This week I have been reading
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reading Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koentz(sic) 5th in the series.0
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The Natural Mystics - Marley, Tosh and Wailer.
Interesting biog of the three as well as a lot on Jamacian history and music scene.0 -
Read a few recently, including a couple of older novels:
- "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn ( 2012 ) - a thriller about a couple, where the wife disappears. It is well written and has been commercially successful but I found it a little irritating.
- "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike (1960) - a guy in his mid-twenties in a small US town feels trapped in his marriage and surroundings generally. Very good and the first in Updike's quartet about this character.
- "On the Black Hill" by Bruce Chatwin ( 1982 ) - it is concerns the lives of twin brothers in a remote upland farm on the borders of Herefordshire and Wales. Superbly written.
- "Slow Man" by J.M. Coetzee ( 2006 ) - about a older man coming to terms with the loss of a leg following an accident, as he looks back over his life. Excellent - Coetzee is a great writer and I've read quite a few of his, including "Disgrace", which is set in post-Apartheid South Africa.0 -
Primo Levi - The Periodic Table; A collection of stories from a Jewish Chemist that had been imprisoned in Auschwitz for a year. Each story being likened to an element of the periodic table.0
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It is, imho, one of the most powerful and well written collectio of short stories ever written.Stig said:
Sounds interesting. Is it any good?LuckyReds said:Primo Levi - The Periodic Table; A collection of stories from a Jewish Chemist that had been imprisoned in Auschwitz for a year. Each story being likened to an element of the periodic table.
Levi was a fantastic writer0 -
Shopped - by Joanna Blythman. Fantastic book about how supermarkets fuck us over.0
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I gave up on Heart of Darkness, I really would have had to have forced myself through it.
Now reading James Dickey's Deliverance, has been enjoyable but fairly run of the mill so far, obviously it picks up later on. I haven't seen the film either, so apart from that scene I have no idea how twisted it will get.0 -
That's good enough for me. It's ordered. Thanks Henry and Lucky.Henry Irving said:
It is, imho, one of the most powerful and well written collectio of short stories ever written.Stig said:
Sounds interesting. Is it any good?LuckyReds said:Primo Levi - The Periodic Table; A collection of stories from a Jewish Chemist that had been imprisoned in Auschwitz for a year. Each story being likened to an element of the periodic table.
Levi was a fantastic writer0 -
I've just published a book called The Grey Nomads which describes the people my wife and I met and some experiences we had during an eight month round the world trip. We visited America for 3 months spending some time in Yellowstone National park and took a 23 hour train journey across the states.
The Australian outback was the next destination and then Australia's east coast during the heaviest rainfall and flooding Queensland have ever experienced. Malaysia was our final destination, experiencing a train journey on 'The Jungle Railway'. I have managed to include Charlton Athletic in a few chapters.
I would describe the book as sometimes amusing, sometimes serious but always interesting.
The book is available in the usual outlets - Waterstones and online.
my website is worth a look www.thegreynomads.co.uk homepage john A Richardson0 - Sponsored links:
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The film is a favourite ... I would suggest you give the book another go? Not for it's eloquence nor literary style... but for the sheer power of the message! IMHO it is a timeless piece which is as appropriate to today's corporate world as it was then to colonial Africa.RedPanda said:
Yeah, I thought it would be a lot more psychological. Instead he keeps referencing Gravesend and using the n-word whilst rambling.Six-a-bag-of-nuts said:
Did exactly the same thing after seeing Apocalypse Now (was it really 30+ years ago!!) and knowing it was the inspiration.RedPanda said:
Now on Heart of Darkness as Apocalypse Now is a favourite film and it was free on Amazon with Kindle. I can't say I'm liking it so far.
Lost patience with Conrad's writing style, in fact found it virtually unreadable and gave up on it after a few chapters!
Regarding the rest of your reads, I'm jealous as not had time to pursue the same list... try Brave New World by Huxley if you want dystopian or there is Koerstler, Greene and Camus all sharing their take on 20th century politics/philosophy.
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I applaud your fine taste in literature, Blucher: I too enjoy Chatwin's travel writing and Coetzee's brilliant intelligence. I'm coming to the end of 'Lions and Shadows' (1938), Christopher Isherwood's partly fictionalised autobiography of his youth and as a young man. I recently devoured Isherwood's 'Mr Norris Changes Trains' and 'Goodbye to Berlin', both novels based on his experiences in bohemian and decadent Berlin in the 1930s: sparkling character studies, funny and bizarre anecdotes.Blucher said:Read a few recently, including a couple of older novels:
- "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn ( 2012 ) - a thriller about a couple, where the wife disappears. It is well written and has been commercially successful but I found it a little irritating.
- "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike (1960) - a guy in his mid-twenties in a small US town feels trapped in his marriage and surroundings generally. Very good and the first in Updike's quartet about this character.
- "On the Black Hill" by Bruce Chatwin ( 1982 ) - it is concerns the lives of twin brothers in a remote upland farm on the borders of Herefordshire and Wales. Superbly written.
- "Slow Man" by J.M. Coetzee ( 2006 ) - about a older man coming to terms with the loss of a leg following an accident, as he looks back over his life. Excellent - Coetzee is a great writer and I've read quite a few of his, including "Disgrace", which is set in post-Apartheid South Africa.
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It's a great film - try and see it. I can recommend the autobiography of the film's director, John Boorman, 'Adventures of a Suburban Boy' (2003), in which there are detailed accounts of the making of the film and of James Dickey himself - a very strange man. Dickey insisted on having a bit-part in the film, played the intimidating cop in the mirror-shades, in the final scene.RedPanda said:I gave up on Heart of Darkness, I really would have had to have forced myself through it.
Now reading James Dickey's Deliverance, has been enjoyable but fairly run of the mill so far, obviously it picks up later on. I haven't seen the film either, so apart from that scene I have no idea how twisted it will get.
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The Horologicon. A very entertaining collection of "lost words of the English language". Some of my favourites:
Philogrobolized: hungover
Ergophobia: fear of returning to work
Bumfodder: toilet roll - from this we get the modern word bumf
Ogo-Pogoing: being out on the pull
Bathycolpian: having a nice rack
Feague: to put a live eel up a horses bottom (really!)0 -
Oops, I never saw your reply! Yeah, I began it almost immediately in a pub after buying it - and I must say I was really taken in by his writing. Top notch.Stig said:
That's good enough for me. It's ordered. Thanks Henry and Lucky.Henry Irving said:
It is, imho, one of the most powerful and well written collectio of short stories ever written.Stig said:
Sounds interesting. Is it any good?LuckyReds said:Primo Levi - The Periodic Table; A collection of stories from a Jewish Chemist that had been imprisoned in Auschwitz for a year. Each story being likened to an element of the periodic table.
Levi was a fantastic writer0 -
I may try Heart of Darkness again in a while, but I was struggling and not really enjoying it so thought why carry on? Brave New World was already actually on my list, started it last night. A little different than I thought, has got me thinking already. People arguably would be happier if bred to live in a certain role or way, ignorance is bliss and all that. I have read a bit of Camus before, The Outsider in particular has stuck with me. By coincidence I've also just ordered Koestler's Darkness at Noon.seriously_red said:
The film is a favourite ... I would suggest you give the book another go? Not for it's eloquence nor literary style... but for the sheer power of the message! IMHO it is a timeless piece which is as appropriate to today's corporate world as it was then to colonial Africa.RedPanda said:
Yeah, I thought it would be a lot more psychological. Instead he keeps referencing Gravesend and using the n-word whilst rambling.Six-a-bag-of-nuts said:
Did exactly the same thing after seeing Apocalypse Now (was it really 30+ years ago!!) and knowing it was the inspiration.RedPanda said:
Now on Heart of Darkness as Apocalypse Now is a favourite film and it was free on Amazon with Kindle. I can't say I'm liking it so far.
Lost patience with Conrad's writing style, in fact found it virtually unreadable and gave up on it after a few chapters!
Regarding the rest of your reads, I'm jealous as not had time to pursue the same list... try Brave New World by Huxley if you want dystopian or there is Koerstler, Greene and Camus all sharing their take on 20th century politics/philosophy.
Viewfinder, I watched Deliverance pretty much straight after finishing the book. I'll look up the documentary you mention, I didn't realise 'til looking on IMDB afterwards that a very young Charley Boorman is there at the end too.
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Hope you enjoyed the film, RedPanda. John Boorman's autobiography 'Adventures of a Suburban Boy' is available very cheaply through Amazon and includes lots of entertaining anecdotes about how difficult it was dealing with James Dickey before and during the making of the film.RedPanda said:
Viewfinder, I watched Deliverance pretty much straight after finishing the book. I'll look up the documentary you mention, I didn't realise 'til looking on IMDB afterwards that a very young Charley Boorman is there at the end too.
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Accidental Husband - it it great
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Angelmaker - Nick Harkaway ..... bit quirky but fun
Inferno - Dan Brown .... easy read for the beach
Wool - Hugh Howey ..... first part of a trilogy, has been compared to Hunger Games, good summer read0 -
The Chimp Paradox - Dr Steve Peters, Head Psychiatrist to the genty, Sky and the GB Cycling Team. How to deal with the Chimp in your head and think with your brain and not your emotions. Helped the likes of Sir Brad, Craig Bellammy amongst other.
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Just finished "The Girl who Played with Fire", follow up to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", absolutely brilliant. Only trouble is it stops mid story and continues in "The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest" - which I am now reading...0
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David Byrne's How Music Works. It's thought-provoking, has nuggets of facts that make you go 'Bloody hell. I didn't know that. If Bing Crosby hadn't wanted to play more golf, then we wouldn't have had tape machines?' and is just ace all round. In my humble opinion, of course.0
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Rumpole on Trial. Bit of old-school fun.0
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thanks for the heads up on this. I can't put it down.Goonerhater said:reading--Empire of the Summer Moon the story of the Rise and Fall of the Comanche Tribe.
If your have ever been interested in the story of the Native Americans , this is a truly great read---brutal to the exreme. Follows what is known of one leader---total war fare against other tribes and the Anglo expansion into the Great Plains.
An excellent book.
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I've been revisiting some classics recently. The Great Gatsby - love it. The Catcher in the Rye - overrated and I'm currently reading Frankenstein.0
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Pleased to hear you're enjoying them, AAAlgarveaddick said:Just finished "The Girl who Played with Fire", follow up to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", absolutely brilliant. Only trouble is it stops mid story and continues in "The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest" - which I am now reading...
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Private Eye .. still very rude and informative0
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"The great Railway bazaar" Paul Thereax. From London to Singapor by train. He is a great travel writer although his books are more about the people on the journey than the places. Although written in the 1070z i find that more intresting. As Trainspotters im surprised it isnt complusary reading !0
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Goonerhater said:
"The great Railway bazaar" Paul Thereax. From London to Singapor by train. He is a great travel writer although his books are more about the people on the journey than the places. Although written in the 1070z i find that more intresting. As Trainspotters im surprised it isnt complusary reading !
I loved this book ... he's also written one about travelling the length of Africa, from Cairo to Cape Town, the name of which I've forgotten.
It was all the more interesting because Theroux Snr spent several years teaching in Africa and knows well of what he writes0 -
"Riding the red rooster" across Russia and China and "The Old patagonian Express" from New York to Chile
both good reads.0
