Do you read?

[Rugeley Villa]

Afgantsy, The Russians In Afghanistan 1979-89.

can anyone recommend any books on the roman empire and also the persian empire? 

[sharkyvilla]

14 minutes ago, Rugeley Villa said:

Afgantsy, The Russians In Afghanistan 1979-89.

can anyone recommend any books on the roman empire and also the persian empire? 

Fiction or non-fiction?  I quite like Robert Harris's trilogy about Cicero and the rise and fall of Julius Caesar and Rome in general, but it's all fiction albeit based on what happened.  I still learnt a lot from it, having had hardly any previous knowledge of Ancient Rome.

[Rugeley Villa]

1 hour ago, sharkyvilla said:

Fiction or non-fiction?  I quite like Robert Harris's trilogy about Cicero and the rise and fall of Julius Caesar and Rome in general, but it's all fiction albeit based on what happened.  I still learnt a lot from it, having had hardly any previous knowledge of Ancient Rome.

both really. ive always been captivated by the romans and find it all very interesting. just want to start off on the right foot with it.

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, Rugeley Villa said:

Afgantsy, The Russians In Afghanistan 1979-89.

can anyone recommend any books on the roman empire and also the persian empire? 

 

[Rugeley Villa]

1 minute ago, mjmooney said:

 

saw that in waterstones today and picked it up. i may as well start with that then 

[mjmooney]

On a complete whim I started re-reading "Treasure Island" (first time since primary school days). And it's bloody brilliant!

[PussEKatt]

Just finished reading Alex Fergies auto-biography.Its well worth a read, good book.

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

Got a few to get through now.

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Gilead by Marilyn Robinson
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Rites of Passage by William Golding
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Alongside that I'm still going through John Berryman's Dream Songs.

Yay for summer.
 

Edited June 2, 2016 by CarewsEyebrowDesigner

[V01]

Read Four days in September last week, it's a historical account of the Romans getting their shit pushed back in at Teutoberg. A thoroughly fascinating subject but the book was so dry, 230 pages that had maybe 30 pages covering Arminius and the actual battle, then the rest was padding about inconsequential things like Germanic culture in regards to pottery etc and what a Roman tribune was doing 15 years earlier. It was a massive disappointment.

 

Going to start Ravenspur tonight, The final? book in the War of the Roses series.

 

Planning on reading No Country for Old Men, Blood Meridian and the Border trilogy because I've heard them recommended a few times but I read The Road a few years ago and didn't enjoy it, Nothing of note happens they just walk. The only book I can remember being anywhere near as slow is Canticle for Liebowitz but that was a million times more interesting. Is the Road indicative of the rest of Cormac McCarthy's works? 

[Rodders]

finished the book version of The Night Manager, and I think the success of the TV show didn't favour it by comparison, the ending is remarkably drab, maybe if I'd read it before the TV adaptation's more spectacular finish I'd be more kind, but more generally, it was a very slow paced narrative that took it's time to spark but then ended all too soon all the same. 

 

On a bit of non-fiction atm: 

 

 

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

The Road is very minimalist and it is quite allegorical. It stands apart from the rest of McCarthy's novels. The Border trilogy are more classically western and his most immediately accessible novels. They are good reads, but not easy. Blood Meridian is its own thing and like The Road it has a distinctive (and very different) style that you'll either love or hate. McCarthy is worth exploring but above all he's a stylist and you really have to reconcile yourself with that if you are to enjoy his writing. A lot of the joy is in how the stories are told.

Edited June 2, 2016 by CarewsEyebrowDesigner

[mjmooney]

Recently read 'Matterhorn' by Karl Malantes. A Vietnam war novel based on his own experiences in the U.S. Marines. Very good indeed. 

[V01]

Couldn't get on with Border Trilogy, read just over a third of the way through the first book and just felt apathy for the characters. Moved onto No Country for Old Men and enjoyed it, not sure how similar it is to the film but I'm tempted to find out it and give it a watch.

 

Started Blood Meridian and I'm unsure of it, fairly certain I'm going to finish it though I couldn't say whether I'll have enjoyed it yet.

[Stevo985]

56 minutes ago, V01 said:

Couldn't get on with Border Trilogy, read just over a third of the way through the first book and just felt apathy for the characters. Moved onto No Country for Old Men and enjoyed it, not sure how similar it is to the film but I'm tempted to find out it and give it a watch.

 

Started Blood Meridian and I'm unsure of it, fairly certain I'm going to finish it though I couldn't say whether I'll have enjoyed it yet.

All the books you've mentioned are excellent, imo. Blood Meridian is probably my favourite but it is **** grim. You'll realise fairly early on why it's yet to be made into a movie despite being one of his best books by most accounts. It's basically unfilmable.

 

NCFOM movie is very close to the book. There's a good chance if you enjoyed the book, you'll approve of the film version. Incidentally it's one of my favourite ever films.

Edited June 12, 2016 by Stevo985

[Stevo985]

On 11/09/2015 at 18:12, Wainy316 said:

Anybody read 'the girl in the spider's web'? I'm a bit apprehensive.

 

On 14/09/2015 at 21:33, Stevo985 said:

Woah. Didn't even know about that book! I assumed with Larsson dying that would be it (even though I know he originally planned more)

I'll be reading that next, although I'll approach it with apprehension given the author change.

I'm finally onto this book, and about 100 pages in.

Not massively impressed so far. I know the first three were hardly masterpieces of writing (they were more a good story as opposed to great writing, if that makes sense) but this one seems really badly written. The dialogue is just so cheesey and clichéd. 

I'll crack on though and report back when I'm done.

[Chindie]

I couldn't read Blood Meridian. Despise McCarthy's style, found myself almost fighting the text. I managed to drag myself through No Country and will never read any of his works again.

[Stevo985]

Just now, Chindie said:

I couldn't read Blood Meridian. Despise McCarthy's style, found myself almost fighting the text. I managed to drag myself through No Country and will never read any of his works again.

Must be a bit of a marmite style. 

I love it, one of my favourite authors.

[V01]

Marmite style sounds fair, I heard people raving about the Road, I can't believe I finished it dullest thing I've read. 

[Stevo985]

Funnily enough I've not read the Road, despite liking McCarthy and the film. That'll have to be my next of his that I read.

[Chindie]

3 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Must be a bit of a marmite style. 

I love it, one of my favourite authors.

I had a huge problem with the way he uses punctuation. He doesn't use quotations, simply because he doesn't like them. But they serve a purpose. If a book is well written and a character speaks the quotations are a subconscious marker to adjust the way your reading, to embody the character in that speech.

When I read and am engrossed in a book, I'm almost not consciously reading the words, instead I'm almost mentally picturing the scenes in my head and my eyes are on autopilot devouring the text. I see a quote and i understand who's speaking and their character and attitude is immediately added to the words.

I can't do that with McCarthy. His prose means it can be confused as to who is talking, or even if they are talking until you spot the give away words, or whether it's actually the narration. I banged my head against that on Blood Meridian until I gave up.

I may be odd in that regard though. I kinda view McCarthy as a author hipster, too cool for quotations, so **** him.