[SA Chris]

I just finished this;



I found it interesting, but not sure if I would say I enjoyed it, as it's pretty hard work and a lot longer than it needed to be, but gives a bit of insight into the phenomenon of high school killings in the U.S.

[jfw]

i found "we need to talk about kevin" interesting but a bit too bound up in its own clever ideas (was he intrinsically bad - did mum make him bad?) to be emotionally engaging.

[SA Chris]

Sounds about right. Couldn't really empathise with either of them.

Also found the whole letter writing idea a bit tedious, but in the end the reason for it seems valid.

[dobbin]

So, given the above - be so kind as to recommend two books to take to a cold cold place to read on rest days and in between attempts? Ideally avoiding anything that makes you feel emotionally run over? Not buying Kevin - doesnt sound fab, unconvinced by Houdini's 14th century ramblings, Power of climbing is too big to take away - and its not really something you get into, more dip a toe in now and again. I didnt like pr0no or filth, although I felt soiled by filth whilst pr0no was lighter am a bit reticent to get master chef... all advice gratefully recieved.

[Johnny Brown]

Ideally avoiding anything that makes you feel emotionally run over?

I'd go for a rock auto-biog, there are many but Julian Cope's 'Head on' and Bez's 'BEZ' are both highly entertaining lightweight reads.

[dobbin]

Read the Bez book. Thought it was genius. Have you read any of Paul Pritchards books?

[Houdini]

I'd go for a rock etc..

Just about to tuck into Hammer of the Gods.  Hope it's as filthy as I've heard.

[Somebody's Fool]

If you've not read any Magnus Mills he's worth a read.  I've read all (as far as I'm aware) of his stuff and The Restraint Of Beasts and All Quiet on The Orient Express are his two best IMO.  I know Jim's a fan as well.   

There's a sinister sense of foreboding that dominates the stories but the most amazingly subtle one liners jump out every now and then.  Very funny.

[andy popp]

Just finished the Dave Breashears' autobiography High Exposure - amazingly good choice of Chrissy present from my 8 year old, I didn't know he'd written one. When I started climbing that whole Colorado/Eldorado scene was very inspirational to me. This is very worthwhile for anyone looking for a climbing read. He writes very well and interestingly on his strange childhood, early rock climbing, working rigs in the wildwest and numerous trips to Everest, including the '96 debacle covered by Krakauer's Into Thin Air. But, boy, does he seem to have some problems. This could be subtitled 'Portrait of the Climber as Autistic.'

[Houdini]

Well now, Hammer of the Gods (the unauthorised Led Zepellin history) did not live up to it's scurrillous reputation.  Though it did stop me wanting to kill having waited 13 hours for a train from Manc Piccadilly to Bangor a week or so back.

The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster was found to be an excellent read (as with most of Austers' ouvre) and follows his usual themes of identity, chance and coincidence - and the way lives can be radically altered by the smallest and oddest of random happenings and meetings.  I enjoyed it, he has a singular style.

[Fiend]

Christopher Priest - The Glamour

Some of you lot might like this especially if you fancy a chilled out blend of Banks and Auster. It's not sci-fi as I'm usually into, but neither is it straight normal fiction (incidentally Priest made his mark with some very good sci-fi that was notable for delivering high concepts via subtle, calm and peaceful writing, a style that is continued in his other fiction). It's a sort of surreal romance thriller dealing with amnesia, manipulation, perception and love. Well recommended, had me quite gripped.

[erm, sam]

the missus says Brooklyn Follies was good. She said "I would read more of his".

[Houdini]

Been on the road much this last season and have been forced to buy books (usually BOGOFfers) in motorway service stations...  Thrillers & Detective Fiction then...

Amongst them C. J. Sansoms' 'Shardlake' trilogy (Dissolution; Dark Fire; Sovereign) turned out to be devourable, with plenty to learn of 16th Century life/politics/history along the way.  Recommended.

Currently struggling with the latest Will Self offering 'The Book of Dave': 

What if a demented London cabbie called Dave wrote a book to his estranged son to give him some fatherly advice?  What if the book was buried in Hampstead and hundreds of years later, when rising sea levels have put London underwater, spawned a religion?  What if one man decided to question life according to Dave?  And what if Dave had indeed made a mistake?

(All very ZARDOZ...)  It has it's own glossary: much of the book is written phonetically in cockney dialect.  Quote:  I' duz me fukkin ed in!

[Johnny Brown]

Surely that should be fackin'? Or has Self been in London so long he has lost the ability to detect impure vowels? Or is it cos, the south-east being underwater n'all, cockernees are living in notts?

[Houdini]

Poetic license? 

It's more of a chore than Trainspotting on first aquaintance, which after a while isn't that bad at all.  I haven't even mentioned Self's use of umlauts and accutes in this book.

[webbo]

iv'e just read sovereign.not bad although i wasn't too convinced by the hunchback lawyer as the hero.if your in to historical who dunits paul docerty is well worth reading.the historical info in his books is the business. 

[Moo]

Just read "Its a long way down" Nick hornby, probably not everyones cup of tea but worth checking out.

[Falling Down]

Andy - I also enjoyed High Exposure when I read it a few years back.  A more interesting read than most climbing biogs I thought.

I'm still in the middle of Against the Day, Thomas Pynchons latest and I'm enjoying it a lot.  The trouble is that I have the hardback and its a weighty tome to lug around so I've been travelling with some paperbacks when I've been on the train or planes.

I recently raced through 'The Cutting Room' by Louise Welsh in one sitting whilst waiting for a delayed flight from Aberdeen.  I'm a bit of a fan of crime novels and this was really very good indeed.  Quite a departure from the troubled cop routine with the central character being an auctioneer/antiques dealer.  I've used the phrase 'erotic noir' to describe it to someone who asked what it was about... 

I'm currently on 'Moon Dust' by Robin McKie in which he (an English ex-pat living in the USA) tracks down the surviving members of the Apollo missions for a series of frank and revealing interviews about their lives since their return from Outer Space. I've not finished it yet but it's pretty damn good so far.

My Dad recently lent me 'The Goldilocks Enigma' by Paul Davies, an eminent British cosmologist now living and working in the USA.  The theme of the book is essentially exploring various answers to the question 'Why is the universe just right to support life?' and runs through the history of physical, philosophical and religous explanations of life and its relationship to the universe(s).  Fascinating stuff and if you do read it, stick with it to the closing two chapters which are really quite mindblowing....

[Falling Down]

Correction - Moon Dust is actually by Andrew Smith....

[Falling Down]

I raced through David Peace's 'The Damned Utd' on a long flight to the US today and enjoyed it immensely.  If you don't know of Peace, you should do... He's a Leeds ex-pat who relocated to Japan in the eighties and has written five fantastic novels over the last 10 years or so.

His Red Riding Quartet of 1974, 1977, 1980 and 1983 is probably the best crime fiction to come out of the UK for many a year.  A lazy description of his style and the quartet in particular could be "James Ellroy transplanted from LA to Leeds with Peter Sutcliffe replacing the Black Dahlia" but that would be doing both writers a disservice.  Visceral, thought provoking and at times horrifying these four novels are fantastic.

GB84, his exploration of the Miners Strike and the shenanigans of the NUM and the UK's domestic intelligence services followed on in a similar style - reading this one was like being mugged.

'The Damned Utd' uses Brian Clough as the central character and the novel switches between his early career with Hartlepool, his successful run whilst at Derby and his disastrous period as manager of Leeds - no-one comes out a hero in this novel (apart from Cloughies wife) and what a contrast to the goings on of premiership today.  Even if you aren't interested in footie this is still well worth the read.

Finally, who ever it was that recommended Marco Pantani's biog. thanks a million - it was great.. and I want a bike seat like Paz's...

[moose]

Finally, who ever it was that recommended Marco Pantani's biog. thanks a million - it was great.. and I want a bike seat like Paz's...

I am just finishing this myself and join in the recommendations - really good.  I had no real prior interest in cycling myself but found it really compelling - a tale of sporting greatness and obsession to the point of insanity and illness.  Also just the insight into the details and tactics of team riding were an eye-opener - I could well become an armchair fan of the sport.   

[Johnny Brown]

Just read JA Baker's The Peregrine. Remarkable, about the best quality descriptive prose I've ever read. The subject matter might bore a lot of folk though.

[Yossarian]

things i am currently reading (and failing to finish)...

out of it - clare campbell: biog / tale of woe / whodunnit, about her brother bill frost (ex bbc and times journo) and his descent into alcoholism and cocaine addiction. gripping yet also deeply moving.

the restraint of beasts - magnus mills: high tensile fencing erection, in a good way. quirky and fun.

murder in samarkand - craig murray: british ambassador to uzbekistan decided that the uzbeks are a bunch of bastards and gets in trouble.

the house of medici - christopher hibbert:  well, it had a nice cover.

foxbats over dimona - isabella ginor and gideon remez: history rewritten. not got very far into it yet, but quite amazing.

[andy popp]

A "friend" just bought me War and Peace - she thinks I need "distracting." Will have to tackle it over the summer out of friendship but am contemplating buying her Proust in revenge

[dave]

word i've just read this, its well weapon:



great read for anyone who's ever wondered what its like to be the netminder for the 1979 montreal canadiens stanley cup winning team (or even if you haven't). he played in the NHL for 7 seasons and won 6 stanley cups. legend.

I also read Seven Years In Tibet recently, thats well plastic.