Rodders Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I love the one Brookmyre I've read ( Pandaemonium ) - will check out Mr Bateman! random book market browsing en France last week and picked up Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews for 50 centimes. Felt like some random 18th century literature, and it's been delight, appeals to my fondness for outdated words, and a bit of old fashioned style - but with groovy satire and laughs. Interrupted my reading of Brave New World as comic novels are always want to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbr600rr Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 yep.. just returned from zante..read dwight yorkes book,very good read! he wanted to join villa when taylor was manager but gt bought peter crouch instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 has anyone read any Jo Nesbo books before? someone in waterstones recommended it to me he said it was similar to the girl with the dragon tattoo, mite go and buy it today anyway I am currently reading A petty thief is bested by a widow and her card-playing friends; a farmer must cope with raising his baby granddaughter; a train engineer inadvertently causes a major disaster and finds himself amidst a media frenzy; a young man falls in love with a voice on the radio; and a camera repairman discovers a woman's family history in a roll of undeveloped film. Ordinary people are confronted with extraordinary situations, with results that are sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, but always life changing. In stories filled with heart and humour, Tim Gautreaux explores the stresses and strains of everyday life as his characters struggle to make amends for their mistakes and hope for different, better days to come. just a collection of short stories from the deep south, nothing spectacular happens in the stories but they are well wrote and generally pretty easy going. I only bought it because I have some strange sort of interest in the deep south (mainly because of the music I listen to) also my dad has just mentioned that he wouldn't mind getting an autobiography of someone (preferably a footballer) oh and paul mcgraths is out of the question I pestered him to read that for ages but he wont Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 The Emperor series are well done. I'm re-reading them at the moment, they're the books that got me back into reading after around 10 years of not reading unless forced to! If you like that, make sure you try the Conqueror series (Genghis Kahn) as well. I thought the Conquerer series was much better than the Emperor books, although I enjoyed both. Still has a way to go to reach the levels of Bernard Cornwell though, who I think is untouchable in the historical novel genre. I'm not really a fan of Bernard Cornwell, I think Iggulden is far superior. The thing that gets to me with Cornwell is I always feel he goes overboard on British national pride type stuff, almost to the point where he's coming across as actually being a bit racist. Wow, haven't heard that criticism of BC before! I think BC has a knack of making his tales "real", more so than anyone else. And given the time periods he's writing about and the subject matter, national pride would certainly come into it from a character point of view, but I've never thought of it as racist. A lot of the time he's focussing on the incredible penchant for idiocy of the British powers too. CI's books have really entertained me no doubt, but I don't think he can do battle scenes with anything like the reality and suspense of BC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Reading collection of Lovecraft stories at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Reading collection of Lovecraft stories at the moment. I remember reading Mountains of Madness many years ago, great story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 11, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 11, 2011 Re: Cornwell (and I suspect I've already said this back in the thread, but hey ho), I tried reading a couple of his a few years ago but had to give up. I really wanted to like them as I'm into history, but I just found them utterly lacking in atmosphere. He's what I call a "he said, she said" writer - flat dialogue, no insight into the characters' psychology, and not much description. I want a bit more poetry than that. Had exactly the same problem with Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth". Too cartoonish, gave up on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Re: Cornwell (and I suspect I've already said this back in the thread, but hey ho), I tried reading a couple of his a few years ago but had to give up. I really wanted to like them as I'm into history, but I just found them utterly lacking in atmosphere. He's what I call a "he said, she said" writer - flat dialogue, no insight into the characters' psychology, and not much description. I want a bit more poetry than that. Had exactly the same problem with Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth". Too cartoonish, gave up on it. Heh, I found Follett a little painful too. I'd disagree with you on Cornwell entirely... I think the stories are so strong that the "poetry" is not needed, but these things are very subjective I guess. The only writers I've enjoyed as much as BC are Dumas and Tolkien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 The Emperor series are well done. I'm re-reading them at the moment, they're the books that got me back into reading after around 10 years of not reading unless forced to! If you like that, make sure you try the Conqueror series (Genghis Kahn) as well. I thought the Conquerer series was much better than the Emperor books, although I enjoyed both. Still has a way to go to reach the levels of Bernard Cornwell though, who I think is untouchable in the historical novel genre. I'm not really a fan of Bernard Cornwell, I think Iggulden is far superior. The thing that gets to me with Cornwell is I always feel he goes overboard on British national pride type stuff, almost to the point where he's coming across as actually being a bit racist. Wow, haven't heard that criticism of BC before! I think BC has a knack of making his tales "real", more so than anyone else. And given the time periods he's writing about and the subject matter, national pride would certainly come into it from a character point of view, but I've never thought of it as racist. A lot of the time he's focussing on the incredible penchant for idiocy of the British powers too. CI's books have really entertained me no doubt, but I don't think he can do battle scenes with anything like the reality and suspense of BC. The racism description may be a bit strong, and I agree in some cases it's reflective of the time. But in other case, the Arthur series being a case in point, he bangs on about Britain this and Britain that at a time when historically, there would have been very little concept of Britain as a nation. That's where I get the impression it's his own feelings of hating the French / over zealous national pride coming through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Cornwell is class. I've read all the Sharpe novels and the hundred years war series. Great entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 11, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 11, 2011 Most "genre" historical novelists give me no sense of authenticity - they almost always read like modern people speaking in modern idioms with a modern mindset, transplanted into an historical context. One of the few exceptions is Patrick O'Brian. Aubrey, Maturin et al seem like real 18th/19th century people to me; the speak like them and they think like them. On top of which he does descriptive prose (weather, landscape, etc.) supremely well, hence... atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Most "genre" historical novelists give me no sense of authenticity - they almost always read like modern people speaking in modern idioms with a modern mindset, transplanted into an historical context. One of the few exceptions is Patrick O'Brian. Aubrey, Maturin et al seem like real 18th/19th century people to me; the speak like them and they think like them. On top of which he does descriptive prose (weather, landscape, etc.) supremely well, hence... atmosphere. Yep, O'Brian very good. Also CS Forester. I don't wanna labour the point too much, but again Cornwell for me ticks the same authenticity boxes... he can transport me right into the 6th century or the 10th century for example. I think he always pretty much nails it in this respect. Have you read Edward Rutherford? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Re: Cornwell (and I suspect I've already said this back in the thread, but hey ho), I tried reading a couple of his a few years ago but had to give up. I really wanted to like them as I'm into history, but I just found them utterly lacking in atmosphere. He's what I call a "he said, she said" writer - flat dialogue, no insight into the characters' psychology, and not much description. I want a bit more poetry than that. Had exactly the same problem with Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth". Too cartoonish, gave up on it. Heh, I found Follett a little painful too. I'd disagree with you on Cornwell entirely... I think the stories are so strong that the "poetry" is not needed, but these things are very subjective I guess. The only writers I've enjoyed as much as BC are Dumas and Tolkien. If you want to combine the fantasy stuff (Tolkien) and historical fiction (BC) I highly recommend you try David Gemmell, especially the Troy series and the first two books in the Rigante series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Most "genre" historical novelists give me no sense of authenticity - they almost always read like modern people speaking in modern idioms with a modern mindset, transplanted into an historical context. One of the few exceptions is Patrick O'Brian. Aubrey, Maturin et al seem like real 18th/19th century people to me; the speak like them and they think like them. On top of which he does descriptive prose (weather, landscape, etc.) supremely well, hence... atmosphere. Off to Amazon to look up Mikes suggestions.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 12, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 12, 2011 Most "genre" historical novelists give me no sense of authenticity - they almost always read like modern people speaking in modern idioms with a modern mindset, transplanted into an historical context. One of the few exceptions is Patrick O'Brian. Aubrey, Maturin et al seem like real 18th/19th century people to me; the speak like them and they think like them. On top of which he does descriptive prose (weather, landscape, etc.) supremely well, hence... atmosphere. Off to Amazon to look up Mikes suggestions.... Lots of info here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Currently on the last of the millenium trilogy - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest. I've enjoyed all three, brilliant crime fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dundeevilla Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I'm nearly finished Keith Richards' Life. It's been a struggle. Pretty boring book for someone who's led such an interesting life. He comes over as a man with no depth whatsoever. "...Then Brian Jones died. The next day we had a gig in Brighton and I tuned my guitar with five strings on an open chord, it sounded fantastic." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 12, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 12, 2011 I'm nearly finished Keith Richards' Life. It's been a struggle. Pretty boring book for someone who's led such an interesting life. He comes over as a man with no depth whatsoever. "...Then Brian Jones died. The next day we had a gig in Brighton and I tuned my guitar with five strings on an open chord, it sounded fantastic."I opened it at random and found him going on about how betrayed he felt when Anita Pallenberg had a fling with Jagger. But then he added (words to the effect of): "But, hey, he never realised I'd **** Marianne Faithfull behind his back, so whatever..." Never expect good musicians to be nice people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted July 12, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 12, 2011 Currently on the last of the millenium trilogy - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest. I've enjoyed all three, brilliant crime fiction. Im reading this one too, bit of a chore TBH. I felt I had to read the third after the first two and its quite easy reading but Im a bit bored of it now. I think im going to move back to the classics after, I have my eye on ''The Count of Monte Cristo'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Just finishing up The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass. Brilliant book, mixes the surreal with the macabre in post-war Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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