Pelle Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 On 04/07/2018 at 13:36, BOF said: Help! I'm looking for some gift fantasy recommendations please. From some sleuthing, the person is currently reading Neil Gaiman's 'Norse Mythology'. Thank you. I always recommend Robert Jordan's Wheel of time series when it comes to fantasy. Probably more of a "classic Tolkien fantasy" than Gaiman. But if she/he likes the first one, there are 14 books all in all in the whole series so he/she will be occupied for some time. And a prequel, btw. But the prequel I think is best to read after the first or the second book. Anyway, the first book is The eye of the world. I think these books are brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 18, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 18, 2018 This thread has slipped way too far down the list recently. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Manhood - Steve Biddulph I've read and heard all sorts of s*** about what a man should be from all sorts of people. This book was definitely worth the read and unless you are hopelessly inured to your chains I think you will find the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted November 19, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 19, 2018 Raised as a Mormon survivalist in rural Iowa. Not allowed to go to school or hospital/doctors and working in daddies junk yard through many accidents, Tara eventually escapes. Gets her degree from Brigham Young and becomes a Rhodes scholar at Oxford and writes "Educated." Harrowing and inspiring and well worth a few days of your time. Tara is naturally a survivor but also an international sensation and estranged from her wackadoodle family which I believe is a good thing for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 On 13/09/2018 at 09:10, Rodders said: Donna Tartt's The Secret History - took a bit of time to get into it, but now completely gripped a third of the way in, excellent writing. That was an excellent book by the end. Since then, also read Brighton Rock - which was ok, I found the religious element incredibly tedious to be honest. And "A Spy Named Orphan - Donald Maclean biography" by Roland Philipps which is a really good addition to the literature on the Cambridge 5. I've not read anything on his story before, but this was a really absorbing and researched account of his story. Writing in places is a bit dodgy and the layout - from a publisher turned writer was surprisingly weird, but those superficial details aside it's a really good read if you're interesting in that period. Currently reading CJ Sansom - Winter in Madrid - which is fluffy bedtime reading stuff so far. Homo Deus - the book by the Israeli historian chap - brisk and broad in scope but very readable, not all the arguments convince me, but it does raise interesting questions as to what the future holds. and Phillipe Sands - East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity - from a lawyer's perspective with a very personal connection to the Nuremberg trials. Only just begun, but it was heartily recommended to me so I think it should be fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 19, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 19, 2018 Quote CJ Sansom - Winter in Madrid - which is fluffy bedtime reading stuff so far. Gets into a lot of 'good read' lists. I thought it was garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 22 minutes ago, mjmooney said: Gets into a lot of 'good read' lists. I thought it was garbage. Yes, I'm not hooked yet, the characterisation seems really twee to put it kindly. I'm only 3 or 4 chapters in, but I'm sticking with it at the moment due to historical interest in the period, but it won't last long at the current rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 19, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 19, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rodders said: Yes, I'm not hooked yet, the characterisation seems really twee to put it kindly. I'm only 3 or 4 chapters in, but I'm sticking with it at the moment due to historical interest in the period, but it won't last long at the current rate. Exactly how I felt. I really wanted to like it, as the subject matter was right up my street, and i really love that whole genre. But I thought it was very poor - cardboard characters and boring plot. Dunno why it seems so popular. EDIT: I had the same reaction to Carlos Ruiz Zafón's "The Shadow of the Wind". Very well reviewed, very disappointing. Edited November 19, 2018 by mjmooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 After a book for my old man. Looking at WW1 stuff, he's done the Somme, Verdun etc etc - I'm looking more towards Suez/Gallipoli - any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Rodders said: Yes, I'm not hooked yet, the characterisation seems really twee to put it kindly. I'm only 3 or 4 chapters in, but I'm sticking with it at the moment due to historical interest in the period, but it won't last long at the current rate. I haven't read that one, but Sansom's Shardlake series is excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 I just finished Absolute Proof by Peter James, a standalone novel not based on his detective series. It's a bit like a better-written Dan Brown book and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Just got hold of Republic by Plato and will give that a read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 On 19/11/2018 at 21:11, lapal_fan said: After a book for my old man. Looking at WW1 stuff, he's done the Somme, Verdun etc etc - I'm looking more towards Suez/Gallipoli - any suggestions? Not my forte but have a look at Good-bye to All That by Robert Graves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted November 28, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 28, 2018 1 hour ago, A'Villan said: Not my forte but have a look at Good-bye to All That by Robert Graves. But that's Western Front, and he's done that. How about T. E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom"? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Has anyone read/heard of this book called 'Ticket to the Moon' ? Apologies if it has been discussed elsewhere. Among other things it claims that Graham Turner had a 'wish list ' of players to replace the Saunders team which he swiftly broke up. I am told some of the proposals included :- re-signing John Gidman, Alan Smith (later of Arsenal and a Villa fan) and Gary Lineker was would still have been at Leicester. Quite a list - anyone come across this book? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villakram Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 On 19/11/2018 at 05:11, lapal_fan said: After a book for my old man. Looking at WW1 stuff, he's done the Somme, Verdun etc etc - I'm looking more towards Suez/Gallipoli - any suggestions? a tad late... but sleepwalkers is the WWI - how did we get to there - book. https://www.amazon.com/Sleepwalkers-How-Europe-Went-1914/dp/0061146668 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 13, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 13, 2019 (edited) I have a strange habit of reading all the books by certain authors except their "greatest hit". For example, I've read everything by John Steinbeck, but not "The Grapes of Wrath". And it recently occurred to me that I'd read all of Nabokov except "Lolita". So I've put that to rights. I have to say, it's a very uncomfortable read, given the subject matter - and I'm not entirely convinced that the admittedly fantastic quality of writing entirely compensates for that. I'm not sure it would be published today. Edited January 13, 2019 by mjmooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 16, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 16, 2019 Right, finished Lolita, and now onto a re-read of: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Anyone read the Arisen series? (Glynn James, Michael Stephen Fuchs) Thinking about picking it up, but it's a lot of books and pretty difficult to get hold of in Sweden so just want to make sure it's worth the hustle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 16, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted January 16, 2019 My plan for 2019 is to read (or re-read) some 20th Century (and a few earlier) classics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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