All ahead of me so!
Books The BOOK thread
- Thread starter Livvie
- Start date
I should finish AFFC tonight. Up to page 730, think it's around 800.
For me it was the worst one on the series, mainly because almost all of my favorite characters are not on it.
Yeah I'm looking forward to seeing them back in the next one.
I'm looking forward to finding out where the feck
Spoiler about a character, don't read unless you've finished AFFC
I'm looking forward to finding out where the feck
Spoiler about a character, don't read unless you've finished AFFC
Tyrion has been
I started reading the Darth Bane trilogy. It looks great till now, I think that I am going to finish the first book tonight and I only started it yesterday evening.
Starting ADWD.....now.
just reading Birthdays for the Dead by stuart macbride, really enjoying it, read all of his books to date, this one, so far, is one of his best.
I start reading and finished tonight the second book in Darth Bane trilogy. It was very good.
I finished The Shadow of the Wind de Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Great book. I wished though I liked it better because it's the kind of book I could have idolized. Even if one of the parts of the novel was quite lacking with a character telling things she couldn't have known.
Thank-you that was an excellent call, read Mortal Fear last night and it was a cracking read, also have the rest of his books now available to read, if they are half as good as this one they will be good reads.
I finished Star Wars - Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil, the last part of Darth Bane trilogy. It concludes the story of Darth Bane, one of the most powerful Dark Lords ever (who lived a millenia before the battle of Yavin), the person who created the Rule of Two, the rule that says that only a Master and an apprentice Sith should exist at the same time. In the novels it gives the story of the Valley of the Jedi which is an important part in the Jedi Knight video games series. It is a very interesting and intriguing story which is a must read for every Star Wars fan.
I had a slow reading weekend. Only on page 200 of A Clash of Kings.
Needed an easy read to freshen things up. Just finished "Ender's Game". Fun read.
Read Greg Iles's '24 Hours' last night, it's the 2nd book in his Mississippi series, didn't find it as good as the 1st book in the series 'Mortal Fear' but still a decent read all the same, fast paced action from start to finish, Iles really does know how to hook you in to a story. Have moved on to the 3rd book 'Dead Sleep', I'm about 25% through the book and so far I must say it's been excellent.
Good man. Glad you're enjoying them. Just don't bother or be put off by Sleep No More. Not one of his better ones.
Dead Sleep was the first one I read and got me hooked so I hope you enjoy that as much as Mortal Fear
Dead Sleep was the first one I read and got me hooked so I hope you enjoy that as much as Mortal Fear
No I'll go ahead and read it, I'm a bit anal about completing series in their entirety and correct order. The 'Penn Cage' series looks interesting too though I'm not sure if I'll like his World War ll series as I'm not a big fan of war books (though I did love Sven Hassels books many years ago), I'll probably give them a go. Thanks again for the heads-up.
BTW if anyone is looking for a good site for book series check out fictfact.com
New J K Rowling book out today, anyone started reading it yet?
Here's a round-up of reviewers' opinions ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/27/jk-rowling-the-casual-vacancy-review-roundup
...which range from 'Arghhh Christ, it's awful!' to 'OMGZ it's teh awesome!'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/sep/27/jk-rowling-the-casual-vacancy-review-roundup
...which range from 'Arghhh Christ, it's awful!' to 'OMGZ it's teh awesome!'.
Jan Moir's review made me laugh. If she hates it, it must be good/
Exactly, mate.
Daily Mail writer hates it-must be amazing 
Finished Dead Sleep and Sleep No More and have to say I loved both of them, I can see why you didn't take to Sleep No More, it is completely far fetched, the idea of 'soul transmitgration' via the act of orgasm is a bit hard to accept but if you put that aside, the story itself just pulls you in, reminded me a bit of the Denzil Washington film 'Fallen'. I don't know what it is about Iles writing but I find once I start I find it very hard to put them down. Have now started his 'Penn Cage' series.
Just read 'Spies' by Michael Frayn (on strong recommendation and against my better judgment since I had the author down as one of these cosy middle-class West End playwrights like Ayckbourn or Bennett). It was very good if flawed and brilliantly captures the voice of an 11-year-old, in contrast to the way that over-hyped rubbish like 'Catcher in the Rye' and 'To Kill a Mocking bird' don't ring true.
Catcher in the Rye is an infinitely better book than Spies, I wasn't a huge fan of TKAMB but the writing is still a class above Frayn's.
I fecking hate Catcher in the Rye. I have a friend who treats like a bloody Bible. Ugh.
Catcher is shite warmed up, not a perceptive bone in the turd.
It's great if a bit depressing, but that was the intention. I think a lot of it is relatable and certainly perceptive, the bullshit that people talk etc, Holden wanting to become a deaf-mute. Salinger is a good writer as well, as an inner monologue it flows and is believeable. It's obviously preoccupied with the one character which could be criticised I guess, but then that's the point of the book.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" isn't over-hyped rubbish. I can't put it any more simply.
Catcher In The Rye is something that you love as a sarcastic teenager who doesn't have a clue and then when you read it again years later you wonder how you could ever like that crap.
To Kill A Mockingbird is class though.
To Kill A Mockingbird is class though.
I read catcher when I was about 18 and thought it was shite then, and I'm sure I would think less of it if I read it now (10 years later).
One of my favs.
I read it when I was 13 and enjoyed it. I will read it again and see how it stands up.
I think it was a decent description of a young lads breakdown following the death of his brother. Funny too.
Large parts of it purport to be narrated by a child but it's not a credible child's voice. The black characters are underwritten and seem to exist so that the white ones can be brave, perceptive, cruel etc.
Yeah, fair points. Kid's don't get wistful like that. So it's not strictly a child's voice, but the tone and reflections are. I'd say the key to the book isn't that it's a kid's voice and style, but rather the revelations within are unique to her at her age. That was the real significance of it being told by a young girl, not her not-very-kid-like narrative style.
The "drunk" who's really just been drinking cola
Her dad could be a bad ass (crack shot with a rifle)
What's just a bag of nuts to her is worthy payment from someone else
The boogeyman Boo was a kindly hero
Syrup on ham is the dog's
etc
What was also telling of her age was the nuanced stuff that she likely couldn't really understand, but that became obvious to the reader.
The old lady was mean because she was in opium withdrawal
She could shame a lynch mob
Her dad could be a bad ass (crack shot with a rifle)
What's just a bag of nuts to her is worthy payment from someone else
The boogeyman Boo was a kindly hero
Syrup on ham is the dog's
etc
What was also telling of her age was the nuanced stuff that she likely couldn't really understand, but that became obvious to the reader.
The old lady was mean because she was in opium withdrawal
She could shame a lynch mob
...and the like.
The black folks in there wouldn't be fleshed out as whole characters, but then even though the major plot focus involves the trial, it's not about them. As far as the narrative is concerned, the characters really only can highlight the story as it concerns Gem, Scout, and Atticus. Aside from Calpurnia, who wasn't a dismissed character, how much interaction would you expect her to have with the black folks in the town?
So I understand you're points, but even if I wholly agreed, the book is still a far cry from being rubbish. I really doubt you believe that yourself.
I was a little disappointed in it. From the reputation of the book, I was expecting it to be as powerful as The Grapes Of Wrath but, for me, it fell a long way short of that. It is probably dated, as the American social culture that it pertains to is no longer relevant, to that extent anyway. I thought that it read a bit like a children's moral tale.
I would like to recommend 'The Dirt, Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band' written by Mötley Crüe and Neil Strauss. I have read quite a few rock and roll books, but 'The Dirt' is peerless in its genre.
I have never been a fan of Motley Crues music, and you really don't need to be to love this book. It is a no holds barred account of their career as leading lights of the 1980's LA sleaze rock music scene. The USP of this book and why it works so well, is that all four band members contribute, and pull no punches on their opinions of the other members at various points of their career.
Legend has it that the three most debauched bands in history were Led Zepplin, Guns 'n' Roses and way out on their own at number one - Motley Crue. I won't give to much away but the antics of the band make 'The Secret Footballer' columns look extremely tame, boring and frankly unreadable. Motley Crue's story is told with brutal honesty and without shame: it is funny, shocking and even incredibly tender in parts.
It is without question a 10/10 read and after reading it you need never read another rock n roll book ever again.
I've only seen the film adaptation of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' which is also lauded but which I didn't see the fuss about at all.
It's the voice and thoughts of an adult, an annoying piece of ventriloquism which is a fatal flaw in the book
Yeah, the black people only wrestle with the rope, while the white guys have moral questions to wrestle with. It could be construed as massive irony but it isn't.
Currently half way through A Feast for Crows but it's starting to lose my interest for the following reason:
Spoiler: Regards characters in the book and plot points and ending of 'A Storm of Swords'. Don't read if you haven't read this book (or completed any of the previous 3)!
Spoiler: Regards characters in the book and plot points and ending of 'A Storm of Swords'. Don't read if you haven't read this book (or completed any of the previous 3)!
All the main characters are so spread apart now, especially the Stark family, who are mostly the only ones I care about - and the majority of them are dead as it is. I'm not liking the direction that Sansa is taking, but Arya continues to hold my interest as she's a very demanding character. I hope at some point they find a way to re-unite everyone in a way that's not massively contrived. Also book 3 ended had the epilogue with Catelyn but she hasn't shown up yet.
The introduction of all these new characters such as the Greyjoys and the Martells and other randoms like the Captain of the Guard are starting to dilute the story for me. They don't seem relevant to the bigger picture yet, but I guess they will as the story progresses.
Oh and Brienne's direction: Westeros is huge and she's off looking for Sansa. IMO she's not getting anywhere close to finding Sansa and I'm going to have to spend more time reading about how she was basically born into the wrong gender.
That about sums up my gripes for now.
The introduction of all these new characters such as the Greyjoys and the Martells and other randoms like the Captain of the Guard are starting to dilute the story for me. They don't seem relevant to the bigger picture yet, but I guess they will as the story progresses.
Oh and Brienne's direction: Westeros is huge and she's off looking for Sansa. IMO she's not getting anywhere close to finding Sansa and I'm going to have to spend more time reading about how she was basically born into the wrong gender.
That about sums up my gripes for now.
Good luck finding anything as powerful as "Grapes of Wrath". Might be my favorite American novel.
Your fatal flaw is subjective. Doesn't seem to have bothered a lot of folks that read it.
FFS
Do you consciously strive to be this pompous, or is just to score points with your foppish quips? So can any book written with characters of dissimilar race, or social/economic status, that doesn't focus on the disadvantaged qualify as ironic rubbish?