Haken Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 On 08/09/2022 at 08:40, Haken said: Finished the Joe Abercrombie book and have to say that despite it being light on plot, it was pretty darn good. Followed that up with King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (don't know why it took me so long to get round to that). It was ok - easy enough read. And now onto the second in the Joe Abercrombie series, Before They Are Hanged. It's getting better and better. Before They Are Hanged was pretty good. I'd recommend Joe Abercrombie for those who enjoyed the early books of ASOI&F - you know, when it seemed like GRRM knew where he was going? Now half way through Stephen King's Lisey's Story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRiver Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 I just finished reading Under the Banner of Heaven by John Kraskeur. They made it into a tv series that’s on Disney+. It’s about Mormonism, Mormon Fundamentalism and pretty much the links between violence and Mormonism. It focusses on a particular fundamentalist killing of a woman and her baby by two of her brothers-in-law but weaves a kind of joint narrative between the founding teaching and initial violence inherent in early Mormonism and the latter day interpretations of these tenants and the damage they can cause. Honestly would recommend giving it a go. It’s left me with many questions about Mormonism in particular but more broadly religious thought and fundamentalism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beave1874 Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 On 20/09/2022 at 15:07, BlueRiver said: I just finished reading Under the Banner of Heaven by John Kraskeur. They made it into a tv series that’s on Disney+. It’s about Mormonism, Mormon Fundamentalism and pretty much the links between violence and Mormonism. It focusses on a particular fundamentalist killing of a woman and her baby by two of her brothers-in-law but weaves a kind of joint narrative between the founding teaching and initial violence inherent in early Mormonism and the latter day interpretations of these tenants and the damage they can cause. Honestly would recommend giving it a go. It’s left me with many questions about Mormonism in particular but more broadly religious thought and fundamentalism. Off topic slightly but thought the TV series was excellent. Just purchased Nick Cave's new book and was at his book signing yesterday, an absolute gem of a person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hmfc1965 Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 13 hours ago, R9. said: Always have good intentions of reading and never get round to it . Off on holiday on Sunday for a week. Me and my mates reference the film filth quiet a lot . After reading a couple comments on the book filth I’ve decided to get it and read it on holiday will be a lot worse than the movie I think 😂 It's awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diadora Van Basten Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartgarfunkel Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanks said no Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 13 hours ago, heartgarfunkel said: Read all his books back in the day when I regularly went to the library. Been in Greece so rattled through a few OK Superb read, particularly as we were in a remote part of Crete Forgettable Just started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedarmy Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Albert Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 Just finished Russia Revolution and Civil War by Antony Beevor. . Not an easy read but worth it. If anyone still thinks the Russian Revolution was on balance a good thing as I once did then it puts you right. And is revealing about what Putin is up to now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccarton3 Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 Panorama, 50 years of pride and paranoia by Richard Lindley, 2002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Finished Lisey's Story. I thought it was ok - not one of his best. I'm slowly catching up on some of King's 'later' works. I still struggle with the absolutely catastrophically shite ending of the The Dark Tower series. Now onto Last Argument of Kings, the third book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disser Pointon Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 On 23/09/2022 at 23:06, R9. said: Always have good intentions of reading and never get round to it . Off on holiday on Sunday for a week. Me and my mates reference the film filth quiet a lot . After reading a couple comments on the book filth I’ve decided to get it and read it on holiday will be a lot worse than the movie I think 😂 On 24/09/2022 at 12:25, Hmfc1965 said: It's awful. As was the film....IMO of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 On 24/09/2022 at 12:25, Hmfc1965 said: It's awful. It is, but that's because Welsh is an awful writer. Filth = big bigoted masonic corrupt jambo cop = every box ticked for hibs fantasist jambo stereotype Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 On 28/09/2022 at 07:42, Haken said: Finished Lisey's Story. I thought it was ok - not one of his best. I'm slowly catching up on some of King's 'later' works. I still struggle with the absolutely catastrophically shite ending of the The Dark Tower series. Now onto Last Argument of Kings, the third book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Finished Last Argument of Kings. Pretty good overall and will definitely read more of JA's work. Read Stephen King's Elevation, which is a ridiculously short effort at 130-odd pages. Nice enough wee story but a bit silly and if it hadn't had King's name on it, you would never see it on the shelves. Then it was The Silent Patient at my daughter's request. It's one of those with an 'unbelievable twist' that 'you will never see coming'. It's a pile of shite with a twist that's relies on information being withheld. Thankfully, my daughter felt the same and she wanted me to read it to see if she had misunderstood something. If she did, we both did. Now half way through King's 11.22.63. It's a bit slow and heavy-going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
il Duce McTarkin Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusk_Till_Dawn Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel, enjoying it so far Also read The Prophets recently - about bufties and slavery in the Deep South, that was really good. The Lost Apothecary - half decent Nightcrawling, by Leila someone - excellent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Finished 11.22.63. Not one of King's best, imo. Way too long and lots of research evident in the narrative. In need of a change, now onto The Thursday Murder Club. Not too impressed so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyo Drifter Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted October 26, 2022 Share Posted October 26, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 On 25/10/2022 at 11:34, Haken said: Finished 11.22.63. Not one of King's best, imo. Way too long and lots of research evident in the narrative. In need of a change, now onto The Thursday Murder Club. Not too impressed so far. TTMC turned out to be ok. Mildly amusing. Now onto The Final Empire, book 1 of Brian Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. Fairly formulaic box-ticking fantasy, so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 17 minutes ago, Haken said: TTMC turned out to be ok. Mildly amusing. Now onto The Final Empire, book 1 of Brian Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. Fairly formulaic box-ticking fantasy, so far. Too late to edit, but Brandon rather than Brian. Sorry, Brandy boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRiver Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 37 minutes ago, Haken said: TTMC turned out to be ok. Mildly amusing. Now onto The Final Empire, book 1 of Brian Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. Fairly formulaic box-ticking fantasy, so far. Ah hope TTMC is not too bad. Bought a copy for my Mum to read on her holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 49 minutes ago, BlueRiver said: Ah hope TTMC is not too bad. Bought a copy for my Mum to read on her holiday. It's definitely not bad, and I have to say that the idea of a book about some old codgers in a retirement village solving mysteries didn't exactly fire my imagination. But my daughter, aged 20, read it and enjoyed it and said I might like it. For me, it's a bit of a tongue-in-cheek pop at an Agatha Christie type set up. Apparently, Spielberg has bought the film rights (I hope I'm not making that up), and I could see Judi Dench as one of the MCs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRiver Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 I’ve just finished An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro. Big fan of the author already but this was just his second novel and I loved it. You can really see why this is the one that properly announced his arrival as an author. It’s a vast improvement on A Pale View of Hills. Set shortly after WWII it’s told by an elderly man who has misgivings and conflicted feelings over the role he played in the pre-war and war years in the path his country took and is struggling to adapt to the new more open society that emerged post-war. Really would recommend it. Not an overly long read either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 On 31/10/2022 at 22:44, BlueRiver said: I’ve just finished An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro. Big fan of the author already but this was just his second novel and I loved it. You can really see why this is the one that properly announced his arrival as an author. It’s a vast improvement on A Pale View of Hills. Set shortly after WWII it’s told by an elderly man who has misgivings and conflicted feelings over the role he played in the pre-war and war years in the path his country took and is struggling to adapt to the new more open society that emerged post-war. Really would recommend it. Not an overly long read either. He's a superb writer. I've read a few, and even when I wasn't taken with the storyline (The Unconsoled), the quality of the writing still carries it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRiver Posted November 2, 2022 Share Posted November 2, 2022 3 hours ago, Haken said: He's a superb writer. I've read a few, and even when I wasn't taken with the storyline (The Unconsoled), the quality of the writing still carries it. Whilst not totally comparable in style I always find Julian Barnes quite similar. There’s been a few by him where I’m not overly absorbed in the story but end up utterly absorbed in the writing. Next on the list for me is Never Let Me Go which I’ve heard is Ishiguro’s best from quite a few! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted November 4, 2022 Share Posted November 4, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EIEIO Posted November 11, 2022 Share Posted November 11, 2022 Meantime by Frankie Boyle (yes the weegie comedian) is well worth a read. Pretty dark humour as you'd expect and lots of drugs ditto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bindy Badgy Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 I'm about 200 pages into Eye of the World. I've been put off The Wheel of Time series due to it's length but, I've decided that I need to increase the number of books I read and reduce my daily screen time. I enjoyed the Amazon series so figured it was worth a shot. I'm quite surprised at the number of differences between the book and the TV series so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 3 hours ago, Bindy Badgy said: I'm about 200 pages into Eye of the World. I've been put off The Wheel of Time series due to it's length but, I've decided that I need to increase the number of books I read and reduce my daily screen time. I enjoyed the Amazon series so figured it was worth a shot. I'm quite surprised at the number of differences between the book and the TV series so far. I gave up on it years ago but have it in mind to give it another go at some point. On a slightly related note, I've just finished The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, who finished off the WoT series after R Jordan's death. It was ok, but nothing special. Now re-reading King's Rose Madder. Probably read it about 20-odd years ago and I think I'm enjoying it (or appreciating it) more this time round. An age thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haken Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 Finished Rose Madder. Enjoyed it, though not one of his better efforts. Now another re-read - this time Gardens of the Moon by Steven Eriksson. I absolutely love this fantasy series - the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Readers tend either to love it or hate it. It's unapologetic in throwing you right in at the deep end from the off and leaving it up to you to get your head round what's going on. One of the things that those who struggle with it dislike is the way that books in the series jump about. But Eriksson creates an entire world, not just a wee bit of a world. And unlike GRR Martin, Eriksson manages to finish the series... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 Wish I'd read this before I watched the film. Saying that, it's still a fantastic read. Worth reading even if you've seen the film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedarmy Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 (edited) Edited December 27, 2022 by dougal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westbow Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 First one of the new year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedarmy Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanks said no Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 brilliant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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