wiggyrichard Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 HAHA! I tricked you all! I read like a really bad person! I'm reading right now - a big **** book about loads of cool shit! Heehee! I knew you were all along, i just thought i would play along 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xliosive Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 HAHA! I tricked you all! I read like a really bad person! I'm reading right now - a big **** book about loads of cool shit! Heehee! I knew you were all along, i just thought i would play along 8) :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 8, 2009 VT Supporter Share Posted January 8, 2009 Pretty good work that Xliosive, I really don't know what to believe now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonp Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Santa bought a few books along over Christmas and have just finished the Damned Utd by David Peace. Excellent book with a mix of fact and fiction. Its a cross over of Brian Cloughs days at Derby County and 44 days at Leeds Utd (thus the Damned Utd) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Anybody read any SF or fantasy recently?Not long finished Neal Stephenson's Anathem. Thanks mate, looking it up now. Was it any good? I'm not on facebook to read your reviews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I just read a ben elton book the other day - blind faith. now whilst I was sympathetic broadly speaking to the point - being as subtle as a brick slamming you on the head with a large flashing neon sign saying " I HATE EVERYONE" attached to it, it was readable but a far cry away from his earlier stuff. So, having dispensed with that, I'm flicking through Brysons " A Mother Tongue" atm - interesting but broken up by some serious tedium, and next on the radar - one of the books I bought today - Anna koreninananana ( sp? ) or some book on chekov's short stories. I admite freely I've never read anything by Tolstoy nor ever heard of Chekovs work barring his name. But it was buy one get one free and I thought I might as well shoot for the stars. My excuse is im at least attempting to get there eventually - even if I should probably read some easier stuff first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Santa bought a few books along over Christmas and have just finished the Damned Utd by David Peace. Excellent book with a mix of fact and fiction. Its a cross over of Brian Cloughs days at Derby County and 44 days at Leeds Utd (thus the Damned Utd) Really enjoyed that one. Caught the atmosphere of the times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wol. Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 xliosive did you get the lucid dreamer ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xliosive Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 xliosive did you get the lucid dreamer ? Nah, not in the end mate. I went to get it but it the cheapest I could find was about £35! Bit pricey I thought but i've been looking at stuff on the net. Will probably end up getting it though or one very similar. edit. actually, just found it on ebay currently at £7 with a day and a half to go. Will try and get this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wol. Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I borrowed it from the library. They may have even sourced it for me for a 25p charge iirc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 9, 2009 VT Supporter Share Posted January 9, 2009 Anybody read any SF or fantasy recently?Not long finished Neal Stephenson's Anathem. Thanks mate, looking it up now. Was it any good? I'm not on facebook to read your reviewsWell my review is also on Amazon (UK), but don't read it as it contains a spoiler! I enjoyed Anathem, but it's a HUGE book, and rather slow. I'm a big Stephenson fan, so I sort of knew what to expect. If you've never read him before, I'm not sure I'd start here. His earlier books, like Zodiac and Snowcrash are more short, pacy cyberpunk type fare, then he really got into his stride with Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle trilogy (all of which are basically historical fiction with a very subtle sf twist). Not everyone's cup of tea, but I think he's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Current reading Pharaoh by some Italian bloke( he who wrote lost Legion and so on) after a 3am finish last night just finished this one .. the translation left me feeling I'd missed something but it didn't put me off enjoying the book .. it was a good plot though ... it could possibly have been written a little better , but as I say that may have come from the translation process short plot is terrorists put 3 suitcase bombs in America with the threat that they will detonate them if they interfere in events they kick off in the middle East ... launch a 4 pronged Arab attack on Israel knowing the US and Europe are powerless to intervene .. the Pharaoh stuff sort of runs alongside the plot and adds to the intrigue and is ultimately linked the book was originally written in 2000 but I guess events haven't really changed in the Middle East during that time Read it in 2 nights it was def a page turner so worth checking out in my humble opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecraft Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I just read a ben elton book the other day - blind faith. now whilst I was sympathetic broadly speaking to the point - being as subtle as a brick slamming you on the head with a large flashing neon sign saying " I HATE EVERYONE" attached to it, it was readable but a far cry away from his earlier stuff. So, having dispensed with that, I'm flicking through Brysons " A Mother Tongue" atm - interesting but broken up by some serious tedium, and next on the radar - one of the books I bought today - Anna koreninananana ( sp? ) or some book on chekov's short stories. I admite freely I've never read anything by Tolstoy nor ever heard of Chekovs work barring his name. But it was buy one get one free and I thought I might as well shoot for the stars. My excuse is im at least attempting to get there eventually - even if I should probably read some easier stuff first. I find tolstoy quite dull to be honest, for russian/soviet authors I prefer Dostoevsky - though really Crime and Punishment is far better than the others I read, and more frequently Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita is an excellent if totally surreal novel and Heart of a Dog is worth a read. This is an old thread though and I probably already mentioned these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecraft Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 There's a new Robert Rankin out which is next on my list to buy! Not everybodies taste but I love his stuff. The more you read the easier it gets Once again, Mankind faces doom in another indescribable Elvis-filled gumshoe fantasy grab-bag, Rankin's 30th outing (The Da-Da-De-Da-Da Code, 2008, etc.).Back in 1960s London, wannabe rock star and gumshoe Tyler, beguiled by Captain Lynch's stories of fabled Begrem, city of gold, forms a ukulele band, the Sumerian Kynges, only to get upstaged at his high-school concert by the Rolling Stones (who actually steal their ukuleles). But Tyler and his band have been promised fame and fortune by the mysterious Mr Ishmael (after having signed a contract in blood). Soon they're equipped with guitars, amps, drums, etc., only to have the equipment stolen. So Tyler, assisted by his mad brother Andy (he thinks he's a dog), sniffs out the equipment - in a graveyard populated by undead. The secret Ministry of Serendipity, who know about the zombies, capture Tyler and turn him into an amnesiac assassin. It turns out that the world is threatened by an evil magician and zombie master known as the Homunculus, whose ambition is to create a dead world, the Necrosphere. Arriving in New York with a traveling circus, Tyler will meet Lazlo Woodbine, the famous (fictional) detective, Elvis (of course Elvis) and Elvis's evil twin Keith (he's also the Pope). Eventually he'll perfect the Tyler Technique of detecting, which involves (mostly) doing nothing at all. Confused yet?The publisher describes Rankin as a "beloved British Eccentric." Wrong. He's a total wack job. But if you can understand him, you'll find, oddly enough, that the more you think about it, the funnier it gets. (Kirkus Reviews) http://tinyurl.com/9x6uel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 9, 2009 VT Supporter Share Posted January 9, 2009 I just read a ben elton book the other day - blind faith. now whilst I was sympathetic broadly speaking to the point - being as subtle as a brick slamming you on the head with a large flashing neon sign saying " I HATE EVERYONE" attached to it, it was readable but a far cry away from his earlier stuff. So, having dispensed with that, I'm flicking through Brysons " A Mother Tongue" atm - interesting but broken up by some serious tedium, and next on the radar - one of the books I bought today - Anna koreninananana ( sp? ) or some book on chekov's short stories. I admite freely I've never read anything by Tolstoy nor ever heard of Chekovs work barring his name. But it was buy one get one free and I thought I might as well shoot for the stars. My excuse is im at least attempting to get there eventually - even if I should probably read some easier stuff first. I find tolstoy quite dull to be honest, for russian/soviet authors I prefer Dostoevsky - though really Crime and Punishment is far better than the others I read, and more frequently Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita is an excellent if totally surreal novel and Heart of a Dog is worth a read. This is an old thread though and I probably already mentioned these Totally agree about Bulgakov - TMAM is fantastic. Disagree about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky though. I found Fyodor to be the dull one, whereas War and Peace is a real page turner (it benefits from having originally being a magazine serialisation, hence short chapters). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted January 25, 2009 VT Supporter Share Posted January 25, 2009 Read Why Him? Why Her? Finding Real Love By Understanding Your Personality Type at Barnes & Noble the other day... fascinating read for this Director (one with a testosterone-dominated personality). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olejniker Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Nicest novel I've read for a while would be Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz. While it isn't exactly a literary masterpiece, the characters are colorful and it's filled with dry wit and satire. Pleasant read with a good plot. For a challenge, those who are fluent in Spanish should read La sombra del viento(Shadow of The Wind). It's great spanish literature, although I struggled to understand a large chunk of it. My Spanish is crap. But I read the translated English version and it's a great little story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubav Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Porn mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Porn mags. Don't be silly. You dont read Porn mags. Anyone into Bernard Cornwell? I absolutely love his grail quest series and I'm just about to embark upon 'Azincourt'. Looks to be another fantastic historical novel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy178 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Just finished Tom Jones. Bloody hell it took a while. I'm now reading Shamela and Joseph Andrews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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