Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
DeejRC said:
Prolex-UK said:
DoctorX said:
Really like those John Milton books, much better than Reacher IMO. You can buy box sets for not much on Amazon, that looks like a fancy reissue of the first one.
Plus oneRead them all.
Milton has his demons to battle which adds a bit of an edge to the story
I’d recommend giving them a go. They’re like the rough end of a Fleming or Le Carré and good enough romps anyway even if not carrying the full literary cachet...
A few recently....
"Record, Play, Pause" by Stephen Morris - the early life story of the Joy Division / New Order percussionist. Covers up to the formative years of New Order. Very enjoyable, Morris has a very wry self depracating sense of humour and conjours up some great imagery and tales of 60s / 70s Manchester and the music scene a good 4/5.
"Slow Horses" by Mick Herron - solid spy story focussed on a disgraced MI5 officer sent to pasture well before his time. Felt a bit laboured and contrived in parts and I was starting to lose interest by the end. Was expecting the new Le Carre.....sadly didn't find it. 3/5.
"The Man on the Street" and "One Way Street" both by Trevor Wood - the first book really took my interest, homeless ex-serviceman in Newcastle witnesses a murder and gets pulled into helping daughter of the the victim get justice, some well formed characters and an interesting twist on the typical crime fiction formula. The follow-up was less interesting and didn't really build on the promise of the first.4/5 and 3/5.
"Zero 22" by Chris Ryan - first time I've read a Chris Ryan book since Bravo Two Zero which I loved. The first chapter of this was great, the rest just didn't do it for me, struggled to finish it. 2/5
"A Tomb With a View" by Peter Ross - a tour of graveyards across the UK and Ireland (mainly) and the notable people buried there, really interesting first half where the focus was on picking out certain individuals and building a picture of them and their past. Last quarter of the book starts to look into the business of burials the cemetry themselves and how they are run and make money - which was less engaging. Good overall though..... 3/5
"Shuggie Bain" by Douglas Stuart - a story of an alcholic mother and her family growing up in 70s / 80s Glasgow. An absolute gem of a book - at times completely harrowing and upsetting but interspersed with moments of laughter and joy. The two main characters (Shuggie and his Mother) are brilliantly brought to life, they inhabit the book and take you with them in a way that only the best authors can achieve. Not an uplifting book by any means and certainly hard to read at times but is essential reading. 5/5
"Record, Play, Pause" by Stephen Morris - the early life story of the Joy Division / New Order percussionist. Covers up to the formative years of New Order. Very enjoyable, Morris has a very wry self depracating sense of humour and conjours up some great imagery and tales of 60s / 70s Manchester and the music scene a good 4/5.
"Slow Horses" by Mick Herron - solid spy story focussed on a disgraced MI5 officer sent to pasture well before his time. Felt a bit laboured and contrived in parts and I was starting to lose interest by the end. Was expecting the new Le Carre.....sadly didn't find it. 3/5.
"The Man on the Street" and "One Way Street" both by Trevor Wood - the first book really took my interest, homeless ex-serviceman in Newcastle witnesses a murder and gets pulled into helping daughter of the the victim get justice, some well formed characters and an interesting twist on the typical crime fiction formula. The follow-up was less interesting and didn't really build on the promise of the first.4/5 and 3/5.
"Zero 22" by Chris Ryan - first time I've read a Chris Ryan book since Bravo Two Zero which I loved. The first chapter of this was great, the rest just didn't do it for me, struggled to finish it. 2/5
"A Tomb With a View" by Peter Ross - a tour of graveyards across the UK and Ireland (mainly) and the notable people buried there, really interesting first half where the focus was on picking out certain individuals and building a picture of them and their past. Last quarter of the book starts to look into the business of burials the cemetry themselves and how they are run and make money - which was less engaging. Good overall though..... 3/5
"Shuggie Bain" by Douglas Stuart - a story of an alcholic mother and her family growing up in 70s / 80s Glasgow. An absolute gem of a book - at times completely harrowing and upsetting but interspersed with moments of laughter and joy. The two main characters (Shuggie and his Mother) are brilliantly brought to life, they inhabit the book and take you with them in a way that only the best authors can achieve. Not an uplifting book by any means and certainly hard to read at times but is essential reading. 5/5
Diary of an MP's Wife - Sasha Swire . Like her spiritual forbear , Alan Clark , Mrs Swire's politics are way to the right of mine , she's pro Brexit and I'm not but that hasn't reduced my enjoyment one little bit. Beautifully written insight into the Cameron /Osborne era by a very smart woman from another political family - she is Sir John Nott's daughter. Her mother is a feisty, don't give a f*** , Slovenian and it's clear that the author has inherited that gene . It is wincingly honest , massively indiscreet , very funny and I bet her Christmas card count was down by 90% this year. Recommended
coppice said:
Diary of an MP's Wife - Sasha Swire . Like her spiritual forbear , Alan Clark , Mrs Swire's politics are way to the right of mine , she's pro Brexit and I'm not but that hasn't reduced my enjoyment one little bit. Beautifully written insight into the Cameron /Osborne era by a very smart woman from another political family - she is Sir John Nott's daughter. Her mother is a feisty, don't give a f*** , Slovenian and it's clear that the author has inherited that gene . It is wincingly honest , massively indiscreet , very funny and I bet her Christmas card count was down by 90% this year. Recommended
Agreed, it was a hoot....IanA2 said:
coppice said:
Diary of an MP's Wife - Sasha Swire . Like her spiritual forbear , Alan Clark , Mrs Swire's politics are way to the right of mine , she's pro Brexit and I'm not but that hasn't reduced my enjoyment one little bit. Beautifully written insight into the Cameron /Osborne era by a very smart woman from another political family - she is Sir John Nott's daughter. Her mother is a feisty, don't give a f*** , Slovenian and it's clear that the author has inherited that gene . It is wincingly honest , massively indiscreet , very funny and I bet her Christmas card count was down by 90% this year. Recommended
Agreed, it was a hoot....towser said:
A few recently....
"Shuggie Bain" by Douglas Stuart - a story of an alcholic mother and her family growing up in 70s / 80s Glasgow. An absolute gem of a book - at times completely harrowing and upsetting but interspersed with moments of laughter and joy. The two main characters (Shuggie and his Mother) are brilliantly brought to life, they inhabit the book and take you with them in a way that only the best authors can achieve. Not an uplifting book by any means and certainly hard to read at times but is essential reading. 5/5
If you enjoy that you should have a look at Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey. "Shuggie Bain" by Douglas Stuart - a story of an alcholic mother and her family growing up in 70s / 80s Glasgow. An absolute gem of a book - at times completely harrowing and upsetting but interspersed with moments of laughter and joy. The two main characters (Shuggie and his Mother) are brilliantly brought to life, they inhabit the book and take you with them in a way that only the best authors can achieve. Not an uplifting book by any means and certainly hard to read at times but is essential reading. 5/5
Looking forward to reading Shuggie Bain soon.
I finished the 3rd book in the Badger Thompson series by Bill Thesken...recommend those.
Finished the second Time Police novel by Jodie Taylor. She is , as always, utterly awesome. Ive now got the last 2 of her shorter Xms stories on audiobook to listen to whilst walking or driving. Also downloaded October Man by Aaronovitch, a Novella based in Trier as opposed to the usual London Peter Grant stories.
One guy I totally recommend is Andrew Mayne. One series is the Jessica Blackwood and the other is the Underwater Investigations Unit. Both v good series. He also write the Theo Cray series.
Finished the second Time Police novel by Jodie Taylor. She is , as always, utterly awesome. Ive now got the last 2 of her shorter Xms stories on audiobook to listen to whilst walking or driving. Also downloaded October Man by Aaronovitch, a Novella based in Trier as opposed to the usual London Peter Grant stories.
One guy I totally recommend is Andrew Mayne. One series is the Jessica Blackwood and the other is the Underwater Investigations Unit. Both v good series. He also write the Theo Cray series.
Prolex-UK said:
and31 said:
akirk said:
Currently re-reading all the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwall - superb...
I keep toying with the idea of doing this myself-great books.Good shout
a lot of similarity, but enough differences to enjoy them all - he really is a very good author...
FunkyNige said:
eskidavies said:
If you enjoy the hitman one then "I Heard You Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt about mob killer Frank Sheeran is a good read, the title comes from their code for a contract killer.lowdrag said:
Here's an interesting photo; the same book, different covers. One is the pre-launch proof and the other the final one for sale. Not started it yet but I'll report back in due course. The one on the left is the on sale version of course.
I've just finished this. It was OK, but I didn't enojy it as much I was hoping to. A couple of twists (or one for me that I thought was coming but didn't), the ending seemed a bit rushed and there seemed a bit too much repetition. Not terrible, though.Have you read it, what did you think?
2020 was a really good reading year for me as i completed the mick herron series , the joel c roesnburg kremlin conspiracy trilogy . the charles cummings trilogy and all five rick campbell naval books .
2021 i was determined to get out of my spy thriller comfort zone so i kicked things off with the salt path ( middle aged couple loose there farm then find out the husband is terminally ill so think f
k it and start walking the sw coast path) it was a pretty good read .
I've now moved onto the way home by mark boyle ( bloke returns to a simple life living off grid ) and this is a bit of a slog so not sure if i'm going to complete it .
2021 i was determined to get out of my spy thriller comfort zone so i kicked things off with the salt path ( middle aged couple loose there farm then find out the husband is terminally ill so think f
k it and start walking the sw coast path) it was a pretty good read .I've now moved onto the way home by mark boyle ( bloke returns to a simple life living off grid ) and this is a bit of a slog so not sure if i'm going to complete it .
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