Books - What are you reading?

[jbudgie]

Mark Wallington and his travels with his dog 'Boogie' are good reads.

[E24man]

Topical for me, a quick re-read of 'The Easter Rising' by Conor Kostick and Lorcan Collins.

[droopsnoot]

lowdrag said:

and I always find her better than Patricia Cornwell.

I thought PC went off quite badly for a while, but some of the more recent stuff was a bit of a return to form.

[grumbledoak]

Following on from The Demolished Man I have read The Stars My Destination, both very early science fiction by Alfred Bester. That guy really was a genius, way ahead of his time.

Now starting The Peripheral by William Gibson, also sci-fi but much more recent.

[leglessAlex]

grumbledoak said:

Following on from The Demolished Man I have read The Stars My Destination, both very early science fiction by Alfred Bester. That guy really was a genius, way ahead of his time.

Now starting The Peripheral by William Gibson, also sci-fi but much more recent.

What did you think of The Demolished Man when compared to The Stars My Destination? I've read the latter and loved it but haven't ever heard of the former.

[grumbledoak]

leglessAlex said:

What did you think of The Demolished Man when compared to The Stars My Destination? I've read the latter and loved it but haven't ever heard of the former.

I hadn't really thought to compare them, as such - they are quite different. The Stars My Destination must be among the very origins of Space Opera, while The Demolished Man is a detective thriller set in the future. Much less excitement and spaceships, but it is a fantastic imagination of a very different but very plausibly human future, IYSWIM.

[toasty]

Just started Ulysses by James Joyce on audiobook. So far, the narrator seems to put a lot of life into the characters so maybe this isn't going to be as hard-going as I thought it might be. It should keep me entertained for the next couple of months commuting.

Failing that, I've got Brian Blessed's autobiography read by the great man himself.

[leglessAlex]

grumbledoak said:

leglessAlex said:

What did you think of The Demolished Man when compared to The Stars My Destination? I've read the latter and loved it but haven't ever heard of the former.

I hadn't really thought to compare them, as such - they are quite different. The Stars My Destination must be among the very origins of Space Opera, while The Demolished Man is a detective thriller set in the future. Much less excitement and spaceships, but it is a fantastic imagination of a very different but very plausibly human future, IYSWIM.

Thanks very much, I think I'll give it a read so

[Nezquick]

Really looking forward to "The Blade Artist" by Irvine Welsh which is to be released on 7 April.

It picks up the story of Begbie years after Trainspotting apparently. Should be good.

[havoc]

grumbledoak said:

leglessAlex said:

What did you think of The Demolished Man when compared to The Stars My Destination? I've read the latter and loved it but haven't ever heard of the former.

I hadn't really thought to compare them, as such - they are quite different. The Stars My Destination must be among the very origins of Space Opera, while The Demolished Man is a detective thriller set in the future. Much less excitement and spaceships, but it is a fantastic imagination of a very different but very plausibly human future, IYSWIM.

One rather cool link out of TDM - in Babylon 5, the head of the PsiCorps is named Bester as a nod to this novel and AB's creation of the concept...

[Chris Type R]

King Herald said:

Arguably the best book I have ever read.

The sequel is a huge tome, but I simply could not get to grips with it, far too much detail and tedium.

I recently read his 'Century' trilogy, which is a massive read, drawn out in places, but excellent, factual history put into a huge novel. I'd like my 14 year old daughter to read it, but it gets a little too, er, risqué in places.....

http://ken-follett.com/bibliography/fall_of_giants...

Do you not find that his characters follow the same patterns ? The plucky working class individual overcoming hardship and making good in life through sheer hard work and determination, and the upper class/aristocratic being a bully who takes advantage of their position/family standing to cause hardship for anyone less worthy.

[g3org3y]

Nezquick said:

Really looking forward to "The Blade Artist" by Irvine Welsh which is to be released on 7 April.

It picks up the story of Begbie years after Trainspotting apparently. Should be good.

I'll have to pre-order this! Thanks for the heads up.

Currently reading a bit of Bryson

[Ace-T]

grumbledoak said:

Following on from The Demolished Man I have read The Stars My Destination, both very early science fiction by Alfred Bester. That guy really was a genius, way ahead of his time.

I was totally and utterly gobsmacked when I found out The Demolished Man was written in the 50s. It is a stunning book when read now, nevermind back then!

[King Herald]

Chris Type R said:

Do you not find that his characters follow the same patterns ? The plucky working class individual overcoming hardship and making good in life through sheer hard work and determination, and the upper class/aristocratic being a bully who takes advantage of their position/family standing to cause hardship for anyone less worthy.

Never really noticed actually, but maybe there is, a general 'theme' that most interesting books follow; heroes and baddies etc? I like the actual history lessons he gives, made palatable by the fictional families involved.

[Mark Benson]

lowdrag said:

Recently I've read The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid which was OK but I thought the end rather light

I had this from the library recently, I found it all a bit preachy as well as lacking the usual McDermid punch. It's as if she'd been on holiday to Dubrovnik, done a bit of research and needed to tell us all about what went on.

Currently reading Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot by David Schafer and I'm not feeling the love really. It's meandering along and while well written, doesn't seem to have a purpose or be going anywhere, I don't often abandon books but I may do on this occasion.

[blindswelledrat]

BRISTOL86 said:

Hi Guys

Can you recommend authors similar in genre and style to Bill Bryson (the travel stuff rather than the sciencey stuff)

I really like the blend he gets of informative enough to be interesting from a learning point of view but humorous enough to keep it light and easy going...especially his earlier stuff on the Americas and Europe.

Cheers!

It lacks the humour of Bill Bryson, but I liked Blood River a lot more than any of the Bryson books. Utterly fascinating.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-River-Journey-Africa...

Edited by blindswelledrat on Thursday 7th April 13:08

[Legend83]

blindswelledrat said:

It lacks the humour of Bill Bryson, but I liked Blood River a lot more than any of the Bryson books. Utterly fascinating.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-River-Journey-Africa...

Edited by blindswelledrat on Thursday 7th April 13:08

That would get my vote too - a brilliant book. Incredible to read how the DRC was a fully functioning and fairly modern (by African standards) nation under Belgian rule (albeit flipping brutal)...and now look at it.

[Shadow R1]

Jack Du Brul
The Medusa stone.

[cherie171]

John Wyndham's The Crysalids. Only a small way in so far.

[K12beano]

Bojo's breathless romp - as someone described it. Quite more-ish ...