mjmooney Posted July 12, 2011 VT Supporter 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.Pre-war and during-war as well. Superb book. There was a pretty decent film of it, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I think im going to move back to the classics after, I have my eye on ''The Count of Monte Cristo'. Quite possibly the best book I've ever read. Sheer genius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck 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. Will keep an eye out, cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Waiting until payday to pick this up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danwichmann Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I think im going to move back to the classics after, I have my eye on ''The Count of Monte Cristo'. Quite possibly the best book I've ever read. Sheer genius. I love the Three Musketeers so I also have this on my to read list. I used to fly over the Island where the prison was set every couple of weeks flying in to Marseille while my girlfriend still lived down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 13, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 13, 2011 Still haven't read Monte Cristo. I intend to, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted July 13, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 13, 2011 I read excerpts of it in the original French in high school, but other than that, it's just been Fry's plagiarism/homage (the original UK edition, not the US retitling... from what I can gather, my uncle, an ardent chessplayer, saw a review of it in a chess publication, and ordered a UK paperback edition (I gather this from it being a UK edition and some notes in the margin critiquing a couple of chess games in the book) which found its way north from Philadelphia by some means or other)... it was my first exposure to Mr. Fry: I was not aware until a number of years later when I began actively posting here that I learned that he was some sort of celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I think im going to move back to the classics after, I have my eye on ''The Count of Monte Cristo'. Quite possibly the best book I've ever read. Sheer genius. I love the Three Musketeers so I also have this on my to read list. I used to fly over the Island where the prison was set every couple of weeks flying in to Marseille while my girlfriend still lived down there. Cool! Musketeer books were brilliant, but Monte Cristo is just... ah, just read it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Finished "Die Trying" by Lee Child yesterday. It took some time due to many reasons, but now it's done. Good book by a Villa fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 why why why....do people choose to destroy a whole book on amazon by writing a review which tells you the ending in the opening sentence bastards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 'In a literary age of diet and dearth, Tartt invites us to feast ... the opening tragedy strikes a note of rich, flamboyant Southern Gothic that resonates throughout' Independent 'You will rarely have read better ... Because of Tartt's mastery of suspense, this book will grip readers all the way through to its bitter end' Guardian 'Tartt's grip on this billowing plot is glue-like and her ability to evoke the Deep South of last century exceptional ... excellent, enthralling' Marie Claire, Book of the Month 'Destined to become a special kind of classic - a book that precocious young readers pluck from their parents' shelves and devour with surreptitious eagerness, thrilled to discover a writer who seems at once to read their minds and to offer up the sweet-and-sour fruits of exotic, forbidden knowledge' New York Times Book Review A misfit at an exclusive New England college, Richard finds kindred spirits in the five eccentric students of his ancient Greek class. But his new friends have a horrific secret. When blackmail and violence threaten to blow their privileged lives apart, they drag Richard into the nightmare that engulfs them. And soon they enter a terrifying heart of darkness from which they may never return ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 just reserved these two books, gunna pick them up some time between now and monday that will take me up to 5 books that I haveto get through Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 just reserved these two books, gunna pick them up some time between now and monday that will take me up to 5 books that I haveto get through That's what Mike would call "lazing on a Sunday afternoon". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 just reserved these two books, gunna pick them up some time between now and monday that will take me up to 5 books that I haveto get through That's what Mike would call "lazing on a Sunday afternoon". yeah it would just be nice if i could get on with me neighbours, but they make it pretty clear they have got no room for ravers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 14, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 14, 2011 Diddle eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daft Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Got REST in practice, A Storm of Swords ( book 3 in George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series) and Democracy Inc going at the same time. I have to say that Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings and the parts of A Storm of Swords have all been brilliant. Among the best fiction I've read despite its length. Martin's world building skills are quite fascinating and I seem to breeze through the pages without effort. Also, I'm reading all this on the Kindle app for iPad and it is working splendidly. I do love physical books but the iPad is so light and the screen easy on my eyes that I can see myself reading more and more on it. Also great for using with programming related books when I want to try out examples and physical books become somewhat cumbersome to handle in front of the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted July 24, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted July 24, 2011 Inspired by recent posts in this thread, I've just started The Count of Monte Cristo. Verdict after the first few chapters: fantastic pace and plotting, terrible stilted dialogue (although that may be the fault of the 1848 translation). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Started reading, having left it lying in the corner for a few years, Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. Interesting so far. Never a big reader of horror/sci-fi, but it looks good. Also finished Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist. "Meh" is my overall impression until the end, when it went quickly downhill and into the realms of "Nah". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Has anyone read "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman" ? is it worth a read ? I like books that are about that era ,more so if they have a controversial slant to them but can't decide if I should give this one a go or not ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irreverentad Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 American Assassin by Vince Flynn. Very Jason Bourne-like but very hard to put down too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts