JMDP Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Good to see that it's now fashionable to slate Stieg Larsson's books. Yeah, I "slated" it because it's fashionable to do so. -3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stimpy Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 And what a dreadful book that is. No, it isn't, it's quite clearly a fantastic book. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 The same thing happened to Dan Brown when he became too much of a success story. It suddenly became perceived wisdom to be dismissive of his books, which are actually quite good. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 No, it isn't, it's quite clearly a fantastic book. I thought it was awful. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disraeli Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" This was ridiculously good. Definitely in the top 5 books I have ever read. It really is most inconvenient he died. That's a bold statement, but then again what other books would your top five comprise of? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 That's a bold statement, but then again what other books would your top five comprise of? Don't know actually. I must have read a few thousand books over the years, and my top 5 would have changed a lot over the years. Five others that come to mind would be :- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Lord of the Rings Watership Down The Kite Runner Atonement 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomDom Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Finally finished with "A Simple Act of Violence" from RJ Ellory. Sort of had to read it in bursts in the library, but it was worth going back to. I might read more of his stuff in there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disraeli Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Don't know actually. I must have read a few thousand books over the years, and my top 5 would have changed a lot over the years. Five others that come to mind would be :- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Lord of the Rings Watership Down The Kite Runner Atonement I was just checking the novelisation of “Weekend at Bernie’s II” wasn’t also in contention. I own “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” but I never read it in full, so I’ll probably go back to it one day. From what I read the prose seemed rather dreary, perhaps because I was re-reading “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” at the time as well and perhaps I should go back to it without prejudice. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monster Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Black Swan Green by David Mitchell A year in the life of a 12 (turning 13) year old named Jason Taylor in a small village in rural England, set against a backdrop of his parents divorce, local bullies, The Falklands and a growing interest in girls and poetry. It's a very well written novel, with plenty of recognisable phrases, language, games and unwritten school rules for anyone my age to reminisce about. It's easy to read, flows well and the main charactr's development is well thought out and interesting. *** 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawfield Stallion Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 The same thing happened to Dan Brown when he became too much of a success story. It suddenly became perceived wisdom to be dismissive of his books, which are actually quite good. I'd never even heard of Steig Larsson before I read TGWTDT, so there goes your "dissing it 'cos it's popular" argument. I just think it was a terrible read, and to my memory it's the first book that I've ever refused to finish Very petty of you, HB, to dismiss Slaughterhouse 5 just because you're raging that TGWTBT is rank 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) I'd never even heard of Steig Larsson before I read TGWTDT, so there goes your "dissing it 'cos it's popular" argument. I just think it was a terrible read, and to my memory it's the first book that I've ever refused to finish Then you have no taste. Seriously. very petty of you, HB, to dismiss Slaughterhouse 5 just because you're raging that TGWTBT is rank I read Slaughterhouse 5 when I was at High School. I thought then it was absolutely dreadful . I may re-read it to see if my tastes have developed since then. And why would I be in any way bothered about your opinions on a book? You are entitled to them, in the same way someone is entitled to think Jack Ross is a better full back than Dani Alves. Edited February 16, 2010 by H_B 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawfield Stallion Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Then you have no taste. Seriously. Maybe I don't. Before November last year I'd hardly picked up a book in years before I resolved to start reading again, so I'm not really familiar with the names of any author. As well as the Girl With Thew Dragon Tattoo, since then I've read 'Shogun' and 'King Rat' by Clavell, 'The Road' by McCarthy, Master and Commander by O'Brien, The Rum Diary, and Fear and Loathing by Hunter S Thompson and Slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut. I enjoyed some more than others and each had their own merits apart from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which I just couldn't get into at all You are entitled to them, in the same way someone is entitled to think Jack Ross is a better full back than Dani Alves. Not only is he a better full back than Alves, he's also a better midfielder than Kaka 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Not only is he a better full back than Alves, he's also a better midfielder than Kaka I agree about Alves, but I don't think he offers as much going forward as Kaka. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawfield Stallion Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I agree about Alves, but I don't think he offers as much going forward as Kaka. He was back in the day, but I suppose his advancing years means that he's now more of a millionaire's Makelele 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMDP Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Don't know actually. I must have read a few thousand books over the years, and my top 5 would have changed a lot over the years. Five others that come to mind would be :- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Lord of the Rings Watership Down The Kite Runner Atonement You must have read "a few thousand" awful books if they are anywhere near your top five. . -3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 You must have read "a few thousand" awful books if they are anywhere near your top five. Perhaps I have. Maybe you can give me your top 5 to point me in the right direction. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Freud Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 The same thing happened to Dan Brown when he became too much of a success story. It suddenly became perceived wisdom to be dismissive of his books, which are actually quite good. Brown is a great story teller - he plots well, he researches well. He is, however, an extremely average writer. It's the classic "lots of effort and little talent will take you further than lots of talent and little effort". Quite enjoyed the Da Vinci Code, less so his other books. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disraeli Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 You must have read "a few thousand" awful books if they are anywhere near your top five. . Well, to be fair, they were arbitrary choices in more than one sense although I do understand your meaning. Comparing "The Kite Runner" or "Atonement" to "Anna Karenina" or "Rabbit, Run" does seem a bit like choosing to watch "Weekend at Bernie's II" when you can explore dozens of cultures, an entire world of films at your command; or indeed you could just watch the vastly superior "Weekend at Bernie's" for around the same price. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Brown is a great story teller - he plots well, he researches well. He is, however, an extremely average writer. It's the classic "lots of effort and little talent will take you further than lots of talent and little effort". Quite enjoyed the Da Vinci Code, less so his other books. Yeah, I read TDVC before it became huge and I quite enjoyed it. I can see why it became so popular. It wasn't fantastic, but it was very readable. I just think, like the Music police, it becomes fashionable to slate people who become worldwide phenomena. Book recommending seems to become a hunt to find the most obscure author you can put up as a gem only you and 10 other people have discovered. That said, to contradict myself, James Patterson is a dreadful author and sells millions, so it isn't always true that popularity equals quality. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H_B Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Well, to be fair, they were arbitrary choices in more than one sense Correct - I read a lot of the same type of book and I value things in books others may not. Sometimes people are just plain wrong though. If you don't think "The Kite Runner" is an incredible book, I pity you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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