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The Old Breed by E. B. Sledge
A first hand account of an American infantry soldier at Peleliu and Okinawa. I think it has been adapted by HBO. Quite a powerful read and describes vividly what actual combat conditions were like. I would highly recommend it.

Dave
 
This is one of the source books for the series “The Pacific” and its author is one of the more interesting characters in the show. After enjoying that his book is definitely on my to-read list, good to see your recommendation.
 
seankenny said:
This is one of the source books for the series “The Pacific” and its author is one of the more interesting characters in the show. After enjoying that his book is definitely on my to-read list, good to see your recommendation.

Forgot to mention that it features in the Pacific. He comes across very well and is extremely thoughtful and observant. I believe he wrote it much later in life from his diaries at the time and it was initially only intended as a personal catharsis and to try to enable his family to understand what he went through.
 
The scenes in which Sledge tries to reintegrate into civilian life are some of the most affecting in the series.
 
For those who enjoyed Perdido Street Station, I'm pleased to say that The Scar (one of its follow-ups) is even better.

Earlier in the summer I ploughed through The Mirror and the Light, which was good, but is there any excuse for a modern book that's 900-and-something pages long? It's a huge feat of writing and research but I quite often felt that it was trying too hard to be a history and not hard enough to be a novel.
 
https://bookshop.zeercle.com/?bsbanner=1

Got an email about this earlier in the week. Might be useful if anyone wants an easy way to slim their collection down. I'm sure they won't be offering the best price but probably better than nothing.
 
2 recent ones from me.

Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney
A very real-feeling and relatable story of a middle-class suburban mother who just calmly walks out one day. I thought it was brilliantly written, very thought provoking and poetic in places. Highly recommend.
https://www.waterstones.com/book/breakdown/cathy-sweeney/9781474618519

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Not a new book but one that's been on my list for a while. It's a memoir by a Parisian fashion editor who has a stroke and is left paraplegic with locked-in syndrome. He cannot move or talk, other than blinking his left eyelid, which he used as a communication technique to dictate this book, letter by letter. His condition is the stuff of nightmares, yet the most amazing thing about this is his love for life, how positive he is, and a very rare insight into what it's like to be in this state. You wouldn't necessarily think about some of the things he misses most, like losing the opportunity to have a sense of humour because by the time he's dictated his witty response, it's several minutes later and the moment has passed. I thought it was a profound piece of work.
 
Has anybody read Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead?
Not stellar but very thought-provoking. Hard to say much about it without giving away spoilers but it tells of the events following the disappearance of the peculiar Mrs Duszejko's dogs.
Slow paced to start, worth sticking with.
 
lukeyboy said:
2 recent ones from me.

Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney
A very real-feeling and relatable story of a middle-class suburban mother who just calmly walks out one day. I thought it was brilliantly written, very thought provoking and poetic in places. Highly recommend.
https://www.waterstones.com/book/breakdown/cathy-sweeney/9781474618519

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Not a new book but one that's been on my list for a while. It's a memoir by a Parisian fashion editor who has a stroke and is left paraplegic with locked-in syndrome. He cannot move or talk, other than blinking his left eyelid, which he used as a communication technique to dictate this book, letter by letter. His condition is the stuff of nightmares, yet the most amazing thing about this is his love for life, how positive he is, and a very rare insight into what it's like to be in this state. You wouldn't necessarily think about some of the things he misses most, like losing the opportunity to have a sense of humour because by the time he's dictated his witty response, it's several minutes later and the moment has passed. I thought it was a profound piece of work.

Great recommendations, really enjoyed both of these. Thanks!
 
remus said:
lukeyboy said:
2 recent ones from me.

Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney
A very real-feeling and relatable story of a middle-class suburban mother who just calmly walks out one day. I thought it was brilliantly written, very thought provoking and poetic in places. Highly recommend.
https://www.waterstones.com/book/breakdown/cathy-sweeney/9781474618519

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Not a new book but one that's been on my list for a while. It's a memoir by a Parisian fashion editor who has a stroke and is left paraplegic with locked-in syndrome. He cannot move or talk, other than blinking his left eyelid, which he used as a communication technique to dictate this book, letter by letter. His condition is the stuff of nightmares, yet the most amazing thing about this is his love for life, how positive he is, and a very rare insight into what it's like to be in this state. You wouldn't necessarily think about some of the things he misses most, like losing the opportunity to have a sense of humour because by the time he's dictated his witty response, it's several minutes later and the moment has passed. I thought it was a profound piece of work.

Great recommendations, really enjoyed both of these. Thanks!

Ah that's great to hear, glad you enjoyed.
 
I sent my copy of the Diving Bell to a biking mate that had a terrible accident. Never been quite sure this was a great idea or not. There's a pretty good movie of the book if you haven't seen it.
 
Strange Sally Rooney
A well written novel with engaging characters and bits of humour; I found it compelling, but not entirely in a good way. The main story is remarkably unpleasant, and, although it does have an ending with some redemption, I was left feeling that it was all a bit bleak to be truly enjoyable.

The Year of the Locust I don't think I posted about this before, so apologies if I did. Enormous fun; it's really silly, but I enjoyed it in a similar way to a trashy movie (author is a Hollywood screenwriter, of Cliffhanger amongst others).
 
The Broken Earth trilogy, by N K Jemisin, an epic and absorbing set, that is better viewed as three volumes, since they don’t stand well alone. Not entirely sure if it’s Sci-fi or Fantasy, it often has a palpable “Lord of the Rings” vibe, as the characters trek the “Stillness” a far future super continent of Earth.
All three books won the Hugo on release, making her the first author to win over three consecutive years. She has four Hugos to date…
The depth of the characters and the detail of the world and “history” she weaves, is incredible. Quite the Asimov/Tolkien heir.
 
TobyD said:
The Year of the Locust I don't think I posted about this before, so apologies if I did. Enormous fun; it's really silly, but I enjoyed it in a similar way to a trashy movie (author is a Hollywood screenwriter, of Cliffhanger amongst others).

For a moment, I was wait, there's no way Nathanael West wrote Cliffhanger, he died in 1940. Then I spotted the subtle difference in the title. West wrote The Day of the Locust, which is in fact about a Hollywood screenwriter (which is what West was) and is a rather brilliant, slightly pulpy minor classic. One of the characters also provided the name for a certain famous cartoon dad.
 
Oldmanmatt said:
The Broken Earth trilogy, by N K Jemisin, an epic and absorbing set, that is better viewed as three volumes, since they don’t stand well alone. Not entirely sure if it’s Sci-fi or Fantasy, it often has a palpable “Lord of the Rings” vibe, as the characters trek the “Stillness” a far future super continent of Earth.
All three books won the Hugo on release, making her the first author to win over three consecutive years. She has four Hugos to date…
The depth of the characters and the detail of the world and “history” she weaves, is incredible. Quite the Asimov/Tolkien heir.
Sounds good. Then I remembered reading it a few years ago, it was kinda good but also, hmmm, something, maybe a bit over-the-top? I dunno. Anyway I did read it!
 
Oldmanmatt said:
The Broken Earth trilogy, by N K Jemisin, an epic and absorbing set, that is better viewed as three volumes, since they don’t stand well alone. Not entirely sure if it’s Sci-fi or Fantasy, it often has a palpable “Lord of the Rings” vibe, as the characters trek the “Stillness” a far future super continent of Earth.
All three books won the Hugo on release, making her the first author to win over three consecutive years. She has four Hugos to date…
The depth of the characters and the detail of the world and “history” she weaves, is incredible. Quite the Asimov/Tolkien heir.

I read the first book and thought 'meh'. Maybe part of the problem was all the Hugos and the hype so I was expecting it to be amazing. I thought it was pretty average middle of the road fantasy with some fashionable tropes.
Maybe I should try again a few years later - at University I didn't enjoy Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea books which have later become some of my favourites.
 


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