MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Well, there's this one book I've just read, and all. It's real good. I mean, it's not bad and all, if you're in the mood I mean. Especially the part with the pimp and the goddamn hooker in the hotel, and all. And old Phoebe on the carousel and all. That kills me. Some of it's not too gorgeous. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody...
I'm quite enjoying Alexander McCall Smiths offerings at the moment for their lighthearted and simple humanism..
LOL wut? and all.....
Edit: And I'm currently reading " with the old breed "
I think that's an episode of Friends that I've missed...
Catcher in the Rye?
I am currently reading 'We must talk about Kevin'. It is rather heavy.
Well it's an old book and it's probably only for Scifi fans but I've dug out Hubbard's 'Battlefield Earth' which really is very good indeed. It's so sad the film was astonishingly bad.
[i]child of god[/i]
by cormac mccarthy.
just your typical southern gothic, squirrel eatin', necrophiliac loner-stroke-serial killer kinda protagonist.
John Connolly. Spooky and violent, but absolutely [i]absolutely[/i] wonderful.
Don't Tell Mum I Work On the Rigs, She Thinks I'm Piano Player In A Whorehouse, especially the bit about the manager's wife with the large breasts being manhandled by the monkey which then cracks one off whilst sitting on the ceiling fan spinning faster and faster until..
John Connolly's stuff rocks. I liked L Ron Hubbard when I read it, but that was twenty years ago now (ulp: [i]twenty fricking years[/i]!)
Currently re-reading the last few wheel of time books by Robert Jordan in preparation for readin the new stuff by Brandon Sanderson
Best new stuff I've read recently is Joe Abercrombie. Cracking read, could hardly put it down. If you like sword and sorcery, go out now and get "the blade itself", you won't regret it.
Say one thing for Logan Ninefingers...
Currently reading and enjoying Stephen Fry's 'The Hippopotamus'
Just read 'Dark Matter' by some woman and really enojoyed that.
Read Jump by Jilly Cooper just before Xmas and it was terrible. I should have stared at the wall for a few hours instead.
Best new stuff I've read recently is Joe Abercrombie
Ee, I met him at the weekend. Top, top bloke and very entertaining.
Just finished Gene Wolfe's last one - The Sorcerer's House. Something of a return to form, in that it's miles better than his recent efforts, but there's still something missing from these late period books of Wolfe. Good all the same.
Just finished Iain M Banks Surface Detail. I've read a few of those but my god, what a wonderful book.. I'm in awe of the man, seriously. Finishing gave me a profound feeling of loss...
Last 2 books i read, Long walk to freedom, Nelson Mandela, amazing book, and Mr Nice/Howard Marks, very good also. Just started reading a wee book about tony benn, a political life. I've also got a book about Bill Hicks half read which i'll go back to eventually.
I'm re-reading [i]Moby Dick[/i] - avast ye.
+1 for Iain M. Banks. Just finished Look to Windward and now starting Use of Weapons.
Also recently read 'Our Final Century' by Martin Rees. Very well thought-out, and depressingly realistic book debating whether or not mankind will survive the next 100 years. Fairly heavy stuff, but it is very interesting (in a morbid way).
Surface Detail is that the new Culture novel ? Well looking forward to that in e-books. Reading Transitions at the moment which is so far so good.
Chickenhawk by Robert Mason.
Transitions is ****ing awesome, brilliant and Banks really back to his best. Highly recommended.
Currently just read the first line of Surface Detail, and am nervous to get into it as it will consume me.
Like a lot of authors, but when Banks get's it right (M or not), he is absolutely stunningly absorbing.
I thought look to Windward was a bit pap, Use of Weapons rather amazing though.
Kev
I read "the road" just recently after avoiding it for a while til the hype (in my mind) died off - good, not brilliant though
Saw Iain Banks at the book fest last year in Edinburgh he was great, although his favorite of this books is "The Bridge" which is the one I have never come to grips with. Must try harder !
A few books I've enjoyed
Bukowski [i]Post office/Woman/Factotum[/i]
Pedro Juan Guiterrez [i]Dirty Havana Trilogy[/i]
Graham Greene [i]Any of his work[/i]
Paul Theroux [i]Dark Star Safari[/i]
John Buchan [i]39 steps[/i]
Just finished "Transition" (good) and will start Surface Detail soon.
Before that I read "Legend of a Suicide", which was, errr, interesting.
Might try and read Grand Design too.
Chickenhawk by Robert Mason.
Great book that always comes up on one of these threads on any forum that has a majority of men on it.
Just re-read Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard. and now enjoying - Junior Oficer's Reading Club by Patrick Hennessey which is excellent
Richard Holmes The Age of Wonder. Wonderful history of science
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Excellent read - very original. About a young lad with aspergers coming to terms with losing his dad in 9/11 and his grandparents caught up in Dresden's fire storm.
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An excellent read. Am going to try Agent Zigzag once I've finished current reading material.
john connolly ,superb . i read bill brysons walk in the woods which was laugh out loud funny .
Recent books:
Banks [i]Surface Matter[/i]. Fantastic book, I love his books, and I've read all of them, but [i]Surface Matter[/i] blew me away, his imagination and storytelling never ceases to amaze me.
Joe Abercrombie [i]Blade[/i] books. Seen them on the shelves, but never got around to buying them, and there's only so much space, then they turned up on iBooks so I indulged. Read the first, bought all the rest and read them one after the other. Bloody, violent, profane, and just the most amazing fun. Hardly a single likeable character anywhere, any moral compass has not only lost it's glass and needle but the whole compass Rose. Now reading [i]The Heroes[/i], which promises to be just as much fun.
Kate Griffin [i]The Neon Court[/i]. Just finished this one, started reading the ebook on the train up to London to meet the author on the day it was published. This is the third in her adult Urban Magic series, the others are [i]A Madness Of Angels[/i] and [i]The Midnight Mayor[/i]. I can't recommend these highly enough, Kate's a superb writer, and a lovely person too, not at all phased by my dumping eleven of her books on the table to be signed. And she's only 25. She writes teen/young adult fantasy under her real name of Catherine Webb, and all those books are really worth reading, very adult in the concepts and writing, the first book she wrote, [i]Mirror Dreams[/i], is very influenced by Roger Zelazney's [i]Amber[/i] books. She wrote it when she was 14! She also manages to hold down a job as a theatre lighting designer and technician, RADA graduated, and has been working with Danny Boyle on the lighting for [i]Frankenstein[/i]. Talented? I should think so. I'm not her agent, btw, but I love her books so much I try to spread the word every chance I get.
I am currently reading 'We must talk about Kevin'. It is rather heavy.
If you're more than halfway through, perservere - it is worth it by the end. If you're less than halfway through... you could just skip to the end and not miss a huge amount in terms of plot development.
Just finished reading Alastair Reynold's second - Chasm City, I think - and enjoyed it, although it lacked the scope of Revelation Space.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy was intense - I kept hold of my copy of it (I tend to sell on my books), but have no idea if/when I'll ever read it again - it's that kind of book.
Going back a while, House of Leaves was pretty good, sticks in the memory. China Mieville's sci-fi is pretty solid for the genre (Perdido Street etc)
Want to read Surface Detail, but waiting for a family member to buy it, so I can borrow it from them. Use of Weapons was another Iain M. Banks that was cracking from beginning to almost end, then the end just blew you away.
Reread Angry White Pyjamas by Robert Twigger recently. Good book, about when he was training Aikido in Japan.
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman
The Thief of Always - Clive Barker
All recommended.
Charley Boormans - race to dakar and by any means
Robert Leckie - helmet for my pillow.
Angry White Pyjamas is one of my favourite books ever. Big Snake by the same author is good too.
Hokaido Highway Blues by Will Ferguson (spelling might be dodgy here) is another favourite.
phatstanley child of god
by cormac mccarthy.
just your typical southern gothic, squirrel eatin', necrophiliac loner-stroke-serial killer kinda protagonist
Perfect, thanks for the pointer bud.
One of my favourites is 'God is a bullet' by Boston Teran
Enjoying Jo Nesbo books at the moment.
Read The Snowman, Redbreast and currently on Devils Star (which isn't as quick as the other two)
Drunken cop solves murders & stuff.
Good twists though.
Just re read 'As I walked out one midsummer morning' Always hits the spot when I want a relaxing read.
And on topic, just reading Bradley Wiggings. He;s a boozy beggar.
I'd never have thought it would be any good, but my wife read it (even more surprised at this and don't know why) and persuaded me to give it a go...
King Solomon's Mines, by H Rider Haggard is a proper ripping yarn!
I am currently reading 'We must talk about Kevin'. It is rather heavy.If you're more than halfway through, perservere - it is worth it by the end. If you're less than halfway through... you could just skip to the end and not miss a huge amount in terms of plot development.
Don't skip to the end, stick with it.
Brilliant book and her next one "So much for all that" is really good too.
'The City and the City' by China Mieville at the moment. Good, if a bit generic so far. 'The Scar' is properly awesome.
Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein - exposing the extortion, racketeering, prostitution and gambling rings associated with Japan's yakuza.
Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein - exposing the extortion, racketeering, prostitution and gambling rings associated with Japan's yakuza.
What, you mean there's a link between gangsters and organized crime? Amazing! 😉
Saw Iain Banks at the book fest last year in Edinburgh he was great, although his favorite of this books is "The Bridge"
I might agree although it was a while ago and one of the first few I read. It was outstanding.
Surface Detail was heavily layered with loads of stuff though - topical social issues, a sort of meta-allegory and secular evangelism too.. if that makes sense... I wonder what Banks thinks of Dawkins and co..?
Whilst in the middle of reading about the Culture I looked up.. glanced at my top end laptop sitting there and thought 'we are just pathetic...'
Anyway, before that the last book that properly sucked me in was the Poisonwood Bible by Barbra Kingsolver. Different, but good. Quite mainstream for me too 🙂
Europe: A History by Norman Davies
Epic but engrossing :-[img] 
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Way behind the times, and probably a bit mainstream for many but I'm on the final part of the millenium trilogy - 'the girl who kicked the hornets nest'. Enjoyed all 3 books so far.
Also halfway through the Bourne trilogy. Can highly recommend 'Endurance' about Shackleton by Alfred Lansing. Slow to get going but an incredible tale.
Way behind the times, and probably a bit mainstream for many but I'm on the final part of the millenium trilogy - 'the girl who kicked the hornets nest'. Enjoyed all 3 books so far
Currently on book two, great series.
Oh another favourite is London Fields, especially as when I read it I lived there.
+1 on Jo Nesbo
Read the Snowman and Red Breast and am now on Nemesis.
+1 on Iain (M) Banks.
William Gibson does it for me. The older ones are technically a bit out of date now, but still a cracking read. The last 3 are more contemporary, but still fantastic.
Alastair Reynolds is pretty good too. Only read the one so far - Chasm City - and enjoyed that.
...and of course anything by Terry Pratchett...
Helmet for My Pillow - Robert Leckie, having just finished With the Old Breed by E B Sledge. Sledge book is superb. Both follow US marine campaigns in the pacific in WWII.
Another Nesbo fan here; may I suggest 'Jar City' by Arnaldur Indridason in a similar vein.
Joe Abercrombie's 'The Blade Itself' looks good - thanks to whoever suggested.
+1 William Gibson. Love everything he's written, but particularly the 'Bridge' trilogy, and the 'Bigend' trilogy.
Attended a talk by him at the Brighton Worldcon in '85, I think it was, the most incredibly laid-back bloke you can imagine. Practically horizontal. Nice guy, too.
I started "The Count of Monte Cristo" at New Year, but put it aside to read some cycling books. So far I've enjoyed:
"We Were Young and Carefree", Laurent Fignon's autobiography. Very candid and revealing.
"The Rider", Tim Krabbe. Contains the unforgettable lines
[i]"Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of those lives shocks me"[/i]
"The Escape Artist" by Matt Seaton. Very poignant.
Normally I'm of the opinion that 99% of STW forum posters are as thick as shit and not afraid to make it obvious.
But this thread has nicely highlighted the fact that there are bright people here and despite their sometimes socially inept choice of book, one or two of them do have a modicum of intellect.
Samuri,
You must be brainier than me because I thought it was only 93%.
well I only get to see English posts so that probably pushes the stupidity index up.
+1 China Mieville
Just finished reading the Kraken. Intersting weirdly good but not as good as Perdido St station or the Scar.
I love m Banks and rate Peter Hamiltons Commonwealth Saga (Pandora Star & Judas unchained) & Nights Dawn Trilogy right highly. Both are epic sci-fi & up there with my favourite Banks (no piss taking 80km ships though)
stuartie_c - Member
I started "The Count of Monte Cristo" at New Year, but put it aside to read some cycling books. So far I've enjoyed:
Dumas is still one of my favourite authors, and this is one of his best.
Just finished Forever War, Joe Haldane. Excellent read. I'm amazed that I missed it when I went through my teenage sci-fi phase in the 80s.
Before that I read Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing. Another excellent book. One of the best I've read in a long time, I'd say. Somebody mentioned a sense of loss after finishing Surface Detail (which is in my 'to read' pile!). I had the same sense of loss after finishing The Crossing. Never mind, I'll read Cities of the Plain soon.
I read JG Farrell's The Troubles at the end of last year, which I'd recommend although it is a slow burner!
Another one for 'The Count of Monte Cristo' - I'm not much of a reader (short attention span) but it was properly awesome 😉 Also agree on persevering with 'We Need to Talk About Kevin', but I actually quite liked it from the start..
Everything else I've read is either probably considered a classic or will be writings on the New York school/abstract expressionism or Zen Buddhism.. (Zen in the Art of Archery is quite good). Glad I was obliged to read One Hundred Years of Solitude because it has one of the best endings to a book I've ever read, and The Naked Ape is good for bed-time reading
OK - must get back to "The Count..." and make time for it. I've spent the afternoon [i]trying [/i]to read "Reflective Teaching" for my masters - holy jesus, it's hard going...
IdleJohn - agree on The Crossing. Great book with a haunting ending. Have you read "Blood Meridian"? My all-time favourite book, probably.
I had the same sense of loss after finishing The Crossing
Snap. The she-wolf's final stand especially so - and the closing scene is about as sad as anything I've ever read.
Easily one of my favourite books of the last few years.
I'm nearing the end of the Sharpe series. It's easy-going and stereotyped to the hilt but it's a damned good yarn. Also started "I, Claudius" last night, which looks like it might take a bit more staying power! I don't think you can beat Sebastian Faulks though as far as contemporary literature goes.
Just finished Operation Mincemeat, great book. Now reading Saints of New York by RJ Ellory.
Last two I have just finished.
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The tent the bucket and me - Emma Alexander, hilarious!
Why Does E=mc2 (and why does it matter) - Prof Brian Cox, brain overload
Good Morning Nantwich - Phil Jupitus