*What book are you reading? (part 2)
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farmerbarleymow
I'm Petee's spirit animal
The Hangman's Record Volume 2 by Steve Fielding.
An account of the people hung between 1900 and 1929. Contains little descriptions of the crimes, and brief biogs of the executioners.
Fascinating stuff, especially as you can't beat a good murder case! Especially when they chop up the body (or bodies - even better)!
Now where are me knives...and I recall longdog was shopping for knives to cut up bones of late...
An account of the people hung between 1900 and 1929. Contains little descriptions of the crimes, and brief biogs of the executioners.
Fascinating stuff, especially as you can't beat a good murder case! Especially when they chop up the body (or bodies - even better)!
Now where are me knives...and I recall longdog was shopping for knives to cut up bones of late...
Just finished Dark Eden by Chris Beckett - superb. Here's the blurb:
Expected it to be a straight up horror/sci-fi thriller type mash-up, but it was more subtle. It focuses on the invention of creation myths, the human desire to become part of stories (or to make your life into a narrative), as well as the invention of patriarchy and property. It's written in the vernacular of the 'Family', which could've been sub-par Riddley Walker if done badly, but ends up perfectly claustrophobic.
Currently reading Gradisil by Adam Roberts.
Expected it to be a straight up horror/sci-fi thriller type mash-up, but it was more subtle. It focuses on the invention of creation myths, the human desire to become part of stories (or to make your life into a narrative), as well as the invention of patriarchy and property. It's written in the vernacular of the 'Family', which could've been sub-par Riddley Walker if done badly, but ends up perfectly claustrophobic.
Currently reading Gradisil by Adam Roberts.
Dillinger4
Es gibt Zeit
Has anyone read The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorkai? In some circles he and a handful of other Eastern European writers are very fashionable (or at least they were), but reading the reviews of his writing style, I just don't know if I can be bothered. Is it worth it?
MrSki
Who am I to say you're wrong
T
Try reading his 'Gallow's Thief' It is a stand alone & is funny in places especially if you like cricket!The Bloody Ground - Bernard Cornwell - 4th in the Starbuck Chronicles. and the last, even though they are only mid way through the civil warhe needs to finish the series
enjoying it though
marty21
One on one? You're crazy.
cheers, will get around to that one
MrSki
Who am I to say you're wrong
Or if you can't get hold of that then 'The Fort' is a stand alone American civil war one that is okay but I think 'Gallow's Thief' is his book that I have enjoyed most.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
Chopper by Mark Brandon Read.
australian hoolie/ganster thing
australian hoolie/ganster thing
Dillinger4
Es gibt Zeit
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
I have, its why I gave the book a second glance. Wouldn't normally do crime bio's but its ages since I read one
Dillinger4
Es gibt Zeit
Australia has some great nutters 
Dillinger4
Es gibt Zeit
It is one of the more comprehensible books about Anarchism. The kind that doesn't require a great deal of prior knowledge about it. Its quite a while since I read it; is it the one that talks about pirates etc as forerunners to modern anarchism?
TruXta
tired
I've just started the historical section, but yeah, it wouldn't surprise me.
Dillinger4
Es gibt Zeit
I hope I haven't ruined it for you.
TruXta
tired
Fuck no.
mentalchik
"I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit."
Consider Phlebas.......re-working my way through my banks collection.......already done Use Of Weapons (my fav)
QueenOfGoths
Fuck you Dave!
"The Boys From Brazil" - Ira Levin. Only ever seen the film and wanted a good solid thriller, which this is. Though the cover has a massive swastika on the front so I imagine most of my fellow commuters now think I am reading some kind of far-right propaganda 
Although the 'easy in, easy out' raid on the temple is my favourite part of that book, I do love it when Horza gets his fingers stripped by the obese cult leader. There's religion for you Horza!
Dillinger4
Es gibt Zeit
I have just bought myself a two year subscription to bookforum.
Mostly because I read one article by Astra Taylor.
Mostly because I read one article by Astra Taylor.
reading 'Help yourself' by Caspar Addyman. Provocative work thus far.
afterwards i will read 'The history of God' by Karen Armstrong....been LONG on this list.......
afterwards i will read 'The history of God' by Karen Armstrong....been LONG on this list.......
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
"No Off Switch" by Andy Kershaw
hammerntongues
Well-Known Member
What did you make of him , I just finished that and at the end I wasn`t sure if I liked him or not .? I got the feeling he may have been a self obsessed knob and he certainly was a jerk with women BUT there was enough about him that he would have probably have been a good guy to have a beer with . Through that book I bought some Ted Hawkins who I had not heard before , superb voice almost Otis like but simple acoustic guitar backing .
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
I'm nearly finished and am coming to similar conclusions - however, in an industry which appears to demand an ego the size of a house as standard, he seems to possess more humility than most.
Dillinger4
Es gibt Zeit
Just got The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorkai. I have read a few pages and I think it is going to be everything I was expecting and then some
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I hope you will forgive the slightly longer than normal post for this thread.
I am starting to read again.
It has been a long while since I read much but there are often moments when I want to be away from my computer for half an hour and this presents an opportunity.
Initially I bought books from a charity shop but after a while I find it limiting which has led me to start using my local library.
My first charity shop book this year, bought for 10p, was A Prison Diary, Jeffrey Archer which was in large print and quite an easy read. I am interested in the story of Archer falling from grace. In prison he is still irrepressible and quickly turns his hand to wheeling and dealing with the other inmates. That he lied in court, and probably in other areas of his life I am sure, makes him a person of dubious morals but that he is energetic and resourceful comes across in the book.
I then bought, All Together Now, John Harvey-Jones, about managing people in industry. A little dry and perhaps some may say dull or boring, in its favour the chapters are not very long and overall it is a quick read.
Finally, from the charity shop, I found Taken on Trust, Terry Waite, about his some four or five years as a hostage where he is kept in solitary confinement. The book flicks neatly between experiences of captivity and the role he played as an assistant to the Archbishop of Canterbury with special responsibilities for hostage negotiation, thence back to his confinement again within the space of a page or two. While obviously pretty grim, his explanation of imprisonment is not without humour, on occasion his captors bring him books, but as they don't read or really speak English, often the books are some that he loathes. There is no choice but to read as there is precious little else to do to keep his mind occupied. I enjoy the book but the subject matter is a little grim, I think I need some more amusing reading next.
The Meaning of Life, Spike Milligan is the first book I got from my local library, from the biography section. There are a lot of biographies of people whose stories I am not at all interested in but I have always loved Spike. He does not disappoint and I am most amused.
How I Very Slowly Became an Overnight Success, Rob Brydon is an easy read though I have already forgotten much about it, I like Brydon's self depreciation.
Notes on a Small Island, Bill Bryson about his visits and tours around Britain I find his writing highly amusing and there are some laugh out loud moments, Bryson was a favourite author of my Dad's for a while and it is nice that I enjoy the same thing.
A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson, a second of his books which I had ordered from the library. I am a bit shocked when I collect it because it, the illustrated version, is massive and I am momentarily unsure I am ready to take on so many pages. Covering all sorts of aspects of human knowledge the book is very nicely written, again there are the touches of humour. I am sad to return it to the library as I would like to own a copy. There are just too many facts to remember and I want it as a science reference book to dip into from time to time.
I then graduated to a novel, Catch-22, Joseph Heller, which I had tried to read as a teenager but had found too complex at the time. Now I devour it, I love the involved prose and wonderfully detailed, slightly contrary, character descriptions. Each chapter is nominally about a different character and often Heller will write something slightly unexpected, like: Major Major was very short sighted which made him a perfect individual for fighting a war! I find the ending a bit rushed, Yossarian, the main character, does not seem to resolve his issues and seems at the end to contradict his own feelings. It is as if Heller was not sure how to finish but felt he had written enough. As with Bryson's book I am disappointed to return it to the library, I would like to own it.
Can't Stand Up For Sitting Down, Jo Brand, my first book by Brand whose stand up I enjoy, it is actually the second in her bio books and is an easy and amusing read. She explains the start of her career as a stand up comedian and the trials and tribulations involved. I find I have read it rather quickly and am disappointed to finish it.
At the moment I have two books on the go and a couple more on order at the library.
Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas, really a play, has fantastic language and wonderful characters, a small book but I am taking my time with it.
Look Back In Hunger, Jo Brand, my second from her, a bio including her childhood, youth and early adulthood. As readable as the first, her sense of humour comes through well, I find I choose it slightly more often than Under Milk Wood as it is less effort to read.
At the moment I have a book by Primo Levi on order about his time in Auschwitz and a sci-fi novel Consider Phlebas, Ian (M) Banks, the first in his culture series. In the house a copy of Mein Kampf which I am told is a bit dull, somehow I think I should read this but I may not as it may harm my mental health. I also have old hardback copies of 1984, and Animal Farm by George Orwell, which I have read before but may revisit.
If anyone reading this has any suggestions for books I might enjoy, please tell me, I don't yet really do heavy duty literature although I did read Tolstoy's confession online at the end of last year. Boy did he have a lot to confess!!
I am starting to read again.
It has been a long while since I read much but there are often moments when I want to be away from my computer for half an hour and this presents an opportunity.
Initially I bought books from a charity shop but after a while I find it limiting which has led me to start using my local library.
My first charity shop book this year, bought for 10p, was A Prison Diary, Jeffrey Archer which was in large print and quite an easy read. I am interested in the story of Archer falling from grace. In prison he is still irrepressible and quickly turns his hand to wheeling and dealing with the other inmates. That he lied in court, and probably in other areas of his life I am sure, makes him a person of dubious morals but that he is energetic and resourceful comes across in the book.
I then bought, All Together Now, John Harvey-Jones, about managing people in industry. A little dry and perhaps some may say dull or boring, in its favour the chapters are not very long and overall it is a quick read.
Finally, from the charity shop, I found Taken on Trust, Terry Waite, about his some four or five years as a hostage where he is kept in solitary confinement. The book flicks neatly between experiences of captivity and the role he played as an assistant to the Archbishop of Canterbury with special responsibilities for hostage negotiation, thence back to his confinement again within the space of a page or two. While obviously pretty grim, his explanation of imprisonment is not without humour, on occasion his captors bring him books, but as they don't read or really speak English, often the books are some that he loathes. There is no choice but to read as there is precious little else to do to keep his mind occupied. I enjoy the book but the subject matter is a little grim, I think I need some more amusing reading next.
The Meaning of Life, Spike Milligan is the first book I got from my local library, from the biography section. There are a lot of biographies of people whose stories I am not at all interested in but I have always loved Spike. He does not disappoint and I am most amused.
How I Very Slowly Became an Overnight Success, Rob Brydon is an easy read though I have already forgotten much about it, I like Brydon's self depreciation.
Notes on a Small Island, Bill Bryson about his visits and tours around Britain I find his writing highly amusing and there are some laugh out loud moments, Bryson was a favourite author of my Dad's for a while and it is nice that I enjoy the same thing.
A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson, a second of his books which I had ordered from the library. I am a bit shocked when I collect it because it, the illustrated version, is massive and I am momentarily unsure I am ready to take on so many pages. Covering all sorts of aspects of human knowledge the book is very nicely written, again there are the touches of humour. I am sad to return it to the library as I would like to own a copy. There are just too many facts to remember and I want it as a science reference book to dip into from time to time.
I then graduated to a novel, Catch-22, Joseph Heller, which I had tried to read as a teenager but had found too complex at the time. Now I devour it, I love the involved prose and wonderfully detailed, slightly contrary, character descriptions. Each chapter is nominally about a different character and often Heller will write something slightly unexpected, like: Major Major was very short sighted which made him a perfect individual for fighting a war! I find the ending a bit rushed, Yossarian, the main character, does not seem to resolve his issues and seems at the end to contradict his own feelings. It is as if Heller was not sure how to finish but felt he had written enough. As with Bryson's book I am disappointed to return it to the library, I would like to own it.
Can't Stand Up For Sitting Down, Jo Brand, my first book by Brand whose stand up I enjoy, it is actually the second in her bio books and is an easy and amusing read. She explains the start of her career as a stand up comedian and the trials and tribulations involved. I find I have read it rather quickly and am disappointed to finish it.
At the moment I have two books on the go and a couple more on order at the library.
Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas, really a play, has fantastic language and wonderful characters, a small book but I am taking my time with it.
Look Back In Hunger, Jo Brand, my second from her, a bio including her childhood, youth and early adulthood. As readable as the first, her sense of humour comes through well, I find I choose it slightly more often than Under Milk Wood as it is less effort to read.
At the moment I have a book by Primo Levi on order about his time in Auschwitz and a sci-fi novel Consider Phlebas, Ian (M) Banks, the first in his culture series. In the house a copy of Mein Kampf which I am told is a bit dull, somehow I think I should read this but I may not as it may harm my mental health. I also have old hardback copies of 1984, and Animal Farm by George Orwell, which I have read before but may revisit.
If anyone reading this has any suggestions for books I might enjoy, please tell me, I don't yet really do heavy duty literature although I did read Tolstoy's confession online at the end of last year. Boy did he have a lot to confess!!
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