Books and reading thread

[HarmonicGenerator]

9 minutes ago, FLips said:

Returned Bob Mortimer's The Hotel Avocado back to the library. I'll be honest, I managed roughly 20 pages of "they had an X like a Y" jokes and got sick of it. Turns out there is such thing as too much Bob Mortimer and I tapped out prematurely before I ruined him for myself.

Finished Suzanna Clarke's Piranesi earlier tonight and thought that was marvellous though. A complete puzzle of a book about a marble labyrinthian house with infinite rooms, filled with crashing waves and statues, and a young man who lives there unraveling a mystery about the house and it's (mostly) deceased residents. One of those things where you figure what you're reading is total nonsense until pieces click and suddenly it isn't. Completely engrossing, felt like a world within a book. The structure of the writing is unique too. Really liked this one.
Turns out it got critical acclaim and Laika, the studio behind Coraline, Box Trolls and Paranorman I think, are making a movie about it.

I've still got Sol Yurick's The Warriors on order, and my ordered copy of The Count of Monte Cristo has arrived for me to pick up this weekend. Other than that I have Simon Scarrow's Praetorian, Kaliane Bradley's The Ministry of Time, Stuart Turton's The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Veronika Dapunt's Death and Other Occupational Hazards out on loan. Praetorian and Seven Deaths were both recommendations from my wife and my mate's wife respectively, or in the case of the former she picked it up and handed it to me because she knows I enjoyed Glorious Exploits and that was set in Ancient Greece too. I was too polite to say no to her. Hopefully it's good.

My plan is to read at least two of the above this week as I've started to let them pile up.

 

Glad you liked Piranesi, I devoured that book in a single setting and loved it. There was a Fantasy exhibition at the British Library a couple of years ago, and the original manuscript of it was on display, along with a hand-drawn map of the house Clarke used when writing it.

Seven Deaths is great fun, I think you’ll like this one. Stuart Turton’s others might also be up your street if you do like it. Ministry of Time didn’t quite live up to the hype for me but is still an enjoyable read. 

[Lorne Malvo]

10 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

And this is how it goes. Just a never ending pile that I add and add to like an idiot.

Amen. 

I've got a massive bookshelf and a wardrobe full of probably 400-500 books that I've not read yet, but this doesn't stop me buying 2 or 3 everytime I go into town. Ridiculous hobby.

[HarmonicGenerator]

Just now, Lorne Malvo said:

Amen. 

I've got a massive bookshelf and a wardrobe full of probably 400-500 books that I've not read yet, but this doesn't stop me buying 2 or 3 everytime I go into town. Ridiculous hobby.

I've been trying to be really strict with myself on book-buying this year. There's a book token that's been sitting unused on the bedside table since Christmas because I have to make a dent in all the unread ones on the shelves. 

Obviously I bought a book at the weekend anyway. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Vampire novel set in the American West in 1912? I'm not made of stone, I had to break the rule for that! 

[LaGoosh]

2 hours ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

Obviously I bought a book at the weekend anyway. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Vampire novel set in the American West in 1912? I'm not made of stone, I had to break the rule for that! 

Great book, that. Read it at the start of the year.

[Just Some Guy]

Have to echo the love for Piranesi (and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell).

I've just pre-ordered the next official James Novel which has been authored by Charlie Higson.. I really enjoyed his bond novella, On His Majesty's Secret Service, so am looking forward to it.

I also have Jasper Fforde's final Thursday Next novel, Dark Reading Matter on pre-order. Are there any other Fforde fans on here? I totally understand anyone finding him overly whimsical or pretentious, but I'm a huge fan. Particularly the Shades of Grey books.

In the meantime I'm finishing off A A Dhand's Harry Virdee books and then it's either George Smiley or back to classic Lord Peter Wimsey.

[DCW]

On 4/22/2026 at 10:17 PM, FLips said:

Returned Bob Mortimer's The Hotel Avocado back to the library. I'll be honest, I managed roughly 20 pages of "they had an X like a Y" jokes and got sick of it. Turns out there is such thing as too much Bob Mortimer and I tapped out prematurely before I ruined him for myself.

Finished Suzanna Clarke's Piranesi earlier tonight and thought that was marvellous though. A complete puzzle of a book about a marble labyrinthian house with infinite rooms, filled with crashing waves and statues, and a young man who lives there unraveling a mystery about the house and it's (mostly) deceased residents. One of those things where you figure what you're reading is total nonsense until pieces click and suddenly it isn't. Completely engrossing, felt like a world within a book. The structure of the writing is unique too. Really liked this one.
Turns out it got critical acclaim and Laika, the studio behind Coraline, Box Trolls and Paranorman I think, are making a movie about it.

I've still got Sol Yurick's The Warriors on order, and my ordered copy of The Count of Monte Cristo has arrived for me to pick up this weekend. Other than that I have Simon Scarrow's Praetorian, Kaliane Bradley's The Ministry of Time, Stuart Turton's The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Veronika Dapunt's Death and Other Occupational Hazards out on loan. Praetorian and Seven Deaths were both recommendations from my wife and my mate's wife respectively, or in the case of the former she picked it up and handed it to me because she knows I enjoyed Glorious Exploits and that was set in Ancient Greece too. I was too polite to say no to her. Hopefully it's good.

My plan is to read at least two of the above this week as I've started to let them pile up.

 

I sacked off Mortimer's book too. His autobiography was hilarious, but there's obviously a limit to his talents, sadly!

I finished Patrick Raden Keefe's latest 'London Calling ' this week and thought it was grand. I'd soured a bit on him and couldn't understand the unanimous praise 'Say Nothing ' received. I didn't think much of the TV adaptation either. 

[Frankie Crisp]

The Umbrella Man and Other Stories

I can’t recommend this enough. I’m only about 80 pages in but it’s utterly captivating. Even if it fell off a cliff after this - which it clearly won’t - it’d get a top rating.

I’m not even that into the whole JFK thing, but the author is a mate of a mate so I’ve given it a go. 

The amount of research and passion that’s gone into it is next level. I can see me staying up late to finish it. 

[SuperBacon]

That sounds right up my street @Frankie Crisp I'll buy it and read it in the next 3/5 years. Cheers.

[Frankie Crisp]

12 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

That sounds right up my street @Frankie Crisp I'll buy it and read it in the next 3/5 years. Cheers.

Read the first two chapters and you’ll do it in 3/5 days (excluding ciggie breaks).

[Tamura]

Just finished Dangerous To Know by Chapman Pincher, and wish I hadn't as it's put me right off his espionage related non-fiction which I've always enjoyed. This is his memoirs, and while the stuff about his professional career is more down my street there's a rather unfortunate chapter about Enoch Powell which the publisher should have had the sense not to include. Even ignoring the probably incorrect assumption about the older generations being a bit more racist, it's somewhat jarring to read anyone claiming Enoch Powell was right about multiculturalism in 2014. 

[SuperBacon]

The Guardian have published a Top 100 Novels ever thing, and while these things are always a bit silly, I quite enjoy skimming them.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2026/may/12/the-100-best-novels-of-all-time

I've read 3, but I have read High Fidelity 30 times so I know who's winning.

Actually it's 2, I thought The Road was On The Road, so just Catch 22 and 1984 for me.

[Nexus]

I've read Gatsby, 1984, Frankenstein, Handmaid's Tale, Heart of Darkness (so much racism) and Catch-22. 

[Chico Torres]

I’ve read 74 of those by my count.

[Jazzy G]

While I watch Red Dwarf on the iPlayer for the goodness knows how manyeth time I've been reading Last Human by Doug Naylor. It's his third Red Dwarf novel after he split with Rob Grant, who wrote Backwards . They both pick up after the events of Better Than Life, but go in very different directions. Each has little bits of nods to episodes from series 4, 5 and 6, but also go in very different narratives. Grant sticks a little closer to the show, but Naylor goes in a more sci-fi direction action direction, and they're probably good examples of why they ended up going their separate ways. It's fine, but the previous two were far superior. Craig Charles reads the audio version, but it's nowhere near as good as the previous two with Chris Barrie doing all the character voices. It's better than Rob Grant's audio of backwards, though. 

 

I've got Sin Bin Island ready to go as well. It's Naylor's most recent release, which has been reviewing very well. I'm also curious to see what Rob Grant's new Red Dwarf novel, Titan, will be like when that comes out soon. 

[Merzbow]

Any eReader types here tried the Xteink X4? My old Nook died and I really don't want to get another big corp locked down reader, these look pretty neat and while small the screen still seems very clear.