The GF book thread

[G Richards]

COnfession time. I picked up 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' My wife bought it and read it and then passed it to me. I read the first chapter then didn't read any more. She asked me whether or not it gripped me and I had to be honest and say 'no'. I found it to be formulaic claptrap and not especially well written. This, of course, made me sound a bit snobbish, so we exchanged words. The irony is that she is much better read than I and is well able to appreciate good writing. Still, I've made my stand. I'm not reading it.

I suppose I've just answered the question "What are you currently not reading?"

[Sutty13]

Originally Posted by G Richards COnfession time. I picked up 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' My wife bought it and read it and then passed it to me. I read the first chapter then didn't read any more. She asked me whether or not it gripped me and I had to be honest and say 'no'. I found it to be formulaic claptrap and not especially well written. This, of course, made me sound a bit snobbish, so we exchanged words. The irony is that she is much better read than I and is well able to appreciate good writing. Still, I've made my stand. I'm not reading it. I suppose I've just answered the question "What are you currently not reading?"

Not a bad review, though. Well, it is a bad review, like, but you know what I mean.

[Sutty13]

Just started the second Morse, Last Seen Wearing.

[stringvest]

Originally Posted by G Richards Confession time.

Have you changed codes, G? ;-)

[7dalglish]

just finished kite runner

[AngryofTuebrook]

Sometimes A Great Notion by Ken Kesey.

Fuckin great book.

[AngryofTuebrook]

Originally Posted by Sutty13 You had another go at Catch 22 yet? Should stick with it - it's ace. Having said that, I did exactly the same with the sequel, Closing Time.

Closing Time is the most disappointing book ever. If Catch 22 is a great meal, the sequel is a smelly shit.

[AngryofTuebrook]

Originally Posted by El Rojo 1983 - David Peace. The final book in the Red Riding Hood quartet, it's like James Ellroy writing about Yorkshire when the Ripper was on the rampage. That said, he's not a patch on James Ellroy, and he seems overreliant on gratuitous nastiness in a lot of places. Heading on holidays next week, and looking forward to reading A Prayer for Owen Meany and a few more. Any ideas on some telephone book sized tomes worth ploughing through?

Sometimes a Great Notion! Just don't expect Waterstones to have it in stock, because of their policy that most authors get their best-selling titles only.

[RJ Fan club]

Just finished re-reading Ed Smith's On and off the field.

I enjoyed just as much second time as I did first time round, 3 or 4 years ago.

Now I have to finish Crossing the Boundary - Kevin Pietersen's Autobiography before the football season gets into full swing.

[stringvest]

Three on the go.
Peter "I'm joking of course" Kay's autobiography in the bog bookshelf - surprisingly unfunny
Failed States - Noam Chomsky on the kitchen table - nail on head as usual
Humphrey Littleton's autobiog on the bedside table - tres witty

[Sutty13]

Originally Posted by AngryofTuebrook Closing Time is the most disappointing book ever. If Catch 22 is a great meal, the sequel is a smelly shit.

Totally agree, mate. Luckily, I was only about 8 pages in when I decided to jib it.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Paul Just used this and the other thread to put in a summer reading order to Amazon. I'm going for this little lot: The Dark Tower: Gunslinger - Stephen King The Long Firm - Jake Arnott Hombre - Elmore Leonard The Winter King - Bernard Cornwell Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card The Power of the Dog - Don Winslow

So, the verdict's in:

The Dark Tower: Gunslinger was a struggle. I fully accept aws' point about it being the weakest (and King says as much in his introduction), but I'm umming and ahhing over whether I can be arsed buying the second one.

The Long Firm is fucking brilliant. Very readable and pacey, with highly believable characters and plenty of grittiness in what seems to be a very realistic evocation of 60s London. I've ordered the sequel.

Hombre was a bit of a disappointment, really. I did enjoy it, but after reading so many positives opinions about it, both on here and on Amazon, I just felt it was a bit thin. Plot, character and pace were all fine, but none was genuinely gripping.

The Winter King was very good and I've since ordered the other two in the trilogy. It made the Arthur stories seem highly plausible and was a cracking read.

Speaker for the Dead was ace. The first one was really good, but this was brilliant - and such a different novel, too. I've never read a science fiction novel like it, to be honest. The SF was almost incidental to the story. I've ordered the next one now.

The Power of the Dog was a real find. Don Winslow was a name I'd not heard before, but I'll be rattling through his stuff now. Quite Ellroy-esque, but with a less terse prose style and characters who are more morally ambiguous as opposed to Ellroy's morally ambivalent ones. It deals with America's war on drugs from the 60s through to the 90s, following five or six very different characters. Great crime fiction.

Overall, I was very pleased with my order and finished them all quickly - which is a good sign. Can't wait for the next lot to arrive now.

[aws]

Originally Posted by Paul So, the verdict's in: The Dark Tower: Gunslinger was a struggle. I fully accept aws' point about it being the weakest (and King says as much in his introduction), but I'm umming and ahhing over whether I can be arsed buying the second one. The Long Firm is fucking brilliant. Very readable and pacey, with highly believable characters and plenty of grittiness in what seems to be a very realistic evocation of 60s London. I've ordered the sequel. Hombre was a bit of a disappointment, really. I did enjoy it, but after reading so many positives opinions about it, both on here and on Amazon, I just felt it was a bit thin. Plot, character and pace were all fine, but none was genuinely gripping. The Winter King was very good and I've since ordered the other two in the trilogy. It made the Arthur stories seem highly plausible and was a cracking read. Speaker for the Dead was ace. The first one was really good, but this was brilliant - and such a different novel, too. I've never read a science fiction novel like it, to be honest. The SF was almost incidental to the story. I've ordered the next one now. The Power of the Dog was a real find. Don Winslow was a name I'd not heard before, but I'll be rattling through his stuff now. Quite Ellroy-esque, but with a less terse prose style and characters who are more morally ambiguous as opposed to Ellroy's morally ambivalent ones. It deals with America's war on drugs from the 60s through to the 90s, following five or six very different characters. Great crime fiction. Overall, I was very pleased with my order and finished them all quickly - which is a good sign. Can't wait for the next lot to arrive now.

Stick with the Dark Tower. If you're not hooked after the second one give it up then. Each book is better than the last one (except for 4 maybe) as King adds depth and characterisation. Gunslinger is just an early intro.

[Sutty13]

Hombre is a trashy novel - you don't really read westerns for the literary credentials (although Thomas Berger's Little Big Man is quite outstanding).

[Christian]

Paul - all the Harry Starks novels are fucking awesome. It actually gets even better after The Long Firm.

[Plewggs]

Just finished Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom.

The cover blurb compares it to Birdsong, which is why I bought it.
Suckered again!

It’s about 3 ex-public schoolboys in Spain shortly after the civil war.
One is a commie, one a spiv and the other a spy.
The characters are clichéd reflections of the id, ego and super-ego with disappointingly described active sex-lives.

It’s a decent page-turner but, in common with so many modern novels, the ending is poor.
In this case, bloody naff.

It’s an ok read but not one I would highly recommend.