Anyone read any good books recently ?

[Knisse]

Yep, pretty sure that's mentioned in the books at some stage - he was an advisor on a TV cop show or something like that. I think they did a pretty decent job over all, especially compared to the appalling movie version of Blood work.

Good, glad i missed that in the books, would be a strange turn of event if the series had wandered so far away from the books.

[Si]

I read it a few months ago and wrote my thoughts in Amazon: This is an amazing work, especially for a debut novel. Weir's level and breadth of technical knowledge are astounding. He completely convinces you that he knows and understands virtually everything about NASA's manned space program, in fine detail. Weir shows off a nice flair for writing style, keeping you moving along at a nice pace, although his soliloquies got to be too long and too technical for my appetite. It helped that his protagonist offered a witty sense of humor, but the sarcasm may have been a bit too much like DeMille's John Corey character.

I must admit I was disappointed with the type of ending to this excellent work. I would have preferred a much bolder treatment. Nevertheless, a towering first effort!

I’ve just finished this - hugely enjoyable. I agree with your review. I think the sarcasm was on the edge of being overdone and might have been better if it had been restricted to Watney himself. As for the ending, I cannot imagine how the author could have done it differently. I guess that’s why I don’t write novels. My only quibble with the ending is that it came too soon.

Until The Martian I had been reading a lot of non-fiction. I’m now going to have to go back through this thread a bit to find something that will make equally good commute fodder.

[BillyCasper]

The March EL Doctorow. Set in American civil war.

[Velorum]

Just finished this one

A superb read - written by someone who actually flew in WW1

[number2]

The Greek Key,

Colin Forbes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,very enjoyable detective/spy thriller set in the mid 1980's.

[snowman]

The Greek Key,

Colin Forbes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,very enjoyable detective/spy thriller set in the mid 1980's.

Colin Forbes early stuff was really good (Year of the Golden Ape, Tramp in Armour), but then he started the tedious Tweed series and totally lost any originality - I guess it made him very rich though

M.

[number2]

Colin Forbes early stuff was really good (Year of the Golden Ape, Tramp in Armour), but then he started the tedious Tweed series and totally lost any originality - I guess it made him very rich though

M.

Spoilsport, the one I read happened to be one of the Tweed series, now I have to search out some earlier stuff

[GraniteQuarry]

Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster

Both by Svetlana Alexievich

(she won the Nobel prize in Literature a few weeks ago)

Utterly utterly depressing reads, but if you want to understand the deceit and harshness of the CCCP these do the job.

[Chris W]

Just finished X Platoon by Steve Heaney MC.
Good read about the Pathfinders, the selection process and some of the roles they've played.
Going off to read Operation Mayhem by the same author - Pathfinders in Sierra Leone.

[JasonM]

---

Just read 'Sniper on the Eastern Front' by Sepp Allerberger, christ, what a harrowing account of war on the Eastern Front in WW2.... Incredible what when on..... Brutal.......

[Neil.C]

Looking back, a lot of love for military history books on here.

I'm starting Das Reich by Max Hastings when I finish my current Cussler pot boiler, Zero Hour.

[Eoin]

I'm reading "Wolves eat dogs" - the 5th I think in the Arkady Renko series (first one is "Gorky Park" which was made into a film a while ago). Solid stuff so far. If you enjoyed Child 44, you should enjoy these books. There's a bit more humour too, so not as bleak.

[Deeez Nuuutz]

I got halfway through reading Bear Grylls first book, I can't remember what its called now lol (the one about him growing up) whilst we were on holiday. I'll get round to finishing it at some point. Not a bad read though...

[studly]

Selected Writings - William Hazlitt

[Vanguard]

Life by Keith Richards

As a Stones fan I really enjoyed this

[Neil.C]

Life by Keith Richards

As a Stones fan I really enjoyed this

Yep, quite astonishing in parts, although he does seem to denigrate all the rest of the band bar Charlie.

[sparrowcar]

The White spider by Heinrich Harrer

Simply amazing.

[TimeOut]

Frederick Forsyth, The Outsider.

My favorite author along with CS Forrester. His superb autobiography doesn't disappoint.

I read Steve Coogan's autobiography also this week. It focused a great deal on his catholic upbringing and not so much on his career. Not a bad read, not a great read.

[Mark020]

---

Just read 'Sniper on the Eastern Front' by Sepp Allerberger, christ, what a harrowing account of war on the Eastern Front in WW2.... Incredible what when on..... Brutal.......

^^1. Some very graphic stories in there: not for the faint hearted.

[SimonK]

Finally got round to reading Eric Ambler's 1939 'Mask of Dimitrios'. Not a particularly sophisticated read but showed me once again how ignorant I am of interwar geopolitics and what was being played out between Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania.

[bigvic]

Half way through Gene Cernan's autobiography "Last Man on the Moon". The best of the astronaut books I've read so far.

[GraniteQuarry]

Just ripped through Burt Reynolds' new autobiography "But Enough About Me"

Absolutely superb! I'm a big fan from my childhood (Bandit!) but the stories he tells going way back to 1950s Hollywood are also superb and often hilarious

AMAZON

[swanbourne]

I've just finished "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" by Edgar Allan Poe. Described as his only complete novel but it's not complete! The story was going along nicely and then suddenly stopped with the explanation that contact with Pym had been lost.

Eddie

[bonzo697]

Alfred The Great: The Man Who Made England by Justin Pollard.
It's surprising how much influence he had on modern-day England.

[wildheart]

Nick Faldo's autobiography - Life Swings. A great insight into what makes a top sportsman tick, single minded, determined beyond belief.

[Eoin]

Just finished Stephen King's "Revival". A bit light on actual horror - it's mostly all build-up to a pretty weak ending (never his strong point) - but it felt a bit less longwinded than some of his books and overall felt a bit more like his earlier stuff.

[lawman_nl]

Enjoying Ben Elton's Meltdown at the moment. I like most is his books I have read (starting with Popcorn). This one is IMHO not as hilarious as Inconceivable, but it is quite funny.

Yes, it's from 2009 but I buy all my books second hand so I just need to be lucky; this one I found in a charity shop.

[pacifichrono]

If you enjoy an occasional well-written pulp fiction novel with it's share of violence and sex, Max Allan Collins offers up about a dozen in his "Quarry" series. The protagonist is a U.S. Marine sniper who returned from Vietnam and was "recruited" to be a hitman for hire. After his retirement five years later, he follows his hitman colleagues and offers to save their targets. Fun reading!

[whatmeworry]

If you enjoy an occasional well-written pulp fiction novel with it's share of violence and sex, Max Allan Collins offers up about a dozen in his "Quarry" series. The protagonist is a U.S. Marine sniper who returned from Vietnam and was "recruited" to be a hitman for hire. After his retirement five years later, he follows his hitman colleagues and offers to save their targets. Fun reading!

Those sound great. In a similar vein, Christa Faust's Angel Dare books from Hard Case are a lot of fun

[misterzero]

If you enjoy an occasional well-written pulp fiction novel with it's share of violence and sex, Max Allan Collins offers up about a dozen in his "Quarry" series. The protagonist is a U.S. Marine sniper who returned from Vietnam and was "recruited" to be a hitman for hire. After his retirement five years later, he follows his hitman colleagues and offers to save their targets. Fun reading!

The whole series of hard case crime books are good. Lots of pulp crime novels by a whole range of writers some forgotten and some well known (Stephen king and Michael Crichton)

[Bendigits]

Ben Goldacre's "Bad Science" is good fun, especially what he has to say about Gillian McKeith. Just generally debunking several contemporary scientific 'facts'.

[Neil.C]

If you enjoy an occasional well-written pulp fiction novel with it's share of violence and sex, Max Allan Collins offers up about a dozen in his "Quarry" series. The protagonist is a U.S. Marine sniper who returned from Vietnam and was "recruited" to be a hitman for hire. After his retirement five years later, he follows his hitman colleagues and offers to save their targets. Fun reading!

Love those covers!

I used to enjoy Mickey Spillane and similar back in the day. Enjoy a good pulp.

[bonzo697]

I often think a few on here might benefit from reading this:

[Olic]

Enjoying Ben Elton's Meltdown at the moment. I like most is his books I have read (starting with Popcorn). This one is IMHO not as hilarious as Inconceivable, but it is quite funny.

Yes, it's from 2009 but I buy all my books second hand so I just need to be lucky; this one I found in a charity shop.

Tightwad! :) I'm reading "time and time again" by Ben Elton at the minute, it's very good. (Kindle)

I have read most of his books and have some in hard copy, my favourite author not read one I haven't enjoyed.

Let me know which one you want next, I might be able to send it to you ;)

[WatchNinja2]

Will i not fit in if i say Terry Pratchett? Working my way through the massive 30 odd book series, finding them at charity shops one at a time...

[Ian_O]

Half way through Gene Cernan's autobiography "Last Man on the Moon". The best of the astronaut books I've read so far.

I've read quite a few of the astronaut biographies and autobiographies and I'd agree, Gene Cernan's is one of the most enjoyable. If you haven't already read it, try Michael Collins' book 'Carrying the Fire'. It's also excellent.

[Ian_O]

Just finished this one

A superb read - written by someone who actually flew in WW1

As a result of your recommendation Ian I've just got this one for the Kindle. Sounds like my kind of book!

Ian

[zelig]

Well I didn't actually read it - but listened to the audiobook for my long drive from Gloucestershire to Glasgow & back this week.
(6h there & 6h back - just about ideal)

An entertaining tale - ( there is some conjecture over the veracity of the events ) - but still worth a look/listen IMHO

z

[SimonK]

I read that probably 40 years ago - it was in my dad's Companion Book Club collection. There are those who doubt the veracity of the story and question Rawicz's account of what happened. I recently watched Peter Weir's 2010 film based on the book - The Way Back - starring Colin Farrell and Ed Harris; not a bad flick.

[chrisb]

I've just finished "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. It is one of the Gollancz 50 series, and is the first novel that has reduced me to tears.
A wonderful read.

[hhhh]

Just reading They all love Jack by Bruce Robinson. Fascinating stuff so far.

[henryviii]

Shantaram.

What a journey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_%28novel%29

[snowman]

I recently read "Bedsit Disco Queen", Tracey Thorn's autobiography.

I found it a great read, she's a lot brighter than your average musician, so it's a lot less "we went here, we played there" than many music biographies I've read.

Very enjoyable read, I suspect, for anyone 50 ish as many of her early experiences chimed with my own (before she started a band, I've never done that, much to the relief of ears all over the world, I suspect :) )

M

[smithdj10]

It's really old now, but I only just read Anthony Kiedis bio (Red Hot Chilli's) - very good.

[Olic]

Shantaram.

What a journey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_%28novel%29

Read this over Xmas, as someone gave it to me last year. Is a great story.

[SimonK]

The Life of Pi. A surprisingly enjoyable novel, particularly for the author's witty style.

[Carlton-Browne]

I've just finished two excellent books about Afghanistan and my only regret is that I possibly should have read them the other way around. First off was Cables from Kabul: The Inside Story of the West's Afghanistan Campaign by our ambassador there in the noughties, Sherard Cowper-Coles. Written sufficiently close to his posting there (and his subsequent role as Special Representative) but also having the advantage of enough stand-off to be critical of what, principally, we and the Americans were doing.

Secondly Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan by William Dalrymple. A masterful account of the 1st Afghan war with quite a bit of new source material from Afghan and Indian archives. A bit of a slow read to begin with but the last 200 pages just flew. The amount of commonality between the events in both books is astounding and makes quite depressing reading; having seen some of our work in Afghanistan at close quarter I've normally felt that we were making a difference (in direct counterpoint to Iraq, for example) but it does make you wonder. Quite a lot, in fact.

[whatmeworry]

I just finished Revival by Stephen King.
I've struggled a lot with King's novels but I liked this a lot. It's a blend of Lovecraftian horror (it feels at times like a much shorter version could have made it into Night Shift) and mature, tender reflections on life. That mix is a little uneasy at times but the heart that beats through the story means King pulls it off. It struck me reading it that, just as The Shining felt like a young man's book (Oh shit, I'm married with a kid, what do I do now?), Revival is the work of an old man. It's about looking back and life and appreciating the finer moments. The horror is subtle right up until the end and then ramps up sharply to a satisfying and chilling climax. Classic King, and that's about as big a compliment as I can pay to popular fiction.

[Eoin]

I did enjoy it quite a lot, but thought it was too much of a long build up for a bit of a dodgy ending (often where he struggles). I don't think it'd be one that I'd re-read.

[whatmeworry]

I did enjoy it quite a lot, but thought it was too much of a long build up for a bit of a dodgy ending (often where he struggles). I don't think it'd be one that I'd re-read.

I agree the build up was a slow one, but I liked the ending a lot