Paid Members ReturnOfTheMack Posted January 5, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 The Timewaster Letters are good toilet reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SiMania Posted February 14, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 14, 2011 I'm fairly predictable in what I read - crime thrillers. I read George Pelecanos, Ian Rankin, Lee Child, Barry Eisler, David Baldacci. 2 weeks ago I bought a kindle so there's less risk in buying something I wouldn't normally buy as getting hold of books is a lot easier and cheaper so I've decided that for every 2 or 3 crime thriller I buy I'll read a classic or a different genre I normally wouldn't read.  I've recently finished -  Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger  I never read this when I was at school, I wish I had though as I might have identified with it a bit better, it was interesting and well written but I was left a bit disappointed in the end as I had expected something a bit different but overall enjoyable.   Persuader by Lee Child  Reacher sees someone he thought was dead so goes after him undercover on a secret fed assignment. A few twists and turns, your usual Reacher story, it's a guilty pleasure.   Strip Jack by Ian Rankin  I like Rebus, he's a grumpy detective who likes a drink, doesn't particularly like doing his job by the book and ends up getting the results whatever gets in the way. This one was on ITV3 a few weeks ago, Ken Stott is a better Rebus than John Hannah.   The Enemy by Lee Child  Another Reacher thriller but set when he was a military policeman and his brother and mother were still alive, a decent twist on the series.   Drama City by George P Pelecanos  I'm about a quarter of the way through and not much has happened although it does feel like other Pelecanos stories, the characters become well developed and the story pans out through that, it's not that long so I'll be finished it this week.   After Drama City I'll probably read a genre I'd not normally read so open to suggestions, a workmate has recommended a Dan Abnett book, Eisenhorn I think is the name, it looks of a long read though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bettencourt Posted February 14, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 14, 2011 I'm currently reading this; Â Â On Fire With Fergie. It's taking much longer than expected. The guy isn't a very good story teller, I tell you that. Â Then it will be... Â Â Can't wait to read this, supposed to be a good book. Â Then after that to complete my trio of Dons related books; Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotlightmagnet1 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Reading Shades Of Grey by Jasper Fforde. I love his stuff and this hasn't disappointed thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SiMania Posted February 23, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 23, 2011 I finished Drama City a few days ago, I enjoyed it, perhaps not as much as his later stand alone novels though. He captures the surroundings of the story well and the characters are well defined, much like all his novels, the content is a bit dark at times which is good because of the themes of the story - drugs, alcoholism, gangs, animal abuse, family, rehabilitation. There's nothing particularly surprising having read some of his other work, a good book!  This week I've been reading  Don't read the PRINCE2 manual in 3 days unless you have to, your head might explode. I had to.   I'm trying to read boos I wouldn't normally read, I've started reading  Discworld 1 - the colour of magic by Terry Pratchett  It's a struggle for me, I like the characters, the concept of the discworld, the setting and the story so far has been ok, but I'm resisting the urge to read a book based on real things and real people. I went to read something else then decided I should give it another chance so I'm about a quarter of the way through it. There's nothing that's dragging me back to it so I should really give up on it and read something I'm sure I'd like. But I won't and I'm going to give it until half way through, if I feel the same I might chuck it.  Has anyone else felt the same way when exploring new genres or going out of their comfort zone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted February 24, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2011 Si - just remember that The Colour Of Magic is the first, establishing book in the Discworld series, and is therefore not the most solid of them. Once you've read that, and maybe the second (The Light Fantastic - it follows on from TCOM), go STRAIGHT to Mort, Pyramids, Small Gods, Guards! Guards!, Feet Of Clay or Lords And Ladies. Those are the funniest and best ones of the earlier Discworld series. Of the later ones, where Pratchett gets a lot darker and more cynical, Jingo, Carpe Jugulum, The Truth, Going Postal and Thud! are probably the best ones. The Thief Of Time is awesome too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted February 24, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2011 anyone ever visit Poundland for books? had a look in there the other day and picked up hardback copies of Vinne Jones Toughest Cops & the autopbiography of Murderball player Mark Zupan. Not bad for 2 bucks. Â anyone else visit Poundland? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SpursRiot2012 Posted February 24, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2011 I didn't really like the first two Discworld books but Carbomb is right, you read those two to get a grounding in the world and move on to the ones he mention.  I am currently reading:   Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires  Former New York Times crime reporter Raab sets a new gold standard for organized crime nonfiction with his outstanding history of the Mafia in New York City. Combining the diligent research and analysis of a historian with the savvy of a beat journalist who has extensive inside sources, the author succeeds at an ambitious task by rendering the byzantine history of New York's five families Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dopper Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) Â Just finished this. Â 'Spaced' is my favourite TV programme ever, and I loved Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Big Train, and pretty much everything the man has been involved in. So I was really looking forward to this, but as he skimmed over his entire TV and film career in under 50 pages I found the whole thing very disappointing. Â At the risk of sounding stupid, there were words on every other page that I have either never heard before or have no idea what they mean. So some bits went over my head there, and the fact that 250+ pages were of his school life I was really underwhelmed by him glossing over his mainstream TV/movie career so quickly at the end. Â He explained his reasons for glossing over it so quickly, but by then I already found the book to be a letdown. Â I'm currently reading Nerd Do Well (Simon Pegg's book) Â What did you reckon? Edited February 24, 2011 by dopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reverend Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 anyone ever visit Poundland for books? had a look in there the other day and picked up hardback copies of Vinne Jones Toughest Cops & the autopbiography of Murderball player Mark Zupan. Not bad for 2 bucks. anyone else visit Poundland?  Funnily enough I popped into the big new Poundland in Ipswich the other day (used to be the old Woolworths) as I'd heard the chain sometimes has wrestling videos / books for sale and was quite surprised at the books they had in there. I got a book about the history of the Bond movies, Where in the world is Bin Laden (by the guy who did Supersize Me) and Oscar De La Hoya's book. Not too bad for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nexus Posted February 24, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2011 I'm currently reading Catcher in the Rye, having just finished Farenheit 521 and The Bell Jar. Â Enjoying it thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members seph Posted February 24, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited)  Just finished this.  'Spaced' is my favourite TV programme ever, and I loved Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Big Train, and pretty much everything the man has been involved in. So I was really looking forward to this, but as he skimmed over his entire TV and film career in under 50 pages I found the whole thing very disappointing.  At the risk of sounding stupid, there were words on every other page that I have either never heard before or have no idea what they mean. So some bits went over my head there, and the fact that 250+ pages were of his school life I was really underwhelmed by him glossing over his mainstream TV/movie career so quickly at the end.  He explained his reasons for glossing over it so quickly, but by then I already found the book to be a letdown.  I'm currently reading Nerd Do Well (Simon Pegg's book)  What did you reckon?  I've only read the first few pages and haven't touched it since Christmas  What I have been reading, with more fervour, is some more James Ellroy - The Cold Six Thousand, lent to me by a workmate. Having read three of his L.A. Quartet books I was surprised to see how similar the themes may be to start, but take different directions to what I was expecting. The book starts immediately after the JFK assassination and spans five years of mob life, drug wars, vengeance, extortion, the usual goodies - compared to the above series, however, the tone is much more racially charged and there's a lot more (quasi-)fictional interplay between the characters and historical activist/government/underworld figures of the time. That's all I can say without spoiling it, but I'd definitely recommend it. All I need to do is buy my own copy Edited February 24, 2011 by sephjnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Nexus Posted February 24, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2011 I really enjoyed Nerd Do Well. I've a massive mancrush on him though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dopper Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I really enjoyed Nerd Do Well. I've a massive mancrush on him though.  As do I. That's why the fact that I didn't enjoy the book very much was so disappointing.  At the risk of sounding stupid, there were words on every other page that I have either never heard before or have no idea what they mean. So some bits went over my head there  I just had another flick through for an example of this.  All of these are from page 128 alone, discussing the American film industry in the mid-seventies before Star Wars came along:  Having participated in a sixteen-year long war against an indomitable and tenacious guerrilla force ...  No longer buoyed by the cocksure self-confidence engendered by the victories in Europe and the Pacific during World War II, it faltered in a malaise of self-doubt and moral confusion.  A growing surge of angry internal dissent inspired an equal and opposite display of entrenched, right wing, nationalistic rage and the country was gripped by a schism of insecurity and confusion. Notions of good and evil became muddied and unclear as faith in leadership dwindled to an all-time low ...  The public wallowed in a morass of guilty introspecion.  I'm an averagely well educated man, I got a B in my English GCSE, but most of that went right over my head. Autobiographies are my favourite things to read and you don't get language like that in wrestler autobiographies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SpursRiot2012 Posted February 24, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted February 24, 2011 Well, dopper, personally I understood every word of that but I have only my English Language skills to pride myself on and nothing else, so that's why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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