Only just started it but grabbed my attention from the off!
Top book, I really enjoyed it.
I am currently reading Witch Hunt by Jack Harvey - who is actually Ian Rankin. Interesting to see the different style from his Rebus books. Anyone who can write a good book is to be much admired, to be able to do it in two different styles is remarkable to me.
Don't get me started on Jack Kerouac (just look at my avatar). In fact, you're both almost right, Lincs and RedPanda; Kerouac's first novel, The Town And The City, was published under the name John Kerouac. So there you go.
Don't get me started on Jack Kerouac (just look at my avatar). In fact, you're both almost right, Lincs and RedPanda; Kerouac's first novel, The Town And The City, was published under the name John Kerouac. So there you go.
now then .. not many people knew that .. I certainly didn't .. so John/Jack went from posh to hip .. that's the way to go though
Rabbit Redux (1971) - John Updike The second of Updike's four novels (each written a decade apart and covering the late 50s to the late 80s) about Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom. This one is set in the late 60s, with Rabbit stuck in a dead end job and estranged from his family, and it reflects a number of the changes and issues facing the U.S. at that time (including racial unrest). Although this novel is generally not as well regarded as the other three, it is very well written and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
The Eye in the Door (1993) - Pat Barker The second in Pat Barker's excellent 'Regeneration' trilogy, which looks at the psychological impact of World War 1 on the men who fought in it. Strongly recommended. It is also an apposite time to have a read of these, with the 100 year anniversary coming up later this year.
Holiday (1974) - Stanley Middleton A middle aged man takes a holiday in a traditional seaside boarding house whilst trying to come to terms with the apparent breakdown of his marriage. Evocative of seaside holidays in years gone by, with the gong sounding for breakfast and dinner. It shared the Booker prize and I found it an interesting read, although I can see how it would not be everyone's cup of tea.
The Testament of Mary (2013) - Colm Toibin This is the account of Mary, as in Jesus's mum. Regardless of the existence, or otherwise, of Christian beliefs, most of us know the story of the life and crucifixion of Christ and this is an interesting and original take on it from Mary's viewpoint. Very powerful in parts, it is a novella running to only 104 pages and so can be read in one session.
The Great Railway Bazaar: by Train Through Asia (1975) - Paul Theroux (Louis's dad) A very entertaining travelogue of what the writer, as a young man nearly 40 years ago, encountered whilst travelling through Asia on trains like the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local and the Trans-Siberian Express. One you can dip in and out of without losing the thread.
'Museum Without Walls' by Jonathan Meades: a sparkling collection of journalistic essays and TV documentary scripts about buildings and places here and abroad. Close to home is an appreciation of the bleak qualities of the Thames and Medway marshes. Lauded by architecture writer Jonathan Glancey: "Lively, inventive and pugnacious ... in an English tradition that, sweeping up Ian Nairn, John Betjeman and Charles Dickens on the way, takes us back to William Cobbett's 'Rural Rides'."
The Hundred Year old Man who Climbed out of a Window and Disappeared. Very funny book and a bit like Forrest Gump with history thrown in.
It has just won one of the prizes in the Coventry Inspiration Book Award. This allows me a shameless plug for my own book PARTNERS IN CRIME which won the short book section (Fancy a Quickie) in the same award!
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman; collected short stories - Terry Pratchett; Notorious Nineteen - Janet Evanovich. Very good book by a great write, only just started it so not sure what I think of it, complete fluff but fun, in that order.
Oryx and Crake was decent, I do like a 'what if? scenario. I'd always thought of sci-fi being spaceships and aliens but a lot of it post-apocalyptic which I kind of like.
I'm now reading Steinbeck's follow up to Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday. By the way, if anyone has seen 12 Years A Slave and considered reading it then it's currently 50p on Kindle.
I was reading Malcolm Lowry's Under The Volcano but Jesus Christ it is hard going, so many pages I've not had a clue what's being rambled about. I aim to finish it but it's not lived up to expectations so far.
As a respite I am reading Max Brooks' World War Z, survivors' accounts of a future zombie plague that will wipe out most of the planet. Silly (obviously), but interesting.
Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch. It's the third book in his 'Rivers of London' series about the magical department of the Met. Not deep and meaningful but good fun.
Just finished The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, by Malcolm Mackay. An new addition to the "tartan noir" stable, very staccato style but a good gangster thriller, the first in trilogy it won the crime thriller book club award for "best read". I will definitely be reading the next two books.
Currently on The Devil's Paintbrush, by Jake Arnott. It's a bit weird, dealing with a disgraced former army officer in the Edwardian era and Aleister Crowley. A tad different from The Long Firm trilogy to say the least, but it's got me hooked...
For anyone interested in the murkier side of Kent history, I recommend 'All the Devils are Here' by David Seabrook (Granta, 2002), a copy of which I found in the Oxfam bookshop in Sevenoaks a few weeks ago.
Seabrook trawls the seedy underbelly of the county, from the visionary artist Richard Dadd's murder of his father in Cobham in 1843 to the rescue of drunken 'Carry On' actor Charles Hawtrey and a rent-boy from their burning flat in Deal in 1984.
From a review: "This may be a book about Kent, but it is unlikely ever to be recommended by the county tourist board. David Seabrook's Kent is a county of homo-eroticism and mental illness, of literary intrigue and economic depression, a place not of holidaymakers, but of murderers, Nazi sympathisers, alcoholics and the ghosts of T.S. Eliot, Charles Dickens, Audrey Hepburn and Charles Hawtrey..."
Seabrook's second and final book was about the serial murders of prostitutes in west London in the 1970s. Weirdly, Seabrook himself came to a suspicious end: found dead in his bed, aged just 49.
I finished The Godfather last night. It was very good but I think it's a rare case of preferring the film. It didn't seem quite as well paced and there were some unnecessary chapter about people like Johnny Fontane in LA. I'd recommend it though, it's fairly easy to read and feels epic without being too long.
I have a couple of chapters left in 12 Years a Slave. It's been thought provoking and hard going, as you'd expect. After that I'm not sure what I'll read... I could try and go back to Under the Volcano but Andrea Pirlo's autobiography will need some attention soon. Beyond that I think I'll be asking on here for tips.
Comments
Only just started it but grabbed my attention from the off!
I am currently reading Witch Hunt by Jack Harvey - who is actually Ian Rankin. Interesting to see the different style from his Rebus books. Anyone who can write a good book is to be much admired, to be able to do it in two different styles is remarkable to me.
The second of Updike's four novels (each written a decade apart and covering the late 50s to the late 80s) about Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom. This one is set in the late 60s, with Rabbit stuck in a dead end job and estranged from his family, and it reflects a number of the changes and issues facing the U.S. at that time (including racial unrest). Although this novel is generally not as well regarded as the other three, it is very well written and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
The Eye in the Door (1993) - Pat Barker
The second in Pat Barker's excellent 'Regeneration' trilogy, which looks at the psychological impact of World War 1 on the men who fought in it. Strongly recommended. It is also an apposite time to have a read of these, with the 100 year anniversary coming up later this year.
Holiday (1974) - Stanley Middleton
A middle aged man takes a holiday in a traditional seaside boarding house whilst trying to come to terms with the apparent breakdown of his marriage. Evocative of seaside holidays in years gone by, with the gong sounding for breakfast and dinner. It shared the Booker prize and I found it an interesting read, although I can see how it would not be everyone's cup of tea.
The Testament of Mary (2013) - Colm Toibin
This is the account of Mary, as in Jesus's mum. Regardless of the existence, or otherwise, of Christian beliefs, most of us know the story of the life and crucifixion of Christ and this is an interesting and original take on it from Mary's viewpoint. Very powerful in parts, it is a novella running to only 104 pages and so can be read in one session.
The Great Railway Bazaar: by Train Through Asia (1975) - Paul Theroux (Louis's dad)
A very entertaining travelogue of what the writer, as a young man nearly 40 years ago, encountered whilst travelling through Asia on trains like the Orient Express, the Khyber Pass Local and the Trans-Siberian Express. One you can dip in and out of without losing the thread.
I'm now reading Steinbeck's follow up to Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday. By the way, if anyone has seen 12 Years A Slave and considered reading it then it's currently 50p on Kindle.
Portnoy's Complaint, Phillip Roth - this is very funny. Reminder me how good "Plot Against America" was.
Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens - first half is slow, but when it's giving it's blow-by-blow account of the 1780 Gordon Riots it's quite compulsive.
As a respite I am reading Max Brooks' World War Z, survivors' accounts of a future zombie plague that will wipe out most of the planet. Silly (obviously), but interesting.
Currently on The Devil's Paintbrush, by Jake Arnott. It's a bit weird, dealing with a disgraced former army officer in the Edwardian era and Aleister Crowley. A tad different from The Long Firm trilogy to say the least, but it's got me hooked...
Seabrook trawls the seedy underbelly of the county, from the visionary artist Richard Dadd's murder of his father in Cobham in 1843 to the rescue of drunken 'Carry On' actor Charles Hawtrey and a rent-boy from their burning flat in Deal in 1984.
From a review: "This may be a book about Kent, but it is unlikely ever to be recommended by the county tourist board. David Seabrook's Kent is a county of homo-eroticism and mental illness, of literary intrigue and economic depression, a place not of holidaymakers, but of murderers, Nazi sympathisers, alcoholics and the ghosts of T.S. Eliot, Charles Dickens, Audrey Hepburn and Charles Hawtrey..."
Seabrook's second and final book was about the serial murders of prostitutes in west London in the 1970s. Weirdly, Seabrook himself came to a suspicious end: found dead in his bed, aged just 49.
I have a couple of chapters left in 12 Years a Slave. It's been thought provoking and hard going, as you'd expect. After that I'm not sure what I'll read... I could try and go back to Under the Volcano but Andrea Pirlo's autobiography will need some attention soon. Beyond that I think I'll be asking on here for tips.