stories might be pitched differently if they came from observers though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 Reputation by Sarah Vaughn. Meh. I think the main character was supposed to be a sympathetic figure, but she didn't come across that way to me. Too long, and a staggering use of the word "reputation" throughout, it was almost as if she was trying to fill a quota. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmca Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler You can still feel the influence in today's detective stories. The hard bitten, cynical private eye surrounded by a cast of unsavoury characters led the way in the genre. The writing still feels fresh to me after over 50 years, the one liners made me laugh out loud. It was a delight from start to finish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clough85 Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 Working my way through the Mitch rapp - American assassin series by Vince Flynn Film was a bit dodgy but books are a good read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 Will almost certainly have been mentioned here a few times but I can't be arsed trawling through pages to check. Kitchen Confidential. Absolutely tremendous insight in to kitchen work and very funny. Great read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairn Terrier Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler You can still feel the influence in today's detective stories. The hard bitten, cynical private eye surrounded by a cast of unsavoury characters led the way in the genre. The writing still feels fresh to me after over 50 years, the one liners made me laugh out loud. It was a delight from start to finish.Eh, try over 80 years.....it was written in 1939. Chandler himself has been dead for more than 60 years.But yes, it is an excellent read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmca Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 3 hours ago, Cairn Terrier said: Eh, try over 80 years.....it was written in 1939. Chandler himself has been dead for more than 60 years. But yes, it is an excellent read. Cheers, pure laziness on my part. Thought it was written in the 50's off the top of my head, so hedged my bets. Should have checked. Looking forward to reading Farewell My Lovely soon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 The Candy House by Jennifer Egan. A really enjoyable read. A series of intertwined narratives come together through time to present an intriguing premise, well realised. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. My least favourite of Jenkins Reid's books that I've read. Very well written in general, but I struggled to connect with the characters at points, and she sometimes went into too much detail about the tennis matches. Good, but not hitting the heights of Daisy Jones or Malibu Rising. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 The Boy Who Disappeared by Valerie Nettles. The story of the 1996 disappearance of 16 year old Damien Nettles, as told by his mother. Truly staggering levels of police incompetence throughout. Fascinating read, I hope the family get closure one of these days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyAnchor Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Tree thieves by Lyndsie Bourgon. Well written about mainly Redwood trees and the impact of cutting them down as well as a perspective from loggers and poachers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 The Silver Darlings - Neil Gunn.Excellent book. Coming of age story about a boy (who isn't born into about fifty pages in) in Sutherland soon after the clearances and just as the herring fishing is taking off.The writing is for the most part as good as I've read anywhere. Some wonderful passages. I was put off reading Gunn because my primary school headmaster used to go on about him. I shouldn't have waited so long. It's never a bad idea to be reminded of what Scotland was like in the past though.Judging by this book alone I think Gunn needs to be moved up a couple of notches in national consciousness. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDoddyKane Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Howard Marks - Mr Smiley, my last pill and testament Its ok, not great. Some interesting bits in it and it starts off quite well but the main story it drifts into seems a bit over long. If you have followed his story then maybe worth a read but otherwise not. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 New Rebus. Meh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig fae the Vale Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 The Winners (Beartown book 3) by Fredrik Backman. A perfect end to a perfect trilogy. Beautifully brutal. A book that will rip your heart out but keep it delightfully warm at the same time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottsdad Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 Yankee Mission by Julian Stockwin. good enough book but you just knew how it would end by half way in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiegoDiego Posted November 3, 2022 Share Posted November 3, 2022 The Last Quarter of the Moon - Chi Zijian.A multi-generational story of the Evenki tribe who live in the Manchurian mountains just south of the Russian/Soviet border.Lots of tales of hunting, fishing, fucking, fights, love conquered and love forlorn, shamen, traders, soldiers, enough reindeer chat to last you a decade and a couple of incidents of adult castration.Spanning the entire 20th century there are loads of births and deaths with many traumatic and touching moments. The writing is very matter of fact with little dialogue, but the metaphors reflect the nature which surround them.A really good insight into nomadic way of life and just a great book overall. 360 easy to read pages and action on every one of them. A lovely cover to grace it, too.Highly recommended. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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