The book thread

Ur-cut, I think.

Incidentally, Urquhart was the surname of one of my favourite fictional characters, Francis Urquhart, the Machiavellian Tory Minister in Michael Dobbs' wonderful 'House of Cards' series.

Andy_Symons wrote:

Ur-cut, I think.

Incidentally, Urquhart was the surname of one of my favourite fictional characters, Francis Urquhart, the Machiavellian Tory Minister in Michael Dobbs' wonderful 'House of Cards' series.

This Mock. Unless you're from Edinburgh and affluent then it's Urrrr-cut rrrrreally rrrrrrolling the "r's"

Nick wrote:

Brookmyre's brilliant, Andy, I agree. Read all of his stuff bar the latest one, as has the wife.

Peggy - I read a Prayer For Owen Meany on a coach journey to somewhere in Europe (it was a long time ago). The bit with the nativity play had me in stitches. The rest of the passengers weren't impressed with my protracted guffawing but I couldn't help myself.

More talk when I'm not meant to be writing words about videogames

A lot of John Irving's books are wonderful - I've used the phrase 'blown away' after reading several of them and they can be read time & time again.

'A prayer....' is brilliant (but like a lot of his books needs perseverence to begin with).

However 'Garp' made me stifle tears (on a plane on my own) & sticks in my memory as one of the best things I've ever read.

'Widow for a day' & 'Hotel new Hampshire' are also mesmerizing.

'Cider House Rules' (degrees of separation, mind) is astonishing. The subsequent film won Oscars (I think), but (as ever), the book is a thousand times deeper. Utterly compelling. Magnificent.

Oh, & the one with the Indian police Inspector - Insp Daar(sp?) - also worth getting past a tricky beginning. Forget the name of that one....

Didn't like the Widow one, Jon, nor Until I Find You, a recent one in which the lead character's trying to find his father. I think Irving's got a bit of an obsession about relationships with a huge age gap (usually with the woman being at least old enough to be the man/boy's mother), and that this sometimes overtakes his ability to tell a story. Shame - I'd love it if I could just know that all his books were brilliant and I'd want to read and reread them.

But then Sebastian Faulks has let me down once or twice, too.

I finished the Bernie Gunther series a couple of weeks ago, slowed down by the way they led me to read up on loads of bits of history from that era. I'd recommend them very highly - Philip Kerr's got an amazing ability to place his fictional characters in real situations, and to have them interact with real people - usually very nasty ones, like Heydrich and Peron.

I'm now reading my first ever John Le Carre - Tinker, Tailor. Not because of the film, but because my mother's a huge fan who was rereading all his books as comfort during the upheaval of moving and that reminded me to give him a go. It's not light, but the effort's paying dividends.

Also, knowing that small people pretty much look after themselves up the park (they soon let me know if they need me, the seven year old by coming over and the four year old by yelling at me), I picked up something light to read when we're up there: The Timewaster Diaries by Robin Cooper. So far (about page 80) it's pretty funny and suitably easy to pick up and put down, but I suspect I'd be getting more out of it if I'd read the first two first.

Anyone read 'Snow Blind' by Robert Sabbag?

First book I've bought in years. First published in the 70's I think. S'posed to be a bit of a classic. Chronicles Zachary Swan, who set the standard for Escobar et all to follow in the cocaine trade.

(Cough)

This week I am mostly reading a book about the Nuremberg trials, with excerpts from the evidence interspersed with bits from people's diaries and so on. It's not very light.

I bought Don Quixote the other day, but am yet to start it.

Twas only a paaaand.

I don't actually know the story...

I'm about to start reading James Joyce's 'Ulysses' again.

I've started reading it 3 or 4 times over the years and never got past the first few pages. Maybe I'll get further this time.

knecht wrote:

I'm about to start reading James Joyce's 'Ulysses' again.

I've started reading it 3 or 4 times over the years and never got past the first few pages. Maybe I'll get further this time.

Have managed it, vastly over rated IMO.

Re-reading Breakfast at Tiffanys now, having seen the film (for about the tenth time, but the first on a proper big screen) on Wednesday.

The book's a bit more, er, up front than the film. But Audrey Hepburn isn't in the book.

Other peoples children ~ A handbook for child minders.

Peggy wrote:

Re-reading Breakfast at Tiffanys now, having seen the film (for about the tenth time, but the first on a proper big screen) on Wednesday.

The book's a bit more, er, up front than the film. But Audrey Hepburn isn't in the book.

Finally finished Breakfast at Tiffanys last night. It took me eight days and it's only 90 pages I blame the forced abandonment of my afternoon nap.

Next book on the pile is a true crime thing about a serial killer in London during WW2. I hope it's well written.

I'm only twelve. My reading skills aren't polished yet.

I have just finished How to Cure a Fanatic by Amos Oz. Its a couple of essays about the Israeli - Palestine conflict. A short but interesting read if you are in to that kind of thing.

Dougie wrote:

I have just finished How to Cure a Fanatic by Amos Oz. Its a couple of essays about the Israeli - Palestine conflict. A short but interesting read if you are in to that kind of thing.

If you're into that sort of thing, try "The Wandering Who?" by Gilad Atzmon.

It's a difficult read at times but, as a Jew, Atzmon manages to alienate most of his fellow Jews in his analysis.

Thanks I'll look it up.

Dougie wrote:

Thanks I'll look it up.

I just found it in a free download on the internet. Google 'wandering who'.

Peggy wrote:

Next book on the pile is a true crime thing about a serial killer in London during WW2. I hope it's well written.

It wasn't. Well written, that is.

In fact I'd say it's pushing the concept of 'true' a bit far when a 'true' book (filed as non-fiction in the library an all) contains things like a four page description of a future fingerprint wizard as a young boy helping his father grind some corn for a sick neighbour. Complete with detailed stuff about the weather and the boy's feelings. Face it, mister published author, you can't possibly have interviewed him, and even if he left loads of papers and you've talked to everybody he ever knew or even passed in the street (which of course we don't know since you don't give any references), it's highly unlikely anybody would remember their emotions and every single (that's every single) thing they did in the kind of detail - overblown, florid and repetitive detail, that is - you present. No. You didn't have enough material for a book, so you padded it out with distractions like this and got your publisher to use really big print (but not so big it's officially large print) to make the book look more substantial than it is.

The wikipedia piece about your killer, which I read when I decided not to throw away any more of my life trying to drag the story out of your prosification of it, and which takes but a few moments to read, shows why you did what you did. But that doesn't make it any the more excusable. I'll never get that week's worth of reading time back.

Tonight I shall be starting a new (to me) series of Swedish crime novels, by Helene Tursten. The cover of the first one says 'The Swedish Prime Suspect', which might be a good thing or might be a bad thing.

I'll report back.

i hate it when a book doesnt deliver. was on a flight back from somewhere a couple of years back and the book i was reading was hard going, jumpy and badly written, but i thought i'll stick this out. wish i hadnt. finished it on the plane and was so pissed off by it, i shouted ' anyone want this pile of shit', by which i got lots of tuts.

my lad made the day by exclaiming ' we made it!' when we landed..

Agree totally. There's nothing worse than not having something good to read, especially when you're away, or ill, or otherwise unable to get hold of anything else. I had a major panic in New Orleans when I got to my hotel room and found the bag with my book in had disappeared: the thirty minutes before it turned up in one of my friends' room was a long and lonely time.

It's something non-readers really don't get.

The new book's showing great promise, so far. Which is good.

Mapperley, darling wrote:

i hate it when a book doesnt deliver. was on a flight back from somewhere a couple of years back and the book i was reading was hard going, jumpy and badly written, but i thought i'll stick this out. wish i hadnt. finished it on the plane and was so pissed off by it, i shouted ' anyone want this pile of shit', by which i got lots of tuts.

my lad made the day by exclaiming ' we made it!' when we landed..

Bet it was Spain.

Also bet it was a children's book.

I also bet your lad doesn't really like you.

I also bet you'll read this and be mortified that I know so much about you.

Read Bill Bryson's book about his travels around the UK.

Not his best effort, but I dunno if that's because he avoided any part of the country that I've resided in.

I'm still about to start 'Ulysses'.

Reading Alexander Kent Command a King's Ship, found out there is ten books before this one.

Peggy wrote:

Tonight I shall be starting a new (to me) series of Swedish crime novels, by Helene Tursten. The cover of the first one says 'The Swedish Prime Suspect', which might be a good thing or might be a bad thing.

I'll report back.

Still reading it, and it's going very well. The murder victim (we're not sure yet if he's a good guy or a bad guy) is called Richard von Knecht.