Yeah, Denzel I think.
Books The BOOK thread
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
It's that time of year; dark nights, wind in the trees, flickering firelight... Perfect for M.R. James' 'Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.' 'Lost Hearts' has to be one of the best tales of this genre ever written.
Just over halfway through GR, difficult and incomprehensible at times but when it's good it's very fecking good. Love the constant paranoia.
Got a bunch of books for Christmas this year to keep me occupied for the first weeks of 2019:
Beastie Boys Book by Mike D and Ad-Rock
The White Album by Joan Didion
Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson
and errr Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton.
Anniversaries sounds amazing so will start with that, even though its 1700 pages.
Beastie Boys Book by Mike D and Ad-Rock
The White Album by Joan Didion
Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson
and errr Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton.
Anniversaries sounds amazing so will start with that, even though its 1700 pages.
Got a couple of good history books for Christmas this year.
Grant & Lee - by British General “Boney” Fuller - from 1933. It was the first major historic work to make the argument that Grant was a superior general to Lee. I’ve quotes excerpts from it before in essays but haven’t read the whole book. Looking forward to it.
The Swamp Fox - by John Oller - the book chronicles the exploits of American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion during his guerrilla campaign against Cornwallis’ army in South Carolina. As a South Carolinian who is distantly related to Cornwallis, this part of history is especially interesting to me.
Grant & Lee - by British General “Boney” Fuller - from 1933. It was the first major historic work to make the argument that Grant was a superior general to Lee. I’ve quotes excerpts from it before in essays but haven’t read the whole book. Looking forward to it.
The Swamp Fox - by John Oller - the book chronicles the exploits of American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion during his guerrilla campaign against Cornwallis’ army in South Carolina. As a South Carolinian who is distantly related to Cornwallis, this part of history is especially interesting to me.
Use to read a lot of Grisham. A Time To Kill and The Firm were pretty good.
Anyone else enjoy Lee Childs Reacher series? Love his style of writing although I can understand why real bookies would dismiss it. Read his latest in a oner, started at midday, finished it 2.30 the following morning. Great escapism.
I'm now reading Agatha Christie's Appointment With Death.
Finished To The Lighthouse by Virgina Woolf. I can see how it was massively ahead of its time and there were some fascinating sections on the characters perceptions of life and one another, but for the most part it was a bit of a slog.
For Christmas I got Amulet and The Skating Rink by Roberto Bolaño, White Noise by Don Delilo, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, Hopscotch by Cortazar, Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, Gravity's Rainbow by Pynchon and Night Train by Thom Jones. Should hopefully make dry January a little easier...
For Christmas I got Amulet and The Skating Rink by Roberto Bolaño, White Noise by Don Delilo, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, Hopscotch by Cortazar, Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, Gravity's Rainbow by Pynchon and Night Train by Thom Jones. Should hopefully make dry January a little easier...
Begun Gone With the Wind.
Reading Memoirs of a Geisha. Liking it so far, great stuff.
The film is very good too.
I decided to tackle the Dent-Young translation of Water Margin one of China's four classic novels.
Where do folks buy their ebooks from? I can't stand the Amazon/kindle store, it's a nightmare to browse.
Started Norwegian Wood by Kazuo Ishiguro today. Solid start.
Edit: Haruki Murakami even
Edit: Haruki Murakami even
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What became your reading of Throne of Glass?
I believe that’s by the other famous Japanese fella.
Well that's massively embarrassing.
I'm rediscovering reading after years in the e-wilderness.
Evelyn Waugh is great- very agreeable writing style and witty.
Randomly got sent a book called 'Factfulness' by a Swedish professor called Hans Rosling. It's really cool- he starts with a quiz about what you know about the world and the answer is feck all. I got 4/13 and somehow beat the 12,00 global average of 3/13. But the score is worse than a chimp
Example- what is the average life expectancy now? 50, 60 or 70?
Evelyn Waugh is great- very agreeable writing style and witty.
Randomly got sent a book called 'Factfulness' by a Swedish professor called Hans Rosling. It's really cool- he starts with a quiz about what you know about the world and the answer is feck all. I got 4/13 and somehow beat the 12,00 global average of 3/13. But the score is worse than a chimp
Example- what is the average life expectancy now? 50, 60 or 70?
70?I'm rediscovering reading after years in the e-wilderness.
Evelyn Waugh is great- very agreeable writing style and witty.
Randomly got sent a book called 'Factfulness' by a Swedish professor called Hans Rosling. It's really cool- he starts with a quiz about what you know about the world and the answer is feck all. I got 4/13 and somehow beat the 12,00 global average of 3/13. But the score is worse than a chimp
Example- what is the average life expectancy now? 50, 60 or 70?
Gave it 2/5 stars. I'm still curious about the other franchise of the author. A court of thorn and roses, I think it's called.
Yes!
I'm enjoying GwTW. But such an intense pacing cannot hold over the entire book, can it?
I gave it 1 star. The second book is better, I gave it 3 stars because there are still few things that are ridiculous.
A Court of Thorns and Roses is more a romance book with too many sex scenes. Though not as awkward as in the Haruki Murakami novels. I was really bored during most of the first book because it was more romance than fantasy (I don't mind reading romance novels but when I am ready to read them), the end was ok though (I rated it 2 stars).
I think reading the second book of ToG would be more conclusive of why Maas is popular.
Thank you for the heads up. I've kind of experienced most of what you said recently, including Murakami's shoddy sex scenes. In movies, nothing beats the Matrix for ridiculous sex scenes.
Duly noted. I'm not the target demographic for YA stuff. But I thought I'd check a few really popular books. I didn't learn anything of value.
Read The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor and Close to Home by Cara Hunter over the last couple of weeks. Really enjoyed both, though I felt the endings of both were a bit far-fetched.
Starting Journey Under the Midnight Sun tomorrow. Heard good things so excited to get stuck in.
Starting Journey Under the Midnight Sun tomorrow. Heard good things so excited to get stuck in.
I got this too and it's brilliantly put together. These type of books can often be a bit paint by numbers but like one of their albums this is a perfect hodge podge of anecdotes, pictures, playlists, graphic novel, recipes (?!) and really puts you in the time and the place. It's great the way it switches between Mike and Adam H as narrator with both giving their hot takes on each others perspective. Just a shame that Adam Y wasn't around to add his spin.
Can't imagine anyone with a passing interest in the Beasties, HipHop or music in general not enjoying this.
Read some Michael Crichton recently and enjoyed it. Really liked Sphere and Prey was decent (some of the characters felt a bit samey). I like how he gets to the point quicker than some other authors.
I read Jurassic Park, and loved it. But then I tried to read a climate related thriller by Crichton, but couldn't finish it.
I find it hard to get into books at times with so many life distractions so his style of writing is often quite easy to pick up and get back into.
Having said that I plan to read House Of Leaves next
Why the laugh. I'm unaware of its reputation.House Of Leaves next
It's meant to be a bit uncomfortable to read. When the author wants you to feel tense and claustrophobic all the writing is small and awkward. If you're supposed to get frustrated the words will slowly span a load of pages, it will try to disorientate you, etc... It's just something different I wanted to try.
Finally finished Gravity's Rainbow, what a fecking ride. All felt like one absolutely surreal dream from start to end.
Onto reading some Eco now.
Onto reading some Eco now.
Thanks for the info! I wish you all the best for this tricky read.
I read a fairly random book that was sitting in my bookcase for years. It was the Dublin Monaghan Bombings by a journalist called Tiernan I think. Was such a grim read and in light of the potential hard border it really scared me. Now moving to Dune by Herbert. Really looking forward to this!
Have you read the Shankhill Butchers? Jeez that was grim. Good but grim.I read a fairly random book that was sitting in my bookcase for years. It was the Dublin Monaghan Bombings by a journalist called Tiernan I think. Was such a grim read and in light of the potential hard border it really scared me. Now moving to Dune by Herbert. Really looking forward to this!
I may look it up when I finish Dune. They were mentioned in the book I just read but it focused on the teams who were behind the title bombing. They tended to operate in the murder triangle. The barbarity of some of it on both sides is so sad.
I've been reading a Famous Five book.
Just reading short YA books, I finished The Wicked Deep because it will have a movie adaptation, I don't think the twist is convincing. Read too Sadie, I wish I was more into it because it is a well-executed book of some issues (the book is partly the POV of Sadie looking for who she thinks has killed her 13 years old sister, partly the podcast of someone looking for what happened to Sadie after she left home.)
Reading the Wicked King, it was so praised I feel it doesn't live up but it is still interesting.
Now that the Grishaverse will be adapted, I don't know if I should read book 2 and 3. 2 is supposed to be ok but 3 seems unpopular. I really like the duology after it.
Reading the Wicked King, it was so praised I feel it doesn't live up but it is still interesting.
Now that the Grishaverse will be adapted, I don't know if I should read book 2 and 3. 2 is supposed to be ok but 3 seems unpopular. I really like the duology after it.