Moved on from that and back to 'Music of the Primes' by Marcus du Sautoy. It's a book about the quest to prove the Riemann Hypothesis. Fascinating read - and graspable by anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of Maths.
Just finished the 3rd in the Mystery Man trilogy by Colin Bateman - Dr Yes Before that re-read Needs Must - Kris Needs. Very good, autobiography of ex Blondie, Ramones etc etc roadie and tour manager Now re-reading Not The End Of The Word - Christopher Brookmyre. Very good take on the 1999 end of the world theory. Funny and violent.
Currently reading a biography of Ian Fleming by Andrew Lycett. A real eye opener to the world of privilage, snobbery and the old boy network. Good read too.
Just finished When The Robin Stopped Bobbing. No offence Daniel, but its about the most depressing book I've ever read. Especially as two years down the line, the optimistic possibilities (hopes) at the end of the book just haven't come to fruition.
Jeff Stelling Autobiography- Again very funny, good insight into Soccer Saturday,
Dwight Yorke autobiography- Brought it for a pound and now i see why it was that price!
Ian Holloway autobiography- Fantastic read, this addition was up till his Plymouth managerial days, would love to read the rest, especially after what he has done with Blackpool.
Very disappointed. Maybe was expecting too much. Perhaps it's a classic for it being so original and innovative at the time and also prettty anti- establishment but didnt really think much of it.
Maybe should have read it when i was a lot younger to fully appreciate it but just thought of it as " Uber privileged and spoiled rich kid gets expelled and sulks for a couple of nights on his way home....boo hoo".
Then again I think a lot of Shakespeare is overrated too.
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. The second part of the All The Pretty Horses trilogy, and it's superb, although as in the previous book, there's a hell of a lot of untranslated Spanish.
Says it all that the only part of Catcher In The Rye that I remember is his mate at school who shaves, dries his face, then shaves again. So If I was asked what it's about, I'd say it's about a fella who shaves twice.
Now if only Mark David Chapman had felt that about the novel, then John Lennon might still be alive...
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. The second part of the All The Pretty Horses trilogy, and it's superb, although as in the previous book, there's a hell of a lot of untranslated Spanish.
Is the trilogy easy to read? I loved The Road and No Country for Old Men but really struggled with Blood Meridian.
Well, the sticking point as I mentioned above is that there are lots of passages of untranslated Spanish, and The Crossing, certainly, could be accused of being slowly paced in places, although that makes the sudden outbursts of violence and dramatic incident even more powerful. I haven't read the last part yet, so I wouldn't be the best person to ask to recommend it. Without giving anything away, the plot of The Crossing, such as it is, is largely about the journey of two young American brothers across an alien Mexico in pursuit of the horses stolen from their parents.
Just finished When The Robin Stopped Bobbing. No offence Daniel, but its about the most depressing book I've ever read. Especially as two years down the line, the optimistic possibilities (hopes) at the end of the book just haven't come to fruition.
Would you reccomend it though ? I can handle depressing (not as though it's going to be a laugh a minute considering what's been going on) but is it well written/informative ?
Very disappointed. Maybe was expecting too much. Perhaps it's a classic for it being so original and innovative at the time and also prettty anti- establishment but didnt really think much of it.
Maybe should have read it when i was a lot younger to fully appreciate it but just thought of it as " Uber privileged and spoiled rich kid gets expelled and sulks for a couple of nights on his way home....boo hoo".
RCT, that's what I thought of Catcher in the Rye when I was a teenager and was told to read it. Ditto On the Road.
Very disappointed. Maybe was expecting too much. Perhaps it's a classic for it being so original and innovative at the time and also prettty anti- establishment but didnt really think much of it.
Maybe should have read it when i was a lot younger to fully appreciate it but just thought of it as " Uber privileged and spoiled rich kid gets expelled and sulks for a couple of nights on his way home....boo hoo".
RCT, that's what I thought of Catcher in the Rye when I was a teenager and was told to read it. Ditto On the Road.
Impressed! What an intellectual lot! This piqued my interest - being in the English teaching trade - it's all down to the carousel at the end - where Phoebe tries to get the gold ring and 'I realised you gotta let them'. No? Oh well, please yourself.
Trivia - the excellent Orange Juice released records on Holden Caulfield records, y'know.
I went to see him last week so I can really really recommend 'Seeing Stars' by Simon Armitage - terrific stuff and i think he might be a Huddersfield Town supporter.
Pete as I say possibly if I had read it as a bright eyed teen I would have appreciated it more than I have as an embittered, cynical, ageing sod who resents the disappearance of his youth ;-)
You really need to view Catcher in the Rye and On the Road against contemporary American fiction and against contemporary American events. Both were revolutionary for their age, a bit like punk in the mid-70s shook up both Britain musically and socially but now seems quite mainstream and unthreatening.
Agree BFR it was undoubtably seminal but I suppose picking it up for the first time 60 years later in modern England means it loses its impact. I think if I had known what it was about before reading it I would have enjoyed it more and appreciated it. It was more of a case of it being "That's a book that I must read" and expecting it to be something it wasnt.
I did however once tell my English Alevel teacher that Irvine Welsh was more relevant than Billy Shakespeare once so I wouldnt pay to much notice to my literary warblings ;-)
Apathy for the Devil by Nick Kent...back in the days when the NME was compulsive reading Kent always turned out great stuff. This book is the story of how Kent got through the 70's, a minor miracle in itself. In the space of a paragraph it can veer from the hilarious to the harrowing - the account of the room Lemmy offered him to stay in and what happened next is enough to put you off your dinner.
Comments
Agreed...
I am reading Booky Wook 2 by Russell Brand, I'm not quite as cerebral as most of you...
Moved on from that and back to 'Music of the Primes' by Marcus du Sautoy. It's a book about the quest to prove the Riemann Hypothesis. Fascinating read - and graspable by anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of Maths.
Before that re-read Needs Must - Kris Needs. Very good, autobiography of ex Blondie, Ramones etc etc roadie and tour manager
Now re-reading Not The End Of The Word - Christopher Brookmyre. Very good take on the 1999 end of the world theory. Funny and violent.
The Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers.
And...The Seven Pillars of Wisdom - T.E. Lawrence.
Sorry signed in with hubbies password, i am struggling KIMBO, he recommended it
Read Catcher In The Rye this week.
Very disappointed. Maybe was expecting too much. Perhaps it's a classic for it being so original and innovative at the time and also prettty anti- establishment but didnt really think much of it.
Maybe should have read it when i was a lot younger to fully appreciate it but just thought of it as " Uber privileged and spoiled rich kid gets expelled and sulks for a couple of nights on his way home....boo hoo".
Then again I think a lot of Shakespeare is overrated too.
Hurricane - The Last Witnesses.
The story of the Hurricane told by those who flew them in WW2. Some of the accounts of how injuries, especially burns occured are pretty horrific.
Now if only Mark David Chapman had felt that about the novel, then John Lennon might still be alive...
I've read the Cormac McCarthy trilogy and would recommend it.
I loved Catcher in the Rye when I first read it, but that was about 25 years ago. I might not feel the same now.
Currently reading Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk.
Impressed! What an intellectual lot! This piqued my interest - being in the English teaching trade - it's all down to the carousel at the end - where Phoebe tries to get the gold ring and 'I realised you gotta let them'. No? Oh well, please yourself.
Trivia - the excellent Orange Juice released records on Holden Caulfield records, y'know.
I went to see him last week so I can really really recommend 'Seeing Stars' by Simon Armitage - terrific stuff and i think he might be a Huddersfield Town supporter.
Pete as I say possibly if I had read it as a bright eyed teen I would have appreciated it more than I have as an embittered, cynical, ageing sod who resents the disappearance of his youth ;-)
Agree BFR it was undoubtably seminal but I suppose picking it up for the first time 60 years later in modern England means it loses its impact. I think if I had known what it was about before reading it I would have enjoyed it more and appreciated it. It was more of a case of it being "That's a book that I must read" and expecting it to be something it wasnt.
I did however once tell my English Alevel teacher that Irvine Welsh was more relevant than Billy Shakespeare once so I wouldnt pay to much notice to my literary warblings ;-)
I'll have nothing said about Brother Jack Kerouac.