Reply With Quotenot sure if recommended already but the cartel by don winslow is pretty good
I just finished this brand new best seller from Harlan Coben...EXCELLENT! Julia Roberts has already been cast in the lead role.
not sure if recommended already but the cartel by don winslow is pretty good
I'm reading against a dark background by Iain M. Banks at the moment, and am really enjoying it. It's a little different from his Culture novels, but is a great read so far.
His best I think. Sadly missed.Originally Posted by BritishExpat
Tuesday falling - if you enjoyed Girl with a dragon tattoo you should like this.
1.99 on kindle.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tuesday-Fall.../dp/B00R0RGSHU
For those who like suspension of disbelief with a twist, it's worth looking at the Anno Dracula series by Kim Newman. Essentially an alternative history series where vampires exist.
The series starts in 1888 around the Whitechapel murders and over four books ends up in the early 1990s, encompassing a number of historical events and people.
A number of key characters feature in all four books to the alleged longevity of vampire lives, and, for the closet nerd, a number of characters from other works also appear.
All four books are available for kindle and are well worth a punt.
Ian
Last edited by G10 for Men; 31st March 2016 at 14:42.
‘The Cartel’ is a good read, I take it you had previously read ‘Power of the Dog’ by the same author? If you are interested in the whole Narco world you might also be interested in ‘El Narco’ by Ioan Grillo its non-fiction this time and highlights just how much of Power of the Dog and The Cartel are actually based on fact (worryingly enough!)
Just finished Limitless by Alan Glynn - really enjoyed it, although I think the movie version might actually have a better ending. Anyway, think I'll be going straight for his other 2 books now.
i just picked it up so havent read the first book, i was a bit annoyed when i realised!
thanks for the further recommendation
Just finished 'The Bone Season' by Samantha Shannon which was recommended to me by my librarian. It's a young adult (I guess, maybe proper adult) dystopian sci fi novel about an alternative future that branched off in Victorian times where clairvoyancy and other such things are quite common but are oppressed by the government. At first I thought I was going to hate it, but in the end I really liked it (enough that I will read the next book in the series), it was pretty insubstantial, but a fun read nevertheless.
Also finished 'What if?' by the guy who writes XKCD which is a series of detailed scientific answers to random questions like "What would happen if the sun went out". It was funny and interesting and the science was understandable even to an idiot like me.
Now reading the classic Soviet sci fi novel 'Solaris' by Stanislaw Lem. So far I like it a lot, interesting sf concepts and an engaging set up.
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Last edited by whatmeworry; 10th April 2016 at 20:15.
I read 'Clocks' by Jerome K. Jerome on the 'plane on Friday. It's a very short and pleasant read, particularly for those with a horological bent, regarding the idiosyncrasies of timepieces and their owners.
It's available as free download in various formats here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/855.bibrec.html
Reading Pure Gold by David Gold (owner of West Ham and Anne Summers).
The way he worked his way up from real East End poverty to what he is now - great strength of character and a good read.
Cheers,
Neil.
Has anyone read this?
If you don't fancy a long read, pick your way through the Letters of Note archive: link. There's everything from the touching to the tragic...here on one page: link.
You could do worse than buy the book(s): website & AmazonLink...they're on my Christmas list.
Last edited by PickleB; 16th July 2016 at 14:50. Reason: editorial...delete repetition
Just finished Genghis Khan The Conqueror Series
Just read David Mitchell's ('Cloud Atlas') latest - 'Slade Alley'. Gripping from start to finish. A great modern English ghost story.
I just finished Duane Swierczynski's latest thriller, "Revolver." This guy is a master! I literally couldn't put this book down during the final 150 pages. The book centers on the murder of a Philadelphia police officer and his black partner in 1965 during the city's race riots, and shifts in time to his family members in 1995 and 2015 as it becomes apparent that events in each era are related. Great story...great writing...just like all his preceding novels.
^^ thanks for that, looks right up my street. Do they need reading in any order or is it a one-off?
Never heard of him but always on the lookout for a new author - cheers
It's a one-off so have fun!^^ thanks for that, looks right up my street. Do they need reading in any order or is it a one-off?
Never heard of him but always on the lookout for a new author - cheers
I picked up books by Lars Kepler (a pseudonym for a swedish couple) and was pleasantly surprised, well enough for me to finish all 4 books in a fortnight.
Its a sort of swedish Reacher, if you like that sort of thing.
The series is The Hypnotist, The Sandman, The fire witness and The Nightmare.
Also have started Tana French and her first book 'In the woods' was also a good read and really well written in terms of grammar and language. Had a couple of words that I had to look up, which was fun.
Thanks for that tip. I've found all four of them in my local library and Stalker, #5 in the Joona Linna series, in their ebooks. Something to look forward to...
American sniper
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For those of you interested in sport, or business for that matter, I just read the memoirs of Nike founder Phil Knight called Shoe Dog. Very interesting read.
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The Making of the British Army by Allan Mallinson
Hi All,
Just finished Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett. Subtitled "Travels through Spain and it's silent past" it's an excellent book. There is a lot about the Civil War, Franco and post Franco regime, plus a superb chapter about ETA.
Cheers, Richie
The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch by Phillip K Dick....
drugs and sci-fi..... not sure what to think of it.....enjoyed reading but not sure if conclusion enjoyable or satisfactory....
like his stuff though so now on Counter Clock World.....................
I'm into the last part of the Clovenhoof collection by Heide Goody and Iain Grant.
It's a series of books based initially on the notion that Satan is cast out of Hell and attempts with varying degrees of success to live as a human in Sutton Coldfield.
The books are:
Clovenhoof (yes, it's a silly name and genuinely the only weak part of them)
Pigeonwings
Godsquad - Heaven has lost the Virgin Mary so sends Joan of Arc, St Francis and a few others down to find her. They do: she's a chain-smoking anarchist...
Hellzapoppin'
Beelzebelle
They're best read in order although only book two is a direct sequel to the first. They're all set in the same storyline.
The thing that marks them as different from a lot of the hugely indifferent and wooden fantasy fiction found on Amazon Kindle is that:
they're really well written for comic fiction, genuinely funny, clever, ironic and occasionally laugh-out-loud;
they've been well-received by proper reviewers in print, and the books themselves can be bought in paperback.
I can't tell which author has written which part, or where the breaks happen. Their writing is cohesive and they clearly work well together, even though the authors live in different parts of the country. Isn't the internet wonderful?
For lightweight reading, sharp observation and genuine humour, I really recommend them.
Last edited by Glamdring; 26th September 2016 at 23:05.
I grew up in Sutton Coldfield - are they a bit more specific with the address?
They mention a few places but I didn't check to see if they're real. Nothing really bad is said about it. They chose it because it's archetypal 'ordinary Midlands'.
Present shock : when everything happens now by Rushkoff, Douglas.
Not a novel but an interesting read about time and how we compress it and usage of the internet etc.
Slade Alley by David Mitchell. A brilliant modern English horror story.
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To follow, the Film of the book is in CH 61 tonight.11pm
Just re-read Mrs Dalloway
Not sure how many times that is now but it never loses any of its power and imagery for me
The way the different story lines intertwine and then come together is marvellous
Just re-read Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby. Really liked it. As a music fan it's really interesting. Especially the mindset of people when they gather on forums etc.
For those of you who like war related tales I can recommend The Jungle is Neutral by Freddie Spencer Chapman.
My youngest son went to Malaysia with his Uni to do environmental studies in the jungle. His tutor said a lot of the tracks and paths in the dense jungle stemmed from guerilla groups in the Second world war who terrorised the Japanese occupying forces.Chapman was a part of these guerillas fighting the Japs
His life story is quiite remarkable, have a read about him on wikipedia, I was truly amazed at some of the things he did
Thank you for that...not only another book to read, but it send me off to Wiki where I found that his story occupied two episodes of This is Your Life in Series 9.
I saw that one other person also took two episodes that year. Thus I also learnt a little about Pat O'Leary, whose life is equally remarkable.
I´ll look into those...They sound a bit like Robert Rankins -Brentford Trilogy, 9 books not 3,
They humorously chronicle the lives of a couple of drunken middle-aged layabouts, Jim Pooley and John Omally, who confront the forces of darkness in the environs of West London, usually with the assistance of large quantities of beer from their favourite public house, The Flying Swan.
Lightweight but fun and sharp.
I've just finished 3 in a row with a fantasy/SF bent:
The Hobbit - not hard to see why it's so well loved
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - a really fun sci-fi thriller that's also got a bit of philosophising about marriage and relationships
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs - highly entertaining and inventive fantasy. The book is also packed with really cool vintage photos
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Just reading The Outsider by Fredrick Forsyth; so far it's highly enjoyable.
He's lead quite a life.
I can recommend Fist of Fury; a tale of his based around the Iraq super-gun affair. It's a cracking read.
Polished off 'Jonathon Livingston Seagull' by Richard Bach this morning, a book I'd been intrigued by for decades. It wasn't worth the wait.
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Just finished "The Pie at Night" Stuart Maconie. I've read all his books, very enjoyable.
Does Shantaram read a bit or is it long-winded. A thousand pager is intimidating, especially if it's slow in parts. Want to read something epic this winter and am torn between this and The Count of Monte Cristo.
- - - Updated - - -
Agreed. I found this a touching read and considerably better than the film.
People I know who have read it have said it is amazing but hard work.
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On the strength of this I bought it and finished reading it last week. I'm now reading The Bone Clocks.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Can't help you on Shantaram but TCoMC is a must read. Given that, and the length, may I dig up something I wrote earlier in this thread on the same subject, to hopefully save you some time:
Paul
I take it you enjoyed it? Loved bone clocks too. Cloud atlas is probably my favourite though.
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I did enjoy it and I'll be reading more of his.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Recently read Count of Monte Cristo and wasn't expecting much to be honest but it was fantastic
Right... The Count of Monte Cristo it is. See you all in three months.
I’ve just finished Springsteen’s “Born to Run”:
http://www.simonandschuster.com/book.../9781501141515
An excellent read, particularly in the early stages, that gives much insight into just how long and hard he had to work at his craft before he got to the point where we began to hear about him. The later chapters of the book do wander a bit, but I’ll forgive him that.
Currently about 1/3 way through John Le Carre’s “The Pigeon Tunnel”, which is excellent and highly amusing in parts. Well worth reading if you enjoy his work:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...e-carre-review
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