Last Book You Read....

[footiechick]

The 39 Steps - John Buchan

Short wee book but good quality reading. Makes me want to watch the film again!

[Monster]

Reading 'Calcio' by John Foot.

It's a history of Italian Football and it's culture from the beginning to the present day, and it's one of the most impressive books about football I have ever read.

Famous players, managers, owners and the politics of calcio are all explored with rigourous detail and a good degree of impartiality, despite the fact that the author makes clear from the start that he married an Italian from a family of Inter fans.

If you like football and its impact on society and culture, buy it. 9/10

I finished this book and I can honestly say it's one of the best five books about football I have ever read, up there with Parklife by Nick Varley, A season with Verona by Tim Parks, Barca by Jimmy Burns and The miracle of Castel Di Sangro by Joe MCGinnis.

Get this book. Now!

[uberman]

Dean Koontz - Velocity 8/10

Good, hard to put down thriller

[uberman]

Raiders - Razor Smith

Over the years, both inside and out (though mainly in) Razor Smith met and associated with many armed robbers, and in Raiders he tells their amazing stories. Like Big Bad Bob, the Scotsman who raided bureaux de change 'armed' only with a water-pistol; Steve the Saint, who risked the best relationship of his life on one last big one in the West End and ended up getting a life sentence; and the members of the Little Firm who terrorized south London till their addictions got the better of them.

10/10

uberman's latest ebay book listings

[Mel Hutchwright]

Mark E Smith ~ Renegade: The Lives And Tales Of Mark E Smith.

Suffice it to say, the curmudgeonly Fall leaders musings isn't really your usual autobiography, but rather, it reads more like the rantings of an embittered, cantankerous so and so. It is all the better for this.

Some of it is laugh out loud funny and, rather concerningly, I found myself agreeing with many of his gripes about modern society.

[uberman]

Papillon = Henri Charrierre

7/10

True story of Papillon's imprisonment in South America and his various successfull and unsuccessfull escapes and also his capture and return to prison. Not a bad read but a bit long and drawn out, I'll need to track down the film now as I've never seen it and have heard it's quite good.

[capybara]

reading a book on john peel it lists all the sessions on his prog and running orders bloody brilliant. for anybody into punk, reggae, rock its a must BBC BOOKS THE PEEL SESSIONS

BY KEN GARNER ISBN 978-1-8460-7282-6

A must for music lovers

[Colin M]

Last week I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Houssini. It was excellent, it's about a boy from Afghanistan who is moved to America aged 12 but who has to go back later in life to seek redemption for his "sins" as a kid. It was very moving and also provided a fairly brutal but probably accurate description of Afghanistan under the Taliban. That makes it all sound a bit bleak and it certainly was in parts but it was also about friendship and unconditional love. Maybe a bit contrived in parts but a highly recommended 9/10.

Before that I read The Gum Thief by Douglas Copeland, about a middle aged loser who works in a stationery supply store who writes a pretend diary of a girl who works there, which she discovers and reads and realises it's scarily accurate. They strike up a correspondance and become friends of sorts (seemingly without ever really talking to each other in the "real" world). It's the second Copeland book I've read recently and while the popular culture references and tales of modern fuckups are amusing and generally quite clever, I'm not sure that there's really any substance to it. 5/10

[kiwififer]

has anybody read Pat Buchanan's Churchill, Hitler and the unnecessary war? I've just watched him plug it on Fox News, and he is basically blaming Churchill for the second world war, and the collapse of the british empire for the rise of communism. Oh aye, we are also to blame for the first as well.

He's a right wing nut job I think, correct?

[Mel Hutchwright]

Richard Ford ~ Wildlife

This is a short novel, a novella if you will, set in Montana at the turn of the 60's. The narrator is a sixteen year boy who, due to the itinerant nature of his folks, is something of a loner, and who finds himself witnessing the unravelling of his parents marriage after his father loses his job.

I think Ford is a magnificent novelist, although he's unlikely to be to everyones tastes. He's certainly not an author to turn to if you like your books to be action packed or full of spectacular plot twists. Rather, he has an understated, almost meandering style of prose more concerned with capturing the human frailties of ordinary people.

[Guest oddjob]

This is a great thread.

I'm still reading the 'unsinkable rubber ducks' by brookmyre. Great book, but it's a hardback copy. It means that when I'm camping, it becomes a table.

Next book is Enduring Love by Ian McEwan, but it's paperback so it maybe my last table.

[xbl]

Just finished Asimov - Buy Jupiter. A sort of semi autobiographical collection of short stories at key points in his career. The highlight for me is reading the wee snippets between stories where he tells a wee anecdote about them.

[H_B]

I'm currently very much liking John Connolly.

Halfway through the Reapers at the moment and am loving it. Thoroughly recommend his work. Also two of the books are accompanied by a CD of themed music.

The second CD "Into the Dark II" is terrific, especially if you like your music depressing and dark.

[Mel Hutchwright]

Next book is Enduring Love by Ian McEwan, but it's paperback so it maybe my last table.

That was a novel I really enjoyed.

Ian McEwan was someone I used to find a bit hit and miss but he's been in a rich vein of form from this book onwards (haven't read Amsterdam mind you which, despite winning the Booker, I've heard is a bit disapointing), with Atonement and On Chesil Beach* being his crowning achievements in my opinion.

*Nice reference to this book on Peep Show the other week when Mark was in the stationary cupboard with Dobby.

Edited June 13, 2008 by Mel Hutchwright

[sonofjenova]

Just started Closing Time by Joseph Heller.

[Nkomo-A-Gogo]

Halfway through MO HAYDERS new book RITUAL

really good so far and if anyone has read her fist two birdman and the treatment its the same cop jack caffery.

she had two other books tokyo and pig island but this one is much better.

a really great writer who im sure does loads of research before starting instead of just waffling.

ok ill come out of her arse now.....but id reccomend them to anyone who likes crime novels.they are pretty gory/graphic

[Guest oddjob]

That was a novel I really enjoyed.

Ian McEwan was someone I used to find a bit hit and miss but he's been in a rich vein of form from this book onwards (haven't read Amsterdam mind you which, despite winning the Booker, I've heard is a bit disapointing)

I read Amsterdam first, which wasn't that great. It didn't really grab me.

I'm going to do Enduring then I've got Saturday I want to read as well.

[Karpaty]

Reading 'It's colours they are fine' by Adam Spence for English, about a quater way through and its a quite a good read. 7/10 so far.

[Stewie Griffin]

I read Amsterdam first, which wasn't that great. It didn't really grab me.

I'm going to do Enduring then I've got Saturday I want to read as well.

I'd give 'Saturday' a miss - I thought it was an atrocious book, dull and ludicrous.

[Guest oddjob]

I'd give 'Saturday' a miss - I thought it was an atrocious book, dull and ludicrous.

I still want to do it. After reading 'Amsterdam', I feel obliged to see if his books get better. But I'm going to read 'Enduring' first because it was published first of the two.

That makes sense to me.