[Archived] Holiday Reading

[colin]

Back up to the top:

"43 Years With The Same Bird" by Brian Reade

"The Bird" being The Liver Bird.

He's a Liverpool supporter.

Don't let that put you off, nor the fact that he's a Daily Mirror writer.

I got it out of the library on spec, sort of expecting some "we're great we are" account. It isn't really, it's a good rampage through his 43 years of supporting Liverpool, pretty much as we support Blackburn (although, it has to be said, with a few more European Cups.)

I've read it and never once did I think "you're a cocky scouse t**t." You start reading it and, as football supporter you're with him all the way. You'd need a heart of stone not to suppress a lump in the the throat over his accounts of Heysel & Hillsbrough.

[Cheeky Sidders]

Just got back from my hols in that there India (absolutely mad place, but had a great time) and got through a couple of books along the way that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Q & A by Vikas Swarup - basic plot is humble waiter wins a billion rupees (about £12.5m) on a Who Wants To Be a Millionaire type quiz, but being a waiter the quiz producers don't believe he played fairly and they have him arrested as he obviously cheated. The book then details the amazing yarns that pepper his life that led to him knowing the answers. It's often laugh out loud funny, it's often very thought-provoking and simply bloody good fun. A very, easy read that is very cleverly constructed and has some excellent characters in it. This book was recommended to me by my friend who had encouraged me to read that bllody dire A Spot Of Bother so I was somewhat reluctant to give it a go, but I'm so glad I did.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I saw this in Smiths in town and was intrigued by the cover and bought it because it looked interesting. It then sat on my bookshelf for months before I chucked it into my suitcase at the last minute and what a bloody good decision that was as it's an excellent story. The Book Thief tells the enormously sad but also uplifting tale of Liesel, a ten year old girl growing up in southern Germany just as the war starts. Liesel is sent to live with foster parents and the book tells her remarkable story as she develops curious friendships with a wide array of characters, as well as nicking a few books along the way, hence the title. Oh, and the narrator of this hugely engaging tale is none other than Death himself. Sometimes funny, sometimes utterly heartbreaking but always interesting and highlights the basic decency and courage of ordinary people in the face of genuine evil. Very easy to read and has an old-fashioned storyteller feel about it. Simply beautiful.

I'm currently reading The steep approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks and while it's not his best, it's chugging a long nicely and I'm quite enjoying it and I've laughed out loud more than once. That said, it lacks the underlying sense of menace in most of his other books (that I've read) and it does feel a bit like a lightweight version of The Crow Road.

In recent months I read Screen Burn by Charlie Brooker - often very funny, sometimes downright irritating. Worth a read though and as it's a collection of articles from his newspaper column you can dip in and out of it. Finally, I also read Wicked beyond belief by Michael Bilton which tells of the bungled police hunt for Peter Sutcliffe. I normally stay well clear of the true crime genre but this was another rcommendation from a friend and while other books concentrate on the killers, this one is squarely told from the side of the police. It's often sympathetic to their predicament but it lands enough punches to stop it from being apologist about the mistakes that were made. If true crime is the thing you're into, I'd recommend it.

Edited November 16, 2008 by Cheeky Sidders

[Claytons Left Boot]

Just finished reading, 'He Who Fears The Wolf' by Karin Fossum, a Norwegian Author. Although I read the book in Norwegian I actually spotted the English version in Waterstones a few months back and have bought it along with 'Don't Look Back' for my mum for Christmas.

A crime thriller/murder mystery, I suppose a bit like a Scandinavian version of Inspector Morse. A horribly maimed body of an old lady is found up in the woods and a few local misfits are suspected. At the same time a bank robbery takes place in town and the robber takes one of the misfits as a hostage. Inspector Sejer and his side kick investigate....

This was the first of her books I have read and I'll now make my way through the other five or six. The presentation of her characters is excellent and I couldn't put the book down. Good reader reviews on Amazon.

[T4E]

Just back from a week away, during which time I read "Call After Midnight" by Tess Gerritsen and "The Amber Room" by Steve Berry.

Both are Dan Brown-esque Murder/Adventure Thrillers, which interesting lead characters and twisting, turning plots right to the very end. I would recommend both to anyone who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons.

Harvest, also by Tess Gerritsen, is very good too.

[Simon Says]

Just read Exit Music by Ian Rankin.

Excellent read by an author who always reaches high standards.

Recommended.

[colin]

Cheeky Sidders' date='Nov 16 2008, 20:49 ' post='692911']

Q & A by Vikas Swarup

On your recommendation I've just ordered "Q & A" from Manchester library service.

I'm currently reading The steep approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks and while it's not his best, it's chugging a long nicely and I'm quite enjoying it and I've laughed out loud more than once. That said, it lacks the underlying sense of menace in most of his other books (that I've read) and it does feel a bit like a lightweight version of The Crow Road.

"The Steep Approach to Garbadale" was read about a year ago. I enjoyed it. Got to agree that it doesn't have "that underlying sense of menace" that Banks can generate. But then again that chapter in "Dead Air" where the writer is hiding in the wardrobe of the house is like nothing else I've ever read for tension & menace.................

[Cheeky Sidders]

I haven't read Dead Air yet, but I'm dropping heavy hints as we approach Christmas. I've liked most of the Banks books I've read, but it would be hard to top The Crow Road which was the first of his that I read. D'oh! The only one I have really disliked was Song Of Stone which was just grim from beginning to end.

Q & A is great fun and I reckon you'll like it. It's a very easy read too and I got through it in three sessions. Don't be put off by the rather grim opening chapter.

[colin]

I haven't read Dead Air yet, but I'm dropping heavy hints as we approach Christmas.

Keep dropping them there fantastic hints.

It's his best.

[colin]

Q & A is great fun and I reckon you'll like it. It's a very easy read too and I got through it in three sessions. Don't be put off by the rather grim opening chapter.

Thanks for the recommendation CS. It's a really good read.

Danny Boyle has just made a film of it - "Slumdog Millionare."

Something completely different..........

"What happened When" by Tim Taylor. He's the series producer of TV's "The Time Team"

It's a romp through the history of Britain from the Palaeolithic to the present day. So, if like me, you struggle to place the Iron Age in relation to The Romans & the Bronze Age in relation to The Anglo Saxons then have a go at this.

It's surprising how many times this island has been visited and colonised by different people over the past few thousand years.

[FourLaneBlue]

It's surprising how many times this island has been visited and colonised by different people over the past few thousand years.

Come on Colin let´s keep immigration out of this can we? We don´t want this thread being closed down...

I have been reading a few books with little in common with each other.

Quarantine by Jim Crace is a book I am reading at the moment and is concerned with the 40 days of fasting by Jesus in the desert. Strange for me to be reading a book with Jesus as a character as I do not think I have ever read a novel before like this. It is very well written and won The Whitbread novel of the year and was nominated for the Booker prize. Recommended.

I am also reading Empire´s Workshop which deals with American imperialism in Latin America over the past couple of centuries. It is a bit of a leftist account but does not seem too biased so far. It is hard not to make out America to be a bit of a bad guy in some of its dealings with its neighbours to the south however you frame it however. Propping up corrupt dictators, overthrowing democratically elected governments as well as funding and supporting death squads which contributed to hundreds and thousands being killed...it is not the nicest of tales regarding what America has considered its ´backyard´. A very interesting account but also has hopes for a better future for relations between the US and its American neighbours.

Finally...an oldie but a goodie is The Comedians by one of my favourite writers, Graham Greene, although it does not really concern comedians as such but instead refer to people who always to some extent in each moment of their lives are putting on a show. Set in Haiti during the reign of Papa Doc it is intriguing and not a barrel of laughs but fascinating nonetheless.

Oh I also tried reading Watching The English by some woman whose name I cannot remember. Very dull however and I stopped after a couple of chapters. I expected a look at how the English are defined but instead it was a rather tedious anthropological look into the minutiae of our customs. In other words she tried watching the English as if she was analysing a newly found tribe. Pages and pages on whether someone says "how do you do?" or "alright?" and how saying "living room" shows you to be a different class to someone who says "sitting room". A good idea but bored the heck out of me.

Edited December 8, 2008 by FourLaneBlue

[Cheeky Sidders]

Quarantine by Jim Crace is a book I am reading at the moment and is concerned with the 40 days of fasting by Jesus in the desert. Strange for me to be reading a book with Jesus as a character as I do not think I have ever read a novel before like this. It is very well written and won The Whitbread novel of the year and was nominated for the Booker prize. Recommended.

I first read Quarantine about 10 years ago I'd guess (not long after it came out anyway) and again a few years ago. It's a great book and very different in terms of its story to anything else I've read. The whole idea of Jesus bringing a sick man back from the almost dead is an interesting start but when you add to that the man in question is an absolute monster it makes it even more interesting. Bloody do-gooders! It's a cracking read but the violence in it, although rare, is very graphic and might not be to everyone's taste.

[Paul]

I rarely have time to read as much as I would like so I've taken to loading talking books onto my iPod and listening on my journey to and from work.

Recently I've "read" Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat, the true story of Marina's experiences as prisoner in Avin (outside Tehran) at the time of the Islamic revolution. The book, perhaps slightly overlong, gives an excellent first hand account of her time in jail, how she is saved from execution by one of her interogators only to be forced to marry him and convert to Islam. Flashbacks to her childhood paint a picture of life in Iran under the Shahs and give some background as to the causes of the Islamic revolution. I know very little about the subject but thoroughly enjoyed the book and feel I learnt a little about Iran, the revoloution, it's people and country. Good stuff and I would imagine historically quite accurate.

Also listened to a short story by Nick Hornby, Not a Star about a mother who discovers her son in his mid-twenties has been making porn movies. Vaguely amusing but no belly laughs. Would take about an hour to read. I had expected better from Nick Hornby. Another short story The Highwaymen by Ken McClaren is set in Scotland after climate change has become reality and Britain finds itself at war - this is a great short story examing how wars begin. To say more would spoil it.................

Next up is On Beauty by Zadie Smith, Chronicles Volume 1 Bob Dylan and The Lemon Table by Julian Barnes, His Illegal Self by Nicolette McKenzie.

Our, small, local library has a good range of talking books it might be worth others with less time available having a look at this.

[American]

Not sure if this is available outside of the US, but there is an offer for 9 free eBooks. Even the software to read them is free. I'm assuming the only "catch" is them trying to get you to realise that eBooks are just as easy to read as regular books. They will ask for your credit card, but the books are free. (I haven't downloaded any yet, but read about this on cNet and there were many comments from people who had downloaded them and agreed that there was no scam.)

http://www.ereader.com/servlet/mw?t=free_r...house&si=59

[Tim Southampton Rover]

A lot of people might have seen this at the cinema but I've finished reading Danny Wallace's 'Yes Man!'. What a funny yet adventurous read it was. I'm not sure whether the movie is different from the book or not but hopefully a lot of people will now read the book after seeing the film. A few people have mentioned that it's similar to a book called 'The Dice man' or something so hopefully might purchase that book soon. Anyone else read them?

[Paul]

Not sure if this is available outside of the US, but there is an offer for 9 free eBooks. Even the software to read them is free. I'm assuming the only "catch" is them trying to get you to realise that eBooks are just as easy to read as regular books. They will ask for your credit card, but the books are free. (I haven't downloaded any yet, but read about this on cNet and there were many comments from people who had downloaded them and agreed that there was no scam.)

http://www.ereader.com/servlet/mw?t=free_r...house&si=59

The offer is a good one, I just downloaded 24 books for free. You'll need to give a credit card number but there is no charge. Download the reader software first as this gives you a target to save the books to. For some books you will need your credit card number as the unlock code to allow you to read them, others do not require the unlock code.

This wasn't what I expected, I assumed it was audio books, and it wasn't till I had downloaded all 24 and opened one I realised it was for reading onscreen! I have a mobile device which should support the software so that will be handy. Otherwise it will be nice to have a book handy for the occassions I'm stuck in a hotel with my laptop.

It's worth checking you have a device that will support the software. Lots of Nokia Smartphones will do and it appears most Symbian devices also. Obviously Windows works but not Linux.

Good link American

Edited December 31, 2008 by Paul

[Flopsy]

A lot of people might have seen this at the cinema but I've finished reading Danny Wallace's 'Yes Man!'. What a funny yet adventurous read it was. I'm not sure whether the movie is different from the book or not but hopefully a lot of people will now read the book after seeing the film. A few people have mentioned that it's similar to a book called 'The Dice man' or something so hopefully might purchase that book soon. Anyone else read them?

Dice Men is utterly rubbish

[Bazzanotsogreat]

This one might get a few posters flustered.

The Qur'an- translated by M.A.S Abdel Haleem (Oxford World Classics)

I have read several verses before but the book iteslf is an eclectic mix of pure myth and recorded history. With a larger emphasis on battle than what I first envisioned.

[Paul]

Not unlike the Bible then

[Billy Castell]

Hope Blue Phil and Gordon don't read this page. I've got two books on the go at the moment, The Modern history of Hong Kong by Steven Tseung and A history of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr. Both are interesting, and readable history books, and both are worth buying if thats your sort of thing.

[Flopsy]

If you're a sad history buff like myself you might like some of these alternative history novels.

The Forsight War - Anthony G Williams

A rather good concept well thought through. Even if the original conceit is rather ignored. I just ran with it and was well rewarded.

Fox on the Rhine - Niles and Dobson What would happen if Rommel had been less badly hurt by an air attack and the Bomb plot had succeded in killing Hitler.

With

Fox at the Front - Niles and Dobson

As the sequel running from the end of the battle of the bulge, to the end of the war.

The Battle for Japan - 1945

1945 - Robert Conway Which is about the end of the war against Japan if the coup after the atomic bombs had succeeded.

MacArthur's War - Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson A book about the Pacific war if Midway had gone Japan's way. Quite an unflatering view of Douglas MacArthur, which is probably very accurate.

[American]

Flopsy, along that vein, have you ever read Robert Harris' Fatherland? It is about Germany in the 60s had they won the war and uses some interesting documents that were from that time.

[Flopsy]

yes to fatherland, i was assuming most people had read it but enigma is a much better book i thought

[colin]

Birthday present off my sister.

John Peel "The Olivetti Chronicles"

It's a collection of his (generally) brief and pithy pieces for various newspapers, magazines & other publications - "Radio Times" to "The Observer" to "Sounds" over a period of 30 years.

Never less than interesting.

[whittle blue]

Enjoyed old fashioned sci-fi on last holiday.

The Time Machine - H G Wells

A Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

I am odd, however.

Edited January 4, 2009 by whittle blue

[3rdpillar]

Ive have just completed Paul O'grady's Autobiography.

There are lots in there for 40+ lancahire lads to regcognise.