Anyone read any good books recently ?

[Harry Tuttle]

Just read 'The city and the city' by China Miéville. Mixture of police procedural and allegorical Orwellian Distopia, which could represent the start of a whole new genre.

Ironically (considering the subject matter of the book) in two minds - on one hand this is a clever idea which if less skillfully handled could have been a mess. On the other, the police procedural aspect was not as good as say 'Gorki Park' and although necessary to hang the idea on could have been more engaging. I also got a sense that the science (or rather speculative) fiction aspect seemed a little stale in places.

But I'd recommend anyone read it and make their own mind up, there far worse and less inventive books out there.

I've read and I recommend it- his political point doesn't come across strongly enough but its a highly orginal book. To my mind Mr Miéville is the most consistently interesting author working in England today. You could say the same for JG Ballard, but if we were somewhere else in Europe he would be a national hero.

Your owl appears to have changed sir, or are you an imposter?

Whilst I was reading the book I got a strong sense of Budapest but Buda and Pest don't overlap as far as I know.

[gentlemenpreferhats]

[quote=Harry Tuttle]

Just read 'The city and the city' by China Miéville. Mixture of police procedural and allegorical Orwellian Distopia, which could represent the start of a whole new genre.

Ironically (considering the subject matter of the book) in two minds - on one hand this is a clever idea which if less skillfully handled could have been a mess. On the other, the police procedural aspect was not as good as say 'Gorki Park' and although necessary to hang the idea on could have been more engaging. I also got a sense that the science (or rather speculative) fiction aspect seemed a little stale in places.

But I'd recommend anyone read it and make their own mind up, there far worse and less inventive books out there.

I've read and I recommend it- his political point doesn't come across strongly enough but its a highly orginal book. To my mind Mr Miéville is the most consistently interesting author working in England today. You could say the same for JG Ballard, but if we were somewhere else in Europe he would be a national hero.

Your owl appears to have changed sir, or are you an imposter?

Whilst I was reading the book I got a strong sense of Budapest but Buda and Pest don't overlap as far as I know.[/quote:2tq9kpg9]

I changed my Owl a few weeks ago. Are you stalking me?

I can't find my copy this evening but I'm fairly sure Mr Mielville namechecked Jan Morris. Mr (or is it Mrs?) Morris wrote a great deal about Trieste, another city with multiple overlappng populatons. Mr Mieville seems to have taken this to its logical political, economic, social and psychological extreme. I've not been to Budapest but his book reminded me of the older Middle Eastern cities with their unmarked ghettos for Jews, Christians, Armenians, Turks etc.

I like The City and the City' for its mix of travel lit, police procedural, science fiction and its mindbending originality.

[IANAN]

Just finished Accelerando by Charles Stross. It's available free e-readers under a Creative Commons licence here (I've become a Stross fan after the Laundry series). It's a sci-fi singularity novel starting in the near-future (much like the excellent Halting State and Rule 34) and travels through possible futures considering uploaded personalities, posthumans, dyson spheres, nanotechnology and the real threats in the future being AI-driven corporate entities. It's not a five-minute skim read and it develops quite a few sci-fi themes so probably not a good way into the genre for new readers. I'm guessing that Horrovac would like it as it's conceptually quite a ride.

On finishing that and after a brief China Miéville stint I've launched into the Jackelian series by Stephen Hunt. Only about 100 pages into the first book but it's looking good so far.

[Harry Tuttle]

[quote=gentlemenpreferhats]

Just read 'The city and the city' by China Miéville. Mixture of police procedural and allegorical Orwellian Distopia, which could represent the start of a whole new genre.

Ironically (considering the subject matter of the book) in two minds - on one hand this is a clever idea which if less skillfully handled could have been a mess. On the other, the police procedural aspect was not as good as say 'Gorki Park' and although necessary to hang the idea on could have been more engaging. I also got a sense that the science (or rather speculative) fiction aspect seemed a little stale in places.

But I'd recommend anyone read it and make their own mind up, there far worse and less inventive books out there.

I've read and I recommend it- his political point doesn't come across strongly enough but its a highly orginal book. To my mind Mr Miéville is the most consistently interesting author working in England today. You could say the same for JG Ballard, but if we were somewhere else in Europe he would be a national hero.

Your owl appears to have changed sir, or are you an imposter?

Whilst I was reading the book I got a strong sense of Budapest but Buda and Pest don't overlap as far as I know.

I changed my Owl a few weeks ago. Are you stalking me?

I can't find my copy this evening but I'm fairly sure Mr Mielville namechecked Jan Morris. Mr (or is it Mrs?) Morris wrote a great deal about Trieste, another city with multiple overlappng populatons. Mr Mieville seems to have taken this to its logical political, economic, social and psychological extreme. I've not been to Budapest but his book reminded me of the older Middle Eastern cities with their unmarked ghettos for Jews, Christians, Armenians, Turks etc.

I like The City and the City' for its mix of travel lit, police procedural, science fiction and its mindbending originality.[/quote:3s9ikthl]

I might be Strigiformiphilic, strangely drawn like a moth to the flame. Add a hat, and well my first session with the trick cyclist at Central Services is next Thursday. They're all keeping our fingers crossed at Tuttle Towers for a speedy recovery. I am of course Felixophbic so a quick switch back to the cat might help.

The last time I looked I thought you were using a Little Owl but now its difficult to tell. Used to be a bird spotter when I was young and the habit dies hard.

Bearing in mind overlapping cultures you might be interested in the "Dictionary of the Khazars". Its written as three overlapping dictionaries, covering three religons each of whom are trying to convert the Khazars to Islam, Judaism or Christianity during three different time periods. It's written by a Serb, so someone who is at home with fractures of history and culture. There are of course male and female versions of the book which differ in slight but crucial details.

[gentlemenpreferhats]

Bearing in mind overlapping cultures you might be interested in the "Dictionary of the Khazars". Its written as three overlapping dictionaries, covering three religons each of whom are trying to convert the Khazars to Islam, Judaism or Christianity during three different time periods. It's written by a Serb, so someone who is at home with fractures of history and culture. There are of course male and female versions of the book which differ in slight but crucial details.

I have both the male and the female editions & enjoyed it though I must admit I've only read one & I can't remember which.

[VoleBoy]

Dr Yes by Bateman. Love it, the 3rd in the Mystery Man trilogy. A good combination of crime and humour, the protaganist is a weirdo, but it's what makes the books.

[Ventura]

What's perdido stret station like? Heard good things about Melville, and Stross for that matter...

[doctorj]

What's perdido stret station like? Heard good things about Melville, and Stross for that matter...

To give you a negative here, I don't like either of them. Admittedly I only read one of stross's, and only about half of perdido st station before I gave up.

Anyone read any Gene Wolfe?

[sestrel]

What's perdido stret station like? Heard good things about Melville, and Stross for that matter...

Its a bit of a curates egg I found. Good in parts. Takes a long time to get going, but it is a big old volume.
I found it 's interweaving of plot line to be convoluted and a bit rambling really. Gets better as it nears the end.
I havent bought any more from this author.....

Not a patch on Iain. M. Banks I thought.

[swanbourne]

I'm currently reading Jo Nesbo's "Headhunters". More than half-way through and I'm enjoying it.

Eddie

[5avvy]

I recently finished "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley, which is an excellent thought provoking read about humanity's evolution. I can't recommend it highly enough.

[mark996]

What's perdido stret station like? Heard good things about Melville, and Stross for that matter...

I found it the easiest Mieville to read; good plot and character development. I read another three of his, but this was my favourite, even if not the 'best' written and not the one with the most subtle themes.

Just started a week's holidays and looking forward to reading Accelerando on IANAN's recommendation.

[gentlemenpreferhats]

Anyone read any Gene Wolfe?

Acquried taste as he plays with conventions a lot- he's particulaly fond of untrustworthy narrators and stories-within-stories as well as deliberately not giving the reader critical information.

His early stuff is best, but you've got to have patience- very very slow. The Book of the New Sun is worthwhile but has been so endlessly copied it may not read well now, 30 or so years later. I really like his shorter novels and short story collections; The Fifth Head of Cerberus is a good starting point as is The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories.

If you want proper mind bending stuff try Soldier of the Mist.

[zelig]

I read The Testament of Gideon Mack a while back.

a skilful blend of religion, the supernatural and mental illness

I quite enjoyed it. More detail here...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/ju ... anreview15
z

[IANAN]

Just started a week's holidays and looking forward to reading Accelerando on IANAN's recommendation.

It's a fairly uncompromising ride but I like his lack of fear when postulating future technologies. Given the incredible advances of the last hundred years, some of his observations seem almost inevitable when viewed from a first-world perspective.

My favourites by him are the Laundry series - a mix of Ian Fleming, Len Deighton and H. P. Lovecraft, dark and fantastic possibilities side-by-side with the frustrations of working in a highly secretive but massively bureaucratic organisation rife with internal politics.

Halting State is an impressive romp for people who understand some of the nuances of gamers and has a host of sub-plots, the sequel (Rule 34) is based on new generations of organised crime that will become more and more relevant as fabrication technology and connectivity increase.

[Tokyo Tokei]

Just started reading "Corporal Johnnie with the Kings Royal Rifles". Reason for mentioning it is because it is currently free ( usually about £5.99 I think ) on Kindle here http://amzn.to/HuZTCY

Second reason for mentioning it is that it's about my great uncle ( or something ... ) and his travels in India and Mauritius, somewhere along the way including being shipwrecked. It's currently #3 in Amazon's military history ranking, and will no doubt slip back down to it's rightful place in the sub-1000s once it's not free !

Sorry if this sounds like an advert, its free though, and some military history fans on here I think.

Paul

[IANAN]

Just started reading "Corporal Johnnie with the Kings Royal Rifles". Reason for mentioning it is because it is currently free ( usually about £5.99 I think ) on Kindle here http://amzn.to/HuZTCY

Good call! Thanks for that heads-up.

[ChrisXK140]

"Why They Kill" by (Pulitzer Prize Winner) Richard Rhodes.

Explores the causes and origins of the most violent members of society, and crushes a few myths along the way.

Kind of surprised I hadn't heard of this one before.

-C

[dkpw]

I've just started a newly published book, About Time by Adam Frank, which sets out to show how stone age man developed the concept of time, how it's been measured and applied since then and how our concept of time will change once we determine, assuming we can, what happened before the Big Bang. The first 30 pages are, so far, enthralling.

[Mabuse]

Jonathan Safran Foer: Eating Animals.

Interesting and depressing :( Still eating meat but am certainly thinking a lot more about how the animals are raised and killed. Found a local source for chicken that I think I can live with.

Cheers
Mabuse

[TheWatchman]

Just read "The Rise and Fall of the Black Mafia Family" about guy called Big Meech and his Atlanta cocaine cartel.
Now about to start "Amexica War Along The Border Line" that is described as thus on the book itself: "The harrowing story of the extraordinary terror unfolding along the US-Mexico border - this is the secret war of drugs, gangs and guns that is destroying thousands of lives".

[mickylall]

just finished 'the redbreast' by jo nesbo.
got off to a bad start as i thought the main character was too similar to wallender - flawed alcoholic cop (have only read one wallender book and didn't like it one bit - faceless killers)
once you get used to multiple stories with timelines jumping backwards and forwards it really is a great read.i think this is the third book in the harry hole series but it's the first to be translated into english and it does mention things that i presume happened in the first two books but it's still very enjoyable and i'll definately be giving 'nemesis' a try

cheers,mick

[PreacherCain]

Afgantsy, by Rodric Braithwaite. A very engaging, interesting and well-argued account of the Soviet war in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989. As one of the book's distinguished reviewers put it, this should be required reading for anyone considering military involvement in that country. Very interesting, and depressing evidence in favour of the old saw about being doomed to repeat history.

[Seabadger]

Afgantsy, by Rodric Braithwaite. A very engaging, interesting and well-argued account of the Soviet war in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989. As one of the book's distinguished reviewers put it, this should be required reading for anyone considering military involvement in that country. Very interesting, and depressing evidence in favour of the old saw about being doomed to repeat history.

As should "Losing Small Wars" and "Cables from Kabul" - although to be honest, anyone who thought that getting involved on the ground in Afghanistan was anything than an utterly appalling ide would need a truly Olympic level of ignorance of history.

[patrick]

Grumpy Old Men the Handbook.Lots of LOL bits.

[zelig]

I read 'The Hare with Amber Eyes' by Edmund de Waal.

Guardian review here http://m.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jun/ ... pe=article

I like books set against modern & wartime history - so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

z

[swanbourne]

I'm almost halway through Stephen Kings 22/11/63 and enjoying it very much. It was said in another thread that he must be paid by the word but I find that his wordy descriptions create very vivid mental images which for me, enhances the enjoyment of reading.

Eddie

[sangman]

If you like action stuff, Andy McNabb's novels are actually pretty good. They clearly benefit from McNabb's real experience, but his hero is no superman and there is a convincing level of desperation and confusion in his action scenes. Actually, if anything, you find yourself hoping something nice will actually happen and stick! They are best read in sequence, as personal/background stuff does track through and develop.

100%agree as people in A Mac Nick Stone books follow through i have read all his Nick Stone books and if you like acton you cant go wrong imho http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/andy-mcnab/

[sangman]

Stieg Larsson trilogy girl with the dragon tattoo

[Dapper]

"The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson.

The incredible true story of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and a serial killer. It tells the stories of two men, Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, the monstrous killer.
Amazing :!:

[DandyHighwayMan]

I've just read Iain Banks "Transition"

Banks, back to his best after his rather disappointing (for me) and somewhat predictable book The Business.

[mark996]

I've just read Iain Banks "Transition"

Banks, back to his best after his rather disappointing (for me) and somewhat predictable book The Business.

I've just finished 'Stonemouth', which I enjoyed very much; perhaps not as good as 'The Crow Road', but it's well-written, nicely-paced and has a wonderful slow build-up of tension which kept me hooked from beginning to end.

[dowsing]

I'm currently working my way through The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey and enjoying it so far.

[DS3R]

"No Logo" by Naomi Klein, been meaning to read it for ages.

445 pages and I still don't know what her point is. Not recommended.

[bigvic]

Just returned from 2weeks on a beach :mrgreen: and the most enjoyable read was Bill Bryson's Notes From a Small Island.
My first of his & think I'll catch up a few more.

[Bruce]

The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett

Agent ZigZag by Ben Macintyre, fantastic book about Eddie Chapman who worked as a double agent in WW2

[swanbourne]

The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett

Agent ZigZag by Ben Macintyre, fantastic book about Eddie Chapman who worked as a double agent in WW2

I've read a few Simon Beckett and they don't disappoint but that's probably because he's a Sheffield lad :wink: .

I finished reading Stephen King's 11/23/63 last night and I'm sorry. It was a real page-turner and I couldn't wait to find out what happened but at the same time, I didn't want it to end (if that makes sense). Quite different to much of his other stuff and immensely readable.

Eddie

[Seabadger]

I finished reading Stephen King's 11/23/63 last night and I'm sorry. It was a real page-turner and I couldn't wait to find out what happened but at the same time, I didn't want it to end (if that makes sense). Quite different to much of his other stuff and immensely readable.

Thanks - I'd been thinking about buying that. It's had some good reviews - looks like he's back on for.

I'm reading "Iron Coffins" by Herbert Werner at the moment - an excellent read so far. I suppose the obvious comparison is with "Das Boot": both are very good books but one difference is that whilst Werner was an operational officer and later captain, Buchheim joined a U-boat on operations as a propaganda officer and war correspondent, so "Iron Coffins" gives a much better picture of the life of a U-boat crew when not on active duty. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the Battle of the Atlantic.

[zelig]

Just over half way through The Book Thief

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_Thief

So far it's really good

z

[bigvic]

Agent ZigZag by Ben Macintyre, fantastic book about Eddie Chapman who worked as a double agent in WW2

Best book I've read in a long while, hard to believe it was a true story.

[RoyalVilla]

Recently read The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. I thought it was quite good, but nothing spectacular. Still tempted to read The Headhunter's though.

I've just finished The Road by Cormac Mccarthy which was harowing and powerful and should leave an impression on anyone who reads it, especially if you have a son.

I have the Steve Jobs biography on my bookshelf, but have just started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, which I'm really enjoying at the moment.

[rickf]

I finished reading Stephen King's 11/23/63 last night and I'm sorry. It was a real page-turner and I couldn't wait to find out what happened but at the same time, I didn't want it to end (if that makes sense). Quite different to much of his other stuff and immensely readable.

Thanks - I'd been thinking about buying that. It's had some good reviews - looks like he's back on for.

I recently finished 11/23/63 as well. I had given up on reading King a long time ago but this sounded different enough for me to try it out and I'm glad I did. Very different from his typical stories. When King is on, he's an outstanding storyteller and I think he's back to to that in this book. Part of the story also touches on the events in his earlier book "It". This lead me to re-read "It" which I thought held up pretty well after all these years.

Rick

[DS3R]

just finished Don't let the bastards grind you down by Robert Sellers, charting the rise of a group of British actors post-war including Connery, Cain, Albert Finney, Peter O'Toole et al.

Ecellent stuff, an easy read thanks to being broken in to many short stories, and contains the immortal line from Noel Coward, who having stumped up 1/4 of the cost of converting the play The Caretaker to the silver screen, was told by producer Michael Birkett he'd send a postcard from time to time to keep him up to date.
"Oh do, I'll love that" says Coward,
"Except I don't have your address in Switzerland" said Birkett.
"Oh don't worry about that" says Coward, "just address it to Noel Coward, Switzerland"!

[swanbourne]

"Oh don't worry about that" says Coward, "just address it to Noel Coward, Switzerland"!

Funny you mention that I have an old postcard addressed to my great uncle - "Granville Platts, Chapeltown".

Eddie

[even neve]

Just finished Waughs Black Mischief - just pulled it blind from the shelf during easter. It's old obviously, bit outdated and probably non PC on many levels, but still ..I enjoyed it, think I'll give some of his others a try this summer to see how they have stood the test of time.

[gentlemenpreferhats]

Just finished Waughs Black Mischief - just pulled it blind from the shelf during easter. It's old obviously, bit outdated and probably non PC on many levels, but still ..I enjoyed it, think I'll give some of his others a try this summer to see how they have stood the test of time.

I still like Scoop and Handful of Dust. If you have the energy go the full Sword of Honour sequence.

[flyerboy]

Just finishing off Chrissie Wellington's autobiography "A Life Without Limits" , actually very good and quite inspiring :thumbright:

[bootneck]

Not long finished "when I fell from the sky" an amazing story about a lady who fell 2 miles from a plane into the jungle and lived and an indication of how bad the press really are globally.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[even neve]

Just finished Waughs Black Mischief - just pulled it blind from the shelf during easter. It's old obviously, bit outdated and probably non PC on many levels, but still ..I enjoyed it, think I'll give some of his others a try this summer to see how they have stood the test of time.

I still like Scoop and Handful of Dust. If you have the energy go the full Sword of Honour sequence.

Sword of Honour was what I was thinking should be next in line, wife's got a movie adaptation that she recommends - but that could be caused by Mr.Craig as the main man, more than Waughs writing ;-), I havent seen it, and I think I'll read the books first.

[unkychris]

Just recently back from 2 weeks holiday, managed to get through three books:

John Grisham - The Litigators. Usual Grisham stuff, a good read and nothing too taxing.
Terry Pratchett - Snuff. Recommend this one, one of his better books of recent times.
Alan Sugar - What you see if what you get. I really enjoyed this one, I found it really interesting to see how he built up his business from scratch. Maybe interested me particularly because I am currently starting a small business.