Read Any Good Books Lately?

[Brinsworth House Baiter 12]

Thanks for the tip, Six.

 

I'll keep an eye out for Koontz's Frankenstein books.

[Brinsworth House Baiter 12]

Am I the only one reading around here, lol?

 

Just finished Tony Adams' 'Addicted'. For our friends across the pond who might not know, Adams was a footballer (the proper sort, played with a round ball and not festooned with protective armour) who captained Arsenal and England. He was also an alcoholic, which in the case of his book is possibly a good thing as I don't think I could have read three hundred odd pages of 'then the manager decided on a flat back four and we knew we were in with a shout', if they hadn't been interspersed with bed wetting shenanigans and tales of him terrifying Japanese tourists by smashing pint glasses over his head.

 

Conclusion- Unless you're a die hard Arsenal fan or an alcoholic, give this tome a big swerve. Falling into the latter category myself I felt compelled to see it through to the end, but it wasn't a very satisfactory experience.

 

The book I mean, not my alcoholism, which thus far has never failed to be anything other than a satisfying experience.

[maryportfuncity 10,639]

Footie books: as a lover of the game myself I'm well aware that very few reach beyond the fans of a particular team. There are a couple of corkers amongst the books written about Carlisle but I tend not to notice these books in shops outside Cumbria. The following - on the other hand - are highly recommended sports books that go above and beyond their subject and audience:

 

Gary Nelson: Left Foot in the Grave (decent striker at the end of his career ends up player/coaching the perpetual shambles that is Torquay United. Imagine 'Saving Private Ryan' with the twist that his mission is to keep the club in the professional league.)

 

William Fotheringham: Put me Back on my Bike (Investigation into the life and death of Britain's greatest ever racing cyclist. Written as a slowly revealing portrait of a complex man, great stuff)

 

Davis Miller: The Tao of Muhammad Ali (strange non-fiction novel from a man who once-over befriended Ali. Really a musing on life, the universe etc etc but thought provoking and really good on Ali's character.)

[Magere Hein 1,400]

Am I the only one reading around here, lol?

No, there are a few more book readers present.

 

I just finished Theodore H. Fleming, A Bat Man in the Tropics. It turned out to be a long read. If you're interested in bat ecology or field biology you'll like it, otherwise give it a miss. It's a reasonably well-written book with lots of details on the lives of fruit-eating bats and field biologists in rainforests and deserts.

 

William Fotheringham: Put me Back on my Bike (Investigation into the life and death of Britain's greatest ever racing cyclist. Written as a slowly revealing portrait of a complex man, great stuff)

About Tom Simpson, I guess. From which we learn that Mont Ventoux is a dangerous place.

 

regards,

Hein

[maryportfuncity 10,639]

About Tom Simpson although the line on the front cover is 'in search of Tom Simpson' and that's a better reflection of how it reads.

 

There was a documentary made of the same story. I think we learn the Tour De France is a dangerous place when you're all doing speed in search of a win.

[Six 23]

Recently finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman, a very good read indeed...

 

 

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'm currently reading the recommended 'American Gods'. It is, as stated by the two much-respected readers above, a good read. I am intrigued, confused and creeped out, and thoroughly enjoying the experience! Thanks for the recommendations!

 

And, BHB, it takes me a while to get through a book these days. I used to be a speedy reader and could get through many books in not so many days. Now, though, my two young children knacker me out so much that when I get to read ( at night, after they've gone to bed ) I usually fall asleep after about twenty minutes reading.

Interestingly though, the story I'm reading at the time becomes mingled with my dreams and creates some very strange stories indeed.

[Bald rick 9]

About Tom Simpson although the line on the front cover is 'in search of Tom Simpson' and that's a better reflection of how it reads.

 

There was a documentary made of the same story. I think we learn the Tour De France is a dangerous place when you're all doing speed in search of a win.

 

Having read Paul Kimmage's Rough Ride not so long ago, I would have to agree. Speed and so many other non-prescribed pharmaceuticals.

[pulphack 6]

footie books are an odd one. addicted got boring as he sobered up. most of them are cheap ghost-written jobbies that are just dull. but gary nelson's was different - read that and the sequel on a euorpean tour a good few years back, and they were real coal-face footie books that were also pleasingly written. most of them - even if you love the club - are tough going. nelson may even appeal to non-footy fams, as they're about a man coming to terms with the end of a career, and how to face the future when your expectations haven't quite been fulfilled, and ambition cannot be achieved any longer. on a similar theme, tony cascarino's autobiography is worth a look - like an existentialist jimmy greaves.

 

i've not posted much on this before, even though i read a hell of a lot (anything to avoid actually working). recent interesting works have been ian johnson's 'william alwyn: the art of film music' which is easy for a non-muso (like me) to follow, and also tells you a lot about how music enhances a film. jonathon coes' the closed circle is ok, but a little unfulfilling after the rotters club - too many neatly tied ends for the style he's adopted. his like a fiery elephant, the life of bs johnson, is worth a read though - except it disproves mary's theory about writers as johnson topped himself at just 42.

 

constantly re-read jack trevor story, flann o'brien/myles, and beachcomber. i'd recommend them to anyone to try.

[maryportfuncity 10,639]

Pulphack!

 

Jack Trevor Story....a criminally negected writer if ever such a creature existed. Needlessly fallen off the radar of late.

 

I'm currently finishing an oldie by another favoured cultie of mine, William Kotzwinkle. Kotzwinkle at least is rich off the back of his two E.T. film tie in novels but his other works are superbly written with explosions of imagination held together with good plotting. Reading 'The Game of Thirty' a cracking crime novel, then I'll tackle his latest fantasy novel 'The Amphora Project.' Once again, the world is losing out by not investigating the man's work.

[pulphack 6]

mary - a man of taste! jack's kids (some of them) have a very nice site for him, and the savoy site also has something on him. sad to say, i think it's all out of print, but you do see some titles quite regularly on the carboot circuit. a great working class writer, and a documenter of his times.

 

i didn't know kotzwinkle was still writing; i used to love him back in the day, particularly dr rat and swimmer in the secret sea. but then i used to read (ulp) ayn rand as well... just got malcom pryce's latest, saving it for a long train journey tomorrow: anyone who can chandlerise wales has some kind of rare talent!

[Six 23]

I've finished reading American Gods at last. Slow, I know, but I have my reasons ( described previously ).

 

Anyway, it really is a strange, intriguing, dark, funny, annoying and sad story. Anyone who hasn't read it, should.

 

I'm now reading The Various, by Steve Augarde. It seems ok so far, I'll let you know...even if you don't want to know.

 

 

 

( I just wrote this post and the DL seemed to freeze on me! Nothing would work, so I had to exit and come back... then write the same message again. A tad annoying, don't you think? )

[Anubis the Jackal 77]

Going through a re-reading phase at the moment. Derek Raymonds 'Factory' series is reducing my sleeping hours to the bare minimum.

[Tempus Fugit 214]

Just finished reading Hector MacDonald's "The Hummingbird Saint" a pretty good read but not as good as his first novel "The Mind Game".

[maryportfuncity 10,639]

Just finished 'In My Skin' by Kate Holden; a controversial little number detailing her life from middle class classics graduate to junkie and prostitute. It's revved up a few people because it's unrepentant about the way her time in the brothers built her confidence and left her with a fairly positive view of the whole business, the bits where she discusses her early feminist ideas as a student and how they compare to her post-prostitution view of the same are notable.

 

To be honest, the bits about her family life are really well written, the sex is probably overdone but it's a damn good book and a real insight into a somewhat unique character.

[Lady Die 63]

Just finished "End of Faith" by Sam Harris. An excellent read for athiests everywhere. Highly recommended.

[Magere Hein 1,400]

Just finished "End of Faith" by Sam Harris. An excellent read for athiests everywhere. Highly recommended.

Aaaarrrrrggghhhh!

Hein

[pulphack 6]

would you care to expand on that?

[Magere Hein 1,400]

It's one of the few things that drive me nuts, misspelling atheist.

 

regard,

Hein

[pulphack 6]

ah. i thought it was going to turn into a debate about the subject matter of the book. funny how the odd mis-spelling can drive you nuts, though - i confess i feel the same about some mispronunciations.

 

the shameful thing is that i didn't notice it was mis-spelt until you pointed it out... spot the careful reader...

[Magere Hein 1,400]

ah. i thought it was going to turn into a debate about the subject matter of the book. funny how the odd mis-spelling can drive you nuts, though - i confess i feel the same about some mispronunciations.

 

the shameful thing is that i didn't notice it was mis-spelt until you pointed it out... spot the careful reader...

I'm much better now, thank you.

 

Normally I don't mind typos and misspellings much, but that one gets on my tits. It sounds like: she's athy, you're athier, but I'm athiest. But WTF is athy?

 

regards,

Hein

[pulphack 6]

athy is the opposite of dethy, and much beloved of lisping fans of aussie hard rock.

[Six 23]

I'm now reading The Various, by Steve Augarde. It seems ok so far, I'll let you know...even if you don't want to know.

 

It was a good book, just in case anyone was interested...it seems to be the first of a trilogy, so I'll have to keep a look-out for the others.

It's about four tribes of little people, called The Various Tribes, living in a secluded forest, which is part of land owned by a farmer who is visited by his niece who stumbles upon a small horse from the tribe, who is injured and saved by the girl who then embarks upon a magical journey!!!!!! Ok?

 

It's not Joyce's Ulysses but it's an interesting read.

[TLC 9]

Just finished 'In My Skin' by Kate Holden; a controversial little number detailing her life from middle class classics graduate to junkie and prostitute. It's revved up a few people because it's unrepentant about the way her time in the brothers built her confidence and left her with a fairly positive view of the whole business, the bits where she discusses her early feminist ideas as a student and how they compare to her post-prostitution view of the same are notable.

Adds a few extra layers of intrigue, that part of the review does. Who were these brothers you refer to? And isn't it more likely that they spent some time in her?

 

Drumroll, anybody?

 

I really hope the title of the book was chosen on purpose for both meanings of the phrase 'In My Skin', considering the subject matter.

[Schism 2]

Still reading "The Arrow Of Time by Peter Coveneny and Roger Highfield. Second time of reading it, but it still leaves a grin on my face.

 

 

P.S. Hello everone btw

[Handrejka 1,903]

Hello Schism and welcome.