[Archived] Holiday Reading

[Flopsy]

And The Dark Knight if you've enjoyed the latest Batman movie is a rather good read..

Watchmen is an excellent story and the predjudice against Graphic Novels shouldnt take away from what is an excellent story.

[blue phil]

Graphic novels !?

I think you mean comics , Flopsy . It confirms some of my suspicions .......

[Flopsy]

and you've just continue to confirm some of my mine you close minded bigot.

[blue phil]

A bit touchy , Flops .....

....and you might need to take a look at your board guidelines . Thicko comic reader

[Flopsy]

bit touchy not particularly, I meant to stick a at the end of it, but I was so aghast at the football that I forgot. And be carefull about calling people thick, they might ask about educational achievements. Still there's nothing wrong with Peter and Jane books and I'll fight anyone who tells you otherwise

And unlike you, I'm quite happy to try all types of books, if they're good I'm happy to admit it and if they're rubbish I'll tell you about it too. Just because its a genre doesnt mean that its awful or good.

Although anything by Kate Moss (Labyrinth author not the columbian marching powder [alledgedly] one) is just an extreamly large pile of dung that wouldnt be fit to be used as bedding for incontinent rabbits.

You wont like his books, but anything by Dan Abnett is well worth the read, an excellent writer

Edited August 20, 2008 by Flopsy

[ackroyd75]

Just read "The Gone Away World" by Nick Harkaway. Mainly set in the future but also talks about how they got there, from a village to war with bombs that make people go away, with an awful side effect. Fantastic read. However if you are reading it on a sun lounger then do some weight training first! It is a heavy book.

[Rovers in America]

Not sure if they've been mentioned here before but I've bought a couple books over the last couple weeks after finishing up Fever Pitch. Bought How Soccer Explains the World which appears to be an interesting book detailing how the game has caused clashes and coming together between civilizations, how it's affected economies, and everything else.

I also got The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro which is a book about a small ragtag club in a town of 5500 people in the mountainous region of Italy called Castel Di Sangro. Talks about their rise from Serie C2 in 1993 all the way to Serie B in 1996. They're currently below C2 again, but should be an interesting read and I've heard it talked up as a great book on a daily footy podcast I listen to while at work.

[Rovermatt]

I'm on holiday at the moment and thus had the opportunity to read The Road from start to finish in a couple of days. It's fantastic and thoroughly deserving of the endless praise. It is however very bleak.

[Hannah]

Read 'The Kite Runner' and also read 'No time for goodbye' which has since been named Richard and Judy's Summer read - loved both of them and couldnt put them down!

I did watch The Kite Runner film yesterday and was disappointed about the chunks that had been left out and didn't feel they captured the relationships and feelings as it does in the book.

I'm trying to find a book for my class that I vaguely remember having it read to us at school about the adventures of this little man who lives in a fridge. Can anyone shed any light on the title or author of this book?

[DingleBaiter]

Not sure if they've been mentioned here before but I've bought a couple books over the last couple weeks after finishing up Fever Pitch. Bought How Soccer Explains the World which appears to be an interesting book detailing how the game has caused clashes and coming together between civilizations, how it's affected economies, and everything else.

I also got The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro which is a book about a small ragtag club in a town of 5500 people in the mountainous region of Italy called Castel Di Sangro. Talks about their rise from Serie C2 in 1993 all the way to Serie B in 1996. They're currently below C2 again, but should be an interesting read and I've heard it talked up as a great book on a daily footy podcast I listen to while at work.

What a great book, especially the American writer angle - he really puts an interesting story across in a humourous tone and you could tell he'd really become integral to the whole 'miracle'. Very original book, a delight. Don't read many footy books but that one is so different it's well worth the time.

[DingleBaiter]

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.)

hey, Beckham's got a cute name for a dog too - Victoria.

[DingleBaiter]

Watchmen.

I dont know wehter most folks would read this due to it being a graphic novel(comic for big kids), But it's superb and a very new way of looking at "superhero's" and what drives a person to become one.

Also best to read it before the film comes out.

Watchmen - great shout, totally original book in an over-crowded genre.

I'd forgotten how much I loved comics as a kid, bought Watchmen & Preacher a while back, and it's worst thing could have done. Already spend way too much in Borders & Amazon, now have to get a couple of these things when we go now. Future Shocks, Killing Joke, DC Universe etc. Saddo I know.

[Flopsy]

Amazon if you get back into them, as they're much cheaper.

[ABBEY]

and you've just continue to confirm some of my mine you close minded bigot.

are mods ok to break rule 4?

[sparkspakespoke]

Read a few good books when I was in france last months. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy was excellent. Also read The Bedroom Screts of a Master Chef and Filth both by Irvine Welsh, both dark, twisted and very adictive reads.

[Rovers in America]

What a great book, especially the American writer angle - he really puts an interesting story across in a humourous tone and you could tell he'd really become integral to the whole 'miracle'. Very original book, a delight. Don't read many footy books but that one is so different it's well worth the time.

Good to hear. I read the first 20 pages the other day where it starts talking about the Red Star Belgrade supporter clubs. Definitely seems to be a really interesting book. I'm hoping to really pile into it and get to reading this weekend on my plane and car trips over our holiday weekend here in America. I've enjoyed it thus far.

[DingleBaiter]

Always have way too many books 'on the go' to list them all here, but one of my current ones deserves special mention I think.

R.J. Ellory - "A Quiet Belief in Angels" is a pleasure, one of them books you don't want to read to fast but savour the story, the characterisation, the messages & atmosphere it puts across etc. Written in wonderful prose and a sensitive, haunting book - a delight.

Other good recent reads - "The Book Thief", "An Interpretation of Murder", "The Testament of Gideon Mack", "One Wrong Turn".

On the shelf next up "The Resurrectionist","The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "No Country for Old Men", "We Know".

Edited August 31, 2008 by DingleBaiter

[broadsword]

Just finished reading a biography of Percy Cerutty, "Why Die?"

Percy was an Australian athletics coach in the 'fifties and 'sixties. Very interesting bloke whose ideas on training have now found more widespread acceptance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Cerutty

As I say, an interesting bloke, you don't have to be a hardcore athletics fan to get something out of the book.

Next up, "Last King of Scotland"

[Paul]

On the shelf next up "The Resurrectionist",

This is a very good book, don't be put off by the opening pages which i found contained rather graphic descriptions, those applied right through the book in fact.

Recently I've read "The Tenderness of Wolves" by Stef Penney which has come in for criticism because the author did her research in libraries rather than visitng the Canadian wilderness where the story is based. Apparently the book also contains a number of historical inaccuracies which have an impact on its value - e.g one character gives another a fountain pen which was not invented till 1884 and the book is set in 1867 - good to see there are pedants around in every walk of life!! The plot line is narrated by Mrs Ross who has discovered the body of a local trapper, at the same time her adopted son and some money disappear. Various people and groups set out to track down the missing boy and potential murderer. A very good and descriptive read which rarely fails to give one a real sense of "being there".

Also read "The Abortionist's Daughter" by Elisabeth Hyde. The title tells it all, the novel is based around Megan daughter of Diana, an abortion doctor who is founded dead at her home. The ensuing murder investigation and "who dun it" is the basis of the novel. Megan is a pretty unpleasant brat and I rather hoped she had murdered her mother and would get her due punishment. Sadly the real killer is obvious at an early stage. None of the characters are convincing or in anyway sympathetic. One to be avoided.

I listened to John Grisham's "The Summons" which is a good thriller. I think the book went on for too long and I'm not sure if this is because it was an audio book (I had the same feeling about another audio book recently), or just the author needed a few 1000 extra words. Set in Virginia, our hero finds his father dead after having been summoned to the family home to discuss the old man's will. Shortly after finding his father he also finds £3m in cash in the house. The story centres around where did this money come from and what to do with it. You can't go far wrong with John Grisham and this is a good holiday read / page turner.

I don't know who wrote "Ladies of Letters Say No" but the audio read by Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales is a scream. I think you'll find it in most libraries. It's basically an exchange of e-mails by two ladies already past being "women of a certain age" and moved into the batty zone (sorry to our lady members!). It's a hoot and needs listening to very carefully to get all the humour.

Finally I started listening to "Vernon God Little" - DBC Pierre, read by Ewen Bremner. I know very little about this and was in a noisy taxi at the time. From the first two I gather these are pretty dark short stories which I need to listen to again.

Edited August 31, 2008 by Paul

[colin]

Just finished Michael Moore's "Dude Where's My Country"

It's a great rant against George Doubu.

And as you read through it you think "Good point, well made."

Then you think "Another good point well made."

Then: "Another good point well made."

Then it gets all depressing as you realise that we are living in a world dominated by a moron.

[American]

Not nice to say that about Michael Moore, no matter how true.

[blue phil]

Who is George Doubu ? Same tribe as Obama ?

[Billy Castell]

Michael Moore is too arrogant and loves his own voice a bit too much. A better book would be The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast. It is based more on documentsand proof and less on bombastic statements having a go at Bush. It is a few years old, but it is much better than Dude Where's my country.

[colin]

Who is George Doubu ? Same tribe as Obama ?

Read the book. the answer is probably yes.

[colin]

List Number 10

The round-up since July 30th. The washing machine is on & I'm listening to an old Blur LP

Recommended by Rebelmswar

Just finished "The War of Wars" by Robert Harvey

It is a great pacey narrative about the struggle between France and Britain from 1789-1815.

Lots of in depth facts about the people as well as the squabbles and wars.

If you have ever read the Sharpe series, Mr Cornwell rates this book very highly.

Recommended by Rovermatt

Taking on board Sidders's advice, I got stuck into Takashi Matsuoka's Cloud of Sparrows and found it to be excellent fun if a little cheesy. It's well constructed in parts (though the author clearly wrote it with a thesaurus to hand along with some sort of 'guide to writing like you know what you're talking about') but some of the forced creation of tension, ambience and coincidence is excruciating. Still, I enjoyed it enough to buy the sequel Autumn Bridge.

Recommended by Ackroyd75

Just read "The Gone Away World" by Nick Harkaway. Mainly set in the future but also talks about how they got there, from a village to war with bombs that make people go away, with an awful side effect. Fantastic read. However if you are reading it on a sun lounger then do some weight training first! It is a heavy book.

Recommended by Rovers In America

I also got The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro which is a book about a small ragtag club in a town of 5500 people in the mountainous region of Italy called Castel Di Sangro. Talks about their rise from Serie C2 in 1993 all the way to Serie B in 1996. They're currently below C2 again, but should be an interesting read and I've heard it talked up as a great book on a daily footy podcast I listen to while at work.

Recommended by Sparkspak spoke

Read a few good books when I was in France last month. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy was excellent. Also read The Bedroom Screts of a Master Chef and Filth both by Irvine Welsh, both dark, twisted and very adictive reads.

Recommended by Dinglebater

R.J. Ellory - "A Quiet Belief in Angels" is a pleasure, one of them books you don't want to read to fast but savour the story, the characterisation, the messages & atmosphere it puts across etc. Written in wonderful prose and a sensitive, haunting book - a delight.

Recommended by Bryan

Just finished reading a biography of Percy Cerutty, "Why Die?"

Percy was an Australian athletics coach in the 'fifties and 'sixties. Very interesting bloke whose ideas on training have now found more widespread acceptance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Cerutty

As I say, an interesting bloke, you don't have to be a hardcore athletics fan to get something out of the book.

Recommended by Paul

Recently I've read "The Tenderness of Wolves" by Stef Penney which has come in for criticism because the author did her research in libraries rather than visitng the Canadian wilderness where the story is based. Apparently the book also contains a number of historical inaccuracies which have an impact on its value - e.g one character gives another a fountain pen which was not invented till 1884 and the book is set in 1867 - good to see there are pedants around in every walk of life!! The plot line is narrated by Mrs Ross who has discovered the body of a local trapper, at the same time her adopted son and some money disappear. Various people and groups set out to track down the missing boy and potential murderer. A very good and descriptive read which rarely fails to give one a real sense of "being there".

&

I don't know who wrote "Ladies of Letters Say No" but the audio read by Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales is a scream. I think you'll find it in most libraries. It's basically an exchange of e-mails by two ladies already past being "women of a certain age" and moved into the batty zone (sorry to our lady members!). It's a hoot and needs listening to very carefully to get all the humour.

Keep them coming. I've read some cracking books recommended on here.