Books... (Read 522055 times)

fried · March 31, 2014, 05:01:33 pm

Quote from: kelvin on March 31, 2014, 04:40:15 pm

fried - it might seem a bit of an off the wall suggestion, especially if you have the usual *geek alert* alarm when some one mentions science fiction

Normally true, but Cat's cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is yet another of my tops.

Thanks for the rest of the suggestions. Looks like I'm sorted for the near future (once I finish my Ottoman book ...)

Rocksteady · March 31, 2014, 05:36:37 pm

Quote from: slackline on March 31, 2014, 04:36:04 pm

Quote from: fried on March 31, 2014, 04:18:55 pm
If anyone has any suggestions for good books mixing history, fiction, theology, philosophy....

Neal Stephensons The Baroque Cycle Trilogy of books Quicksilver, The Confusion and The System of the World.

I also enjoyed his earlier book Snow Crash which covers linguistics, philosophy, theology, politics, computer science and pizza delivery.

Love The Baroque Cycle, have read it a couple of times. Any book that has Isaac Newton as a character gets a big thumbs up.
Last year also read his Cryptonomicon, sort of a dual-time WW2 and modern thriller. One of the most enjoyable books I've read in ages.

Also mentioned above - thought the Hyperion Cantos was excellent. Definitely sci-fi though.

miso soup · March 31, 2014, 06:57:48 pm

Quote from: habrich on February 18, 2014, 05:37:42 pm

Been thinking I should try to read some Canadian fiction,

Have you read In The Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje? All his books are awesome but this one is set in 1920s Toronto and is probably even more awesome if you've spent time in the city.

johnx2 · April 02, 2014, 08:32:52 am

just finished the Goldfinch, Donna Tart. Wonderful book, really surprisingly so, and the best thing I've read in a long time. It's not short, but one of those where I tried to slow down as remaining pages diminished, to make it last longer. Includes art and gunfights.

seankenny · April 02, 2014, 09:54:23 am

Interesting. I gave this a good go, but got 70 pages into it and just couldn't be bothered with it any more - a tedious read after especially when compared to the fun of the Secret History.

johnx2 · April 02, 2014, 10:04:46 am

ah well

Secret History was great, and rush of the first half really so. The Goldfinch contains a few of the same tropes, which could annoy. Whatever, it's a good yarn with engaging characters (and a couple of pantomime villains) and ideas, and I was hooked.

SA Chris · April 02, 2014, 10:48:24 am

I just finished Stonemouth by Iain Banks. A fairly down the line novel, but a good yarn and very well written. The town of Stonemouth is an amalgamation of parts of several Scottish East Coast towns, nice to be able to identify the parts.

DaveC · April 02, 2014, 11:07:39 am

Quote from: andy popp on March 31, 2014, 04:43:11 pm

And on the theme of German imperial ambitions (and more) I'm currently getting stuck into Christopher Clark's The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 and I'm learning a great deal. Very dense but fluidly written.

Spooky! Just got started on this myself and agree with your early assessment.
BTW, I also thoroughly recommend his earlier history of the rise and fall of Prussia, "The Iron Kingdom." Superbly written history.

andy popp · April 05, 2014, 06:03:47 am

Great minds etc.

On the Donna Tartt debate I did love The Goldfinch but didn't think it quite matched The Secret History. However I then read The Little Friend, which I loved even more. I think it might be my favourite and really can't understand the very mixed reaction it received. Any other views?

Falling Down · April 13, 2014, 05:22:53 pm

I've been reading but there's not that much that's really hooked me apart from:

The Man Who Loved Dogs: Leonardo Padura. Recently translated, this is an absolute masterpiece. The core of the story is the assassination of Leon Trotsky by a Spanish communist turned soviet agent Ramon Mercador but it's much more than that. Very grand in scope it spans the twentieth century from the Bolshevik revolution, Spain's civil war, Cuba and the collapse of the Soviet Union. I got schooled, moved and entertained with each turn the page. Highly recommended.

Wolves: Simon Ings. Disturbing contemporary fiction. Vaguely sci-fi in a Ballardian/Burroughs sense. Found it hard to put down and it gave me bad dreams.

On a non-fiction tip. Iain Martin's "Making it Happen" on the rise and calamitous fall of RBS and the collapse of the banking system is really good. Very well researched with a hint of righteous anger and incredulity to stir the mix.

Falling Down · April 13, 2014, 05:24:19 pm

.... and thanks to this thread I have The Pike and Secret History by the bedside.

andy popp · April 13, 2014, 06:56:43 pm

Quote from: DaveC on April 02, 2014, 11:07:39 am

Quote from: andy popp on March 31, 2014, 04:43:11 pm
And on the theme of German imperial ambitions (and more) I'm currently getting stuck into Christopher Clark's The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 and I'm learning a great deal. Very dense but fluidly written.

Spooky! Just got started on this myself and agree with your early assessment.
BTW, I also thoroughly recommend his earlier history of the rise and fall of Prussia, "The Iron Kingdom." Superbly written history.

I finished this a few nights. I know Clark's analysis is viewed as controversial by some - but this book is an absolute masterclass in writing narrative historian. Immensely skilled - it left me profoundly jealous.

Must read The Pike I think, currently lapping up Henry James' The Turn of the Screw; delicious.

kelvin · April 13, 2014, 08:18:02 pm

Quote from: Falling Down on April 13, 2014, 05:22:53 pm

I've been reading but there's not that much that's really hooked me apart from:

Wolves: Simon Ings. Disturbing contemporary fiction. Vaguely sci-fi in a Ballardian/Burroughs sense. Found it hard to put down and it gave me bad dreams.

That's some admission and actually makes me want to read it.

Falling Down · May 18, 2014, 10:09:03 pm

Meades has written his autobiography.

Jaspersharpe · May 18, 2014, 10:35:08 pm

Excellent!

http://thequietus.com/articles/15285-jonathan-meades-an-encyclopaedia-of-myself

Been wondering what to get for reading on holiday (as it's the only chance I ever get to get properly stuck into something). That'll do.

SA Chris · May 19, 2014, 08:22:28 am

Just finished Skagheads, the "prequel" to Trainspotting. Thought it was excellent, miles better, really well written, but with the same great characters. Long book by comparison, but worth the time

Johnny Brown · May 19, 2014, 10:44:35 am

Quote

Meades has written his autobiography.

Spotted this entertaining review in the Telegraph (at my parents...) written very much in the Meades style, lists included: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/10796280/An-Encyclopaedia-of-Myself-by-Jonathan-Meades-review.html

andy popp · June 05, 2014, 06:29:16 am

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's recent death gave me the push I needed to at last get round to reading him, starting with One Hundred Years of Solitude. And I hate it ... trite and incredibly boring (I'm over half way and will finish). Am I the only one?

slackline · June 05, 2014, 06:44:42 am

Quote from: andy popp on June 05, 2014, 06:29:16 am

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's recent death gave me the push I needed to at last get round to reading him, starting with One Hundred Years of Solitude. And I hate it ... trite and incredibly boring (I'm over half way and will finish). Am I the only one?

I tried reading it once, got bored and gave up.

Muenchener · June 05, 2014, 07:18:29 am

Me too. Didn't get far with Midnight's Children either. Evidently not cut out for classic contemporary lit.

Motown · June 05, 2014, 08:56:03 am

Jerusalem: Biography by Simon Sebag-Montefiore. The early history is full of psychopaths and 'sexual adventurers' (description of Caesar) and although that continues as the history moves out of the Bible, the rest gives a really interesting insight into why one place gas been at the centre of so much trouble. Felt educated on every page, but written in an enjoyable way which felt a big like a novel.

Similar for Stalingrad by Antony Beevor but better. Just great.

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Zods Beard · June 05, 2014, 09:18:32 am

Quote from: andy popp on June 05, 2014, 06:29:16 am

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's recent death gave me the push I needed to at last get round to reading him, starting with One Hundred Years of Solitude. And I hate it ... trite and incredibly boring (I'm over half way and will finish). Am I the only one?

No you're not. I preferred his non fiction stuff, an account he wrote of some kidnappings was very good. No more details sadly.

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Joepicalli · June 05, 2014, 09:40:41 am

Just read "the Girl With All The Gifts" Can't recommend it highly enough.

fried · June 05, 2014, 11:39:52 am

Quote from: andy popp on June 05, 2014, 06:29:16 am

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's recent death gave me the push I needed to at last get round to reading him, starting with One Hundred Years of Solitude. And I hate it ... trite and incredibly boring (I'm over half way and will finish). Am I the only one?

I never really enjoyed this book and I'm a fan of GGM. I'd recommend starting with 'love in the time of cholera' , which I've reread umpteen times. Mind you, some people just don't seem to get on with him.

seankenny · June 05, 2014, 01:09:20 pm

Quote from: Muenchener on June 05, 2014, 07:18:29 am

Me too. Didn't get far with Midnight's Children either. Evidently not cut out for classic contemporary lit.

I love both Midnight's Children and 100 Years...

Quick question, to see if a theory of mine holds: have any of you guys who disliked these novels been to a non-western country? (I'm thinking more than a quick business trip or working on a Nigerian oil rig...)