Just finished a cheap thriller (book that is) and although it was riotus and kept me turning the page I’ve been left unfulfilled. So literary types/Richard and Judy book club members tell me about your fave… finish the last page sit back, eyes closed and think….

“yeah man, that was a mighty good thing to get in my head”

types books

Only cheery inspirational stuff please, not a Daily Mail fan

hit me!

MC

1984

Brideshead Revisited.

In fact, I must re-read it.

The Strange Death Of David Kelly…

VC Heroes by Michael Ashcroft

Catch 22

Heart of Darkness (plus it’s short)

Anything by Adam Hall.

Little Black Sambo

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17824

I can remember it in my Primary Schools Library, I can remember reading it, I can remember never having seen a coloured or ethnic person and I can remember some of the other saying they didn’t like it. I loved it.

Life of Pi

Just finished slaughterhouse five – kurt vonnegut

would reccomend it

all the lord of the rings books.
loved em all, so started them again and read them back to back.

I read the entire published works of Kurt Vonnegut when I was living in Finland, I particularly like Bluebeard (which I have a copy of), the trouble is they all tend to blur into each other and you end up with this weird Kilgore Trout shapeshifting universe in your head! 😆

Tibour Fischer – The Thought Gang is laugh out loud funny, I think I may reread that actually!

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. A simple, feel good story with some fantastic characters and great insights into the human condition. I’ve re-read it at least 4 times now and always experience that wide eyed wonder you get when you know you’ve learnt something special. Has a sequel as well, Sweet Thursday, which is equally inspiring.

Mind you, I am a huge Steinbeck fan, slowly working my way through all of his books. My favourite is East of Eden, but that has a fair amount of unhappy material so doesn’t really fit your criteria. I would urge anyone to read it though, amazing book.

I’m with you on Of Mice & Men, awesome book!

of mice and men is good too.
was that john steinbeck.

Which is the Vonnegut book with the artist doing a massive mural in it, is that Slaughterhouse 5? Got that here, guess I could re-read it and find out 😉

The Old Man and the Sea.

Short, sweet and the best book I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot – I did English lit at uni).

Any of the Jack Reacher books by Lee child.

I found Of Mice And Men one of his least satisfying books to be honest. Struggled to feel empathy with most of the characters for some reason. I’ll give it another go I think. Not sure why this and Grapes of Wrath are chosen as study material in schools, as they are his most depressing books (albeit great stylistically, especially GoW). I’d have taught Tortilla Flat, which is a riot. Admittedly, the subject matter of drunkenness, womanising and petty theft might not go down well with the authorities 🙂

the bible……….

may god be with you.

“The Wrath of Grapes” has probably been the biggest influence in my life! 🙄

changed my life

pretty strong!
no fictional book has changed my life, doubt one ever will

Cyclecraft by john franklin, is definitely a book that will open your eyes! this is the bible for anyone who rides on the road,

sorry not a “story book” but it’s inspirational stuff
http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/

The Biggest effect? Necessary Illusions by Noam Chomsky completely changed my world view when I first read it, I still dip into it occasionally now. The other was a copy of The Ascent of Everest I found in a second hand book shop, by John Hunt himself. Amazing what they did without the technological backup we all seem to take for granted nowadays. Extraordinary.

Ranaulph Fiennes – The Feather Men. I challenge you to not be amazed/confused/scared/intruiged as whether it is fact or fiction.

One of the best books I’ve ever read.

Auto Da Fe

Elias Canetti. If you can find a copy .

One of the most compelling things I’ve ever read.

In Auto-da-Fé no one is spared. Professor and furniture salesman, doctor, housekeeper, and thief all get it in the neck. The remorseless quality of the comedy builds one of the most terrifying literary worlds of the century.”–Salman Rushdie

Just finished…The God of Small Things…yeh I know…10 years since its release…….stunning!

another vote for The Old Man and the Sea and/or Islands in the Stream – Hemingway’s fiction is fantastic

as to a book that has changed my life

Herman Buhl’s Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage

nothing is impossible

Anything by Richard Brautigan.

“Who Moved my Cheese” – Spencer Johnson

Second vote for “Who moved my cheese”

The bomb maker by Stephen Leather was a very good read
£2 in Asda at the moment.

Vulcan 607 is tops

The ragged trousered philathropists by Robert Tressell. It had a huge and lasting impact on me. I re-read it occasionally

“Keep the Aspidistra flying” George Orwell

“A day in the life of Ivan Denisovitch” Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
“Post office” Charles Bukowski.

War & Peace. 😀

Its been out a few years but I remember “The strange case of the dog in the night time” being particularly enjoyeable.

Vurt – Jeff Noon

Crow Road – Ian Banks

Or

On the Road – Jack Kerouac

You lot have read some good books! I love Cannery Row, Catch 22, Keep the aspidistra flying, and recommend them all – they all make me laugh.
As something more up to date and lighter , how about some Tom Robbins? “Even cowgirls get the blues” and “Jitterbug perfume” are both awesome little books, well written and very funny. And what about Flann O’Brien’s “Third policeman”?

“Systems thinking in the public sector” John Seddon.

More readable than it sounds, explains clearly why the last 10 years of “command and control” from central government has been such an expensive disaster.
Instinctively thought that spending twice as much on the NHS and getting a worse service wasn’t good, this book explains.