[Archived] Holiday Reading

[colin]

No, it's not about vacations in the town of Reading, but a resurrection of books which we recommended to each other. It'll help us get through the summer until the season starts again.

The original thread has disappeared, but as it lead me to read a number of books, recommended by fellow fans most of which I thoroughly enjoyed, I thought it was time to get it up and running again.

So here are three (sort of) that have grabbed my attention recently. Nothing Shakespearean or Chaucer(istic), just books I have enjoyed.

(1) "A Walk In The Woods" by Bill Bryson. No few of us will be aware of Bryson's "Notes From A Small Island" where he travels the length & breadth of the UK pointing out the quirks & eccentricities of its inhabitants. In a similar vein "A Walk In The Woods" describes his travels and travails along the Appalachian Trail which stretches from Georgia to Maine for about 2,200 miles. It's a hiking book with (ahem) "attitude."

As usual with Bryson, he is quick to heap praise on the courteous and polite and pour scorn on the rude and idiotic.

With Bryson you'll read this and think "Good Lord, someone thinks the same way as I do." Or posssibly not.

(2) "Happy Like Killers" by Gordon Burn. Not the Gordon Burns of North West Tonight and "The Krypon Factor." This is the story of the infamous Gloucester murderers Fred and Rosemary West, who killed about ten women including one of their own daughters, and buried most of them under their house.

To be honest, it's "Formula 1 crash" reading. You just keep going to see how much more horrible it can get. It really does get horrible, and you need a shower and a cuddle from your loved ones once you have read it. But compulsive reading in strange sort of way.

(3) I went down the library the other week and there were three new Terry Pratchett books. Oh, I nearly wet myself. Read Terry Pratchett. You can read any of his books three times and still find something funny.

Righty-oh, that me started this off with three books. I look forward to reading your recommendations & your recommended reads.

[Glenn]

(3) I went down the library the other week and there were three new Terry Pratchett books. Oh, I nearly wet myself. Read Terry Pratchett. You can read any of his books three times and still find something funny.

Righty-oh, that me started this off with three books. I look forward to reading your recommendations & your recommended reads.

319987[/snapback]

What's more, from "The Truth" onwards he seems to be back on form, after losing it for a few years.

I did something similar the other week, I went to the library for the first time in 2 years (first time since I moved) and found there are now 4 Tom Holt book I haven't read !

[Flopsy]

Night Watch by Pratchett is a brilliant masterpiece of a book.

Going Postal is fantastic

actually all Pratchett Books are great, except Eric which stinks, and Soul Music which is the Crazy Frog of the Discworld novels

[Glenn]

Night Watch by Pratchett is a brilliant masterpiece of a book.

Going Postal is fantastic

actually all Pratchett Books are great, except Eric which stinks, and Soul Music which is the Crazy Frog of the Discworld novels

320020[/snapback]

The Truth, NighWatch, Theif Of Time and Going Postal are the proof of a return to form. Soul music was pretty good but Intresting Times, Jingo and most importantly The Last Continent are proof that even he is not above the odd lemon.

BTW, Any Pratchett fans (or Tom Holt come to that) that haven't read Neil Gainman's American Gods should do so. Very similar style (other than AG is set in the comtempary world a la Holts novels) to TP and even funnier.

[Flopsy]

I liked Interesting Times but agree with the others

[duff]

i just finished to read 1984 by orwell. great book. has anyone read american psycho? even better. looking forward to reading how to be good by hornby.

[bellamy11]

Just read Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber". Short fairytale stories with a more feminist viewpoint. Very stylish and each one is a good way of killing half an hour.

[RoyRover]

I'm reading Sea Biscuit at the moment and it is very good. Other books that I've read recently which are worth a look are Bleachers and The King Of Torts both by John Grisham.

[Drummer Boy]

The "Da Vinci Code" is pretty compulsive reading - as if you haven't read it already!!

I've just started "Homage to Catalonia" by Orwell - one of his I never got round to - and am enjoying that as well

I'm also looking forward to Bobby Robson's book - if the Newcastle board fail to gag him, maybe we'll find out who really decided to buy some of the players he ended up with!!

[Rovermatt]

I'm reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. Great story, crap writing...really crap. His penchant for naff cliffhangers or one-liners at the end of every chapter (resolved at the start of the next chapter-which often starts on the same page) is matched only by his laboured creation of false atmosphere and tension. The Da Vinci Code suffers from the same problem. In spite of this, as entertainment goes, these books are great.

Edited June 1, 2005 by Rovermatt

[FourLaneBlue]

The original thread is now on the Messageboard Gold Forum here. Which is probably a good thing as it had been going for over two years and was a bit bloated.

I'm currently reading the new Flashman novel, Flashman on the March by George Macdonald Fraser, a series of books I never tire of boring people by praising.

Other than that I finished A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson which was a surprisingly easy and interesting read seeing as most books about Science see me departing iun frustrated boredom after a couple of chapters.

On another note - does this site still have a deal with the amazon UK website? Maybe links can be posted to recommended books on that site so this site will get a little portion if anyone decides to buy. Never mind if it's not possible or doesn't work like that, just a throwaway idea for a little bit of extra cash for the site.

[Glenn]

Not only is it possible, it's been suggested by us a few time. Give me two secs and I'll remember how to build suitable links.

Whilst I remember how to link direct to items (which give us a great perentage), for general browsing of amazon, if you clikc the link below we get a cut of ANYTHING you buy.

Amazon UK

For those wanting to cut and paste it, it's

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=brfcsupportin-21

Edited June 2, 2005 by Glenn

[Glenn]

Not only is it possible, it's been suggested by us a few time. Give me two secs and I'll remember how to build suitable links.

Thanks to Kandevil for jogging my memory.

To link a specific item, it's a bit complicated, but here goes. Firstly you need to find it's ASIN number. This can be found in the address bar when you look at an item on amazon. For exmaple if you take a look at A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson the address is

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0552997048/ref=pd_cpt_w_h__1/202-2274719-4703020

The ASIN number is the 10 digit number directly after /ASIN/, so in this case 0552997048.

Next take the following address

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/**********/brfcsupportin-21

and replace ********** with the ASIN number.

e.g.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0552997048/brfcsupportin-21

This then becomes your link. For those that already know how to use them on here, you're on your way. For those that don't carry on.

Click the button marked http:// above where you normally type when you post. this will first ask for "the complete url for the hyperlink". This is the link above. It will then ask for "the title of the web page" which is whatever you want the link to say (in this case "A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson").

I hope that makes sense.

[American]

i just finished to read 1984 by orwell. great book. has anyone read american psycho? even better. looking forward to reading how to be good by hornby.

320225[/snapback]

Nick Hornby was speaking at a bookstore near our place tonight. While I was in the ice cream parlor and my wife was standing outside wating with the dog, he walked past. (She could tell it was him, as he was wearing a suit and it is 88 degrees F today!) She said, "Loved Fever Pitch, hate Arsenal!" So he stopped to say hi and asked what the dog's name was, to which she answered "Beckham." He rolled his eyes and went along his way.

(Yes, we named our dog Beckham, but it was after he went to Madrid! We wanted a unique name for a dog (at least around here) and it is actually a pretty cool name for a dog.)

[colin]

Spent a day off work and read Ben Elton's "Blast from The Past."

Cunningly constructed and it all comes together at the end.

Not exactly a classic , but a good read.

[Debs]

We went to Barcelona a month of so ago and I read For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemmingway about the Spanish Civil War. I'd never read it before and really enjoyed it.

While on holiday in America over the last couple of weeks I read Zorro (a novel) by Isabelle Allende. It's about the childhood and early adult years of the man who became Zorro and seeks to explain why he became the man of the legend. I also read the Old Patagonian express by Louis Throux's dad Paul. It's a travel book written in 1978 in which Paul Theroux gets on a commuter train in Boston and travels all the way to Patogonia in Southern Argentina by train.

I'm currently reading Rip it Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds. It is a fantastic book about post punk music between 1977 and 1984. I was a teenager through the early eighties so it's brining back some great memories of musical influences. I'd forgotten all about Pere Ubu!

Edited June 11, 2005 by Debs

[colin]

I'd forgotten all about Pere Ubu!

Good Lord, Pere Ubu. Now that was a band to be challenged by. Trying to hum along to "Non Alignment Pact" was one hell of a job.

[eddiecolne]

Anything byTom Sharpe is a good holiday read. Went on honeymoon twenty odd years ago, and the new wife had got me a copy of the latest Sharpe. She later regretted it when I started drawing attention by laughing my b**ll*CKS Off while lying on the beach. Just read his latest "Wilt in Nowhere", he's still got it.

[colin]

I'll just like to ressurect this thread to mention:

Colin Bateman's "Empire State." Harper Collins ISBN 0-00-649802-7

I'm on page 324 of 510.

It's funny, political, sarcastic/satirical. There are three disparate stories all heading together to some kind of big ending (which I obviously haven't got to yet)

Despite being set in New York & the eastern seaboard of the USA one of the characters is a drag artist called Alexis Mascara. Who comes from Blackburn.

I kid you not.

He's a good guy and has brought the heroine to a couple of screaming orgasms already.

"Only two?" I hear you say..............

[FourLaneBlue]

I'm reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. Great story, crap writing...really crap. His penchant for naff cliffhangers or one-liners at the end of every chapter (resolved at the start of the next chapter-which often starts on the same page) is matched only by his laboured creation of false atmosphere and tension. The Da Vinci Code suffers from the same problem. In spite of this, as entertainment goes, these books are great.

320330[/snapback]

Recently read it and found it very enjoyable although the cliffhangers are so contrived as to be at times ridiculous. Some daft plot lines as well but overall a compulsive read.

'Bloody Foreigners' by Robert Winder is a history of immigration into the UK and despite the title it isn't some of kind of Daily Mail rant but actually is sympathetic to the plight of the many of the refugees to this country. It's interesting to know just how much of what we take to be quintessentially British things were actually created by immigrants to this country through the centuries.

[blue phil]

'Bloody Foreigners' by Robert Winder is a history of immigration into the UK and despite the title it isn't some of kind of Daily Mail rant but actually is sympathetic to the plight of the many of the refugees to this country. .

342749[/snapback]

I'll give it a miss then....

[Radagast]

I read Timothy Zahn's 'Thrawn Trilogy' of Star Wars books recently, which were really nice until the underwhelming ending. All that stuff with the Noghri got pretty dull too. Then I read Kevin J Anderson's Jedi Search and wished I hadn't...that's knocked me away from that type of thing for a while. Currently re-reading Waylander as a filler until something grabs my attention.

[pg]

As a sci-fi geek, I've started dabbling in Ian Bainks lately...quite impressed too.

[tmap]

Currently reading "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton.

Not read his stuff before. Lots of slightly lazy dialogue to keep the story ticking along, and slightly 2-D characters, but it's exciting and enjoyable stuff and he's clearly done a huge amount of research and is, if anything, a little bit too heavy-handed with his central thesis that, basically, global warming is, as Cartman might say, a load of tree-hugging hippy crap.

I thought Bill Bryson's take on global warming in his Short History was pretty good too.

[RoyRover]

I read the Da Vinci Code while on holiday. It's a very good book, with a great story. The only problem is that it is poorly written and total nonsense, in terms of it being factual.