tonyh29 Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Just starting "look whose back" by Temur Vermes Hitler has just woken up in 2011.... Ok i've not got much further than that just now but it sounds like the book offers some thought provoking satire Will report back in a few days ... Look Who's Back The book was translated from German to English guess the translator made a slight error 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Cannonbridge - Jonathan Barnes . Flamboyant, charismatic Matthew Cannonbridge was touched by genius, the most influential creative mind of the 19th century, a prolific novelist, accomplished playwright, the poet of his generation. The only problem is, he should never have existed and beleaguered, provincial, recently-divorced 21st Century don Toby Judd is the only person to realise something has gone wrong with history. All the world was Cannonbridge’s and he possessed, seemingly, the ability to be everywhere at once. Cannonbridge was there that night by Lake Geneva when conversation between Byron, Shelley and Mary Godwin turned to stories of horror and the supernatural. He was sole ally, confidante and friend to the young Dickens as Charles laboured without respite in the blacking factory. He was the only man of standing and renown to regularly visit Oscar Wilde in prison. Tennyson's drinking companion, Kipling's best friend, Robert Louis Stevenson's counsellor and guide - Cannonbridge's extraordinary life and career spanned a century, earning him a richly-deserved place in the English canon. But as bibliophiles everywhere prepare to toast the bicentenary of the publication of Cannonbridge's most celebrated work, Judd's discovery will lead him on a breakneck chase across the English canon and countryside, to the realisation that the spectre of Matthew Cannonbridge, planted so seamlessly into the heart of the 19th Century, might not be so dead and buried after all... something fun for a change, light and easy to read some lovely turns of phrase in it, bit of mystery, bit of occult, bit of thrill, not a deep read by any means, but entertaining nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Reading this right now and enjoying it. The first chapter is about Red Star Belgrade ultras, their influence inside the club, and their direct involvement in wartime atrocities in the 90's. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted March 28, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 28, 2015 I can't understand how Hitchens fell for the Iraq War hype, he was so sharp on just about everything else. There's a great debate online between him and Tony Blair. Well worth watching, it's a religion debate, and not long after Blair converted. Blair is made to look pretty silly. Can't stand either one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted March 28, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 28, 2015 john berryman's 'dream songs'. My wife loves -- always bored me to death. I have Slaughterhouse 5 on my list to read soon. Care to elaborate any more, I'd be interested in your views. Loved it when I was 19. I'm trundling through The Master and Margarita at the moment. Really, really enjoyable and darkly comic. I'll add more when I finish it. It's a good one. Reading Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London at the moment. Really enjoying it. His daily search for tea is something I can associate with quite well. Nice to get some background on the desolation he was able to describe in Nineteen Eighty Four as well. One of my faves. Had a big effect on the 60s "New Journalism." Just finished Ulysses. Fantastic book, but not for the faint-hearted. At the start of each 'episode', I read a few pages ahead in the notes, but after that just went with the flow. I feel I would have got more out of it if I'd been familiar with Dublin's fair city, but hey ho. As a self-confessed fan of 1920s modernist literature, I felt I HAD to read it, and I'm glad I did. A landmark but I still like Dubliners more. I can't understand how Hitchens fell for the Iraq War hype Because he was a prick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted March 29, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 29, 2015 In terms of likeability, Harris & Dennett > Hitchens & Dawkins. And there are lots of really nice people who cling to mediaeval superstitions. But that's not the point. Go Team Rationalist! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted March 30, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 30, 2015 Reading this right now and enjoying it. The first chapter is about Red Star Belgrade ultras, their influence inside the club, and their direct involvement in wartime atrocities in the 90's. Definitely need to read this. I've read about it, but never bought a copy. Soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted March 30, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 30, 2015 I can't understand how Hitchens fell for the Iraq War hype, he was so sharp on just about everything else. There's a great debate online between him and Tony Blair. Well worth watching, it's a religion debate, and not long after Blair converted. Blair is made to look pretty silly. Think 9/11 sent him neocon. He always had it in him, if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted March 30, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 30, 2015 (edited) In terms of likeability, Harris & Dennett > Hitchens & Dawkins. And there are lots of really nice people who cling to mediaeval superstitions. But that's not the point. Go Team Rationalist! Erm ... so (non)faith without jerks is dead? Team Rationalist!-- I've got this picture of Descartes and Spinoza in my head now, wearing flashy new Nike kits, and looking rather pale-legged. Ugh. Please make this picture go away now. Edited March 30, 2015 by Plastic Man 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 In terms of likeability, Harris & Dennett > Hitchens & Dawkins. And there are lots of really nice people who cling to mediaeval superstitions. But that's not the point. Go Team Rationalist! But surely in the philosophical sense, wouldn't the believers be rationalists and the doubters empiricists? Rationalists believe that knowledge is gained independently of the sense experience, which is the same reason believers use to justify their claim to have knowledge of God (Jung). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted March 30, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 30, 2015 In terms of likeability, Harris & Dennett > Hitchens & Dawkins. And there are lots of really nice people who cling to mediaeval superstitions. But that's not the point. Go Team Rationalist! But surely in the philosophical sense, wouldn't the believers be rationalists and the doubters empiricists? Rationalists believe that knowledge is gained independently of the sense experience, which is the same reason believers use to justify their claim to have knowledge of God (Jung). OK, go Team Empiricist! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicho Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Just starting "look whose back" by Temur Vermes Hitler has just woken up in 2011.... Ok i've not got much further than that just now but it sounds like the book offers some thought provoking satire Will report back in a few days ... Was just about to post that I got this for my train down today, comes highly rated by a friend and also is historically accurate enough to reignite my interest in the culture aspects of the nazis and hitler. While poking fun at one of the worlds worst dictators and modern culture. Got some funny looks on the train as the front page is a silhouette of Hitlers hair and the title his mustache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelVilla Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Reading this right now and enjoying it. The first chapter is about Red Star Belgrade ultras, their influence inside the club, and their direct involvement in wartime atrocities in the 90's. Are they talking to any actual members of Delije? They have been very quiet and suspicious of all western journalists for a long time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 In terms of likeability, Harris & Dennett > Hitchens & Dawkins. And there are lots of really nice people who cling to mediaeval superstitions. But that's not the point. Go Team Rationalist! Yep, Hitchens was insufferably snobbish in that upper class Etonian way, but he could surgically dismantle his opponent's argument with flair. That I usually agreed with him allowed me to overlook his personality defects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 (edited) Reading this right now and enjoying it. The first chapter is about Red Star Belgrade ultras, their influence inside the club, and their direct involvement in wartime atrocities in the 90's. Are they talking to any actual members of Delije? They have been very quiet and suspicious of all western journalists for a long time now. Yes, he "interviews" a pretty hostile member, who is the "overseer" amongst a group of younger guys more keen to talk about their modern exploits. Heavy focus on Arkan throughout the chapter. And this riot ( Red Star-Zagreb) is by some considered to be the galvanizing event that triggered the war- Edited March 30, 2015 by maqroll 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Just finished reading "Marine Sniper" by Charles Henderson. Its a great book,true story about Carlos Hathcock a marine sniper in Vietnam with 93 confirmed kills.He held down a company of Vietcong for about 4/5 days.I didnt realise snipers could hold up so many men till Iread this book,now I can see that it is possable. A good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 31, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 31, 2015 I (finally) finished The Book Thief last week. Top stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Just finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - prety enjoyable but at times hard to feel for the main protagonist (and the ending kind of dragged on like the film LOTR The Return of the King did!) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted March 31, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted March 31, 2015 Just finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - prety enjoyable but at times hard to feel for the main protagonist (and the ending kind of dragged on like the film LOTR The Return of the King did!) Interesting to hear this reaction ... and not surprising. You gotta make that main protag likable even if in an unlikable sort of likability. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I liked 'The Secret History' but I can't say I'm too excited about reading that one. Currently reading Colin Barrett's 'Young Skins'. Good short story collection. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts