Books

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skalpel
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Re: Books

Post by skalpel » Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:57 am

Acid Hippo wrote:The Pigeon has been purchased.
Excellent <awe>. You won't be disappointed.

Carver is a great recommendation. I used to have a weird mix of hatred and curiosity for his writing, and in the end I read most of his short stories to sort out that confusion. "Nobody said anything" is one of my favourite shorts of all time now. I've enjoyed shorts by Murakami as well, but I'm not sure if I fancy a novel for some reason... probably some day going to regret putting it off but there you go.

I think I'll line up The Wasp Factory and Flowers for Algernon on my reading list <awe>, thanks!

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lassassinblanc
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Re: Books

Post by lassassinblanc » Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:33 am

Have gotten back into my reading of late mostly just autobiography at the moment
So far this year I've read
Life to short
Das Reboot
Tor-Story of German Football
Ziggology- Life of Ziggy Stardust
Everything-history of Manic Street Preachers
Richard- novel about Richie Edwards
Triptych: Three Studies of Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible
Two Imaginary Boys - Lol Tolhurst- biography by original member of the Cure
Pep Confidential (Evolution is next on the list to read)
currently reading Johan Cruyff book
Duff Mckagans- it so easy- is on it's way
Inverting the Pyramid is also on the book shelf awaiting a proper sit down

This Pigeon book sounds fascinating
Last edited by lassassinblanc on Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
I'll Hazard a guess

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Bodacious Benny
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Re: Books

Post by Bodacious Benny » Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:07 am

I've just finished fifteen lives of Harry August, was decent.
Lassassinblanc wrote:Inverting the Period is also on the book shelf awaiting a proper sit down
<scratch> <worried>
I'm the scumbag outlaw. You're the pillar of justice. Neither of us like looking at ourselves in the mirror. Do we have a deal?

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lassassinblanc
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Re: Books

Post by lassassinblanc » Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:38 am

Bodacious Benny wrote:I've just finished fifteen lives of Harry August, was decent.
Lassassinblanc wrote:Inverting the Period is also on the book shelf awaiting a proper sit down
<scratch> <worried>
Bloody auto type <laugh> meant Pyramid
I'll Hazard a guess

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Bodacious Benny
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Re: Books

Post by Bodacious Benny » Thu Aug 17, 2017 9:42 am

<laugh>

That's a relief <laugh>
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ALF
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Re: Books

Post by ALF » Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:27 pm

Lassassinblanc wrote:Have gotten back into my reading of late mostly just autobiography at the moment
So far this year I've read
Life to short
Das Reboot
Tor-Story of German Football
Ziggology- Life of Ziggy Stardust
Everything-history of Manic Street Preachers
Richard- novel about Richie Edwards
Triptych: Three Studies of Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible
Two Imaginary Boys - Lol Tolhurst- biography by original member of the Cure
Pep Confidential (Evolution is next on the list to read)
currently reading Johan Cruyff book
Duff Mckagans- it so easy- is on it's way
Inverting the Pyramid is also on the book shelf awaiting a proper sit down

This Pigeon book sounds fascinating
I've always found his disappearance interesting, what's the book like?

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lassassinblanc
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Re: Books

Post by lassassinblanc » Fri Aug 18, 2017 8:47 am

ALF wrote:
Lassassinblanc wrote:Have gotten back into my reading of late mostly just autobiography at the moment
So far this year I've read
Life to short
Das Reboot
Tor-Story of German Football
Ziggology- Life of Ziggy Stardust
Everything-history of Manic Street Preachers
Richard- novel about Richie Edwards
Triptych: Three Studies of Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible
Two Imaginary Boys - Lol Tolhurst- biography by original member of the Cure
Pep Confidential (Evolution is next on the list to read)
currently reading Johan Cruyff book
Duff Mckagans- it so easy- is on it's way
Inverting the Pyramid is also on the book shelf awaiting a proper sit down

This Pigeon book sounds fascinating
I've always found his disappearance interesting, what's the book like?
It's not bad, It is has two stories intertwined together 1 which is what he done after he went missing and the other of his life leading up to the point he goes missing.

It's enjoyable at times but at times quite harrowing it's clear to see why the band wrote it off as a lot of it is obviously the writer using his imagination to explain parts of Richeys psych.

It's worth a read if you're a fan of the band as is Triptych as it goes into great detail about the what the each song on the holy bible is about and how they were written.
I'll Hazard a guess

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Re: Books

Post by Slim999 » Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:31 pm

Couple of books I've read in the past year that I would recommend:-

::-And the Mountains Echoed by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. - a really nice generation sweeping story of life and hardship in Afghanistan.

::- Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood : biographical account of his life in Berlin in the lead up to WW2.

Others: many on the list you posted above....

George Orwells Animal Farm. A fairy story about animals taking over a farm ; but a clever allegory of the pitfalls of communism.

Contact by Carl Sagan: the science fiction story (as played in the movie by Jolie Foster).
The book is a lot deeper - Sagan was a top cosmologist in USA (used to present a program called The Cosmos for those old enough to remembet).
His only novel I believe and it's a classic.

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skalpel
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Re: Books

Post by skalpel » Fri Aug 18, 2017 11:23 pm

Slim999 wrote:Couple of books I've read in the past year that I would recommend:-

::-And the Mountains Echoed by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. - a really nice generation sweeping story of life and hardship in Afghanistan.

::- Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood : biographical account of his life in Berlin in the lead up to WW2.

Others: many on the list you posted above....

George Orwells Animal Farm. A fairy story about animals taking over a farm ; but a clever allegory of the pitfalls of communism.

Contact by Carl Sagan: the science fiction story (as played in the movie by Jolie Foster).
The book is a lot deeper - Sagan was a top cosmologist in USA (used to present a program called The Cosmos for those old enough to remembet).
His only novel I believe and it's a classic.
Nice choices. There's no shortage of Orwell and Sagan fans on here <ok>. Have you read Demon Haunted World?

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Re: Books

Post by overseasTOON » Sat Aug 19, 2017 2:06 pm

I'm reading The Red Line by P J Crowley.

The guy was Secretary of State for a few years and he's written a book about American foreign policy and it's frightening.

Quite possibly the scariest book I've ever read.

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Re: Books

Post by Slim999 » Sat Aug 19, 2017 9:48 pm

skalpel wrote:
Slim999 wrote:Couple of books I've read in the past year that I would recommend:-

::-And the Mountains Echoed by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. - a really nice generation sweeping story of life and hardship in Afghanistan.

::- Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood : biographical account of his life in Berlin in the lead up to WW2.

Others: many on the list you posted above....

George Orwells Animal Farm. A fairy story about animals taking over a farm ; but a clever allegory of the pitfalls of communism.

Contact by Carl Sagan: the science fiction story (as played in the movie by Jolie Foster).
The book is a lot deeper - Sagan was a top cosmologist in USA (used to present a program called The Cosmos for those old enough to remembet).
His only novel I believe and it's a classic.
Nice choices. There's no shortage of Orwell and Sagan fans on here <ok>. Have you read Demon Haunted World?
Much as I liked Carl Sagans Contact and his presentational style on TV in Cosmos (the best scientific doc ever which I pray will be repeated) - I do struggle with some of his non fiction. I started pale blue dot but didn't make it - and I have never attempted Demon Haunted World.

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skalpel
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Re: Books

Post by skalpel » Sat Aug 19, 2017 9:58 pm

Slim999 wrote:
skalpel wrote:
Nice choices. There's no shortage of Orwell and Sagan fans on here <ok>. Have you read Demon Haunted World?
Much as I liked Carl Sagans Contact and his presentational style on TV in Cosmos (the best scientific doc ever which I pray will be repeated) - I do struggle with some of his non fiction. I started pale blue dot but didn't make it - and I have never attempted Demon Haunted World.
Yeah, Pale Blue Dot was a slog for sure. By the way, they actually did make a new series of Cosmos a year or so ago with much of the original production team, including co-writer (and wife of Sagan) Ann Druyan. It was carried out in much the same spirit and hosted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson (astrophysicist and head of Hayden Planetarium, also probably the only person who could have a crack at filling Sagan's shoes as a science communicator). It's called Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and it's pretty great.

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Re: Books

Post by Mag_Laad » Sun Aug 20, 2017 1:34 am

Been reading On The Road for about the 5th time, bought Dharma Bums, The Subtarraneans, Big Sur to have a read over too since I've become a bit obsessed with Kerouac again lately. Love the manic descriptive style of his writing, builds a good picture and makes you want to wander as he did.

Had Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas lying there for a while, but yet to pick it up.

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Re: Books

Post by Mag_Laad » Sun Aug 20, 2017 6:51 pm

Lassassinblanc wrote:
Bodacious Benny wrote:I've just finished fifteen lives of Harry August, was decent.



<scratch> <worried>
Bloody auto type <laugh> meant Pyramid
Bet it was a bloody auto type <perv>

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Re: Books

Post by Bodacious Benny » Sun Aug 20, 2017 8:00 pm

<laugh>
I'm the scumbag outlaw. You're the pillar of justice. Neither of us like looking at ourselves in the mirror. Do we have a deal?

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Re: Books

Post by Mifune » Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:16 pm

Read East of Eden last month. One of the best books I've ever read.

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Re: Books

Post by Mifune » Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:19 pm

Acid Hippo wrote:After doing a frankly pitiful amount of reading over the last 4 (four!) years since graduating, I've finally got back into a decent reading routine. Averaging a book a week at the minute and currently half way through Flowers for Algernon which is pretty interesting so far.

Recommend me all of the books, people.
Read that last Christmas. Thought it was very good and really sad.

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Re: Books

Post by overseasTOON » Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:21 pm

Not books per se but was intrigued by the British trying to stop the French fleet falling into German hands in WWII which led me on a Wikipedia link fest.

I'd never heard of Vichy France bombing Gibraltar so I read that article which led into the Great Siege of Gibraltar which led to the failed French and Spanish Armada of 1779 which led to me reading about John Paul Jones who was a British sailor who swapped allegiance to the US during the war of independence and his attack on Whitehaven in Cumbria.

In essence, it was an absolute failure as they'd intended to burn and sink ships in the harbour but due to a strong tide and winds they made slow progress into harbour which meant that the oil in their lamps had run out and couldn't fire any ships.

Spotting a pub on the harbour they intended to steal some oil but they ended up going for a few beers instead. One of the raiding party then managed to give the game away and they had to make a quick escape.

This want his only screw up. After the Whitehaven debacle they decided to sail north to his native Scotland and kidnap the Earl of Sterling and ransom him off to raise money for the war. Alas the Earl wasn't home so they had tea with his wife who eventually fobbed them off with a bag of silverware half full with coal.

Cut a long story short, his career could hardly be construed as legendary but the US navy have named several ships after him and he's thought of as a founding father of the navy.

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Re: Books

Post by Acid Hippo » Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:52 pm

skalpel wrote:
Acid Hippo wrote:The Pigeon has been purchased.
Excellent <awe>. You won't be disappointed.
Wasn't disappointed <awe>

Have you read Perfume by Suskind at all? Tempted to try that as well now.
<monster>

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skalpel
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Re: Books

Post by skalpel » Sun Aug 27, 2017 5:45 pm

Acid Hippo wrote:
skalpel wrote:
Excellent <awe>. You won't be disappointed.
Wasn't disappointed <awe>

Have you read Perfume by Suskind at all? Tempted to try that as well now.
<awe>

Nope. After finishing reading The Pigeon, I was all excited about reading it... then totally forgot. It's meant to be great though.

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