Just read Tracey Thorn’s My Rock n Roll Friend and Sinead O’Connor’s Rememberings - both excellent. Now onto Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run which is good so far (120 pages in)…
He travelled around Eurooe watching at least 1 top flight match in all 55 UEFA countries (before Brexit restrictions kicked and before Covid!).
Really enjoyed it, nice mix of travelogue and football, interesting to see the contrast between thousands in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and then crowds made up of 3 men and a dog/just players' families etc.
Enjoyed it, very dryly funny but somehow wasn't quite as good as I'd expect from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, think it had a bit of a rushed ending which could have been it.
Finally finished the Count of Monte Cristo on Audible, definite lull in the middle while they introduced all the characters in Paris, but fantastic first third and final third, great book.
Also read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, was a nice, funny read until the sudden emotional ending (not a spolier I don't think!), enjoyed it.
Just finished Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Struggled at first with too many posh people swilling drinks and swapping bed partners. But it ain't about the plot for me. The bloody writing is marvellous, with lots of insights into love, desire, insanity.
The Commitments, The Snapper, and the Van - 3 books in a series in 1 paperback, by Roddy Doyle.
Not bad, The Snapper was the best of the three for me, but The Van has one of the best lines about football I've seen.
It's set in Ireland during Italia 90, there's quite a few pages dedicated to the Romania penalty shoot out win and then the celebrations in the pub, around the whole town afterwards. And then this:
I know it's about Ireland, but it just sums it up for me, years following Charlton and England, enjoying a few highs, a bit of hope, and then it inevitably doesn't last!
I wasn't a fan, very formulaic, struck me of someone knowing first person dark hurmour, serial killer stuff is popular and giving it a go as a first novel, without the wit to really do it properly.
Needed the main character to be a bit more of a likeable antihero, I just found her a bit petty and boring. The titular family were all overly stereotypical posh people, there was an attempt at a bit of class war in there that a) didn't really work and b) is a bit disingenuous from someone who is very upper middle class herself.
It's so nothingy and dull, which for a post apocalyptic novel takes some doing.
Bland, interchangeable characters, some that she can't even be arsed to name, they are just called after their place in an travelling orchestra ("3rd Bassoon was walking slowly...."), a few of whom have a vague connection in that used to know the same slightly annoying and self-centred actor before he died. Not that the connection really goes anywhere at all.
A vague threat from a cult leader, and when that finally gets remembered and comes to a head I genuinely didn't care if he killed everyone or not.
The actual good bits were the descriptions of the early post-pandemic survivors settling down in an airport, a bit like film The Terminal but emptier.
Not sure this one would have got any traction but for a few similarities between "Georgia Flu" and Covid.
Oh I also listened to Trevor Noah's childhood autobiography, Born A Crime. That was good - I'm not a big autobiography fan usually but the first hand accounts of the apartheid were really interesting, and he read it really well, too, the narration added a lot.
Broken Greek by Pete Paphides. He’s just a couple of years younger than me so his memories of chart music growing up ring so many bells. Fascinating stuff.
It's so nothingy and dull, which for a post apocalyptic novel takes some doing.
Bland, interchangeable characters, some that she can't even be arsed to name, they are just called after their place in an travelling orchestra ("3rd Bassoon was walking slowly...."), a few of whom have a vague connection in that used to know the same slightly annoying and self-centred actor before he died. Not that the connection really goes anywhere at all.
A vague threat from a cult leader, and when that finally gets remembered and comes to a head I genuinely didn't care if he killed everyone or not.
The actual good bits were the descriptions of the early post-pandemic survivors settling down in an airport, a bit like film The Terminal but emptier.
Not sure this one would have got any traction but for a few similarities between "Georgia Flu" and Covid.
Couldn't disagree more. I thought it was superb, one of the best post apocalyptic novels around in a crowded field. A HBO series came out recently. Not sure when it will be available in the UK
Just finished "Be Careful What You Wish For" by Simon Jordon. Don't laugh. I really liked it.Football fans and Charlton fans in particular will enjoy it, especially the behind the scenes at Palace, seeing what goes on with managers, players, and directors. It was a Sunday Times top ten best seller.
Broken Greek by Pete Paphides. He’s just a couple of years younger than me so his memories of chart music growing up ring so many bells. Fascinating stuff.
It's so nothingy and dull, which for a post apocalyptic novel takes some doing.
Bland, interchangeable characters, some that she can't even be arsed to name, they are just called after their place in an travelling orchestra ("3rd Bassoon was walking slowly...."), a few of whom have a vague connection in that used to know the same slightly annoying and self-centred actor before he died. Not that the connection really goes anywhere at all.
A vague threat from a cult leader, and when that finally gets remembered and comes to a head I genuinely didn't care if he killed everyone or not.
The actual good bits were the descriptions of the early post-pandemic survivors settling down in an airport, a bit like film The Terminal but emptier.
Not sure this one would have got any traction but for a few similarities between "Georgia Flu" and Covid.
Couldn't disagree more. I thought it was superb, one of the best post apocalyptic novels around in a crowded field. A HBO series came out recently. Not sure when it will be available in the UK
I love the fact people can see books, films etc so differently and get so much more/less out of it.
Mild spoilers for anyone else to follow, just in case you want to avoid them.
It was mainly just the lack of depth to the characters for me personally, and their weird obsession over Arthur, who was basically a self-centred arsehole in all the flashbacks - being nice to Kirsten aside, I'll admit, but still, you'd think 20 years of an apocalypse later she'd have more going on that a guy who let her read magazines in his dressing room because it was quiet.
Elizabeth and Clark were barely rounded out, I only realised the closeness of the relationships between Kirsten and Sayid too late, Jeevan disappeared for an age and didn't do much... Miranda was by a long way the best and most interesting character. And The Prophet, in a way.
I did enjoy the flashbacks to the flu itself and the early days a lot, just not the ones further back and not much of the 'present', unfortunately.
I appreciate I'm in the minority here, it's done well by all accounts and had the TV show made (and I'd probably watch), but it wasn't for me.
Tyson Fury,autobiography,Behind the Mask,only a short book read it in a day.This man like other people who suffer mental illnesses,went through hell,really good read,and once again ,when he was getting slated by the media,no one really knew what was going on.Why are we so keen to jump on people when we have no idea what is happening.
It's so nothingy and dull, which for a post apocalyptic novel takes some doing.
Bland, interchangeable characters, some that she can't even be arsed to name, they are just called after their place in an travelling orchestra ("3rd Bassoon was walking slowly...."), a few of whom have a vague connection in that used to know the same slightly annoying and self-centred actor before he died. Not that the connection really goes anywhere at all.
A vague threat from a cult leader, and when that finally gets remembered and comes to a head I genuinely didn't care if he killed everyone or not.
The actual good bits were the descriptions of the early post-pandemic survivors settling down in an airport, a bit like film The Terminal but emptier.
Not sure this one would have got any traction but for a few similarities between "Georgia Flu" and Covid.
Couldn't disagree more. I thought it was superb, one of the best post apocalyptic novels around in a crowded field. A HBO series came out recently. Not sure when it will be available in the UK
I love the fact people can see books, films etc so differently and get so much more/less out of it.
Mild spoilers for anyone else to follow, just in case you want to avoid them.
It was mainly just the lack of depth to the characters for me personally, and their weird obsession over Arthur, who was basically a self-centred arsehole in all the flashbacks - being nice to Kirsten aside, I'll admit, but still, you'd think 20 years of an apocalypse later she'd have more going on that a guy who let her read magazines in his dressing room because it was quiet.
Elizabeth and Clark were barely rounded out, I only realised the closeness of the relationships between Kirsten and Sayid too late, Jeevan disappeared for an age and didn't do much... Miranda was by a long way the best and most interesting character. And The Prophet, in a way.
I did enjoy the flashbacks to the flu itself and the early days a lot, just not the ones further back and not much of the 'present', unfortunately.
I appreciate I'm in the minority here, it's done well by all accounts and had the TV show made (and I'd probably watch), but it wasn't for me.
Asbolutely - and sometimes it depends on what kind of mood you're in or if something annoys you in the writing.
Apparently the TV series is out on Starz this weekend. This review sounds promising
Broken Greek by Pete Paphides. He’s just a couple of years younger than me so his memories of chart music growing up ring so many bells. Fascinating stuff.
It's so nothingy and dull, which for a post apocalyptic novel takes some doing.
Bland, interchangeable characters, some that she can't even be arsed to name, they are just called after their place in an travelling orchestra ("3rd Bassoon was walking slowly...."), a few of whom have a vague connection in that used to know the same slightly annoying and self-centred actor before he died. Not that the connection really goes anywhere at all.
A vague threat from a cult leader, and when that finally gets remembered and comes to a head I genuinely didn't care if he killed everyone or not.
The actual good bits were the descriptions of the early post-pandemic survivors settling down in an airport, a bit like film The Terminal but emptier.
Not sure this one would have got any traction but for a few similarities between "Georgia Flu" and Covid.
Couldn't disagree more. I thought it was superb, one of the best post apocalyptic novels around in a crowded field. A HBO series came out recently. Not sure when it will be available in the UK
I love the fact people can see books, films etc so differently and get so much more/less out of it.
Mild spoilers for anyone else to follow, just in case you want to avoid them.
It was mainly just the lack of depth to the characters for me personally, and their weird obsession over Arthur, who was basically a self-centred arsehole in all the flashbacks - being nice to Kirsten aside, I'll admit, but still, you'd think 20 years of an apocalypse later she'd have more going on that a guy who let her read magazines in his dressing room because it was quiet.
Elizabeth and Clark were barely rounded out, I only realised the closeness of the relationships between Kirsten and Sayid too late, Jeevan disappeared for an age and didn't do much... Miranda was by a long way the best and most interesting character. And The Prophet, in a way.
I did enjoy the flashbacks to the flu itself and the early days a lot, just not the ones further back and not much of the 'present', unfortunately.
I appreciate I'm in the minority here, it's done well by all accounts and had the TV show made (and I'd probably watch), but it wasn't for me.
Asbolutely - and sometimes it depends on what kind of mood you're in or if something annoys you in the writing.
Apparently the TV series is out on Starz this weekend. This review sounds promising
It's so nothingy and dull, which for a post apocalyptic novel takes some doing.
Bland, interchangeable characters, some that she can't even be arsed to name, they are just called after their place in an travelling orchestra ("3rd Bassoon was walking slowly...."), a few of whom have a vague connection in that used to know the same slightly annoying and self-centred actor before he died. Not that the connection really goes anywhere at all.
A vague threat from a cult leader, and when that finally gets remembered and comes to a head I genuinely didn't care if he killed everyone or not.
The actual good bits were the descriptions of the early post-pandemic survivors settling down in an airport, a bit like film The Terminal but emptier.
Not sure this one would have got any traction but for a few similarities between "Georgia Flu" and Covid.
Couldn't disagree more. I thought it was superb, one of the best post apocalyptic novels around in a crowded field. A HBO series came out recently. Not sure when it will be available in the UK
I love the fact people can see books, films etc so differently and get so much more/less out of it.
Mild spoilers for anyone else to follow, just in case you want to avoid them.
It was mainly just the lack of depth to the characters for me personally, and their weird obsession over Arthur, who was basically a self-centred arsehole in all the flashbacks - being nice to Kirsten aside, I'll admit, but still, you'd think 20 years of an apocalypse later she'd have more going on that a guy who let her read magazines in his dressing room because it was quiet.
Elizabeth and Clark were barely rounded out, I only realised the closeness of the relationships between Kirsten and Sayid too late, Jeevan disappeared for an age and didn't do much... Miranda was by a long way the best and most interesting character. And The Prophet, in a way.
I did enjoy the flashbacks to the flu itself and the early days a lot, just not the ones further back and not much of the 'present', unfortunately.
I appreciate I'm in the minority here, it's done well by all accounts and had the TV show made (and I'd probably watch), but it wasn't for me.
Asbolutely - and sometimes it depends on what kind of mood you're in or if something annoys you in the writing.
Apparently the TV series is out on Starz this weekend. This review sounds promising
Is it weird I'm tempted despite not being that fussed by the book?!
Yeah. It's not that great but has a few things worth bringing for the price of a month or two. Godfather of Harlem is decent. The Great is funny if you can overlook the appealing historical inaccuracies
Just finished Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Struggled at first with too many posh people swilling drinks and swapping bed partners. But it ain't about the plot for me. The bloody writing is marvellous, with lots of insights into love, desire, insanity.
My favorite novel of his. The first 100 pages or so are tough. But the last 200-odd are his best writing. Unfortunately, like him (and it is semi-autobiographical), it is deeply flawed. But when it's good, it's absolutely stunning. It will always have a special place in my heart.
Really interesting to see people discussing Station Eleven because I'm considering starting that next. I enjoyed the HBO series. I didn't think u would. I grew up around enough theater kids that the idea of "what I'd only theater kids survived the apocalypse?" didn't sound too appealing to me. But the stuff from just before and around the time of the pandemic is great.
The other one I'm considering is TheMystery.doc. Think I'll probably end up going with that.
I've just stopped XX by Rian Hughes. I got 525/986 pages in. The premise is interesting. The layout is good, what you expect from a graphic designer. But the writing isn't great. And every time the premise sets the book up to say something interesting or insicive about society, it just passes and moves onto another story line. This happened at least three distinct times in the chunk I read. There is a perpetual feeling throughout the novel that it doesn't know where it's going, and by the time I stopped, that felt pretty apparent. It's deeply disappointing.
The best part was a faux serialized pulp sci-fi novella, which was quite enjoyable, but made up about 50 pages of the 500 I read and had ended by the time I stopped.
My main take aways were "what if centuries could talk, the 19th would be a social dandy, the 20th an industrial machine, and the 21st a tweeting mosaic of screens."
And it's main morals seem to be "if aliens came down, SJWs would ask them their pronouns and Alex Jones would call them an Illuminati conspiracy" and "kids b on they damn phone too much."
Like I said, interesting premise, nothing to say. If that style of novel intrigues you (and it is very intriguing) read House of Leaves. Danielewski is an excellent writer, and he understands the novel and form so well that he can deconstruct it. Hughes does not. After HoL, read Steven Hall's books. Not as good, but along the same lines.
Really interesting to see people discussing Station Eleven because I'm considering starting that next. I enjoyed the HBO series. I didn't think u would. I grew up around enough theater kids that the idea of "what I'd only theater kids survived the apocalypse?" didn't sound too appealing to me. But the stuff from just before and around the time of the pandemic is great.
The other one I'm considering is TheMystery.doc. Think I'll probably end up going with that.
The just before and just after the flu were the good parts of the book for me.
Unfortunately the flashbacks further back and the years later bits I didn't enjoy.
Recruit - Robert Muchamore. OK, it's a children's book, but my 11 year old daughter is ploughing through the series and loved them, so got me and the mrs to read it. Basic premise is that children are drafted into the secret service, and follows basic training and a mission. I really enjoyed it, though not planning on reading the rest (my to-read pile is groaning on the shelf), but for those with kids aged 10 or so, I'd recommend them. The Alex Rider books as well.
'There was a low mist. You could see the glare of headlamps reflected on the high-voltage cables beside the road. It hadn't rained, but the ground was still wet with dew; the traffic lights cast blurred red spots on the asphalt. You could sense the breath of the camp from miles away. Roads, railway tracks and cables all gradually coverged on it. This was a world of straight lines: a grid of rectangles and parallelograms imposed on the autumn sky, on the mist and on the earth itself.'
Thus begins the book Life And Fate written by Vasily Grossman who became a correspondent for the Red Army newspaper, the Red Star. He reported on the defence of Stalingrad, the fall of Berlin and the consequences of the Holocaust. He was unnusual in that he was trusted by the soldiers with whom he lived. This book is regarded as his masterpiece and, indeed, the heresy of saying that it is better than War And Peace has been heard on quite a few occasions.
The KGB was fearful of arresting Grossman so it arrested this book instead until a microfilm copy was smuggled into the West in 1980 with the help of Andrey Sakharov. It's a hefty read but I can't wait to get tucked into it. I wondered if others have already read it and what their opinions are?
I know that a modern editor would be critical saying that in the opening paragraph a character must be introduced. I don't necessarily agree but that's how it is nowadays. Here's an example: https://youtu.be/5c-1SlOKPN8
Just finished Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Struggled at first with too many posh people swilling drinks and swapping bed partners. But it ain't about the plot for me. The bloody writing is marvellous, with lots of insights into love, desire, insanity.
Studied this at A Level English literature and I hated that part of it. I intend to buy it one day because I think I would appreciate the other aspects better than my 17 year old self.
'There was a low mist. You could see the glare of headlamps reflected on the high-voltage cables beside the road. It hadn't rained, but the ground was still wet with dew; the traffic lights cast blurred red spots on the asphalt. You could sense the breath of the camp from miles away. Roads, railway tracks and cables all gradually coverged on it. This was a world of straight lines: a grid of rectangles and parallelograms imposed on the autumn sky, on the mist and on the earth itself.'
Thus begins the book Life And Fate written by Vasily Grossman who became a correspondent for the Red Army newspaper, the Red Star. He reported on the defence of Stalingrad, the fall of Berlin and the consequences of the Holocaust. He was unnusual in that he was trusted by the soldiers with whom he lived. This book is regarded as his masterpiece and, indeed, the heresy of saying that it is better than War And Peace has been heard on quite a few occasions.
The KGB was fearful of arresting Grossman so it arrested this book instead until a microfilm copy was smuggled into the West in 1980 with the help of Andrey Sakharov. It's a hefty read but I can't wait to get tucked into it. I wondered if others have already read it and what their opinions are?
I know that a modern editor would be critical saying that in the opening paragraph a character must be introduced. I don't necessarily agree but that's how it is nowadays. Here's an example: https://youtu.be/5c-1SlOKPN8
Interesting. I didn't know that was the case.
Life and Fate certainly isn't short of characters but it's the way the world/system is imposed on them and their powerlessness (even leaders like Krushnev) that is theme of the novel. The opening paragraph is a perfect introduction in that sense.
Read so many books over the past two years I have lost count, fiction and 'fact' (as perceived by the author)
A T M I am reading 'Empire of Pain', the history of the Sackler dynasty, notorious for the oxycodone 'epidemic', but they are much more than that .. I like a fast paced biography that reads almost like a novel .. this is a superbly written story
Another great read is 'Fall', the Robert Maxwell story .. makes you feel almost sorry for his ill fated children
Comments
He travelled around Eurooe watching at least 1 top flight match in all 55 UEFA countries (before Brexit restrictions kicked and before Covid!).
Really enjoyed it, nice mix of travelogue and football, interesting to see the contrast between thousands in Germany, Portugal, Spain, and then crowds made up of 3 men and a dog/just players' families etc.
Would recommend it.
Enjoyed it, very dryly funny but somehow wasn't quite as good as I'd expect from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, think it had a bit of a rushed ending which could have been it.
Still good though.
Also read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, was a nice, funny read until the sudden emotional ending (not a spolier I don't think!), enjoyed it.
Not bad, The Snapper was the best of the three for me, but The Van has one of the best lines about football I've seen.
It's set in Ireland during Italia 90, there's quite a few pages dedicated to the Romania penalty shoot out win and then the celebrations in the pub, around the whole town afterwards. And then this:
I know it's about Ireland, but it just sums it up for me, years following Charlton and England, enjoying a few highs, a bit of hope, and then it inevitably doesn't last!
I wasn't a fan, very formulaic, struck me of someone knowing first person dark hurmour, serial killer stuff is popular and giving it a go as a first novel, without the wit to really do it properly.
Needed the main character to be a bit more of a likeable antihero, I just found her a bit petty and boring. The titular family were all overly stereotypical posh people, there was an attempt at a bit of class war in there that a) didn't really work and b) is a bit disingenuous from someone who is very upper middle class herself.
It's so nothingy and dull, which for a post apocalyptic novel takes some doing.
Bland, interchangeable characters, some that she can't even be arsed to name, they are just called after their place in an travelling orchestra ("3rd Bassoon was walking slowly...."), a few of whom have a vague connection in that used to know the same slightly annoying and self-centred actor before he died. Not that the connection really goes anywhere at all.
A vague threat from a cult leader, and when that finally gets remembered and comes to a head I genuinely didn't care if he killed everyone or not.
The actual good bits were the descriptions of the early post-pandemic survivors settling down in an airport, a bit like film The Terminal but emptier.
Not sure this one would have got any traction but for a few similarities between "Georgia Flu" and Covid.
Mild spoilers for anyone else to follow, just in case you want to avoid them.
It was mainly just the lack of depth to the characters for me personally, and their weird obsession over Arthur, who was basically a self-centred arsehole in all the flashbacks - being nice to Kirsten aside, I'll admit, but still, you'd think 20 years of an apocalypse later she'd have more going on that a guy who let her read magazines in his dressing room because it was quiet.
Elizabeth and Clark were barely rounded out, I only realised the closeness of the relationships between Kirsten and Sayid too late, Jeevan disappeared for an age and didn't do much... Miranda was by a long way the best and most interesting character. And The Prophet, in a way.
I did enjoy the flashbacks to the flu itself and the early days a lot, just not the ones further back and not much of the 'present', unfortunately.
I appreciate I'm in the minority here, it's done well by all accounts and had the TV show made (and I'd probably watch), but it wasn't for me.
Apparently the TV series is out on Starz this weekend. This review sounds promising
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jan/28/an-uplifting-pandemic-drama-how-station-eleven-pulled-off-the-impossible
Is it weird I'm tempted despite not being that fussed by the book?!
The other one I'm considering is TheMystery.doc. Think I'll probably end up going with that.
The best part was a faux serialized pulp sci-fi novella, which was quite enjoyable, but made up about 50 pages of the 500 I read and had ended by the time I stopped.
My main take aways were "what if centuries could talk, the 19th would be a social dandy, the 20th an industrial machine, and the 21st a tweeting mosaic of screens."
And it's main morals seem to be "if aliens came down, SJWs would ask them their pronouns and Alex Jones would call them an Illuminati conspiracy" and "kids b on they damn phone too much."
Like I said, interesting premise, nothing to say. If that style of novel intrigues you (and it is very intriguing) read House of Leaves. Danielewski is an excellent writer, and he understands the novel and form so well that he can deconstruct it. Hughes does not. After HoL, read Steven Hall's books. Not as good, but along the same lines.
Unfortunately the flashbacks further back and the years later bits I didn't enjoy.
I don't necessarily agree but that's how it is nowadays.
Here's an example:
Life and Fate certainly isn't short of characters but it's the way the world/system is imposed on them and their powerlessness (even leaders like Krushnev) that is theme of the novel. The opening paragraph is a perfect introduction in that sense.
A T M I am reading 'Empire of Pain', the history of the Sackler dynasty, notorious for the oxycodone 'epidemic', but they are much more than that .. I like a fast paced biography that reads almost like a novel .. this is a superbly written story
Another great read is 'Fall', the Robert Maxwell story .. makes you feel almost sorry for his ill fated children