I'm going to go back on what I said (or at least provide an update). Started Shantaram yesterday and am now about 120 pages in. I'm enjoying it enormously, it's not heavy going at all. It's true that the writer never uses 1 word when he could use 10, but it's still a very entertaining and easy read.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Just got the Count Of Monti Cristo.
Added bonus is its free for the kindle
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Count-Monte...f+monte+cristo
Good: autobiograpy of Phil Collins. Lot of funny stories and quite stand up about his 3 divorces.
Very good: J.D. Vance Hillbilly Elegy. Autobiography as well. Hillbilly guy who led a pretty hard life end up at Yale. Very interesting read if you ever wonder why the average chav manages to f..k up his life.
Very poor: Orphan X. Much hyped but really completely over the top and lot of things which simply don't add up
Excellent ideas...not at all like the usual trash within this genre.
...about halfway thru and it's an absolute belter of a read. A thoroughly believable cast of characters struggling to survive in Ireland after the Celtic Tiger upped and left. Gritty, with violence, drug taking and prostitution abundant, yet somehow the author manages to find real humour in her characters lives and their limited life choices; especially when wrong decisions are taken.
A major new talent, and a first novel to be proud of.
Just finished Fatherland by Robert Harris...great read
Just started Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand...excellent so far
Only just read Cloud Atlas. Astonishing. Loved it. Going to work my way through all the rest of his now.
Tragically I was an only twin.
The life and works of the genius Peter Cook.
Some of the stuff so far has had me crying with laughter.
Cheers,
Neil.
Last edited by Carlton-Browne; 1st December 2016 at 15:39.
I just read the final part of the 1Q84 trilogy (2 + 1) by Haruki Murakami, I must admit I'm still as confused as I was in the first two parts. Little people ? Do they exist in either world ?
Richie
Read a few good ones lately
Heavenly Table by Donald Ray Pollock.
A kind of western, 3 brothers go on a bank robbing spree. Full of great characters, violence and very funny in places. Coen brothers meet Tarantino
No Man's land by David Baldacci
Complete Jack Reacher rip off but haven't really enjoyed Lee Child's last couple of books so this series fills the gap nicely
Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer
Fantastic British thriller about a young man with Aspergers which has plenty of twists right to the end
Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly
Another great book in the Harry Bosch series, never read a bad one yet
Invictus by Simon Scarrow
More Roman Legion shenanigans with Macro and Cato. There's been a couple of weak books in the series but enjoyed this one
Time Salvagers by Wesly Chu. A very good take on time travel.
I must look out for his other stuff....The Lives Of Tau series
I read 'Golden Hill' by Francis Spufford. It is a really fun read about a young Englishman going over to New York in 1746. Great tale with surprise ending.
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Am currently enjoying Up in Honey's Room by Elmore Leonard - love his stuff.
Cheers,
Neil.
Getting into the Monster Hunter Internationals and very much enjoying them. Love a bit of fantasy set in the real world.
The Rivers of London books are also a great read in my opinion.
My biggest problem with the Kindle (had one a few years now, I wasn't an easy convert but can't get enough now) is that I can never remember the author or book name. Would be nice if the screen savers were the book covers!
Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri. Very good lots of humour, beautiful language and descriptions and not as dark as the Nordic stuff.
Jo Nesbo and Henning Mankell for dark Nordic stuff.
PG Wodehouse for pure comedy genius.
Cold by Ranaulph Feinnes.
Really good if you like gritty borderline crazy true life tales of adversity and exploration.
I read Post Office by Charles Bukowski, bleak but amusing in parts. Just started a confederacy of dunces which is funny. 😀
Sent from my Amazon Tate using TZ-UK mobile app
I'm working my way through a dozen Frederick Forsyth books at the moment. I've read a couple before but they're worth reading agin. Currently almost finished "The Fourth Protocol" about the Russians trying to influence the outcome of the UK General election. How far-fetched is that?
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Have been reading the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch.
It's a crime fantasy series.
I've read all 6 books in the last 2 months, easy reading and something a bit different.
A different kind of good book recommendation - something I just picked up second-hand on Amazon for 3 quid, in excellent condition, and which will perhaps appeal to gentlemen of a certain age - The Best of Car Magazine - The 60s and 70s.
It is essentially just a collection of reprints of sample articles from the magazine, including
Stirling Moss' guide to the 1965 Grand prix ('Stewart, definintely one of the names to watch in future...')
Fangio testing the Mercedes 600
A Channel tunnel will be the ultimate folly
A campaign by Stirling Moss to scrap the new 70mph speed limit - write to Barbara Castle MP.
Promise Fulfilled? A road test of the new Ford Capri
Jensen FF tested by LJK Setright (remember him?)
&c.
But the really clever thing is they have included lots of old ads (which seem to mainly consist of braless dolly birds in tight T-shirts)
Feb 66 -
BMW 700 Coupé - £679/8/9 including purchase tax
MGB GT £998/9/8 incl. PT
Dec 70 -
MG Midget - £838
The new Morris Marina is twice as beautiful as any car in its class (!)
Dec 74
MGB - 109mph, 0-50 in 8 seconds, £1393.
3 quid well spent. Others available if anyone is interested.
I'd love to see a scan of the Fangio Mercedes 600 review.
The best I can do is: link...see page 16.
I'm just re-reading Neil Gaiman' 'American Gods' (author's preferred text version). I was prompted to pick it up again in advance of the upcoming Amazon Prime adaptation.....I had forgotten just how good it is.
Yup American Gods is very enjoyable.
just finished Scott Hurwitz's book THE SURVIVOR
Well worth a read ....
Also, not long ago the Stephen King crime trilogy (Mr Mercedes, Finders Keepers & End Of Watch). Bloody brilliant !
I'm Travelling Alone, excellent, waiting for the next instalment.
Hi All,
Just finished "Off the Map: Lost Spaces, Invisible Cities, Forgotten Islands, Feral Places and What They Tell Us About the World". Excellent read all in one or can be "dipped into" also.
There are some well interesting and wierd places about !
Richie
I started re-reading American Gods in anticipation of the TV series, forgot how good the book was.
Previously I was reading (do not laugh) Born To Run by Springsteen, earlier parts of the books were enjoyable, but later on he just indulges in self-introspection which I found bit off putting
I just finished the NYT Bestseller "G-Man" by Pulitzer Prize winner, Stephen Hunter. It is superb!
The book follows 71 year-old Vietnam War hero Bob Lee Swagger as he is prompted to investigate his grandfather's association with the pre-FBI Department of Justice in 1934 to capture the notorious bank robbers, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, and others...while someone seems to be tracking his movements as well! 4-1/2 stars on Amazon.
Last edited by pacifichrono; 31st July 2017 at 02:57.
Golden Lion - Wilbur Smith
Just finished The Force by Don Winslow .it's about corrupt cops in NYPD .It's not as epic as his last book The Cartel but still a good read
Sent from my Moto G (4) using TZ-UK mobile app
Conclave by Robert Harris. Manages to make a papal election just as gripping as all his other books.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't read bad books. I read a bit, realise they're shit and take them back to the charity shop whence they came.
Mate of mine has not long written a book and read it few weeks ago and can highly recommend it.
its called 500,000,000 dollars and some goats,based on the time he was kidnapped in Nigeria we were working on the same barge and i got off the week before for crew change him and a few of the lads got taken hostage for 3 weeks ish.
'This Thing Of Darkness' by Garry Thompson.
A cracking tale of the man who enabled Darwin.
Last edited by chrisb; 10th September 2017 at 15:45.
I reached the end of one of Conn Igulden's 'Emperor' series and didn't have anything to read while chowing down for lunch on the beach so I picked up 'The Bees' by Laline Paull as a stop-gap. I'm glad I did. An interesting twist on a fictional character.
Barry Unsworth's first novel 'The Partnership' (1966). Superb
Power of the Dog by Don Winslow, bloody fantastic
The new John Le Carre, "A Legacy of Spies".
I went into Waterstones to buy it, and there had been a snafu at head office, all their copies had half price stickers when it should only have been £3 off. The staff were peeling all the stickers off as I got mine :)