sharkyvilla Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Just finished Skagboys by Irvine Welsh. Set a few years before Trainspotting and gives the back story of the main characters. Not a bad read, lacks the fizz of Trainspotting but entertaining anyway. I read that a while ago too and have been working my way through his stuff over the past year or so. Filth is something else. I've started getting into Phillip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series, I read one of the later ones to start with and really enjoyed it and am starting back at the beginning of Berlin Noir now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I bought skagboys the day it came out and was really looking forward to reading it, I think I tried about 4 or 5 times and never got past page 20. It was like I would pick it up for 1/2 hour and then something would come up and I wouldn't get a chance to read again for a week so I would start again and the same thing would happen. Still got it, just sitting there waiting but now I have got another three books that I wanna read before that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Just finished Skagboys by Irvine Welsh. Set a few years before Trainspotting and gives the back story of the main characters. Not a bad read, lacks the fizz of Trainspotting but entertaining anyway. I read that a while ago too and have been working my way through his stuff over the past year or so. Filth is something else. I've started getting into Phillip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series, I read one of the later ones to start with and really enjoyed it and am starting back at the beginning of Berlin Noir now. I read Trainspotting again after finishing Skagboys and now re-reading Porno. I don't think Welsh has ever hit the heights of his debut novel. Saying that I do like Filth. Read it a few times... always makes me laugh! The movie is out next year. Be interesting to see how it manages to portray the main characters. Welsh has said himself that he thinks the film could be bigger then the Trainspotting film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I thought porno was the best one out of the two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amsterdam_Neil_D Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 If you are into books and stuff, goodreads.com is worth a look. Really impressed with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 got a few books to get through now, back onto my horror kick the zombie's/undead actually play second fiddle in the book, its more based on human nature Book Description God is a slick god. Temple knows. She knows because of all the crackerjack miracles still to be seen on this ruined globe... Older than her years and completely alone, Temple is just trying to live one day at a time in a post-apocalyptic world, where the undead roam endlessly, and the remnant of mankind who have survived, at times, seem to retain little humanity themselves. This is the world she was born into. Temple has known nothing else. Her journey takes her to far-flung places, to people struggling to maintain some semblance of civilization – and to those who have created a new world order for themselves. When she comes across the helpless Maury, she attempts to set one thing right, if she can just get him back to his family in Texas then maybe it will bring redemption for some of the terrible things she's done in her past. Because Temple has had to fight to survive, has done things that she's not proud of and, along the road, she’s made enemies. Now one vengeful man is determined that, in a world gone mad, killing her is the one thing that makes sense… then I have got dunno why I ordered this it sounds pretty gash but I fancied something a bit different In a remote Himalayan cave a group of New Age tourists come across the mummified corpse of an RAF flyer. Before they can investigate the mystery, all except the guide are ritually massacred. In Bosnia, an American Air Cavalry patrol investigates a disturbance at a mass grave site and its commander catches a fleeting glimpse of a creature straight out of a medieval morality play. We are on the verge of discovering a new frontier. And it lies beneath our feet. A global labyrinth of underground tunnels and caves, miles below the surface, inhabited by immensely strong, savage devil-like creatures. Hell exists. The world's armies respond to the threat and are slaughtered in the dark. But from the panic comes a new resolve. . . and finally I am waiting for this to be delivered, looking forward to this one, this is my type of book Taken from documentation written at the time, this novel - set between 1988 and 1993 - revolves around one woman’s struggle against poltergeist activity, demonic possession and ultimate Exorcism at her home in the quaint English village of Slapton, Buckinghamshire. It is unknown how the demonic spirit came to be at the cottage, but its presence resulted in a battle ensuing between God and Satan as they waged war for souls. Finding herself caught in the middle and desperate for salvation from the evil spirit and ghosts which resided with her, Joanna turned to the Church for help, only to discover that the Exorcist appointed for the task would be less than accommodating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 If you are into books and stuff, goodreads.com is worth a look. Really impressed with it. I took a look at this site yesterday and think its great, it throws up some really good recommendations (far better than amazon) and it's also just a good way to keep a record of what you have read or what you want to read so far I've marked 128 books as read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amsterdam_Neil_D Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 If you are into books and stuff, goodreads.com is worth a look. Really impressed with it. I took a look at this site yesterday and think its great, it throws up some really good recommendations (far better than amazon) and it's also just a good way to keep a record of what you have read or what you want to read so far I've marked 128 books as read You are correct the recommendations are spot on. I am marking books read as I come across them now, I am only up to about 50. I am reading 2 books at the same time, both from good reads. Also try the clubs, really good as well. If you add a book to (to read) you will sometimes get a personnel message from the actual author as a lot of authors seem to be on there (eg S king etc) Top top site and on a tablet or similar, highly addictive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 what club's have you joined on there? I have only joined the one so far but they all seem pretty dead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I'm reading the latest Tom Rob Smith book Agent 6 It's good, better than Child 44 . Looking forward to see how the story develops. For my toilet read, I've dusted off my copy of Hammer and Tickle by Ben Lewis. A small book about the history of communist jokes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I'm looking for quality books about WW2....The European and/or North African theaters. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Take a look at that goodreads.com just rate a few of the books you have read and it'll throw up some pretty obscure ones in the same genre, it's helped me find loads of horror books that I can't get at places like waterstones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted October 3, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted October 3, 2012 For those looking for more in the Alan Furst/Phillip Kerr genre (30s/40s espionage), try David Downing's "Station" series. They are very good. Or go back to the original, Eric Ambler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted October 3, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted October 3, 2012 I'm looking for quality books about WW2....The European and/or North African theaters. Any suggestions?PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonp Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I'm looking for quality books about WW2....The European and/or North African theaters. Any suggestions? All hell broke loose by max hastings The forgotten voice range of books is an interesting approach (covers a number of areas in a number of books) Berlin the downfall by anthony beevor was excellent (wasn't too keen on stalingrad) Also try D-Day the battle for normandy Agent Zig Zag (about a spy, pretty interesting) Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary by traudl junge (the actual secretary). This was the book downfall the film was based upon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I've decided to read some Chomsky in a belated attempt to appear more knowledgeable. I'm looking at either 'How the World Works' or 'Failed States'. Are these a good starting point or are there better alternatives, or should I look at someone other than an 80-year old dude? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted October 30, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted October 30, 2012 Mark Twain's Following the Equator, indirectly the inspiration for my .sig. Following the Equator (American English title) or More Tramps Abroad (English title) is a non-fiction travelogue published by American author Mark Twain in 1897. Twain was practically bankrupt in 1894 due to a failed investment into a "revolutionary" typesetting machine. In an attempt to extricate himself from debt of $100,000 (equivalent of about $2.5 million in 2010) he undertook a tour of the British Empire in 1895, a route chosen to provide numerous opportunities for lectures in the English language. In Following the Equator, an account of that travel published in 1897, the author criticizes racism, imperialism and missionary zeal in observations woven into the narrative with classical Twain wit. In keeping with that wit, and Twain's love of a tall tale, Twain included a number of fictional stories in the body of what is otherwise a non-fiction work. In particular, the story of how Cecil Rhodes made his fortune by finding a newspaper in the belly of a shark, and the story of how a man named Ed Jackson made good in life out of a fake letter of introduction to Cornelius Vanderbilt, were anthologized in Charles Neider (ed) The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain, (Doubleday, 1957) where they are presented as fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted October 30, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted October 30, 2012 I love Mark Twain. The recent biography by Ron Powers is well worth a read. And his actual autobiography is finally out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 1, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted November 1, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Picked up Elroy's 'The Black Dahlia' today. Thinking of getting into Raymond Chandler at some point. The winter always brings out my inner crime fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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