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Luke_W

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Working my way through the 2000 (ish) pages of The Count of Monte Cristo . It's not just good, it's "where have you been all my life?" good. I'm probably a fifth of the way through and I'm spellbound.  

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3 hours ago, The_Rev said:

Working my way through the 2000 (ish) pages of The Count of Monte Cristo . It's not just good, it's "where have you been all my life?" good. I'm probably a fifth of the way through and I'm spellbound.  

Well said, sir. I only read it for the first time a few years ago, and you are correct, it is **** ing magnificent. Best revenge novel ever. Oh, and the best prison break sequence (I guess you're past that bit by now). 

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On 09/06/2020 at 09:16, choffer said:

I’m really enjoying the extra time this lockdown is providing. Four hours a day not commuting means I’m reading a lot more. 
This is my current to-do list. 

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I read both the Narcissism Epidemic and the Jon Ronson book. Loved them.  

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Read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, first book of Murakami's that I'd read, had seen him compared to David Lynch quite a few times and I can agree with that based on this book, had a very similar feel, really liked it a lot, thought it was very gripping, not sure if I understood what it all meant after at the end but liked the journey to get there.

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55 minutes ago, useless said:

Read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, first book of Murakami's that I'd read, had seen him compared to David Lynch quite a few times and I can agree with that based on this book, had a very similar feel, really liked it a lot, thought it was very gripping, not sure if I understood what it all meant after at the end but liked the journey to get there.

That was the first Murakami I read, and I loved it. "Couldn't put it down" is something of a cliche, but in this case it was true - I was getting up in the middle of the night to read it. I've read most of his other books since then, and enjoyed them all, but none as much as that one. 

I think you and I have very similar tastes in books. 

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1 hour ago, Sam-AVFC said:

Has anyone else read anything by Carlos Ruiz Zafon? I read Shadow of the Wind when I was a teenager and really enjoyed it.

Just saw that he has passed away at only 55.

Yeah, I read it. Found it very disappointing, I'm afraid. 

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2 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Yeah, I read it. Found it very disappointing, I'm afraid. 

It's not the best book ever, I just really loved the story and Gothic dreariness when I first read it. I was only about 12 mind!

I'd never heard of it when I read it which I think helps. I often find myself being disappointed at anything I've read/heard hype about.

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Finished a re-read of Durrell's 'Alexandria Quartet'. Enjoyed it much more the second time around. Now on a trashy palate cleanser with the third Philip Kerr 'Bernie Gunther' book. He's a writer I so wanted to like, but I'm no more impressed with this one than the previous two. May even ditch before the end. 

In other news, I was watching of those TV property programmes, and the wife said "We'll need a lot of space for my husband's library - he's got over a hundred books". 

Me: 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just finished another memoir - Autobiography of a Super-Tramp by WH Davies, about his tramping around America and Britain at the turn of the 20th century. Sparse and economical prose, but somehow compelling, though more interesting for the historical observations more than his own life, albeit he does lose a foot along the way. 

4 more new ones in today:

Mick Herron's - Slow Horses spy series - 'Real Tigers'

'A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of Virginia Hall, WWII's Most Dangerous Spy' biography

Christopher Hitchen's commentary on Paine's The Rights of Man because I was reading Paine's work quite recently, and I know Hitchens was always a big fan, and I like his writing so hopefully that should be interesting. 

'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernadine Evaristo because Waterstones was insistent I try it, so I agreed. Why not? Sounds like a different voice, so worth a read. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/09/2019 at 23:10, theboyangel said:

Mainly jo nesbo. Whilst I've really enjoyed the Harry Hole books, I think Nesbo's best book is the standalone Headhunters (which was made into a decent Norwegian movie too). 

Just finished reading this since I’ve almost ran out of Harry Holes. It is a great book indeed! Will watch the film soon for sure.

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Read my first Murakami at the beginning of June, 1Q84 and enjoyed it, have recently finished Norwegian Wood and thought that was fantastic - got a couple more coming today but not The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - am I making an error of selection?

 

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3 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

Read my first Murakami at the beginning of June, 1Q84 and enjoyed it, have recently finished Norwegian Wood and thought that was fantastic - got a couple more coming today but not The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - am I making an error of selection?

They're all pretty good, but TWUBC is by far my favourite. 

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Just started the new David Mitchell, 'Utopia Avenue'. I'm a big fan of his books, and since it's about a fictitious late 60s rock band, I've really been looking forward to it. Unfortunately, 32 pages in, and it's really pissing me off with the cliches and anachronisms (and I'm talking virtually every page). It's a classic example of what people think the 60s were like if they didn't live through them. The language is all wrong, the characters are cardboard cutouts, and he clearly has no idea about music or how bands operate. Such a disappointment. I'll stick with it, in the hope that he pulls off his usual plot pyrotechnics, but it's going to be hard not to wish he'd let somebody a bit better informed proofread it for him. 

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On 29/08/2019 at 05:32, A'Villan said:

Blue Rage, Black Redemption.

Great read.

*Bump*

This really is worth a read, especially if you want to gain a greater understanding for the BLM movement.

Most people associate the Crips with a blood-spilling and callous street gang, and yes, that's what it became at times, but it's interesting to read the history.

Tookie (founder) was born the year before the first official call to end segregation in the USA, upon entering his teenage years the Black Panthers were formed.

I can only imagine the tension and animosity he faced as a black man taking steps into white America territory, and how he was received and perceived during those years.

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