[remus]

High-Rise - J.G. Ballard

Just polished this off and would highly recommend it. Gloriously fucked up, you're drawn in all the way through, then occasionally you'll step back and think 'did I really just read that?'

[Will Hunt]

Attempted to get into A Time Of Gifts again, which was recommended to me by Andy - I've got about half way through. Autobiographical work by Patrick Leigh Fermor recounting his time walking through Europe. Sleeping in hayricks one night and Transylvanian castles as the guest of some Count or other the next. I do like it but Fermor seems more engrossed with the architecture and art that he encounters on the way than the people and cultures. He spends pages and pages describing and comparing different artists and theorising about how the geography of the region has influenced their work and yet mentions other potentially interesting events (such as being taken skiing by the innkeeper he is staying with) as mere footnotes. There will be some lovely writing about his journey and then it's back to another long diatribe which, without a classical education in the arts, seems completely impenetrable.

Sorry about that Will 

Don't be. Its only my own philistine ignorance of the arts that is getting in the way of it being the most incredible book. We can't enjoy everything!

[Rocksteady]

Some thoughts on recent reads:

The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster. Postmodern detective fiction. I didn't like this. Was attracted by strong reviews but in my view it's very much 'critic's choice' reading. If you have an academic interest in post-modern theories of literature and mind (which I recall from my English degree) then I'm sure this is very stimulating reading. However, in my view if you undermine the element of narrative and story, then you are undermining one of the pillars supporting the reason for reading fiction. I found these stories unfulfilling in a quite fundamental sense, although I recognise that they are very clever and very well-written. But not to my taste.

The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett. I really liked this original of the hard-boiled detective genre. Complex, conflicted, slightly soiled characters and a good story that kept you guessing. Clean prose, Hemingway-esque. Recommended.

Rabbit, Run - John Updike. I liked this too. A sordid story, somehow uplifted with a kind of realistic hope for the human soul. Very funny at times, utterly horrible and tragic at others. Beautifully written.

As an aside, I'm thinking of doing a book reviews blog, to structure my thoughts about the books I read and make recommendations. Is this the sort of thing anyone would actually read?

[moose]

High-Rise - J.G. Ballard

Just polished this off and would highly recommend it. Gloriously fucked up, you're drawn in all the way through, then occasionally you'll step back and think 'did I really just read that?'

and if you need anymore encouragement, it's the current text for the Guardian's reading group blog - so various articles on its meaning, background, and style will presumably ensue:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/mar/08/high-rises-flat-moral-challenge-reader-jg-ballard

[a dense loner]

Yep a book review blog would be a good idea rocksteady

[duncan]

The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett. I really liked this original of the hard-boiled detective genre. Complex, conflicted, slightly soiled characters and a good story that kept you guessing. Clean prose, Hemingway-esque. Recommended.

All five of his novels are great and deserve to be as well known as Raymond Chandler. Perfect reading for a west coast US road trip.

[JamieG]

The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster. Postmodern detective fiction. I didn't like this. Was attracted by strong reviews but in my view it's very much 'critic's choice' reading. If you have an academic interest in post-modern theories of literature and mind (which I recall from my English degree) then I'm sure this is very stimulating reading. However, in my view if you undermine the element of narrative and story, then you are undermining one of the pillars supporting the reason for reading fiction. I found these stories unfulfilling in a quite fundamental sense, although I recognise that they are very clever and very well-written. But not to my taste.

Totally agree Rocksteady. I started this based on a recommendation by a friend. I finished the first story and was so disappointed I didn't read the rest of it. I thought it was terrible. I seem remember the story being very weak and then just ending. I couldn't believe people really like it, I completely didn't 'get it'. Thinking about it now, still makes me annoyed.

[filz]

As an aside, I'm thinking of doing a book reviews blog, to structure my thoughts about the books I read and make recommendations. Is this the sort of thing anyone would actually read?

   Yep some people, me included, read them! Check out also goodreads.com it's a good place to find and share book recommendations.

[Fiend]

Currently half way through James Smythe's "No Harm Can Come To A Good Man"

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harm-Can-Come-Good-Man/dp/0007541937/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1458560615&sr=8-5&keywords=james+smythe

ClearVista is used by everyone and can predict everything. It’s a daily lifesaver, predicting weather to traffic to who you should befriend. Laurence Walker wants to be the next President of the United States. ClearVista will predict his chances. It will predict whether he's the right man for the job. It will predict that his son can only survive for 102 seconds underwater. It will predict that Laurence's life is about to collapse in the most unimaginable way.

So far, so good. I think you guys might like this, an easily-readable paranoia thriller with hints of Wolves and Minority Report, it manages to combine American family life with a surprising amount of menace and chill.

[remus]

Tracks - Robyn Davidson

Good recommendation Johnny B, really enjoyed this. Felt a bit wishy washy in places but all tied together nicely at the end.

Punk in the Gym - Andy Pollit

Mega. Feels a little scatter gun and hard to digest at times, but it seems like it's very much the author's personality and you feel kind of closer to the material for it. Closer to a memoir than an autobiography. Related to that, it's a proper climbing book. It'd be a hard one to enjoy unless you're well up on your climbing history (c. 1975-1995).

Didn't know much about the man going in (other than the headlines, OS of The Bells etc.) so was amazing to read some of the anecdotes, especially from the early days.

If I had to level a complaint, Id say it lacks a little continuity. Would have been good if there was something that tied the whole shebang together.

[Fultonius]

Picked up The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for £1 in a charity shop, just finished it yesterday. I was surprised at how easy a read it was considering its age. I can see why it's considered to be a classic.

[chillax]

Just finished The Milkman In The Night by Andrey Kurkov. Interesting book. Some fantastically written passages and some genuinely hilarious scenes, but I feel like I fundamentally missed the joke due to not knowing much about Ukrainian history or politics. For my money, not as good as Death and the Penguin (which is a strong contender for my favourite book).

Started John Dies at the End yesterday and I'm 1/3 through already. Its brilliant. I anticipate being finished by tomorrow.

[SA Chris]

I can tell you what happens...

[chillax]

I can tell you what happens...

I bet you spoiled The Passion Of The Christ for people

[Rocksteady]

Picked up The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for £1 in a charity shop, just finished it yesterday. I was surprised at how easy a read it was considering its age. I can see why it's considered to be a classic.

Yes that's a fantastic book. If you haven't read it, have a look at Huckleberry Finn too. A more grown up and serious sequel but brilliantly written with the same sense of fun.

[rodma]

Picked up The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for £1 in a charity shop, just finished it yesterday. I was surprised at how easy a read it was considering its age. I can see why it's considered to be a classic.

Yes that's a fantastic book. If you haven't read it, have a look at Huckleberry Finn too. A more grown up and serious sequel but brilliantly written with the same sense of fun.

Agree, huckleberry finn is an awesome read, always found it odd that it is classed as a children's book

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

[Will Hunt]

I would highly recommend Mark Twain's autobiographical stories. Life on the Mississippi and Roughing It are amazing. The man lived a phenomenal life.

[Fiend]

 
Just finished this:



Easily readable and initially deceivingly lightweight paranoia thriller, turns out to be quite gripping and surprisingly creepy in places, really liked it. By the author of The Explore and The Echo.
 
And this:



Hitler is somehow teleported from 1945 to 2011 and struggles to come to terms with the modern and disarmingly peaceful world who treat him as a performing art novelty. An entertaining and provocative concept although it errrs more towards pantomine arrogance in his perspective rather than frustrated evil.

[andy popp]

A random selection from so far this year.

Elizabeth Bowen, The Heat of the Day. Billed as noir but it just seemed to be a very powerful, evocative account of doomed love in wartime London. I don't know why I picked this but I'm very glad I did.

Patrick Modiano, The Occupation - three early novellas by recent Nobel prize winner. I read and greatly enjoyed Modiano's sombre, restrained The Search Warrant last year but found these much less effective, almost tiresome at times.

Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence - more peerless prose from Ms Wharton, skewering the Gilded Age.

Julian Barnes, A Sense of an Ending. A friend raved to me about this but I didn't think it was any more than OK. It seemed slight.

Richard Ford, The Sportswriter. Why have I waited so long to read this? My ideal book: ordinary man goes about his ordinary life in south Jersey, not very much happens. I thought this was brilliant and very moving, and now I have the next two to look forward to.

And I am just coming to the end of 'Justine", the first book in Lawrence Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet. Possibly the most pretentious book ever, but also one of the most beautiful and entrancing.

I also want to mention the perfect Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York, James and Karla Murray - a brilliant photographic homage to New York's fast disappearing independent, neighbourhood stores (the photographs are supplement by interviews with some of the owners). I was given the compact "mini" version, which is still a beautifully produced

http://www.jamesandkarlamurray.com/JamesandKarlaMurraySTOREFRONTMini.html

[Fultonius]

I would highly recommend Mark Twain's autobiographical stories. Life on the Mississippi and Roughing It are amazing. The man lived a phenomenal life.

They are now on the "to read" list, thanks.

[Will Hunt]

I have been aware of the Twitter account @herdyshepherd1 for some time now. Tens of thousands of people follow it for romantic dips into rural Cumbrian life - pictures of lambs, sheepdogs etc. When I saw that a book had been produced by HerdyShepherd, I assumed there would be not much more to it than some pretty words and pictures about the Lake District, produced after a publisher had seen the opportunity for a quick buck and encouraged the Twitterer to write a book ASAP.

Then on a wet weekend in Pembroke I started reading a friend's copy and have just finished it last night. At times, so beautiful it could make you cry. Challenging, because I don't agree with everything he says. A revelation because, despite having been "educated" about Lakeland since GCSE Geography through to our Management of Wilderness Environments module at University, nobody had ever told the story of the landscape from the perspective of the people who have lived in it and moulded it for the past few hundred years. Very powerful and thought provoking stuff - especially for anyone who feels a sense of belonging in the Lakes.

[Will Hunt]

Just read JB's post about it above. I agree with almost everything he said but am prepared to forgive Rebanks. I don't think it was his aim to provide much balance, more to try and put other people in his own shoes and then let them suss out what they think on their own.

[Johnny Brown]

He is writing another book. I can only hope he tackles a few of the issues he so markedly avoids. My main beef is he seems to think farming tradition trumps everything, but fails to offer any real proof of it's longevity whilst ignoring both its evolution and any other local traditions (fell-running) that don't suit the narrative. I really hope his book's success sees his farm overrun with well-meaning city-types.

[Falling Down]

Nice to see a flurry of posts and lots of interesting stuff to add to the list.  You've made me pull my finger out..

My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante.  There's been loads of coverage in the press of this trilogy so I won't repeat all that.  It got off to a really slow start and I wondered what all the fuss was about but it really put a hook in me and I keep on thinking about it a couple of months after reading.  Saving the other two for a holiday when I can read uninterrupted.

The Ballad of Black Tom - Victor Lavelle.  Lavelle's an African American horror/noir writer and this is his revisionist take on Lovecraft's 'The Horror at Red Hook" which is probably HPL's most notorious misanthropic & racist short story.  It's great, very readable in it's own right as a short horror story but even better as an exploration of Lovecraft's racism and how it informs his mythos.  A one-sitting shortie.

The Devils Chessboard (Allen Dulles, the CIA and the Rise of America's Secret Government) - David Talbot.  A really long biography of Allen Dulles and the CIA.  He was a total arsehole. In bed with the Nazi's to arrange their escape and continued influence in Germany after the war; behind the overthrow of governments in central america and elsewhere with his wall street interests taking a higher priority than those of the various presidents he was supposed to have served under. Then we get to JFK and Bobby and we know how that all worked out... A really good read for those interested in the cold war and US politics.  A lot of new stuff about JFK's killing in here too. 

How We Are - Vincent Deary. I loved this.  Deary's a practising psychotherapist but this is no self-help book.  More a discursive wander around philosophy, psychology, neuroscience and what it means to be a human being and in particular what happens when we receive 'news from nowhere' or the signals of imminent change.  It's the first of three books and I'm looking forward to the second.

The Silent Deep - James Jinks, Peter Hennessy.   The history of the UK's Submarine Service.  Some of it's fascinating but its mostly really slow going like the subject matter.  I imagine it's brilliant if you're into military history as much of this has remained under wraps until now.  I'm still only half way through and tend to dip into it when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.

All the Devils Are Here - David Seabrook. A much darker version of WG Seabald's 'Rings of Saturn' with Seabrook wandering the towns and villages of the Kent coastline (Margate, Thanet etc.) digging up its bizarre and secret history. TS Eliot, the history of Buchan's 39 steps & William 'Lord Haw Haw' Joyce alongside the British Union of Fascists movement - the precursors of UKIP and the NF; alcoholic Charles Hawtrey and an explanation behind Dickens' unfinished last novel.

Submission - Michel Houellebecq. I love Houellebecq and this is a much more subtle and deeper book than the scandal that surrounded its publication (a few hours before the Charlie Hebdo massacre) suggests.   It's really uncomfortable reading on a whole number of levels and absolutely brilliant.  The best I've read this year easily.

Every Song Ever - Ben Raitliff.  Ratliff's a music critic for the New York Times and this book answers the question "How do I listen to music when I can listen to anything, anywhere at anytime?" in a really interesting and engaging way.  Chapters entitled Repetition, Speed, and Virtuosity rather than Jazz, Rock, Folk or 60's, 70's, 80's give a good idea of his approach and it's really eclectic - it had me all over Spotify. Very enjoyable.

[andy popp]

All the Devils Are Here - David Seabrook. A much darker version of WG Seabald's 'Rings of Saturn' with Seabrook wandering the towns and villages of the Kent coastline (Margate, Thanet etc.) digging up its bizarre and secret history. TS Eliot, the history of Buchan's 39 steps & William 'Lord Haw Haw' Joyce alongside the British Union of Fascists movement - the precursors of UKIP and the NF; alcoholic Charles Hawtrey and an explanation behind Dickens' unfinished last novel.

This sounds very interesting. I'm a great admirer of Sebald.Austerlitz is one of the truly outstanding European novels.