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Guest Refuse Matt M

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Guys, any recommendations for books that have NYC as a backdrop? Sort of like 'A Guide To Recognising Your Saints'?

 

I don't know what A Guide to Recognising your Saints is.. but Fury by Salman Rushdie is the first one that came to mind, as it has a picture of New York on the cover. (I have actually read and enjoyed it, btw.. not just seen it in the book shop or something).

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I don't know what A Guide to Recognising your Saints is..

It's the autobiography of the lead singer of Major Conflict and Gutterboy who are probably the most successful unsuccessful band ever as they got signed to a million dollar contract and only released one record.

 

I've not read the book but the film based upon it is fabulous. It's basically about growing up in Queens and doesn't really cover much about his bands, which is more what I was hoping for. Still, Robert Downey Jnr~!. In a similar vein, I imagine the book that Sleepers was based on (also called Sleepers, funnily enough) might be a good suggestion.

 

I never seem to be able to find the time to read anymore... I only seem to read when I travel but once I start a book I somehow manage to make the time to finish it but then I go back to watchin DVD's and playing Xbox. I recently finished The Straw Men, Michael Marshall( Smith)'s first foray into mainstream fiction and it starts off very well as a can't-put-down read. There's never really any doubt as to who the antagonist of the story is but the book often seems to be hinting that there should be so that's a bit of a shame. It ended on a bit of a flat note too but the book was good enough to entice me to buy the two sequels. Next up on my reading pile is Ring which I've not heard good things about but I quite want to read it anyway.

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Just finished the Andre The Giant autobiography, its not bad, but is far too much filler. My (fairly bad) review is up on wrestling101 here.

 

 

It's a good review mate and I mate check it out, but I prefer reviews that delve further into childhoods and backgrounds away from the trade that made them.

 

That type of detail gives you a better insight into what exactly made the man, rather than you having to assume things about his childhood that would fit around his adult personality.

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Finished Babylon's Burning last week.

 

I liked it but found it quite hard to get into, but I really enjoyed the chapters on John Lydon (Sex Pistols & PiL), The Clash & their struggle with contradiction and the ending which dealt with the death of Kurt Cobain. The writing became a bit irritating at times as Heylin insisted and grammatically correcting direct quotes from the stars that were a part of the Punk movement, and I just found a lot of it unnecessary.

 

Now currently reading.

 

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So far pretty funny. He is very Danny Wallace in the comedy, self-exploration style of story telling, just not as good. I read his last book "Hell bent for leather" as it was free as long as I reviewed it, and didn't really enjoy it. He came across as quite fond of himself, but in this he seems more down to Earth and the book is more humorous because of it. In this he decides to take up a lot of voluntary work as part of a mission to make himself a better and more fulfilled person.

 

 

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Guys, any recommendations for books that have NYC as a backdrop? Sort of like 'A Guide To Recognising Your Saints'?

 

There are tons of what are often referred to as 'modern classics' set in New York, if you're considering straight fiction as well. The Catcher in the Rye for a start. And then lots of beat novels were set there; 'Go' by John Clellon Holmes, 'Junky' and 'Queer' by William Burroughs. I count those four among my favourite books.

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Currently re-reading Candide by Voltaire - my French has deteriorated horribly, so I'm trying to get it back. I'd forgotten just how funny the writing is - it's very sarcastic, and parodies the thinking of certain philosophical schools of the time.

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Reading The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe right now. My first time reading all the Hitchhiker books. Fantastic stuff. Zaphod Beeblebrox is the man.

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Finished "How To Be A Better Person" and must say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

The last book I read by Seb Hunter was "Hell Bent for Leather" and I have to be honest and say, he didn't make a good first impression. With this, I didn't go into it expecting much, but I can safely say, this is a massive improvement on his last literary outing. Over the years that have passed between the release of his previous book and the release of this one, Hunter seems to have engaged into a fair bit of constructive self reflection. He has gotten rid of the things that made his last book and easily forgettable read, and has improved on what he could. What Hunter delivered is an immensely entertaining improvement and a story that I enjoyed reading from start to finish.

 

Over a 2 year period Sebastian Hunter decides to engage in a period of self exploration as he tries to make himself a better and happier person through the medium of volunteer work. He does a number of varying jobs including working in an Oxfam store, a community centre and as a custody inspector, amongst others. What he reveals is that Voluntary work isn't as easy to come by as you would first think and some places look harder upon you than if you were applying for a paid job. He meets some interesting people; some hate him and some get along with him swimmingly. Some just make his time in a particular voluntary position a nightmare, including the wonderfully amusing Gladys.

 

There are many positives in this book, but there are still a few things that let him down and I think it's down to his own insecurities as a writer. The publishers place Hunter in the same league as the likes of Bill Bryson and even to a more bizarre extent; Charlie Brooker. This comparison sets the bar ridiculously high, which instills an insecurity in this young writer who works extremely hard to live up to the comparison. This is sometimes successful and other times not so. A lot of the anecdotes are extremely funny and had me genuinely laughing out loud (which made my parents think I'm a bit bizarre), but this new idea of speaking as an acceptable writing style ruins the feel sometimes and it comes across like you're being told the stories by a 14 year old (a 14 year old with a good sense of humour I must add.

 

A lot of the characters described within the pages are very interesting and present some very comical stories, but aside from the comedy, there's a very strong moral message to take from this book. We should all give volunteering a go and because I do a bit of volunteering myself, I can relate to Hunter's expression of feeling genuinely fulfilled when you know you have really done something solely for the good of your fellow man with no intent of getting something in return. The overall syntax of the stories construction isn't something we haven't seen before and if I had to compare him to any author breed, I would place this alongside the works of Dave Gorman or Danny Wallace. It's fun, but by no means perfect and also succeeds in inspiring one to go out and sign up to volunteer at their nearest Oxfam store.

 

Judging by the obvious progression in his storytelling and writing techniques, I hope he keeps up the trend and presents an even more enjoyable follow up book. I know that I will be checking it out.

 

I'm now reading,

 

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Edited by Steveo2007
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