Books

Plechazunga · 3rd December 2007, 13:21

I suspect "My Manchester United Years" isn't as good as either "Crime and Punishment" or "Gravity's Rainbow".

The best thing I've read on United is a little book called "The Red Devils' Disciples", the story of a day at OT in the 70s... has some superb photos too. It'll be out of print, but you might be able to get it on the net.

Maroon Lucifer · 3rd December 2007, 13:31

I care more about United than I do about gravity. Thanks for the other info though.
Gerogie Best - Scoring at Half-Time... any good?

Plechazunga · 3rd December 2007, 13:49

It's not really about gravity...

Wibble · 3rd December 2007, 13:51

Just rainbows then?

And bombs and boning.

mehro · 3rd December 2007, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plechazunga

I've not read Crime and Punishment. Gravity's Rainbow's the best novel I've ever read, I reckon.

It's about lots of things, but the basic premise is, there's this American spy in London in WWII, and every time he bones anyone, a V2 rocket lands in the place where the boning took place, about a day later.

You should read it then. It's one of the best novels I've ever read.

I'm currently reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Been pretty good so far.

Plechazunga · 3rd December 2007, 14:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wibble

Just rainbows then?

And bombs and boning.

And banana beer, insane Nazis, conspiracy theories and pig-gods.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehro

You should read it then. It's one of the best novels I've ever read.

I'm currently reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Been pretty good so far.

Why not just take it to a mechanic?

mehro · 3rd December 2007, 14:05

I don't have a motorcycle. The book is about this guy on a 17 day motorbike trip across the US and he keeps having these, I guess you could call them philosophical thoughts, about life and other stuff.

spinoza · 3rd December 2007, 14:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spoonez el Grande

Right have any of you knobjockeys read Foundation and I, Robot by Asimov and Neuromancer?

Yes, yes and yes

Neuromancer is Gibson's one good novel - the rest were rubbish

Alastair Reynolds is good if you like the dark dystopian type of science fiction. Try Revelation Space, and work up to the rest.

Wibble · 3rd December 2007, 14:06

Banana beer? I don't like the sound of that.

Zen ATAOMM was one of the most annoying books I ever read.

spinoza · 3rd December 2007, 14:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wibble

Banana beer? I don't like the sound of that.

It wasn't the only bananary product there was - GR had the best recipe for Banana Breakfasts I've ever found. And they work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wibble

Zen ATAOMM was one of the most annoying books I ever read.

It seems to appeal to those people with mid-life crises.

mehro · 3rd December 2007, 14:30

I haven't even reached mid-life. I've only read the first 80 odd pages out of 500 something but it seems to be pretty good so far.

Actually Spin, it was a recommendation that you made that led me to this book indirectly.

Psmith · 3rd December 2007, 14:37

I tried reading Gravity's Rainbow, just couldn't get into it. I'll try again sometime later. I'm reading Midnight's Children right now.

Plechazunga · 3rd December 2007, 14:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehro

I don't have a motorcycle. The book is about this guy on a 17 day motorbike trip across the US and he keeps having these, I guess you could call them philosophical thoughts, about life and other stuff.

I know twathead, it was a joke

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinoza

It wasn't the only bananary product there was - GR had the best recipe for Banana Breakfasts I've ever found. And they work.

trust you to actually make it

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psmith

I tried reading Gravity's Rainbow, just couldn't get into it. I'll try again sometime later. I'm reading Midnight's Children right now.

A lot of people have that experience... you kind of have to get into the groove with GR, and not try to understand everything.

Midnight's Children is very good

peterstorey · 3rd December 2007, 16:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehro

I don't have a motorcycle. The book is about this guy on a 17 day motorbike trip across the US and he keeps having these, I guess you could call them philosophical thoughts, about life and other stuff.

You'd get more philosophical insight from the average mechanic than that humourless prick.

mehro · 3rd December 2007, 16:02

You people are putting me off the book. Stop it. I don't like leaving books midway.

spinoza · 3rd December 2007, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehro

Actually Spin, it was a recommendation that you made that led me to this book indirectly.

Eh? Which one was that?

spinoza · 3rd December 2007, 16:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plechazunga

trust you to actually make it

It involves a hell of a lot of bananas. I don't have a bloody plantation growing on my roof like Pirate, unfortunately.

I found this site moderately useful when reading GR - took me 2 years to finish off and on.

Plechazunga · 3rd December 2007, 19:16

Ooh, I've not seen that one before. I used Spermatikos Logos a bit.

The_Red_Hope · 4th December 2007, 04:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinoza

Neuromancer is Gibson's one good novel - the rest were rubbish

Agree completely. Neuromancer was brilliant. Couldn't get into anything else by Gibson.

Anyone here a Dan Simmons' fan ? Currently reading his Illium-Olympos series.
As is Simmon's style there are three different story lines that do not begin to converge until the end of the novel.

Its a brilliant combination of Homer's Illiad and Shakespeare's Tempest. Picture a world millions of years in the future where a group of metahumans/Gods are living out as the pantheon of Greek God's (Zeus, Athena, Aphrodite et all). They have recreated the Trojan War and have commissioned 20th century historians from earth to observe the war and report on the accuracy of Homer's Illiad. One of these historians, Thomas Hockenberry, turns the war on its head with drastic consequences for both the Gods and the humans(Greeks/Trojans).
The other storylines includes two robots, one a die-hard Shakespeare fan and the other a Proust fan, on an expedition to Mars to find out the source of vast Quantum Energy emitting from a Volcano(Mount Olympos) there. The last storyline is the one on Earth, where there are roughly only a million survivors who are on a quest to find out the nature of their mysterious past and existence.

The countless literary references are brilliant. This is a grand Sci-fi-Space-opera-epic-story. You guys should read it.

Kristjan · 4th December 2007, 08:32

Yeah finished Ilium a few weeks back, enjoyed it.

Didn't quite suck me in as the first Hyperion did but very good though, need to get a copy of Olympus soon.

The_Red_Hope · 4th December 2007, 11:22

Haven't been able to get a copy of the Hyperion Cantos in any book store. Been wanting to read it for ages now. I guess i'll put it on my 'Amazon Christmas Shopping List'.

Suprah™ · 4th December 2007, 22:07

I just completed "Tar Baby" by Toni Morrison

What a magnificent book. Excellent.

No wonder it won a Nobel Prize for literature

pillory · 9th December 2007, 22:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psmith

I tried reading Gravity's Rainbow, just couldn't get into it.

Try Mason & Dixon instead. It's slightly smaller and (possibly) slightly easier to get into. It is also the greatest novel ever.

sincher · 9th December 2007, 22:48

Mason & Dixon is probably Pynchon's worst to date, I reckon.

pillory · 9th December 2007, 23:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by sincher

Mason & Dixon is probably Pynchon's worst to date, I reckon.

If I didn't boycott smileys, I would have replaced this sentence with Mr. Nono. Would you mind telling me why you don't like it? If you do, I'll admit my love for it is partly due to my interest in British 18th and 19th century literature (and history).

Salvation · 15th December 2007, 13:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehro

You should read it then. It's one of the best novels I've ever read.

I'm currently reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Been pretty good so far.

Strangely, I bought Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance today. And I also loved Crime and Punishment

Recently finished Shalimar the Clown, my first go at Rushdie and thoroughly enjoyed it. Before STC, it was Cuckoo's Nest, which, was excellent too. Sad I saw the movie beforehand 'cos had I not known the gist of things, it'd have been appreciated a few thousand times more

Ruben · 16th December 2007, 21:42

Just started reading Emperor - The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden. It`s the first book in a series of four about Julius Ceasar apparantly. They`re going to film it as well.

Donado · 24th December 2007, 19:51

Plech, did you get to reading Against The Day?

jatin · 28th December 2007, 16:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedCanadian

Currently reading the third installment of Robert Ludlum's "Covert-One" series called The Paris Option. The others are The Hades Factor, The Cassandra Compact, The Altman Code, ,The Lazarus Vendetta and The Moscow Vector.

The books are medical/military thrillers revolving around a covert agent and his team. Very good read if you like the genre.

I am currently reading the Lazarus Vendetta

very interesting one

this is the first covert one of ludlum i am reading

so far I have read - The Tristan Betrayal, The Scorpio Illusion, The Bancroft Strategy(this one was disappointing tbh)....

any other good ones you would suggest

Lizard King · 1st January 2008, 02:41

I just bought Arthur Rimbaud - Illuminations.

It's a poetry book, I'm sure quite a few of you will have heard of Rimbaud. I never cared for poetry until recently but this guy's work is phenomenal considering he quit at the age of 21 ffs! He has inspired many songwriter's including my favourite Jim Morrison.

Anyone who likes poetry or writes songs should get a copy and steal all his ideas muahaha.

GazM · 1st January 2008, 02:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lizard King

I just bought Arthur Rimbaud - Illuminations.

It's a poetry book, I'm sure quite a few of you will have heard of Rimbaud. I never cared for poetry until recently but this guy's work is phenomenal considering he quit at the age of 21 ffs! He has inspired many songwriter's including my favourite Jim Morrison.

Anyone who likes poetry or writes songs sh

3rd December 2007, 13:21	#201 (permalink)
Plechazunga Phones, soup, paint and chairs are troubling. Join Date: May 2003 Location: My enthusiasm is the same. I love this club. It is not about brochures. Posts: 49,497	I suspect "My Manchester United Years" isn't as good as either "Crime and Punishment" or "Gravity's Rainbow". The best thing I've read on United is a little book called "The Red Devils' Disciples", the story of a day at OT in the 70s... has some superb photos too. It'll be out of print, but you might be able to get it on the net.

3rd December 2007, 13:31	#202 (permalink)
Maroon Lucifer Reserve Team Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." Posts: 1,905	I care more about United than I do about gravity. Thanks for the other info though. Gerogie Best - Scoring at Half-Time... any good?

3rd December 2007, 13:49	#203 (permalink)
Plechazunga Phones, soup, paint and chairs are troubling. Join Date: May 2003 Location: My enthusiasm is the same. I love this club. It is not about brochures. Posts: 49,497	It's not really about gravity...

3rd December 2007, 13:51	#204 (permalink)
Wibble Teeth like a reindeer. Hung like a horse. Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ingadus Speramus Posts: 33,791	Just rainbows then? And bombs and boning.

3rd December 2007, 14:05	#207 (permalink)
mehro Has an arse for a face Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 18,614	I don't have a motorcycle. The book is about this guy on a 17 day motorbike trip across the US and he keeps having these, I guess you could call them philosophical thoughts, about life and other stuff.

3rd December 2007, 14:06	#209 (permalink)
Wibble Teeth like a reindeer. Hung like a horse. Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Ingadus Speramus Posts: 33,791	Banana beer? I don't like the sound of that. Zen ATAOMM was one of the most annoying books I ever read.

3rd December 2007, 14:30	#211 (permalink)
mehro Has an arse for a face Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 18,614	I haven't even reached mid-life. I've only read the first 80 odd pages out of 500 something but it seems to be pretty good so far. Actually Spin, it was a recommendation that you made that led me to this book indirectly.

3rd December 2007, 14:37	#212 (permalink)
Psmith First Team Sub Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 5,458	I tried reading Gravity's Rainbow, just couldn't get into it. I'll try again sometime later. I'm reading Midnight's Children right now.

3rd December 2007, 16:02	#215 (permalink)
mehro Has an arse for a face Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 18,614	You people are putting me off the book. Stop it. I don't like leaving books midway.

3rd December 2007, 19:16	#218 (permalink)
Plechazunga Phones, soup, paint and chairs are troubling. Join Date: May 2003 Location: My enthusiasm is the same. I love this club. It is not about brochures. Posts: 49,497	Ooh, I've not seen that one before. I used Spermatikos Logos a bit.

4th December 2007, 08:32	#220 (permalink)
Kristjan Disco Stu, will spin the right tune for you Join Date: Jul 1999 Location: Cod Island Posts: 9,542	Yeah finished Ilium a few weeks back, enjoyed it. Didn't quite suck me in as the first Hyperion did but very good though, need to get a copy of Olympus soon.

4th December 2007, 11:22	#221 (permalink)
The_Red_Hope Reserve Team Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 600	Haven't been able to get a copy of the Hyperion Cantos in any book store. Been wanting to read it for ages now. I guess i'll put it on my 'Amazon Christmas Shopping List'.

4th December 2007, 22:07	#222 (permalink)
Suprah™ Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 650	I just completed "Tar Baby" by Toni Morrison What a magnificent book. Excellent. No wonder it won a Nobel Prize for literature

9th December 2007, 22:48	#224 (permalink)
sincher Les jeux sont Fait Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: YSC Posts: 13,548	Mason & Dixon is probably Pynchon's worst to date, I reckon.

16th December 2007, 21:42	#227 (permalink)
Ruben Reserve Team Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Ruben, ruben. Posts: 4,569	Just started reading Emperor - The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden. It`s the first book in a series of four about Julius Ceasar apparantly. They`re going to film it as well.

24th December 2007, 19:51	#228 (permalink)
Donado Caf Vigilante Join Date: May 2003 Location: Goes it so. Posts: 11,031	Plech, did you get to reading Against The Day?

1st January 2008, 02:41	#230 (permalink)
Lizard King Join Date: May 2007 Location: Anderson's hair Posts: 11,460	I just bought Arthur Rimbaud - Illuminations. It's a poetry book, I'm sure quite a few of you will have heard of Rimbaud. I never cared for poetry until recently but this guy's work is phenomenal considering he quit at the age of 21 ffs! He has inspired many songwriter's including my favourite Jim Morrison. Anyone who likes poetry or writes songs should get a copy and steal all his ideas muahaha.