Jump to content
maryportfuncity

Read Any Good Books Lately?

Recommended Posts

Read Caine Mutiny by our very own Herman Wouk recently, if only so I can agree or disagree with comments made about it when the inevitable happens. Dated and slow moving but still quite powerful in its way. Just finished 'Iron Curtain' by Anne Applebaum, which somehow makes a fascinating subject (the sovietisation of East Germany, Hungary and Poland 1944 - 1956) a lot less interesting than it might be. For some low-middlebrow fiction quite enjoyed 'Our House' by Louise Candlish.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

tbh dated and slow moving is rather accurate about Wouk's books.

 

Last night I finished Three Act Tragedy by the great Agatha Christie. Not one of her better works (brilliant last line however) but obviously far better than any Poirot adaptation by Sarah Phelps.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just finished reading "Rock & Roll's Hidden Giant:- The Story of Charlie Gracie", Charlie Gracie's autobiography in which he speaks openly about his rise to fame in the late 50's and how he was blackballed by his record label and his struggles to get back to obtaining another hit. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Deleted wrong thread 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Grappling with the monster that is Defoe's A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain - loving it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In a world where you hear and read an overwhelming amount of bilge that makes you want to tear off your ears and fashion them into an eye mask , reading ‘How To Be Right’ by LBC’s James O’Brien is therapy. Many nails hit on heads. It’s nectar for the mind. I loved it.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am reading Scrathman by Tom Baker. The adaptation of the Doctor Who film script he and Ian Marter tried to get made in the Seventies. It is a good read but there is part of me that is very happy it never made it to the big screen.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells is currently being devoured at MPFC Towers. A frank consideration of the hell on Earth we're creating by way of climate change. The opening line reads " It is worse, much worse, than you think," after which he draws a lot of stats from official (i.e. provable) sources. 

 

Devastating to think dead pooling as we know it may have decades left at most, at which point everyone will be able to cash in cos we're all gonna die, or summat

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, maryportfuncity said:

The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells is currently being devoured at MPFC Towers. A frank consideration of the hell on Earth we're creating by way of climate change. The opening line reads " It is worse, much worse, than you think," after which he draws a lot of stats from official (i.e. provable) sources. 

 

Devastating to think dead pooling as we know it may have decades left at most, at which point everyone will be able to cash in cos we're all gonna die, or summat

 

He's an optimist

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just read This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

 

Educational, disgusting, very funny at times, very sad at others and a frightening insight into what life is truly like in the NHS.

I would recommend.

 

Someone told me he appears on the TV now and they don't like him but I wouldn't not read the book simply because of that. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, Grim Up North said:

Just read This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

 

Educational, disgusting, very funny at times, very sad at others and a frightening insight into what life is truly like in the NHS.

I would recommend.

 

Someone told me he appears on the TV now and they don't like him but I wouldn't not read the book simply because of that. 

 

Speaking of which, 'Bodies' is available on BBC iplayer, both series.

If you've never seen it, it's a drama from about 15 years ago, written by Jed Mercurio (Line Of Duty, Bodyguard).  He used to be a doctor, so ....

Not for the faint-hearted.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

One from Toast's collection.

 

56904906_2606670816071142_375026300789719040_n.png

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Sir Creep said:

One from Toast's collection.

 

Certainly not.  I get a man to do all that kind of thing. B)

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 23/01/2016 at 22:12, rockhopper penguin said:

To maintain cultural standards I was thinking about a Book Club thread but came across this one. My list of death related books (not necessarily the best but ones which give a good range of perspectives) has anyone else read them?

 

Will the Circle be Unbroken? Studs Terkel

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus Smoke Gets in Your Eyes:And Other Lessons from the Crematory - Caitlin Doughty

Mortality - Christopher Hitchens

Mort - Terry Pratchett

 

Out of this list, all I can tick off as read are the Studs Terkel one (which is excellent - I came to this discussion to recommend two books, and it was one) and Mort (which is thoroughly good Pratchett). 

 

The other book I came here to recommend was Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande. Half the book is a great commentary on growing old, the other half a great commentary on dying, and there's some very good commentary on what we do and don't do well both as a society and medically woth regards to both.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The Egyptian. A classic death related novel by Finnish writer Mika Waltari. It's set in the Egypt of the 14th century BC. Please read it in Finnish - the English translation isn't good

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 28/06/2019 at 18:16, bladan said:

The Egyptian. A classic death related novel by Finnish writer Mika Waltari. It's set in the Egypt of the 14th century BC. Please read it in Finnish - the English translation isn't good

"Please read it in Finnish"

 

screw that for a laugh

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
21 hours ago, runebomme said:

"Please read it in Finnish"

 

screw that for a laugh

It's only 980 pages long. Get a dictionary. I think it's a masterpiece. Arguably the best historical novel in history

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, bladan said:

It's only 980 pages long. Get a dictionary. I think it's a masterpiece. Arguably the best historical novel in history

I have actually read it but I remembered it as Sinuhe

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

David Icke's  The trigger is a great book so far and a huge amount of work and research has gone into it. Only 300 + pages into it and already an amazing read. Only the second book of Icke's I've read and very impressed. 

 

 

 

 

81guPeA68PL.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, bladan said:

Reptilians are butlers of the 2000s

who are the masters then

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, runebomme said:

who are the masters then

They're the laws of physics. which have their own masters though... the laws of mathematics! Think about a suicidal jumper. His/her jump (as all of his/her previous lifestory) must obey the laws of physics, which etc.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For the Doctor Who fans on here I have recently read the long awaited adaptation of Resurrection of the Daleks.

 

For a story that has received a lot of criticism for its overt violence and rambling plot points Eric Saward here had the opportunity to flesh out the characters and motivations to provide a more rounded story. Especially as James Goss' recent adaptations of the Douglas Adams stories have been joyful romps

 

Alternatively he could have churned out the most basic sketch of the characters and leave all the problems on screen in tact.

 

I hope Revelation is better

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×

Important Information

Your use of this forum is subject to our Terms of Use