Read Any Good Books Lately?

[Lady Grendel 139]

Are you Pratchett fans, Lady G / BHB / TLC? I've read a lot of the DiscWorld stuff and it is usually quite funny. I've also read his works for children ( my excuse is that I'm a teacher and I need to keep up to date...).

I'm not a Pratchett ' Trekkie ' though, like some people I have had the misfortune to meet! ......

 

 

I know exactly what you mean Six, I know at least one person like that, I am ashamed to admit that I usually pretend not to be in when he comes to the door. I've read quite a few of the Discworld books, but not recently, I like the early ones best. I've read some of his childrens books too, which I enjoyed and I can't use the excuse of being a teacher or even having kids!

[Magere Hein 1,399]

Are you Pratchett fans, Lady G / BHB / TLC?

As you may expect I'm a great fan of Death. "REVELATIONS. CHAPTER SIX."

I've read a lot of the DiscWorld stuff and it is usually quite funny. I've also read his works for children ( my excuse is that I'm a teacher and I need to keep up to date...).

I'm not a Pratchett ' Trekkie ' though, like some people I have had the misfortune to meet!

" You need to read the books in order, and then you can learn about all of the characters of the DiscWorld as Pratchett intended, in order of appearance...blarr...garble....blarr...rhubarb...rhubarb...etc."...was the rambling of one such saddo I stood next to in Waterstones one day.

I've met Pterry at a book signing once. The book shop was full of nutters wibbling like that. Oh well, I own a signed copy of The Colour of Magic now. As do millions.

 

regards,

Hein

[Magere Hein 1,399]

I read Good Omens a couple of years ago and recently re-read it. It's a good book, so I'll try and get ahold of American Gods. Is it in any way similar to Good Omens or was the wit and humour all Pratchett's work??

American Gods is a good read, a strange but clever story. Not as witty as Good Omens, one of the funniest books I've read.

 

regards,

Hein

[Six 23]

American Gods is a good read, a strange but clever story. Not as witty as Good Omens, one of the funniest books I've read.

 

regards,

Hein

 

I've ordered American Gods, so should have it in a couple of days. I'll let you know what I thought of it after I've read it.... obviously.

[Brinsworth House Baiter 12]

I'm not a Pratchett fan, Six, as I read one of his books once and didn't really do anything for me and haven't bothered with him since- although it must be me as I heard him interviewed on Radio 4 once and he was saying that he's sold more books than the Beatles have records. I must give his stuff another go sometime.

[TLC 9]

Are you Pratchett fans, Lady G / BHB / TLC? I've read a lot of the DiscWorld stuff and it is usually quite funny. I've also read his works for children ( my excuse is that I'm a teacher and I need to keep up to date...).

I've read pretty much all of his books (also including most of the kids ones) but I'm not sure if I still buy them because I've read all of the others, or because I still think he's really good.

 

He seems to have become a 'social commentator' the longer he's gone on, where the story always mirrors something relevant to today's society (xenophobia, sexism, privatisation, bureaucracy etc.) but they seem less & less subtle about it. The earlier books were more direct piss-takes on serious sci-fi 'warriors & wizards' stuff I think, and funnier for it.

 

I'll still get his next one though.

 

Finished Anansie Boys (Neil Gaiman), recommended for anyone who's already read American Gods. If you've not, I recommend you do so.

 

Talking of Pratchett has reminded me of Robert Rankin for some reason. Is he still making funny/silly books involving time-travelling sprouts & elvis and the like? I've not read any of his stuff for years.

 

I think my next mission is to complete my collection of all the Asimov books related to Foundation, Galactic Empire or Robots. This includes the ones continuing some of these themes that were written by other authors after he died, which are of a surprisingly good standard. How Asimov linked so many of his books together into one huge story (sometimes 30-odd years after the original non or semi-related books were written) with barely a join never ceases to amaze me.

 

Ask me later, I'll still be amazed, honest.

[Tuber Mirum 125]

Are you Pratchett fans, Lady G / BHB / TLC? I've read a lot of the DiscWorld stuff and it is usually quite funny. I've also read his works for children ( my excuse is that I'm a teacher and I need to keep up to date...).

I enjoyed the "Truckers" trilogy (Richard Branson is in there) and "Johnny and the Bomb" I haven't read "Johnny and the Dead" but I think I saw part of a TV adaptation a frw years ago which I quite enjoyed.

Talking of Pratchett has reminded me of Robert Rankin for some reason. Is he still making funny/silly books involving time-travelling sprouts & elvis and the like? I've not read any of his stuff for years.

You can keep up to date with Rankin's activities at The Sproutlore Website.

I have read and enjoyed most of Rankin's work, though I think I overdosed on it a while back and stopped enjoying it as much as it deserves. Same as I did with Pratchett actually.

 

I think I read somewhere that Terry pratchett is a big fan of Rankin. Rankin was a real pioneer in that field, writing his far-fetched fiction back in the days before even Douglas Adams had started on Hitchhiker. He deserves more attention than he gets.

[Josco 49]

I finished Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything today.

 

Quite a few reviewers of this book grow lyrical about it. I understand why now. People who are reasonably well read in the sciences will not learn much new from this book, but it's a well-written overview of Life, the Universe and Everything. The perspective of the book is surprising.

 

The book could have been better if Bryson had had his facts checked by professionals in the fields of geology, astronomy, biology and history of science, it's not always accurate, though never plain wrong. I'm not quite sure Bryson understands the finer points of modern physics. Apart from that: it's an excellent read.

 

regards,

Hein

 

I have just obtained a copy of this from Amazon. Am enjoying it very much. Thanks MH.

 

Josco

[Lady Die 63]

I finished Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything today.

 

Quite a few reviewers of this book grow lyrical about it. I understand why now. People who are reasonably well read in the sciences will not learn much new from this book, but it's a well-written overview of Life, the Universe and Everything. The perspective of the book is surprising.

 

The book could have been better if Bryson had had his facts checked by professionals in the fields of geology, astronomy, biology and history of science, it's not always accurate, though never plain wrong. I'm not quite sure Bryson understands the finer points of modern physics. Apart from that: it's an excellent read.

 

regards,

Hein

 

I have just obtained a copy of this from Amazon. Am enjoying it very much. Thanks MH.

 

Josco

 

Congrats on your 1400th post, Mr Josco

[Godot 149]

I finished Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything today.

 

Quite a few reviewers of this book grow lyrical about it. I understand why now. People who are reasonably well read in the sciences will not learn much new from this book, but it's a well-written overview of Life, the Universe and Everything. The perspective of the book is surprising.

 

The book could have been better if Bryson had had his facts checked by professionals in the fields of geology, astronomy, biology and history of science, it's not always accurate, though never plain wrong. I'm not quite sure Bryson understands the finer points of modern physics. Apart from that: it's an excellent read.

 

regards,

Hein

 

I have just obtained a copy of this from Amazon. Am enjoying it very much. Thanks MH.

 

Josco

 

Congrats on your 1400th post, Mr Josco

 

How odd, I bought this yesterday too along with Freakanomics, The Lost World of the Kalahari (cheap), Happiness by Richard Layard and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (kid turns serial killer, mother ponders where it all went wrong).

[TLC 9]

How odd, I bought this yesterday too along with Freakanomics, The Lost World of the Kalahari (cheap), Happiness by Richard Layard and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (kid turns serial killer, mother ponders where it all went wrong).

Well, that's a double order of odd then, as I entered this thread today to specifically mention that I purchased that Freakonomics book whilst waiting for my train home last night.

 

That is, to specifically mention the book, not the train.

 

Don't be put off my the stupid title, or that it's about Economics; I read the whole thing last night and can thoroughly recommend it. It's not that long (I don't read that quickly) but hopefully it should make you question yet more things about this world that are just presented as fact, as if there weren't enough already.

 

As part of the buy one get one half price (BOGOHP not as good an acronym as BOGOF) deal, I also got 'Is it just me, or is everything sh*t these days?' or something like that. I thought it might be a constructive rant about things in today's society, but it's just an A-Z of items that enrage the authors into lots of swearing about things, mostly. It must be pretty bad for me to think of swearing as gratuitous. I didn't even make it to 'B', but it could be good commuting fodder I suppose.

 

That'll teach me for buying a book just because it had a swear word on the front cover.

[DevonDeathTrip 2,357]

Shake Hands With The Devil by Lt General Romeo Dalliare. An account of the genocide in Rwanda. Powerful, gripping, deathly stuff.

[Six 23]

How odd, I bought this yesterday too along with Freakanomics, The Lost World of the Kalahari (cheap), Happiness by Richard Layard and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (kid turns serial killer, mother ponders where it all went wrong).

 

I've read ' We Need To Talk About Kevin ' and found it uncomfortable to read, due to it being so realistic. It is very well written and hits hard.

[Boudicca 702]

 

 

How odd, I bought this yesterday too along with Freakanomics, The Lost World of the Kalahari (cheap), Happiness by Richard Layard and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (kid turns serial killer, mother ponders where it all went wrong).

I've read ' We Need To Talk About Kevin ' and found it uncomfortable to read, due to it being so realistic. It is very well written and hits hard.

It is certainly entertaining. I like the Anti-American sentiments, too. Well worth reading, Godot.

[Brinsworth House Baiter 12]

Read David Baddiel's 'Time For Bed' over the weekend and I have to say it was a hilarious read. I don't find the bloke funny at all usually, either with Newman or Skinner and his losing weight column in the Mail magazine is such a sell-out, but this was the second book of his I'd read and he's as funny as a cat and curtains. If any of you Death Listers are insomniacs then go read it today as his take on sleep disorders is particularly amusing.

 

Last night I read Ben Elton's 'Popcorn'. Another guy who has always failed to amuse me, either in stand-up or his sitcoms, but again, I think his novels are brilliant. It's a splendid satire on how television rules our lives and how serial killers can claim their 15 minutes as easily as a reality television contestant. An excellent book, although I must admit I did find myself wondering how many times Elton watched 'Natural Born Killers' before writing it. I also wondered whether Quentin Tarantino has ever read it and thought to himself, 'hmmm', there but for the grace of God....?

[TLC 9]

I also got 'Is it just me, or is everything sh*t these days?' or something like that. I thought it might be a constructive rant about things in today's society, but it's just an A-Z of items that enrage the authors into lots of swearing about things, mostly. It must be pretty bad for me to think of swearing as gratuitous. I didn't even make it to 'B', but it could be good commuting fodder I suppose.

 

That'll teach me for buying a book just because it had a swear word on the front cover.

I take it back, the book is improving massively(and it's actually called 'Is it just me or is everything sh*t?'). I don't agree with many of the opinions but I don't think that's the point; it's all about appreciating the heartfelt rants therein, which have grown on me.

 

Especially as under 'D' there's a rant on 'The Daily Mail' which is about 10 times longer than the other rants I've read so far, and thoroughly deserving of it too.

 

Sorry about replying to and quoting my own post, but to me it made more sense than editing it. It's not for post-whoredom purposes, promise.

[Lady Grendel 139]

 

 

How odd, I bought this yesterday too along with Freakanomics, The Lost World of the Kalahari (cheap), Happiness by Richard Layard and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (kid turns serial killer, mother ponders where it all went wrong).

I've read ' We Need To Talk About Kevin ' and found it uncomfortable to read, due to it being so realistic. It is very well written and hits hard.

It is certainly entertaining. I like the Anti-American sentiments, too. Well worth reading, Godot.

Very odd, after reading an interview with Lionel Shriver in a newspaper at the weekend I ordered the book from my local library, then I looked at this thread to see it's being discussed, hopefully that's a good omen.

[Handrejka 1,903]

I've just bought Tony Hawks' latest "Piano in the Pyrenees" and Karen Carpenter's biography, appropriately the latter is in the bathroom

[Magere Hein 1,399]

I've just bought Tony Hawks' latest "Piano in the Pyrenees" and Karen Carpenter's biography, appropriately the latter is in the bathroom

You mean: it's there to make you puke? That doesn't sound healthy.

 

regards,

Hein

[Godot 149]

TLC you were right about Freakanomics, makes you think. The idea that murder rates in the US went down because of a court case many years earlier that allowed women to seek abortion, is interesting. He's saying that women whose offspring might have gone off the rails were nipping that possibility in the bud by self de-selecting. How many future Deathlist possibilities have been taken out by contraception and abortion? Must be millions.l

[DevonDeathTrip 2,357]

Pol Pot: The History of a Nightmare.

 

Just realised that reading two books in a row about Rwanda and then Cambodia is a little too deathly.

[Entropy 5]

I've just finished The Baptizing of America by Rabbi James Rudin and have started American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. Not very comforting reading.

[Handrejka 1,903]

I've just bought Tony Hawks' latest "Piano in the Pyrenees" and Karen Carpenter's biography, appropriately the latter is in the bathroom

You mean: it's there to make you puke? That doesn't sound healthy.

 

regards,

Hein

 

No I don't go in for that. Inidently there is a bit in Tony's book where he is beting on the demise of Pope John Paul II. He thinks it would be funny if he died during his visit to Lourdes. Perhaps he's one of the celebreties who enjoys tis site.

[Brinsworth House Baiter 12]

Just finished 'Sole Survivors' by Dean Koontz.

 

It's about a bloke picking up the pieces after his wife and two daughters die in a plane crash. Apparently there were no survivors, but then a woman turns up who claims to be the sole survivor and suddenly the world goes crazy. Well, for the bloke in the story anyway.

 

I become more impressed with Koontz the more I read his stuff. Be warned though, this is one of those books you just can't put down-every time you think 'I'll stop after this chapter', you end up thinking 'I can't leave it there...'

 

Three telly programmes I missed last night and ended up going up the wooden hill a whole hour and ten minutes after Mrs BHB...a fact which wasn't warmly received....

 

Oh well, good book though.

[Six 23]

Just finished 'Sole Survivors' by Dean Koontz.

 

It's about a bloke picking up the pieces after his wife and two daughters die in a plane crash. Apparently there were no survivors, but then a woman turns up who claims to be the sole survivor and suddenly the world goes crazy. Well, for the bloke in the story anyway.

 

I become more impressed with Koontz the more I read his stuff. Be warned though, this is one of those books you just can't put down-every time you think 'I'll stop after this chapter', you end up thinking 'I can't leave it there...'

 

Three telly programmes I missed last night and ended up going up the wooden hill a whole hour and ten minutes after Mrs BHB...a fact which wasn't warmly received....

 

Oh well, good book though.

 

Have you read his Frankenstein stuff? I've been a fan of Koontz for quite some years now, and kept putting off reading the Frankenstein books as I'm dubious of remakes and such like. I got Book One from the library and immediately after reading it I had to buy Book Two. I was hooked. It's not a re-write, it's a completely new idea.

I'm now waiting for book three to be released.

 

Oh, I read Jon Ronson's 'Them: Adventures With Extremists' and I would recommend it to everyone!