The GF book thread

[nimrod]

Just read Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. picked up free from local book exchange, about the fall of Paris and plight of those fleeing the Nazis.
A real work of literature written on the run. she was sent to  Auschwitz and died there.

[Paul]

Just finished Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka which the forthcoming Brad Pitt film is based on. It’s basically loads of assassins on a train trying to do their jobs. It starts slowly but builds really well and is superb by the end. Recommended. 

[CapeRed]

Taking a long flight nex month so looking for a good sports book to read. Recommendations? I was thinking about Quiet Genious - 

[YorkshireRed]

10 minutes ago, CapeRed said:

Taking a long flight nex month so looking for a good sports book to read. Recommendations? I was thinking about Quiet Genious - 

Defending The Honour Of Kiev by Andy Dougan is very good.

 

If you like cricket then Fibber In The Heat by Myles Jupp is an entertaining and light read.

 

The Quiet Genius is certainly worth a read. 
 

The Secret Diary Of A Liverpool Scout is also really good. 
 

Andre Agassi’s autobiography is a good one.

 

ManU related but Forever Young, a book about former youth player Adrian Doherty is very moving. 
 

The Boy On The Shed by Adrian Ferris is also very good. 
 

There’s loads of course but I’d happily recommend all these. 

[CapeRed]

3 hours ago, YorkshireRed said:

Defending The Honour Of Kiev by Andy Dougan is very good.

 

If you like cricket then Fibber In The Heat by Myles Jupp is an entertaining and light read.

 

The Quiet Genius is certainly worth a read. 
 

The Secret Diary Of A Liverpool Scout is also really good. 
 

Andre Agassi’s autobiography is a good one.

 

ManU related but Forever Young, a book about former youth player Adrian Doherty is very moving. 
 

The Boy On The Shed by Adrian Ferris is also very good. 
 

There’s loads of course but I’d happily recommend all these. 

Ta , only one  i have read is the Agassi book so a few to choose from there.

[Paul]

I’ve just started a book called The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt and it’s advertised as the kind of book Jack Reacher wants to be. I did my usual and got a sample on Kindle before buying but it’s instantly a page turner and much better written than the Reacher books which I’m not a fan of. I’m only a few chapters in but already it feels like a really good ‘un with a character that has huge potential for further stories. I’ll report back with more when I’ve finished it. 

[bossy]

On 27/03/2022 at 18:23, Rico1304 said:

I’d say yes, although the timeline in the books isn’t linear. You get clues and hints to other books by reading them in order.  But they are fucking brilliant. 

Bernie is one of the greatest characters ever dreamed up. 

[bossy]

If you have half an hour to spare and a yearning for some spy/espionage fiction, this is a great list. The best 125 Spy authors. 
https://spybrary.com/top120spyauthors/

[NoelM]

I just finished "Never" by Ken Follett, I was a big fan of his older spy novels like Eye of the Needle but this one is dreadful. It was a recommendation from Stephen King on Twitter, the last 150 or so pages are okay and there is a section set in North Africa which is okay too but mostly 800 pages of embarrassment.

[bossy]

Don’t tell anyone, as I’ll be drummed out of the bookshop manger Union, but John Lawton, number 28 on the list of spy authors I linked to, has most of his books free to read if you have Kindle Unlimited. There’s two main series, Inspector Troy, and Joe Wilderness. They overlap in time,1940s/50s, and they’re a mix of crime fiction, spy stuff, thriller and packed with cynical humour.  Absolute bargain at free. Highly recommended. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Lawton/e/B000APF0UU?ref=dbs_t_r_fta_b000apf0uu

[Elite]

Started 'The big book of pain' about torture throughout history and the rationale behind it, very interesting if you are into the macabre.

[Rico1304]

3 hours ago, Elite said:

Started 'The big book of pain' about torture throughout history and the rationale behind it, very interesting if you are into the macabre.

If you learn anything I have a couple of candidates you could practice on.  

[AngryOfTuebrook]

On 24/02/2022 at 10:52, bossy said:

I manage a bookshop,

 

[bossy]

6 hours ago, AngryOfTuebrook said:

 

The salad days of bookshop management.

[NoelM]

 

 

 

[Paul]

On 05/04/2022 at 07:33, Paul said:

I’ve just started a book called The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt and it’s advertised as the kind of book Jack Reacher wants to be. I did my usual and got a sample on Kindle before buying but it’s instantly a page turner and much better written than the Reacher books which I’m not a fan of. I’m only a few chapters in but already it feels like a really good ‘un with a character that has huge potential for further stories. I’ll report back with more when I’ve finished it. 

Plot-wise, this wasn’t all that. However, unusually for me, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the novel too much as the characters (and the depiction of their rural Kentucky idiosyncrasies) were great. There’s already a second book coming in July apparently so I’ll be reading that. 

[YorkshireRed]

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.

 

A beautifully written book set in 1950’s America.
 

It follows two brothers on their odyssey along the highway that runs between New York and San Francisco.
 

The main characters and those that they come across along the way are fabulously brought to life by the author.
 

Perhaps the best part of this book though is the feeling that you are traveling this road with them, that their America is your America.

 

If you want flash, bang, wallop, every page then this won’t be for you.
 

If you have an interest in twentieth century American history and enjoy road novels that move at a slower pace but allow you to savour every moment of the journey then give this a try.

 

8/10. 

[Bjornebye]

Picked this up from News From Nowhere on Bold St. Heard good things 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by Bjornebye

[Paul]

Read Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel. It’s a slow burner but decent. A more literary take on post-apocalyptic fiction like The Road by Cormac McCarthy, although a very different book. 
 

Now on the final volume of The Book of the Ancestor trilogy by Mark Lawrence, The Girl and the Moon. Also bought two books in actual book form to follow this: the new Phillip Pullman book, The Imagination Chamber, set in the world of His Dark Materials & The Book of Dust; and also Dilla Time by Dan Charnas about the life, work and influence of J Dilla. 
 

I love this time of year when the publishers start to release new books for the summer. 

[Rico1304]

Didn’t realise the Lawrence book was out.  Will get that later. 

[polymerpunkah]

Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition

Nisid Hajari

 

It could have used a better background introduction, and it jumps around a bit, but still a fascinating look at one of the more important, and deadly, political events of the last century.

[RedKnight]

1 hour ago, Paul said:

Read Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel. It’s a slow burner but decent. A more literary take on post-apocalyptic fiction like The Road by Cormac McCarthy, although a very different book. 
 

Now on the final volume of The Book of the Ancestor trilogy by Mark Lawrence, The Girl and the Moon. Also bought two books in actual book form to follow this: the new Phillip Pullman book, The Imagination Chamber, set in the world of His Dark Materials & The Book of Dust; and also Dilla Time by Dan Charnas about the life, work and influence of J Dilla. 
 

I love this time of year when the publishers start to release new books for the summer. 

 

Been watching the adaptation of Station Eleven and can confirm that it's a slow burner. Well done but it goes nowhere quickly.

[Paul]

54 minutes ago, Rico1304 said:

Didn’t realise the Lawrence book was out.  Will get that later. 

Came out on Thursday I think. 

[Paul]

21 minutes ago, RedKnight said:

 

Been watching the adaptation of Station Eleven and can confirm that it's a slow burner. Well done but it goes nowhere quickly.

I’ve put it on my “maybe/eventually” list of things to watch. 

[bossy]

On 10/04/2022 at 13:27, YorkshireRed said:

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.

 

A beautifully written book set in 1950’s America.
 

It follows two brothers on their odyssey along the highway that runs between New York and San Francisco.
 

The main characters and those that they come across along the way are fabulously brought to life by the author.
 

Perhaps the best part of this book though is the feeling that you are traveling this road with them, that their America is your America.

 

If you want flash, bang, wallop, every page then this won’t be for you.
 

If you have an interest in twentieth century American history and enjoy road novels that move at a slower pace but allow you to savour every moment of the journey then give this a try.

 

8/10. 

Waiting for paperback publication of this. Must be soon. I loved A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility.