Last Book Read

BelgianBeerGeek

London Fields - Martin Amis. Some of the prose goes a bit OTT but there was a lot that was enjoyable - some of the wordplay is brilliant. Grotesque, weird characters, a strange plot and some very funny parts. I got to the end still not sure what went on, but enjoyed it very much nonetheless.

RallyBiker

When you're dead, you're dead by Guy Martin

briantrumpet

The two last ones were by David Crystal on the English language: 'The Glamour of Grammar', and 'Making A Point: the history of punctuation in English'. Both really interesting, and well written.

Maybe I should get out more.

part time waster

Fahrenheit 451 . Genius work considering when it was written . It's the fascination of T.V , and mainly burning books to remove any real facts so the government can manipulate us.
The whole O.J Simpson episode and live reporting seemed predicted.

seanoconn

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

London Fields - Martin Amis. Some of the prose goes a bit OTT but there was a lot that was enjoyable - some of the wordplay is brilliant. Grotesque, weird characters, a strange plot and some very funny parts. I got to the end still not sure what went on, but enjoyed it very much nonetheless.

Keith Talent. Classic.

Frank the tank

Re-read "Breaking the chain" Willey Voet

Anyone interested in pro cycling must read this.

I don't like Lance Armstrong, however, he has carried a mighty big can on behalf of the vast majority of the early 2000's peloton.

rick_chasey

Just finished reading the sellout by paul beatty (won the booker prize this year).

I enjoyed it, though had to lean a lot on the old gangster rap knowledge I built up over the years.

Without giving the plot away, it's basically about being black in LA. It's fairly darkly satirical (though even that is not entirely clear - maybe it isn't).

Anyway, as a white middle class brit, it's a perspective you don't get, and it's not remotely aimed at people like me, but it was good for me nonetheless. Hits on most social taboos around race and gender pretty hard, and darkly funny with it.

Not quite sure what to make of it, but I enjoyed reading it. I'm gagging to discuss the big reveal halfway in the book, but no-one I know's got to that bit yet. Gargh.

meursault

Rick Chasey wrote:

Just finished reading the sellout by paul beatty (won the booker prize this year).

I enjoyed it, though had to lean a lot on the old gangster rap knowledge I built up over the years.

Without giving the plot away, it's basically about being black in LA. It's fairly darkly satirical (though even that is not entirely clear - maybe it isn't).

Anyway, as a white middle class brit, it's a perspective you don't get, and it's not remotely aimed at people like me, but it was good for me nonetheless. Hits on most social taboos around race and gender pretty hard, and darkly funny with it.

Not quite sure what to make of it, but I enjoyed reading it. I'm gagging to discuss the big reveal halfway in the book, but no-one I know's got to that bit yet. Gargh.

Read this a while back, really enjoyed it and pretty much agree with your review. Hard black (no pun intended) comedy questioning taboo's. Glad it won the Booker or some such.

mrb123

The Mathematical Universe by Max Tegmark.

Picked this up after hearing him on the Sam Harris podcast. The second half of the book is fairly demanding for the casual reader but worth persevering with. He's an engaging writer with a decent knack for explaining difficult concepts.

Alain Quay

A very good book and maybe should have won the Man Booker prize last year.

rick_chasey

The heart goes last - Margaret Atwood.

I was sold it as Margaret being the feminist and zeitgeist capturer du jour, but instead it's a bit of a crap clichéd dystopia novel, complete with retro 50s idylls that are actually prisons, organ harvesting and sex robots.

I guess she's on the money with retro 50s future vibe, but it's not a great book and quite far fetched.

rjsterry

Rick Chasey wrote:

The heart goes last - Margaret Atwood.

I was sold it as Margaret being the feminist and zeitgeist capturer du jour, but instead it's a bit of a crap clichéd dystopia novel, complete with retro 50s idylls that are actually prisons, organ harvesting and sex robots.

I guess she's on the money with retro 50s future vibe, but it's not a great book and quite far fetched.

Aren't most of Attwood's novels fairly dystopian?

meursault

Alain Quay wrote:

A very good book and maybe should have won the Man Booker prize last year.

I have this on the list after



and



As said above, I think The Sellout deserved the Booker, but This gets good reviews.

rick_chasey

rjsterry wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

The heart goes last - Margaret Atwood.

I was sold it as Margaret being the feminist and zeitgeist capturer du jour, but instead it's a bit of a crap clichéd dystopia novel, complete with retro 50s idylls that are actually prisons, organ harvesting and sex robots.

I guess she's on the money with retro 50s future vibe, but it's not a great book and quite far fetched.

Aren't most of Attwood's novels fairly dystopian?

Yes they are. It was less the dystopia per se but more its execution...

Certainly towards the end it gets pretty difficult to hold your end of belief, even within the internal logic of the novel.

BelgianBeerGeek

The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellebecq. Lots of things going on, including the brutal murder of Houllebecq himself. Lots about art, decay, loss and the passing of things. And fruitflies and Audi dashboards. Very funny in places, I thought it was good, and will return to it sometime, mainly 'cos I'm still not sure what it was about exactly.

mr_goo

Rick Chasey wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

The heart goes last - Margaret Atwood.

I was sold it as Margaret being the feminist and zeitgeist capturer du jour, but instead it's a bit of a crap clichéd dystopia novel, complete with retro 50s idylls that are actually prisons, organ harvesting and sex robots.

I guess she's on the money with retro 50s future vibe, but it's not a great book and quite far fetched.

Aren't most of Attwood's novels fairly dystopian?

Yes they are. It was less the dystopia per se but more its execution...

Certainly towards the end it gets pretty difficult to hold your end of belief, even within the internal logic of the novel.

I quite enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale. I believe it's now serialised for TV.

narbs

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

The Map and the Territory by Michel Houellebecq. Lots of things going on, including the brutal murder of Houllebecq himself. Lots about art, decay, loss and the passing of things. And fruitflies and Audi dashboards. Very funny in places, I thought it was good, and will return to it sometime, mainly 'cos I'm still not sure what it was about exactly.

That's Houellebecq for you

narbs

Just starting The End of Eddy by Eduard Louis - contemporary autobiographical coming of age story set in NE France with class, poverty, politics and sexuality.

Andrew Hussey raved about it on the radio this week which is good enough for me.

BelgianBeerGeek

Summer reading book report:

SPQR by Mary Beard is great. Lots of detail, put into context for modern times. She can tell a pretty good story.

Factotum by Charles Bukowski. Thinly disguised auto-biographical tale of a drop out in 1940s America who goes from crap job to crap job, mainly to make money to drink. Written in a matter-of-fact style, with no punches pulled and some very funny sections, Bukowski has a great take on the futility of work and life in general.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Story of an American family, how they evolve, and how things go wrong. Lengthy, but I found it gripping. Very funny in parts, but also quite moving.

Glue by Irvine Welsh. Four guys growing up in Edinburgh. Trying to stick to some kind of moral code in an amoral world. Lots of violence, drug-taking, fornication and swearing. Welsh's characters are comic, tragic and horrible. The dialogue is in Edinburgh vernacular with lots of slang and I thought it would be difficult, but I got it straightaway. The dialogue in fact whizzes along and is great. Gruesome and hilarious, one of the best books I have read in years.

Ben6899

Two on the go, at the moment

Prelude to Foundation - Isaac Asimov
The Rider - Time Krabbe

One for the sofa, one for the Tube.

Edit: they're both really good!

meursault

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

Summer reading book report:

SPQR by Mary Beard is great. Lots of detail, put into context for modern times. She can tell a pretty good story.

Factotum by Charles Bukowski. Thinly disguised auto-biographical tale of a drop out in 1940s America who goes from crap job to crap job, mainly to make money to drink. Written in a matter-of-fact style, with no punches pulled and some very funny sections, Bukowski has a great take on the futility of work and life in general.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Story of an American family, how they evolve, and how things go wrong. Lengthy, but I found it gripping. Very funny in parts, but also quite moving.

Glue by Irvine Welsh. Four guys growing up in Edinburgh. Trying to stick to some kind of moral code in an amoral world. Lots of violence, drug-taking, fornication and swearing. Welsh's characters are comic, tragic and horrible. The dialogue is in Edinburgh vernacular with lots of slang and I thought it would be difficult, but I got it straightaway. The dialogue in fact whizzes along and is great. Gruesome and hilarious, one of the best books I have read in years.

Love Bukowski, Frentzen less so. I find him a bit bloated in the Foster Wallace sense. For me, if you are you going to drag it out, the prose needs to be of an elite level, like Delillo. Welsh as his moments too.

meursault

Ben6899 wrote:

Two on the go, at the moment

Prelude to Foundation - Isaac Asimov
The Rider - Time Krabbe

One for the sofa, one for the Tube.

Edit: they're both really good!

The Rider absolute classic, all cyclists should probably read it. I need to try some Asimov.

mrb123

Couple of good ones recently...

Going Clear by Lawrence Wright - detailed and brilliant examination of Scientology.

I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that by Ben Goldacre - basically a compilation of his best articles, mostly from his Guardian column. Always a witty and engaging writer. Well worth a look if you enjoyed his Bad Science or Bad Pharma books.

Just starting Command and Control by Eric Schlosser which I think is going to be superb.

crispybug2

As an aside, Ben Goldacre’s mum is 70’s singer Noosha Fox who had an excellent novelty hit S-S-Single Bed!

craker

crispybug2 wrote:

As an aside, Ben Goldacre’s mum is 70’s singer Noosha Fox who had an excellent novelty hit S-S-Single Bed!

Excellent trivia! Never heard of it / her!

I'm quite into adventure / travel writing at the moment, I got this out of the local library fairly randomly



It's a daft plan, the guy is well organised and knows his stuff but it's a harrowing journey well told and full of hubris.



Another crazy journey. I don't think I'd ever think this would be a good holiday plan. I read another one by this chap about boating up the river Lena in Siberia, also very good.

rick_chasey

Congo and mentioning heart of darkness? FFS.

Would strongly recommend King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild.

meursault

Superb!

finchy

Real page turner, this one. Can't wait to find out how it ends.

rick_chasey

finchy wrote:

Real page turner, this one. Can't wait to find out how it ends.

I have actually read this book.

finchy

Rick Chasey wrote:

finchy wrote:

Real page turner, this one. Can't wait to find out how it ends.

I have actually read this book.

I have actually read 255 pages of it. Give it another week and I'll find out who won.