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Luke_W

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Is that David Peace book part of a series? I think I've read 1974. Grim yorkshire noir as I recall.

Finished a few recently:

Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground - enjoyed it. Do need to read his bigger works though. // Uncles Dream - his attempt at comedy after exile in the 1850's. Not disastrous and some good moments, but not surprising it's one of the lesser read works

Vonnegut : Slaughterhouse 5: one of those books I've considered buying for quite a while but was waiting until I'd caught up with other stuff. Loved it. Really looking to read more of his books - the dry humour and turns of phrase are terrific, and so effective in developing the sentiment of the book.

The Silence and the Roar : a 2013 translation of a book by Nihad Sirees a Syrian author in exile for his works. This was written in 2004 originally satirising the Assad regime. It is decent, and get's it point across and posesses an elemenr of the Kafka / Orwell commentary about it but that comparison only serves to highlight a gap in quality to those authors. However it's still worth a read.

Now on Gunter Grass' memoir: Peeling The Onion.

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Secret History is on my shortlist. The Inheritors is very good. While I was reading it, I didn't find it all that amazing, but it's stayed in my mind in a haunting way. More layers of meaning in it than are apparent at first glance. It's short enough to read at a sitting or two, so you should give it a go.

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These days I only really read Lee Child...but I do like the odd music-based book/biography/autobiography...if it's about someone I have an interest in...;)

 

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I started reading John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces". Has a reputation as a comic classic, and been meaning to read it for ages. 

 

Gave up after a chapter. This is what usually happens whenever I attempt Dickens - and for similar reasons. Laboured attempts to be amusing that fall completely flat for me. The style just annoyed me, 

 

Switched to E. L. Doctorow's "Billy Bathgate". Much more like it, literary mob drama reminiscent of Goodfellas. 

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Currently going through Delderfield's To Serve Them All My Days.

 

Really enjoyable so far and not as boring as I thought it'd be.

 

Perhaps because you're a teacher? Never read RLD, but the missus has, and she liked his stuff. 

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I read Wouldnt it be nice, Wilsons biography a while back and blimey its a grim story.

Apparently so full of untruths that BW was sued by many. There's a new one slated for release, I'm sure it'll be the definitive version!

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But that in itself shows how screwed up he was. The details are almost irrelevant, the overall impression he gives of his own life experiences and state of mind is - literally - sobering.

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I read Wouldnt it be nice, Wilsons biography a while back and blimey its a grim story.

Apparently so full of untruths that BW was sued by many. There's a new one slated for release, I'm sure it'll be the definitive version!

 

It was the book that made me loathe Mike Love, which continues to this day.

 

I read quite a few biographies, The Dirt, the Motley Crue book is a favourite, Hammer of The Gods was excellent too, Road Mangler Deluxe was great, 

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Heavier Than Heaven (Kurt Cobain) is a favourite of mine.

 

Also agree about Mike Love...these days he seems to have turned sickly sweet to make people forget the tremendous bellend he was

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Making my way through a song of ice and fire, I won't spoil it here I'll save it for the TV thread. Only on third book, first was a bit of a slog, second was great.

Thought some of the theories I was reading were being creative but there's loads of nudges in the books which aren't in the show.

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