Books and reading thread

[SuperBacon]

Currently reading Pandoras Box by Peter Biskind, and although I'm only 50 odd pages in, it's absolutely fantastic.

I'm a big fan of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and Down and Dirty Pictures (his best IMO) and if you have an interest in the "modern golden age" of TV, youll like this. 

The start very much focuses on HBO and all the greats ( @WyattSheepMask a bit on Oz and how that really launched the whole era, you'll be pleased to know:) and at some point it'll get to the streamers and how that changed everything. 

Fantastic writer, and like his others, a book I'll definitely read more than once.

Edited March 28, 2025 by SuperBacon
Read a book a week me

[BomberPat]

Oh, I don't know that one, I might have to pick it up! Easy Riders... is absolutely fantastic; I watched the documentary adapted from it in an AS Film Studies class on the decline of the old studio system, and rushed out and bought it immediately, it's one of very few non-fiction books I have re-read more than once.

My partner has Down and Dirty Pictures by Biskind, which I haven't got around to yet, but probably should. 

 

I'm currently reading Unruly by David Mitchell - the comedian, not the author, though confusingly, I suppose he is now also an author. I picked it up on a whim in Sainsburys ages ago, with one eye on it maybe being a Christmas present for someone, or a lazy holiday read, something like that, and more or less forgot about it. But then a friend of mine who is normally very critical of any but the most academic and well-sourced history books asked if I'd read it, and said that he'd loved it, and a couple of other people recommended it to me, so I figured I'd give it a go, and I'm really enjoying it. It strikes the balance between being informative and genuinely funny really well, and makes the topic interesting to me, which is saying something, as I generally couldn't give a toss about kings, queens, and battles. 

I'm currently casting my eye over my To-Read pile, and it's about as daunting as it's ever been - a massive biography of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, three Peter Ackroyds, a couple of hefty fantasy novels, at least five books on the Cambridge spies, a book about Gilbert & George, two bullshit Jack The Ripper books, Ian Kershaw, John le Carré, Yukio Mishima, a history of the American west, a biography of a Canadian conservationist, a bunch of pulp sci-fi paperbacks, an autobiography of a wrestler I've never heard of. Even assuming I don't buy another book for months (extremely unlikely), it'll be years before I'm up to date on this lot. And that's not including the textbooks and style guides and whatnot that I've bought to aid with my own writing.

[Chris B]

2 minutes ago, BomberPat said:

two bullshit Jack The Ripper books, 

Which ones?

[WyattSheepMask]

Cheers for the heads up on that @SuperBacon

[BomberPat]

10 minutes ago, Chris B said:

Which ones?

the "Diary of Jack The Ripper", and "The Ripper Code", which suggests that A Picture Of Dorian Gray is a coded message about the Ripper's identity.

[Chris B]

I've just finished The Power Broker by Robert Caro, which is a big bastard of a book at well over 1,000 pages. I got it as a paperback, but ended up switching to audiobook. It's a book about Robert Moses, who was the parks and highways commissioner in New York from the 30s to the 60s. That may not sound like a major story, but he ended up creating a role with so much power that mayors, governors and even presidents were unable to shift him. 

It does drag at times, but it's worth it. It spends a lot of time explaining Moses's background and his ability to create positions of power where none existed before, which is all stage-setting for something that becomes kind of thrilling to read.

The story shows how he became primarily in charge of who got money and how for infrastructural building projects in New York, and the problems that are caused by something like this being led by one racist and classist person - meaning services were improved in some areas while actively made worse in others by design.

There's some jaw-dropping stuff in this, and by all accounts it absolutely ruined his reputation when it came out. Been meaning to read it forever, and by the end, I couldn't get enough. By the time it gets to his downfall, it's downright cinematic. Brilliant stuff.

[Lorne Malvo]

Good timing with this thread being revived. A few hours ago, because I absolutely love a list and a big project (and also because I've got huge gaps in my reading), I decided I would read every book in the BBCs Big Read list back from 2003.

Then I saw the publics number 1 book was Lord Of The Rings and theres four Harry Potter books in the top 20.

I'll give it a miss.

[Jazzy G]

I've been making my way through Wild Card, which is a book about familiarising one's self with Tarot cards. It's not about magical powers and such, but just how to read and interpret the images on the cards. It's got a dry sense of humour, but is a pretty easy read. I got the Kindle edition for about £3.

I'm interested in tarot as a counselling tool, as it can help somebody to explore their feelings about things, which can prompt a discussion. There's quite a connection, with Carl Jung having compared the major arcana to human archetypes. 

The other stuff I've been reading/listening to has mostly just been counselling books for college. 

[SuperBacon]

42 minutes ago, Lorne Malvo said:

BBCs Big Read list back from 2003

Thought I'd have a look. https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

I've read 14, and that includes Winnie The Pooh. 

What a boring list.

[Carbomb]

Twenty-two. Not bad, but definitely could do better - I've been meaning to read a lot more "classical canon", so to speak.

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favourite books ever, and I recommend it to anyone.

[gmoney]

13. 

What a weird list. The Godfather book is an absolute piece of shit, I can't believe it's on anyone's must read list. 

[Carbomb]

I can't believe that many Harry Potter books are on it. Regardless of quality, and of the writer being a binfire of a person, there's no justification for more than one being on there.

[The Gaffer]

Hoping the resurgence of this thread will give me some inspiration, because I've been in an awful reading slump lately. Just one of those really brutal ones where you genre hop with best of intentions and wind up having 4-5 unfinished books in a row. The last genuinely brilliant thing I read was White Teeth by Zadie Smith over summer but even that felt a little too close to my wry, turn of the century contemporary fiction comfort zone. 

I gave Earthsea a bash afterwards but - as lauded as it is - the sort of stoic, parable-recounting way it's told wasn't to my liking. Lost interest too in my "This many reviews on the inside cover can't be wrong!" pick of Demon Copperhead. 

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson was good for a bit but once I got a taste of the pace and setting the actual plot didn't keep me gripped which is something that happens me a lot when the coolness of even a world I'm enjoying being in wears off. 

Then I got a Ciaphas Cain omnibus in the Wahammer shop after being told it's a good, funny entry point into the lore but it's all too much military dressing for me and - for a hobby that caters to some of the most adorably socially awkward people imaginable - the retail experience was a mental assault course of being asked - under company mandate - by the wholly not-up-to-the-task guy on the desk if I've ever painted a figure, would I like to try now, that's okay we can do it in the future, and sorry we only sell tote bags so you'll have to carry this token of your literary burnout shame back up the hill in plain view of passers by. 

I have - however - just picked up Pots of Gold: A History of Snooker by Dave Hendon, which is meant to be brilliant. 

We're so fucking back, I believe they say. 

 

Edited November 18, 2025 by The Gaffer

[SaitoRyo]

I am almost finished with Larry Brown's Fay, which has been very good. I need to read more of his stuff, as I really liked Big Bad Love, too. I've had a pretty decent year as far as reading goes and would guess that I've gone through about fifteen to twenty books, maybe more. 

One of the things I read relatively recently which I really enjoyed was The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: The Robin Friday Story. I'm sure plenty on here have read it already, but it's a great book about a proper cult footballer. 

Not sure what I'll read next, but I am looking forward to being back over in the UK for Christmas as it's a great chance to scour the markets and secondhands for books to bring back to the Czech Republic. 

[Jazzy G]

15 minutes ago, SaitoRyo said:

The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: The Robin Friday Story. I'm sure plenty on here have read it already, but it's a great book about a proper cult footballer. 

Even more cult than Chris Bart-Williams?