The Book Thread

[Spikey M]

Read the whole thing (it's not very long) in English literature at school. He ends up going back to the fucking valley he spent 25 years wanting out of because he's a fanny.

Replace ‘Valley’ with ‘Seaside Town’ and you’ve pretty much read an unofficial biography of me.

[Spoonsky]

Fair enough.

I recently read The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas which is a wonderful little collection of essays. It's a great entry (if probably slightly outdated, it was published in the 1970s) into biology for the less-scientifically minded, and touches on themes of philosophy, anthropology, and linguistics among other things. Really terrific.

[ItalAussie]

Neverwhere: Ace
The Secret Lives of Cows: Weirdly calming
Rivers of London: Fun and dumb
The Wandering Earth: Great hard sci-fi

[Henry]

The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence by Paul Davies

This is essentially an update on the progress of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) in light of latest science, 50 years since it started scanning the skies for radio signals. It examines the steps needed for intelligent life to form (the Drake Equation) and concludes that the two main hurdles are those that remain dimly understood - biogenesis and evolution of intelligence from lower forms. It also reviews the searches performed by SETI thus far and concludes that while we've only scanned a small portion of the sky, our capabilities to do so are accelerating and the longer we go without detection the more rare it appears that life is. More radically, he suggests that the field has been hampered by anthropomorphism and that even the focus on radio may be misguided, as it's possible that this is a technology that will have peaked in the late 20th century. Instead Davies suggests that we conduct our search more widely to include such things as lasers and directed neutrinos.
In general, Davies implies that things are looking somewhat more pessimistic than they were and as a scientist (even one at the forefront of such activity) his tentative opinion is that we are perhaps the only intelligent life in the observable universe.
It's an interesting read and a welcome update to the topic for someone who read much of Carl Sagan's output a couple of decades back.

[Henry]

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff

This one hardly needs an introduction, being the inside story of the first year of Donald Trump's presidency. It led to much controversy upon release.
The book appears to be derived from direct access that Wolff had to meetings in the White House as well as accounts from participants. He has taken the material collected and edited it into a form something like a novel, narrating the story. There are a couple of problems with this. Firstly that this narration is presented as omniscient when it ought to be a lot more tentative and call attention to its sources and biases much more often. Secondly that it tends towards the gossipy and the salacious. There is very little serious politics here.
Unsurprisingly Wolff portrays Trump as a shallow narcissistic blowhard, uninterested in and incapable of performing his duties. What's more interesting is the picture presented of his staff - how chaotic it all is, with various factions competing with each other. Those factions are represented by Steve Bannon (the fascistic outsider), Rince Preibus (nominally the chief of staff and representing the Republican mainstream) and "Jarvanka", consisting of the presidents daughter and son-in law. It's a bizarre and deeply shocking spectacle, the small mercy being that even the participants seem to recognise how unstable it all is, and that it may end before long.
Misgivings about how any of the particulars are open to questions aside, it does present a picture that rings true in general and is essential reading in our current historical moment.

[John]

What is it about writing book reviews that makes you forget how to properly format paragraphs?

I said that book would be a novel weeks before it was released. The man can't help but make shit up.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Now reading 'Nomad' on some of your recommendations, it's brilliant. Books of that type are so hard to get right as well but there's a laugh basically every paragraph.

[Boydy]

The thriller? That's all I can find by that name.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Alan Partridge.

[Boydy]

Oh, right. That makes more sense.

[Spikey M]

I’m not sure why that exchange was funny, but it was.

[CJay]

Now reading 'Nomad' on some of your recommendations, it's brilliant. Books of that type are so hard to get right as well but there's a laugh basically every paragraph.

I think his books are better as audiobooks. Actually hearing them told in his voice really adds something, especially the really tangential footnotes.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I use Audible every day so don't know why I didn't think of that. Might switch mid-book.

[Ian]

So I was re-reading Lord of the Rings between things while waiting for payday to buy something and was quite enjoying it. Some of the lines are funnier than I recalled (despite the dialogue being very of it's time, what with groups of people apparently speaking in perfect unison and the like) but I'd forgotten that the films made some of the good guys massive dickheads. I reckon at least half of the prominent characters who aren't on the side of Sauron get one act of shitheadery given to them for the films, or just a more obnoxious personality.

Anyway, I'm onto the back end of it now where things are less interesting (and obviously I'll have all 17 endings to get through) so it can go back to being my book for reading on the loo or when I want to read before bed but don't want to risk forgetting new stuff because I'm knackered.

Otherwise it's onto Night Watch, by Pratchett. Vimes. :cool:

[Jimmy Floyd]

I've had it in mind to try Pratchett for a while, I've always been put off by a) hating it when I read one at age 8 or something (I always used to start certain things far too early because my reading age was way above average but my 'emotional age' was the same as anyone else) and b) the fact that mainly weirdos like it.

Would I like it?

[Ian]

I'm not sure but it would barely cost you to give them a bash. I'm a "read them in publishing order" man but if you wanted to give yourself the best chance of liking them you probably start with Guards! Guards! , which is the first of the City Watch books.

They get less outright funny as the series goes on and Pratchett focuses on certain themes and toying with specific sets of genre tropes rather than just laughs but they're no less enjoyable for that to my mind.

[Henry]

This Changes Everything: Capitalism versus the Climate by Naomi Klein

This is a worrying book, documenting how we are in the process of changing the climate of our planet in dangerous ways and how our current economic system is incapable of accommodating the substantial changes required to mitigate this. Klein first notes the behaviour of energy companies, environmental groups and the effect that "free trade" agreements have had on them over the past three decades. This has been to prevent alternative energy sources from being developed and will at present lead to five times more carbon being dumped into the atmosphere by 2050 (including from such technologies as fracking and oil extraction from tar sands) than can be accommodated while keeping temperature rises to 2 degrees.
She then moves on to calling out green billionaires such as Richard Branson, environmentalist organisations that are (or have become) essentially fronts for polluters, and debunking "magical thinking" - proposals to fix the problems through geoengineering - suggesting that all of these things serve to delude the public and stall any real change. Finally she turns to activists (including native Americans) who are making progress through court challenges and other activism. Throughout, Klein ties all of this to her left-wing political perspective.
While the dangers are real, the book is too long and a bit too preachy, reading quite a lot like a manifesto. This is a shame because this kind of thing needs to be read much more widely than it is.

[Pepe]

Criticism of the 'magical thinking' of geoengineering from someone who preaches the 100% renewable magical thinking is pretty lol. I agree that kind of stuff needs to be read much more widely than it is, but unfortunately it is hard to find sources that don't lean too much towards either side of the idealism spectrum.

My current pet peeve is cities calling themselves 'powered by 100% renewable energy' when they most definitely aren't.

[Henry]

Alone in the Universe by John Gribbin

This is another speculation on the possibilities of alien life, albeit from a different angle. Gribbin examines the Fermi paradox and the lack of evidence for life and concludes as a result that we are alone. He then criticises the Drake Equation as insufficient, obscuring as it does many of the factors required for the development of intelligent life and spends the rest of the book examining these.
Such factors range from the availability of heavy elements, safety from cosmic radiation (only a small region of our galaxy meets these two criteria and no region of many other galaxies do) to some unusual features of our Sun, the arrangement of our Solar System and the Earth itself. For the earth, those further include our large moon, our magnetic field, the existence of plate tectonics, the dimly understood events of the Cambrian Explosion, and a set of remarkable climactic and geological events that transformed "monkey into man" in the recent past. The conclusion is that while life may arise rarely, intelligent life requires a series of confluences so vanishingly unlikely that they will not have been repeated within our galaxy at least, and perhaps anywhere. It ends with the warning that our species seems unlikely to last and that even without our deleterious impact, our planet is unlikely to remain hospitable for life for much longer.
It's powerfully argued and persuasive, at once presenting a picture that is gloomy and yet starkly beautiful.

[Ian]

Finished Night Watch. Good stuff, as per. This possibly does less with time travel than Pratchett does with the things he's taking the mickey out of in other Discworld books but it's still a good read and Vimes is still a great character.

Moving onto 'The Twelve' by Justin Cronin.

[Kikó]

I'm 200 pages into Mandela's autobiography and it's brilliant. The oppression and outright racism they faced in South Africa is just incredible.

[Baz]

My wife's asked for some Fearne Cotton book for Mothers Day so I figured I'd get free delivery and pre-ordered these (in paperback; hardback are already out):

https://wordery.com/jackets/1af97963/m/9780717178872.jpg (http://amzn.to/2EDLVl0) https://wordery.com/jackets/8369acfe/m/9781472247186.jpg (http://amzn.to/2Hs0qdk)

:thbup:

[Magic]

Got a book on the history of Budapest.

The fact dropping at the boarding gate sure will be embarrassing for those stag parties.

[phonics]

I'm not very smart, and I haven't read it since 9th Grade.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DXpMfKQUQAAfL9c.jpg

Wasn't that the point of the book? Mans inhumanity to it's own creation?

[Kikó]

I read that on Twitter as well.

[Pepe]

In my university the idea floating around is that it is about climate change.

[Henry]

Not that there isn't promise, but this Malazan stuff is hard to get into. I'm having trouble keeping track of all the characters and their motivations in my head. And the magic system is bewildering.

A normal reaction to the first book, apparently. I'm about two-thirds through.

[Ian]

There's a lot to it and I'd be lying if I said I don't occasionally have to dip into the wiki to remind myself what a certain character did last time I saw them but I still love it.

As for the magic, I'm sure there are people who understand all this shit about decks and warrens and holds and whatnot but I've realised that a very loose understanding is all I need.

I'm currently on the Wee Free Men, the first of Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books. There's nothing notably "young adult" about it other than a young protagonist and I guess he pulls the odd punch regarding language or specific details of the story but otherwise it's just more Discworld. Which is a good thing.

[Kikó]

I really enjoyed Nelson Mandela's book "Long Walk to Freedom". An excellent, incredible and amazingly told story of his life and his resilience despite the society he was in. Really recommend it.

Next up - The Spider Network.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Decided to use audiobooks to get start knocking down these Wheel of Time books so I've been putting book 4 on in the car.

Kramer and Reading are great narrators, so much so that they make all the female characters to be about 10 times worse than I thought they were.

Elayne and Egwene have gone from marginal dickheads to full on cunts.

[Ian]

Jordan weirdly worships women and can't write a likeable one at the same time.

I may re-read the last three again soon.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The only one that I still like is Nynaeve.

Angry women :drool:

[Ian]

If she'd just stop tugging on her fucking braid.

Lan has some badass moments that you're still to experience for the first time though. What a man. :wub:

[John]

Sean Penn's book sounds like an absolute must read.

An excerpt.

978749557180977152

I might burst that's so delightfuly bad.

[mugbull]

That reads like it was produced by a neural network

[Dquincy]

Anyone read The Devil in the White City?

It's good. I recommend it.

[phonics]

Sean Penn's book sounds like an absolute must read.

An excerpt.

978749557180977152

I might burst that's so delightfuly bad.

Did you see the part where the woman gets so excited, she shits herself a little bit?

[Henry]

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

This is the first book in a well-regarded epic fantasy series about the Malazan Empire. It concerns an attempt by the Empire to conquer the city of Darujhistan, and the attempts of various other powers - including those within the city, various gods and other non-human races to thwart it. It's a challenging read, opening in the middle of the action and giving the reader little opportunity to grasp what is going on in terms of either the motiviations of the very large cast of characters or in terms of the complicated magical world that they exist in. Results are mixed - in one sense you identify with the characters themselves who often have limited knowledge of their situation. In another it's frustrating to be halfway through before you have a remotely clear picture of what's going on. By the impressive ending - Anomander Rake has got to be one of the coolest characters I've encountered in some time - I felt that I could do with a re-read.
At over 700 pages, I don't think I'm going to do that right now, but it probably would be quite rewarding. And since Gardens of the Moon sets things up very well for the rest of the series, I suspect that subsequent books will be more so.

[Ian]

It's worth saying that your feeling of the first book not giving you a clear picture of the wider story until halfway through basically applies to the series as a whole. One book has about 150 pages at the start where you've got no idea of the relevance and the fourth appears at first to be somewhat tangential.

Fucking love them though. Only three to go.

[AyDee]

Anomander Rake is one of the most beloved characters among fans, for sure.

I'm actually reading one of Esselmont's Malazan books at the moment, after finishing the original Thomas Covenant trilogy (very good series). It's sad how much better Eriksson is than Esselmont but this one (Blood and Bone) does seem to have some potential at least.

[Disco]

Coincidentally I came in here to say I just started the first Malazan book as I'd finally finished off the end of the Magician series.

Will I incur the wrath of the fanbase by just reading them in the order they were published?

[Ian]

That's how I'm doing it. I didn't know there was a reason not to.

[Disco]

I've been told the books jump around the timeline so they can be read in some sort of chronological order. I couldn't be bothered with that though.

[AyDee]

If you're reading Esslemont's novels in addition to Erikson's main series then the order is a bit more important, but if you're just reading Erikson's series then by publication date is the obvious choice (which Erikson has said himself).

Read quite a lot recently. Read the Millenium series (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), which was decent. The writing isn't necessarily amazing but the plot is interesting enough. Also finished The Name of the Wind, which is the first book in the Kingkiller Chronicles. Really, really good and would recommend. Maybe a little slow at times but it works, especially in terms of characterisation. Rothfuss adds in loads of little details which just make it that little bit more realistic and immersive. Straight onto the second book for me.

[Ian]

I read everything with these things in publication order.

I've enjoyed the first two Kingkiller books and like them despite thinking the main character is a total arse.

[Disco]

I need to find a map, the drawback of the kindle is you can't easily flip back to the beginning to have a look.

[Baz]

Just had an email telling me Lewis’ book is under £15 (https://amzn.to/2zlfJ7E).

[Spikey M]

https://partridge.cloud/grabs/S02E06/gif/UDHL3HILha7g.gif

[Lewis]

Might buy one.

[Ian]

Another Malazan book down, Toll the Hounds.

I can see why upon Googling it when finishing this morning it seems to be one of the more decisive ones among the fanbase. I can see why some people aren't impressive about the amount of Kruppe POV but that didn't bother me that much. I really liked the extra depth it gave some characters like Kallor. Not the best in the series but still good.

And the final series of chapters in Darujhistan where all the stories came together and the various scraps converged around Dragnipur were superb.

Rake. :cool:

[Baz]

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2494/7864/products/15_800x.png (https://thelittlehomie.co.uk/products/ab-to-jay-z)

[Ian]

"A Hat Full of Sky" finished. I imagine there are people reading Discworld and skipping the YA stuff. Those people are fools. Pratchett is brilliant. And the Hiver is a brilliant creation.

[Disco]

I'm enjoying the Malazan series but 5 and a half books was too long to wait for someone to ask Just what the fuck exactly is a warren?

[Ian]

Does that mean you're on the Bonehunters? That was one of my favourites so far. You're at the point now where the overarching narrative is coming together more after the first few books jump about a bit.

And yeah, wardens, holds, etc. I have no clue. At the bit you reference is it Paran who's gone, "No really though, what?"

[Disco]

No, we haven't seen him for about two books (I'm reading on kindle so I have no idea of the book names), it was the Acquitor when she meets Iron Bars etc. I'm on the next one now which seems to have shifted back to Seven Cities.

[Alex]

I also started the Malazan books recently. I'm only a couple of hundred pages into book one, but they mention warrens all the time and I'm similarly confused by the situation.

My understanding of it at the moment leans towards it being some sort of figurative, magic "well" that the wizards and mages draw their power from. But at the same time, they occasionally mention actually going in to the warrens, and even using them as sort sort of fast-travel mechanism for going places. So presumably they physically exist as an actual place too?

I'm really liking Gardens of the Moon though. It's great. I've binned off The Wheel of Time for a bit in favour of this. No offence to Robert Jordan, but I find the writing style in Malazan to be significantly more interesting. I also really like the huge scope of it and all the intrigue and whatnot.

I read before starting it that it might get a bit confusing because it jumps around a bit, which is fair. But I quite like that feature of it. It makes the world feel really lived in right from the get go. Like you've just been dropped into this one little corner of this big, expansive empire with all this history but you need to sort of work out for yourself what the fuck is going on.

Also, it has a in it bloke who's name is "Whiskeyjack". If that's not good writing then I don't know what is.

[Ian]

Yeah my understanding is that a warren is a little pocket dimension that magic users are born with an affinity to and can both draw power from and actually go to. There is definitely more to it than that but I think a basic grasp is enough to enjoy them.

How far did you get on Wheel of Time?

[Disco]

That's my 'practical' understanding of them but then weird stuff happens (such as spoilery stuff at the end of a particular book). I do like the different styles used for different characters/groups though. The escapades of Tehol & Bugg were like having a discworld book in amongst the other stuff.

WOT is odd, I really enjoyed large bits of it but it's not something I recommend to people. It's such a huge investment of time that I feel bad about the large stretches of tedium that crop up before the author switch.

[Ian]

Yeah Tehol and Bugg are great and as you say Erikson mixes it up quite well.

The problem with WOT before Sanderson came in and fixed it is that Jordan became too lost in the minutiae of the world he'd created and forgotten that the characters people actually cared about were Rand, Mat, Perrin and one or two others and a few key storylines.

No Robert that's fine, don't get back yo telling me if the Asha'man are going to be made to turn the world inside out, Elayne's choice of earrings ahead of some political meeting is much more interesting.

[Disco]

It felt like he would take the remaining story, cut it in half, and then spread it throughout the next book but keep them the same length. Those last couple of books though. :drool:

[Ian]

Oh yeah. very good. The Gathering Storm was good too but there was an awful lot of the start of it where you could tell Sanderson was just getting rid of the crap that wasn't required. But the final scene with Rand in that

was properly good where he's finally shedding some of the demons and Lews Therin and whatever

was properly great and set up the next two books brilliantly.

The bit in the last book where he goes out to an army of darkspawn and fucking slaughters them without moving too. :drool:

[Alex]

Yeah my understanding is that a warren is a little pocket dimension that magic users are born with an affinity to and can both draw power from and actually go to. There is definitely more to it than that but I think a basic grasp is enough to enjoy them.

How far did you get on Wheel of Time?

Only the first couple of books. I was finding it a bit of a slog if I'm honest. I'm sure he grows into it, but I find Rand to be a bit of a drip and his whole reluctant hero angle annoys me a bit. Also, Egwene and Nynaeve are both complete tossers.

I'm not ruling out going back to it, but I need to leave it alone for a bit I think.

[Ian]

Egwene is a total bell-end and that doesn't change so far as I recall.

[Baz]

Someone leaked a code for 3 months of Kindle Unlimited (https://t.co/TuJkoVuLfc). You can cancel the auto-renew straight away. :thbup:

[Ian]

"The Fox" by Frederick Forsyth was really boring. He's just a bit shit these days.

Onto Thud! by Terry Pratchett so I'm happy now.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Remarkably, I know someone who is a semi-regular drinking partner of Frederick Forsyth, and let's just say it wouldn't be possible to be a fully regular drinking partner of Frederick Forsyth without dying.

[Ian]

Tell him to tell him to sack the booze and write better books again like he used to.

Or up his booze. Whichever.

[Alex]

I finished the first Malazan book recently and thought it was, on the whole, really good. It was hard to follow in places, but I expected that going in to it. Particularly towards the end, a lot of shit started going off that I didn't fully understand, and which I don't expect to get answers to anytime soon. Like you're just getting this little snapshot of a very complex world without much real explanation. But his writing is so compelling I can easily get past it, and I'm certain it will all work itself out in the long run.

I really like the way he works in large areas of grey, in that there aren't really any absolute heroes or any absolute villains. Not as I see it, anyway. The guy who seemed to be the villain at the beginning of the book ends it seeming like a fairly reasonable character, and on the reverse you're left wondering who some of the more ostensibly "good" characters really are and what the fuck they're actually up to.

[Ian]

It being compelling while am not sure if I'm meant to not understand stuff was basically where I was with it. His characters are excellent too, for the most part. I can't think of any off the top of my head that when you realise you're with them for a chapter that you go "Uuuggghhh."

I'm just near the end of the first Warhammer novel I've ever read and it's decent, though it has a premise of basically a Dirty Dozen / Suicide Squad but-Warhammer thing, the only problem being that barely anybody in the group seems that much of a wrong'un and the protagonist is a fairly typical reluctant hero / leader type. Decent enough.

I've got Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Fry's Mythos winging their way toward me and then I'd better get onto the penultimate Malazan book.

[mugbull]

Lookin for some book recs in the following categories if anyone has any ideas:

1) An in-depth, technical discussion about health-care policy, from the US perspective if possible (asking a British messageboard for this is suboptimal but whatevz). I read this (https://www.amazon.com/Healing-America-Global-Better-Cheaper/dp/0143118218) and it was alright, but it was a lot of anecdotes and claims without much substance. Fundamentally I don't think I'm any better equipped to contribute to a discussion about healthcare policy than I was before reading it.
2) A discussion on international trade - interested in both case studies-type reading as well as attempts to formalize arguments into something broader.
3) Something about the Bolshevik revolution and the split between Trotsky and Lenin.
4) Something about the early days of the EU. Not EEC early, more 90's and 00's stuff. Interested in the political and economic side of things.
5) I re-read Piketty's Capital with more seriousness and I still think it's fantastic stuff. I don't think I've ever read a book that makes something that academic so accessible. I'd love to read something similar; doesn't have to make similar arguments or come to similar conclusions at all, just as long as it dives relentlessly into some topic and argues a thesis.

EDIT: Trotsky not Leo fucking Tolstoy

[Spikey M]

What has Ireland done to you?

[Giggles]

We do love a bit of Trotsky.

[Disco]

I'm onto Dust of Dreams in my Malazanathon (or You Just Thought They Were Dead as I now think of this series) and I've really started to lose interest, the previous book (Toll the Hounds?) was a real struggle to get through.

[Henry]

3) Something about the Bolshevik revolution and the split between Trotsky and Lenin.

What split? Do you mean Trotsky and Stalin, or are you referring to events prior to 1917? I can probably recommend all sorts of stuff. Read Trotsky's own History of the Russian Revolution for starters, though obviously bear in mind what it's perspective is. Then maybe read A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes.


5) I re-read Piketty's Capital with more seriousness and I still think it's fantastic stuff. I don't think I've ever read a book that makes something that academic so accessible. I'd love to read something similar; doesn't have to make similar arguments or come to similar conclusions at all, just as long as it dives relentlessly into some topic and argues a thesis.

Any topic or do you mean economics? Try anything by Yanis Varoufaikis for that - there's one about European economic history (this probably satisfies number 4 on your list as well) one about US economic history and another about his failed attempts to negotiate a reverse to EU austerity being forced upon Greece.

If big histories are what you're after, there are two volumes by Francis Fukuyama worth reading - The Origins of Political Order and then Political Order and Political Decay. Avoid his earlier shite about The End of History. Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs & Steel impressively explains much of human history.

Or on a philosophical tangent, read The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, which passionately argues that we should all kill ourselves. Seriously.
Or Alone in the Universe which more or less convinced me last year that there are no ET's out there.

There's a shitload of pop science stuff I could go through, as well as the history of religion and that kind of thing, but possibly straying too far from your requirement.

[Henry]

Anyway, I've read this lot since my last post in here.

Crucible of Faith: The Ancient Revolution That Made Our Modern Religious World by Philip Jenkins
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
A Few Bloody Noses: The Realities and Mythologies of the American Revolution by Robert Harvey
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals by Neil Faulkner
Ubik by Philip K. Dick
And the Weak Suffer What They Must? Europe's Crisis and America's Economic Future by Yanis Varoufaikis
When Google met Wikileaks by Julian Assange
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Global Minotaur: America, the True Origins of the Financial Crisis and the Future of the World Economy by Yanis Varoufaikis
Amongst Women by John McGahern
The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds and the Laws of Physics by Roger Penrose

Currently I'm on Middlemarch.

[Pepe]

Ah Varoufakis.

"Here's how the EU raped Greece"

"Here is why we should most definitely keep the EU about and make it even more powerful"

[AyDee]

I'm onto Dust of Dreams in my Malazanathon (or You Just Thought They Were Dead as I now think of this series) and I've really started to lose interest, the previous book (Toll the Hounds?) was a real struggle to get through.

One of the best scenes of the series is in that book but it was also one of my least favourite books iirc. As usual tho it gets better the further you get in.

[Ian]

As always Toll the Hounds has some really good stuff but it did feel a little like a deep breath before settling into finishing the series.

Which scene, AyDee? I'm gonna guess something in Darujhistan at the end?

[AyDee]

As always Toll the Hounds has some really good stuff but it did feel a little like a deep breath before settling into finishing the series.

Which scene, AyDee? I'm gonna guess something in Darujhistan at the end?

Was referring to Dust of Dreams.

Hetan's hobbling. Probably one of the most harrowing things I've read in fantasy. The big battle at the end of the book is pretty sick too.

[mugbull]

What split? Do you mean Trotsky and Stalin, or are you referring to events prior to 1917? I can probably recommend all sorts of stuff. Read Trotsky's own History of the Russian Revolution for starters, though obviously bear in mind what it's perspective is. Then maybe read A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes.



Any topic or do you mean economics? Try anything by Yanis Varoufaikis for that - there's one about European economic history (this probably satisfies number 4 on your list as well) one about US economic history and another about his failed attempts to negotiate a reverse to EU austerity being forced upon Greece.

If big histories are what you're after, there are two volumes by Francis Fukuyama worth reading - The Origins of Political Order and then Political Order and Political Decay. Avoid his earlier shite about The End of History. Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs & Steel impressively explains much of human history.

Or on a philosophical tangent, read The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, which passionately argues that we should all kill ourselves. Seriously.
Or Alone in the Universe which more or less convinced me last year that there are no ET's out there.

There's a shitload of pop science stuff I could go through, as well as the history of religion and that kind of thing, but possibly straying too far from your requirement.

Thanks for the Russian recommendations. I'll take a look at Varoufaikis, I've always liked his positions without really knowing too much about him.

I've kind of gotten tired of the 'big histories' tbh - I've read all of the ones you suggested and they were cool at first but the more of them I read the more wishy-washy they seem. A lot of them seem to say the same things, too, and I feel like i've already internalized everything Fukuyama or Diamond would say.

[phonics]

Tried to give that The Secret Footballer book a go but the font was so large I felt like I was reading something for someone in Year 5. I carried on but then I realised they were just his articles that I'd already read a few years ago anyway so I gave up.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I read one of his last year, although there were lots of lol anecdotes about obviously Tony Pulis, the rest of it was rambling bollocks.

[Ian]

He milked it too much. Should have revealed who he was many years ago when people actually gave a solitary fuck.

[SincereTheRebel]

Ive started reading 48 Laws of Power. It is amazing.

[Kikó]

I'm listening to "The coddling of the American Mind" and it's BRILLIANT. Really recommend it.

[Pepe]

This is for books mate.

[Pepe]

But yeah, it's good

[Disco]

His butler reads it to him.

[mugbull]

Ive started reading 48 Laws of Power. It is amazing.

This sounded like an absurd book just judging by the title, but then I looked it up on wikipedia:


The book is a bestseller,[2][3] selling over 1.2 million copies in the United States,[4] and is popular with prison inmates and celebrities.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

Lmao

[SincereTheRebel]

Fits my needs then. Im a minor celebrity around here.

[Kikó]

His butler reads it to him.

She's great.

[Disco]

So 2019.

[Ian]

Read Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology. It was decent but Stephen Fry's Greek one was a better go at the same sort of thing.

Malazan Dust of Dreams up next. Nearly at the end now. (Well, about 2000 pages away but whatever.)

[Alex]

I'm still on with book two of Malazan. I'm probably about half way through. Felasin doesn't have much luck in life, does she?

[ItalAussie]

I just read the Karla trilogy, and I have to say that Le Carre is an absolute master.

The second one is a little bit odd, comparatively, but I think it might actually hold up well on re-reads. I wasn't quite sure where it was going or how it fit into anything until I had the real big picture in front of me. The final stanza of Book 3 is very nice as well. However, they all pale in comparison to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which must be the best spy novel ever written.

[Boydy]

I just read the Karla trilogy, and I have to say that Le Carre is an absolute master.

The second one is a little bit odd, comparatively, but I think it might actually hold up well on re-reads. I wasn't quite sure where it was going or how it fit into anything until I had the real big picture in front of me. The final stanza of Book 3 is very nice as well. However, they all pale in comparison to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which must be the best spy novel ever written.

Have you read any Eric Ambler?

[ItalAussie]

Have you read any Eric Ambler?

Nope, but if it's of a similar vein, I'm definitely up for it.

[Boydy]

Similar-ish, yeah. Not usually proper professional spies working for security services, more regular joes who end up embroiled in shady intrigue. The Mask of Dimitrios is brilliant.

[AyDee]

Just finished the second part of The Way of Kings and it was very, very good. The last third of the book was excellent tbh, Sanderson does his reveals well and it becomes a real page turner when you're getting lots of twists and turns.

Some great characters arcs too, altho not totally convinced by Sadeas's character arc.

Kaladin is an absolute boss.

Compelling fight scenes too. Before this, I was reading some fantasy that my dad gave me (The Faithful and The Fallen series) but that really does pale in comparison to better writing so think I'll stick with the good stuff.

[Ian]

I need to give some of Sanderson's stuff a try at some point. Once I've got Malazan and Discworld done and dusted I'll need a new series to get stuck into so maybe one of his will be the way to go. I've heard a lot of good things and I've discussed me thoughts on his trilogy to cap of The Wheel of Time before.

[AyDee]

I need to give some of Sanderson's stuff a try at some point. Once I've got Malazan and Discworld done and dusted I'll need a new series to get stuck into so maybe one of his will be the way to go. I've heard a lot of good things and I've discussed me thoughts on his trilogy to cap of The Wheel of Time before.

Would definitely recommend him. Nothing will ever beat Malazan for me but it is nice to be able to grasp the magic systems from time to time and Sanderson excels when it comes to magic systems (he has a science background so everything has logic to it).

Where to start with Sanderson is a tough one but I'd probably say the Mistborn series is as good a place as any.

I'll eventually read The Wheel of Time when I find myself with a spare few years...

[Ian]

Yeah the magic in Malazan probably does make sense but I only have a loose grasp of how holds, decks, warrens etc. all work.

Luckily you only need a loose grasp because it's fairly clear when Quick Ben is donning it.

And by extension the eye-opening demonstration of Icarium's power when Ben is getting his arse handed to him.

[Ian]

Dust of Dreams, a couple of hundred pages in, is off to a slightly odd start.

[Disco]

I only got about half way through that one, partly because I'd read the entire series back to back but also because it spends ages on people who I found it very hard to give a shit about.

[Ian]

It's doing an awful lot of jumping around between a lot of new or very minor characters.

You get a couple of pages of Tehol and Bugg and go "Aha, here we g-..." then it cuts to some kids dying in a desert. Then back to Fiddler or Tavore and again you think stuff is about to happen and it does but it then cuts away again.

[Disco]

It's really not apparent what bearing any of it will actually have on the plot as a whole, which makes it very difficult to care about. I really just want them to get to whatever the macguffin is they're going towards, I struggled to be interested in all the disparate groups of assholes in various stages of misery along the way.

[Ian]

It's really not apparent what bearing any of it will actually have on the plot as a whole, which makes it very difficult to care about. I really just want them to get to whatever the macguffin is they're going towards, I struggled to be interested in all the disparate groups of assholes in various stages of misery along the way.

So I'm only a couple of hundred pages in.

They've had Fiddler's reading of the deck, then faffed about a bit, when I finished up on the train this morning it was partway through Tavore being typically vague about what the Bonehunters are up to next and I wish they'd just say what exactly she's up to at this point.

A reddit poll to determine the best order had Dust of Dreams as the weakest of the series, just below Gardens of the Moon and then it's a bit of a jump up to The Crippled God in 8th so while it doesn't sound like he necessarily maintain his standard all the way to the end of the final book is on a par with the other ones near it in that poll (Midnight Tides and Toll the Hounds) I'll be happy enough.

This is a very slow start though. Hopefully once the various threads start to come together as they tend to do in Malazan books it'll pick up.

Another thing for me is that the actual Malazan Empire stuff seems to have been largely abandoned. Now I expect that will factor into what Tavore is up to but still.

[Alex]

While we're talking Malazan, I'm probably in the final third of Deadhouse Gates now and it's been excellent so far. I've definitely enjoyed it more than Gardens of the Moon, which itself was pretty great.

My only real issue is that, whilst all the story threads are pretty entertaining, the bits with Duiker and Malazan 7th Army and their massive, impossible escape trek through the desert are so good that I always just want to get back to those bits.

He writes about large-scale military exchanges probably better than anyone else I've come across. It's always properly riveting stuff whenever they head into battle.

[Ian]

Dust of Dreams is starting to feel a lot like a "Right I need to get all this together before the finale"-type of book. I can't say I'm not enjoying it still because I like the way he writes the characters and the characters are excellent but it feels like there is a shitload rapidly being bundled together and that's why we're jumping about. There's now a bit more clarity about where the rest of the book is going to go but the way this is so far does make me curious about what The Chained God is going to be like.

Also it's frustrating that we're in Letheras but not getting more Tehol and Bugg. :(


While we're talking Malazan, I'm probably in the final third of Deadhouse Gates now and it's been excellent so far. I've definitely enjoyed it more than Gardens of the Moon, which itself was pretty great.

My only real issue is that, whilst all the story threads are pretty entertaining, the bits with Duiker and Malazan 7th Army and their massive, impossible escape trek through the desert are so good that I always just want to get back to those bits.

He writes about large-scale military exchanges probably better than anyone else I've come across. It's always properly riveting stuff whenever they head into battle.

The Chain of Dogs stuff is superb and you're right about the military exchanges too. Where the lore sometimes gets a little cumbersome and pool of characters can be unwieldy his writing for fights (either big military ones or scraps between two people) are always excellent along with the characters / dialogue.

[Alex]

The Chain of Dogs stuff is superb and you're right about the military exchanges too. Where the lore sometimes gets a little cumbersome and pool of characters can be unwieldy his writing for fights (either big military ones or scraps between two people) are always excellent along with the characters / dialogue.

It really is excellent. The further into it I read the less I see it having a happy ending, unfortunately. But the way he writes the about the various exchanges is brilliant. It's never unbelievable that they live to fight another day either, because you really do buy into the Malazan army as this well oiled, military machine that always has a plan.

I really like how he weaves magic into the military exchanges too. Whenever the mages or warlocks get involved it's never just some magical, deus ex machina that comes out of nowhere and neatly resolves an impossible situation. He kind of paints it more as this often pretty unpredictable, sometimes quite horrifying aspect of war where they're sort of lobbing these magical weapons of mass destruction at each other and seeing who is left standing at the end of it all.

The best example of this so far for me probably being in the beginning first book when they have all the mages attack the floating fortress (I forget what it's called now) that Annomander Rake lives in and, in the ensuing exchange of magic, end up accidentally wiping out a massive chunks of their own army when they get caught in the crossfire.

[Ian]

It really is excellent. The further into it I read the less I see it having a happy ending, unfortunately. But the way he writes the about the various exchanges is brilliant. It's never unbelievable that they live to fight another day either, because you really do buy into the Malazan army as this well oiled, military machine that always has a plan.

I think it's to some extent because battles aren't being won by Hero McPlotarmour murdering a load of people by him or herself. Sure you've got guys like Fiddler and Quick Ben who are an important part of any battles they're in and similar characters for other factions but not too many Big Damn Hero moments.

[Alex]

Ian

I've finished Deadhouse Gates. What a fantasic read.

The conclusion of the Chain of Dogs strand was both magnificent and horrifying. The endings for Coltaine and Duiker were properly heartbreaking. :(

That dickhead High Fist too, not only leaving Coltaine to die but then getting tricked into surrending his entire army to the rebels. Who then proceeded to nail all 10,000 of them to trees and leave them to die. :|

The Felesin stuff was prettty interesting I guess. It'll be interesting to see where that goes now, given that she's now the reborn version of the magical rebel leader and about to face off agaist her own sister, who's coming to fuck shit up in the name of the Empire. She needs to stop being a cunt to Heboric all the time though.

The only stuff that ultimately felt a bit pointless was the Kalam and Fiddler stuff. Particularly Kalam, because he just decides (I think) he doesn't want to kill the Empress anymore and then Shadowthrone (who I think is the old Emperor, who was killed by the current Empress, but now somehow reincarnated as a sort of evil God? I'm very unclear on this part of it all!) just turns up and magically transports him off to safety.

One of the things I'm most looking forward to in future books (assuming they develop it) though is the ongoing "World's Greatest Bromance" between Mappo and Icarium. :cool:

[Disco]

Just you wait until you meet Tehol and Bugg. :drool:

[Ian]

Mappo and Icarium is good. Tehol and Bugg is amazing. And genuinely very funny.

[Ian]

Dust of Dreams has a really weird structure. I think when I skimmed the foreword he says it's not your usual novel or whatever but this is just a bit strange. For the penultimate book I was expecting a bit more focus and shuffling of characters together for whatever the final things are going to be in The Crippled God.

[Ian]

I am finally getting to a point in DoD where I'm actually keen to read more of it. It's only taken 900 pages.

I'm not sure if I ought to have worked out that the ghost is Icarium but I still find that whole section a bit odd. I think I'd suspected (or it outright tells you? I've already forgotten) that they weren't a group so much as some odd collective but... yeah.

I feel like in the last fifth or so of the penultimate book the ante should be being upped and not me reading it now getting into it but wondering what the fuck is going on with some parts.

[Disco]

The last book must either be super busy or just leave half the threads with no conclusion. Unless lots of the stories are just supposed to be background colour and not have any proper resolution.

[Ian]

Did you say you haven't finished Dust of Dreams?

If one thing that's just happened where I'm at is about to be explained how I think it is then I think a bunch of characters are about to be herded together here (that was happening to an extent in Toll the Hounds to an extent as well) toward whatever the climax in The Crippled God is going to look like.

EDIT: It's also interesting how mixed a reception The Crippled God seems to get when you look at rankings, reviews, etc. Everything from "don't even bother reading this even if you're read the first 9" to "this was a perfect way to end the series." Presumably the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

[Disco]

My kindle tells me I got 55% of the way through before all those miserable tribes doing miserable things to each other drove me away.

[Ian]

At the very business end of Dust of Dreams now.

I've got a big exciting battle on the go where the Malazans / Bonehunters are once again getting to be shown to be proper hard bastards but unless I've missed something I'm not exactly sure WHY this battle is happening yet....

Still, battles in these books are always written well so I'm enjoying it.

[Boydy]

How many of these books are there?

[Ian]

Ten of the main series. There are other, related series that I've no idea if I'm going to bother with, they're not essential to the story anyway.

[Lewis]

This (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00057k4) radio thing doing the rounds is pretty good (go from about twenty minutes). The woman wrote a book about how the Victorians started executing men for being gay, which obviously informs prejudice today and blah blah blah, and which is obviously getting praise all over. Then matey blows a big hole in it and she tries to 'Well yes but...' her way through it.

[Pepe]

Watched that earlier. Lol at her.

[Ian]

Right, that's Dust of Dreams done and winging it's way towards me soon will be the finale. DoD ended with more of what Erikson's good at and pulled some of the random stuff together. I'm still not sure what it's all doing there or why certain things happen but hopefully they'll be explained in The Crippled God.

I also started the Luther book which is a prequel and it's actually quite engaging. Not the most complex writing but he adds extra layers to the characters that he doesn't get to in the short TV series.

[Ian]

Luther: The Calling is decent but when you know exactly where it ends it does take some of the tension out of it. Decent though and whereas watching the first series you basically just got told that Henry Madsen (the guy Luther lets fall in the very first scene) is a bit of a wrong'un it's in the book you learn what a proper nutter he was. I think it loses something from not having him and Luther get a proper interrogation-style chat on the go as I liked those bits a lot in the show, more so than Luther magically realising the killer must be mimicking deaths from 1760s literature because he eats his Big Mac before his fries or whatever.

Onto Unseen Academicals now and I've not got very many Discworld books left which makes me a bit sad.

[Disco]

I thought they petered out a bit with the last couple of books. Going Postal was the last really good one for me.

[Ian]

I like Making Money a lot but I think the Tiffany Aching books are more consistent than the non-YA ones by the time he was writing them in turns.

[Ian]

Unseen Academicals finished. I enjoyed it because I just like how Pratchett wrote and the Discworld in general but it's probably the least I've laughed reading any of his books. Only 4 Discworlds to go now.

Started The Crippled God this morning on the train. In a radical change of pace for the opening of a Malazan book I'm about 6 pages in and I either recognise all the characters so far or at least know what story thread they're part of!

[Disco]

Did a load of reading last week and polished off the main Malazan series plus the three Path to Ascendency books. Crippled God was a thousand times better than the previous awful trudge of a book and on the whole he did a great job of pulling the relevant plot threads together into a good ending. My two big gripes with the series remain though, the amount of pointless shit that had very little bearing on anything (try counting the number of plot strands that ended up leading nowhere) and would it have killed him to just explain a few things every now and again or been slightly less allergic to letting some of the main players get any page time.

Path to Ascendency I highly recommend for anyone who liked the main series, it makes some of the stuff you've already read about make a lot more sense.

[Ian]

Yeah, I thought Dust of Dreams sorted itself out slightly right at the back end but there was too much mystery and set-up for other things and not enough shit going down for any book in a series, let alone a penultimate one. Crippled God is significantly better so far. And with some of the stuff I know / assume is coming there's plenty left to look forward to.

If you're looking for more fantasy stuff with that out of the way I can recommend the First Law trilogy if I haven't done that previously.

[Disco]

I'll check that out once I'm done with the other Esslemont books (in the probably vain hope that someone tells us what the hell went on with Laseen and any tiny bits of Dassem I can get)

[Ian]

Let me know how all the Esselmont ones are as I was undecided whether I wanted to dig into all of those.

[Disco]

The three Path to Ascendency books I can already recommend, it's basically the Empire origin story. I'm not loving the others quite as much, possibly as they're one-shots rather than being part of a series but they are interesting in that they fill in bits of the background the main series either leaves out or glosses over. If you're interested in what went on in the Empire after the main series went elsewhere then I reckon you'll like them.

[Ian]

Today I learned that Steve Bruce has written three novels, and if this review is anything to go by they are brilliant:
https://www.balls.ie/football/steve-bruce-novel-293169


Harper Lee has famously only published one novel in her lifetime. Well, she can eat shit because Steve Bruce has published three.

I mean she did two but still, Brucey's won that one.

Still powering through The Crippled God. Yedan Derryg. :drool:

Also lol'd reading this exchange on the train:
“You stand before a god! Speak your eloquence for all posterity. Be Profound!"

"Profound ... huh." Temper was silent for a long moment, studying the cobbles of the alley mouth. And then he lifted his helmed head faced Shadowthrone, and said "Fuck off.”

[Ian]

Into the last third of The Crippled God now and we're definitely into the realms of:

https://ruthseverewx.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/jr.jpg

It was obvious as soon as the thing happened in Dust of Dreams that Quick Ben wasn't going down unseen like some fucking chump but it was still a badass moment when the Forkrul Assail stops him, then when she nears he looks up and smiles and then Kalam absolutely fucking eviscerates her.

What a fucking moment.

[Spoonsky]

Today I learned that Steve Bruce has written three novels, and if this review is anything to go by they are brilliant:
https://www.balls.ie/football/steve-bruce-novel-293169



I mean she did two but still, Brucey's won that one.

Still powering through The Crippled God. Yedan Derryg. :drool:

Also lol'd reading this exchange on the train:
“You stand before a god! Speak your eloquence for all posterity. Be Profound!"

"Profound ... huh." Temper was silent for a long moment, studying the cobbles of the alley mouth. And then he lifted his helmed head faced Shadowthrone, and said "Fuck off.”

https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qq5DqLoaL._AC_US218_.jpg

Looks brilliant.

[Disco]

Into the last third of The Crippled God now and we're definitely into the realms of:

https://ruthseverewx.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/jr.jpg

It was obvious as soon as the thing happened in Dust of Dreams that Quick Ben wasn't going down unseen like some fucking chump but it was still a badass moment when the Forkrul Assail stops him, then when she nears he looks up and smiles and then Kalam absolutely fucking eviscerates her.

What a fucking moment.

Whatever you think about the lead up to it the last book is pretty damn good.

[Ian]

I know it helps that it's coming off the back of Dust of Dreams (which probably in hindsight will prove to have been useful even if it's not any fun to read) but The Crippled God is just full of good moments.

The whole scene where Tool and his T'lan Imass army meet Gesler and Stormy and discuss joining them to try and send the Crippled God home got me a little, I can't lie.

Poor Tool. :(

[Disco]

I enjoyed surprise Kruppe.

[Ian]

I should have been more clear that I'm still going through it but that bit WAS good.

Love a bit of Kruppe.

[Ian]

Crippled God finally finished. It really felt like the reward for trudging through Dust of Dreams.

Because there are so many characters it feels like a bunch of them didn't get a very satisfying ending but I suppose that was always going to be the case. So many good moments though.

Gesler and Stormy's ascent of the Spire ending in fucking Bent helping take down the Forkrul Assail, Ganoes and Tavore meeting up again, Hood absolutely battering an Assail while shouting he's had enough of their 'justice', Whiskeyjack and Korlat reuniting, Hedge staying with Fiddler, the Khundryl having one last glorious charge, Mappo dying (:() only to be replaced by Ublala Pung. Just so many memorable bits.

The only minor qualm I have is that while the Crippled God was always a pitiable figure through the books he'd done so many awful things to never really be a sympathetic one and I don't recall there being a hint at a possibility for redemption which meant the Bonehunters suddenly being all "but we get to save him, yo" a little jarring. That said, it's entirely possible that I've just forgotten it because of the sheer density of the series.

I did see that Eriksson is doing the "Witness" trilogy now which is to do with Karsa Orlong. :drool:

[Disco]

Crippled God finally finished. It really felt like the reward for trudging through Dust of Dreams.

Because there are so many characters it feels like a bunch of them didn't get a very satisfying ending but I suppose that was always going to be the case. So many good moments though.

Gesler and Stormy's ascent of the Spire ending in fucking Bent helping take down the Forkrul Assail, Ganoes and Tavore meeting up again, Hood absolutely battering an Assail while shouting he's had enough of their 'justice', Whiskeyjack and Korlat reuniting, Hedge staying with Fiddler, the Khundryl having one last glorious charge, Mappo dying (:() only to be replaced by Ublala Pung. Just so many memorable bits.

The only minor qualm I have is that while the Crippled God was always a pitiable figure through the books he'd done so many awful things to never really be a sympathetic one and I don't recall there being a hint at a possibility for redemption which meant the Bonehunters suddenly being all "but we get to save him, yo" a little jarring. That said, it's entirely possible that I've just forgotten it because of the sheer density of the series.

I did see that Eriksson is doing the "Witness" trilogy now which is to do with Karsa Orlong. :drool:

The whole series is basically Truncated Story Arc: The Novel, a larger than normal proportion of the books are given over to storylines/characters that never really go anywhere (HI KALLOR) beyond building a better picture of the world. I think this is partly down to the origins of the setting itself (a homebrew rpg campaign) but it can be slightly jarring, and exactly what you might expect from an author who purposefully made the first few chapters of book one as impenetrable as he could in order to discourage particular readers.


The Crippled God stuff I took this way: one of the main themes of the series seemed to be compassion, anyone who has it is a good guy and all the nasty fuckers who you aren't supposed to like have none of it. The fact that Tavore and the Bonehunters are going to the ends of the earth on a hopeless mission to release a god trapped on their planet through no fault of its own paints them as the biggest heroes around. However nasty Crip-G was (and actually, he's no less nasty than a whole host of other players and arguably is simply trying to survive long enough to recoup his power for.....reasons not yet explained but hinted at in other books) the 'good guys' are still able to treat him with compassion and empathise with his plight rather than exploit him for power and personal gain. You're right on one thing though, this is never really delved into in the books at all, it's never laid out on a conversation between characters (it might be hinted at by Fiddler and Tavore but it's a line or two of obscure dialogue). I think that's deliberate on the authors part, he seems to want to allow (or force) the reader to make their own mind up about aspects of the story that would have been presented more starkly in more traditional fantasy series.


Have you decided if you're going to dip into the other books yet?

[Ian]

Yeah you very much feel like rather than trying to tell a complete story or set of stories he's telling you, as the name suggests, the story of a handful (so to speak) of key Malazans (because even the Empire stuff didn't get wrapped up as snugly as I thought it would) so Kallor and a bunch of others play their part in that then go about their business.

I definitely want to get into this Witness trilogy when it comes about.

What else would you recommend of the other ones?

I wanna give some Brandon Sanderson a go at some point.

[Disco]

I think how much you enjoy the other ones will depend on how interested you are in what happens to the empire away from the focus of the main books.

The Path to Ascendency trilogy I would definitely recommend, Esselmont has a similar enough style that you don't really notice (swap word or the day 'potsherds' for 'gyre' and that's basically it) and I enjoyed these three the most. If you like them then read his other 'Novels of...' I've read nearly five of them and while they aren't quite as good as the main series they're worth checking out.

[Ian]

I shall bear it in mind. I think I am gonna give it a little break though. I borrowed a couple of Pratchett books I've not read off my friend so I've read Dodger (it's fine, but a little like his collab with Stephen Baxter in as much as not an awful lot happens and it feels like they're giving you a slice of a time period and telling you about it, though in this case sort-of historical London rather than futuristic sci-fi) and am now on Snuff.

I've got I Shall Wear Midnight on the way to so I can keep on top of reading all the Discworld stuff in order once I've read Snuff, slightly out of order, and I think then I might have a look at some Sanderson.

Or possibly this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steel-Frame-Andrew-Skinner/dp/1781087059/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=steel+frame+book&qid=1566542808&s=gateway&sr=8-2

[Ian]

Joe Abercrombie is starting a new series in the same setting as The First Law trilogy. :drool:

[Ian]

So since previous posting I've finished Snuff (decent) and I Shall Wear Midnight (excellent) by Pratchett and a Mass Effect tie-in book (much better than I expected.)

Now on the first Mistborn book and have high hopes for it given what a good job Sanderson did with ending The Wheel of Time.

[Ian]

Since the last post I've cleared off the first couple of Mistborn books which were both excellent so I'll be getting into some more of those, probably something else I've forgotten, '52 Times Britain Was A Bellend' which was quite entertaining and am now on the last Discworld book. :(

[Ian]

So it's fairly clear that The Shepherd's Crown wasn't a hundred percent finished when Pratchett died and having seen something Neil Gaiman commented on that he didn't get written in time there's obviously some stuff that would have been expanded upon. Still good though and there are things about it that make me wonder if he knew it was going to be his last.

I've now made a start on Steel Frame by Andrew Skinner, which is basically about mech pilots though they don't call it that. It's off to a good start.

[igor_balis]

Despite only really loving Weird Weekends, and actively disliking his newer stuff to the extent that i stopped bothering about 10 years ago, I have really been enjoying Louis Theroux's autobiography. Audiobook,naturally.

The stuff around his time at uni, and scrabbling around for crappy work after he graduated is particularly interesting. He's a good egg, but I wish he'd never decided to be a SERIOUS DOCUMENTARY MAKER, cus he's so much better in his weird weekends approach.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Yeah I read it and thought it was terrific. He goes a bit OTT on the Savile stuff later on but I suppose that is what he's known for.

And from the book you infer why he doesn't do any more weird weekends etc, which is that he clearly (even if he doesn't quite say so) finds the approach shallow and cheap.

[igor_balis]

I've always thought a smidgen of it was trying to impress his dad, the PROPER writer.

To be fair to him, he shouldn't have kept doing weird weekends type stuff his whole career, and moving into more serious stuff was probably the right move. Deep down I just wish he was better at it.

[Jimmy Floyd]

His dad sounds like a cunt to be honest. I can't remember how far through the book he details his dad's antics at his wedding, but, yeah.

[Kikó]

Anyone read the Moscow trilogy from Simon Sebag Montefiore? Absolutely brilliant.

[Vercetti]

Pretty sure they're on my list.

I've read his two Stalin biographies, which I thought were quality.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Re-reading Three Men in a Boat. Funniest book written in English, don't sue me.

[Kikó]

Pretty sure they're on my list.

I've read his two Stalin biographies, which I thought were quality.

I've got those - Young Stalin and Stalin right?

[igor_balis]

Just finished the Crying of Lot 49. Enjoyed it. The stream of consciousness stuff confused/annoyed me at times, but the plot is quite easy to follow, despite being fairly deranged. The thing that absolutely makes the book is the comedy though. It's genuinely very funny throughout, and it would be a load of pointless wank without that.

[Luca]

Pynchon is a wonderful author (I assume this is linked to your TP quiz from the other day). In the realm of absurd, laugh-out-loud dark humour, I also thoroughly enjoyed Catch-22.

[Vercetti]

I've got those - Young Stalin and Stalin right?

Those are the ones.

I have a bit of a thing for Soviet stuff, so I hammered out both of those, a couple of Lenin biographies, and "The Last Empire" about the eventual collapse of the USSR, in a short amount of time.

I also bought, but have yet to read, Gorbachev's autobiography. Should have got bang into that during the lockdown, really.

[Kikó]

Just started on this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russia-Blood-Ruthless-Killing-Campaign/dp/0008300054

You might like it.

[Vercetti]

I'll check that out, cheers. Looks right up my street.

I'm about to crack on with this. (https://www.waterstones.com/book/dear-leader/jang-jin-sung/9781846044212) Should see me through a couple more days of nothing.

[Alex]

I've started with the Discworld series over the last few weeks I've been enjoying it. I've finished the The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic (both good, I probably preferred the latter but they're just one long story really) and nearly finished Equal Rites, which has definitely been my favourite so far. It feels like a massive step-up in his (presumed) mission of using the the fantasy genre to satirise various real life issues.

[Disco]

It really starts getting into its stride now so you're in for some good ones, you only really notice it going back to them but the first three feel like a slightly different style. Your last sentence is bang on, although for me he manages to stop short of being preachy or too on the nose and lets the satire do the work for him.

[Ian]

Yeah as it goes on I think it's less laugh-out-loud funny but as Disco said, you're right with the last bit.

I've started listening to a podcast called Desert Island Discworld where it's a guest coming on to talk about a specific book. A lot of them talk about how you could skip the first two and that in Equal Rites the Granny Weatherwax character is almost in her Beta form before she gets fully fleshed out but I read them in order and was never put off. I think the issue is probably more if you read those after. I've finished them all now, Alex, and you've a lot of good shit to come. There aren't really any proper duffers in my opinion but you're about to get into a run of exceptional books from the point you're at. :drool:

[igor_balis]

The end of the affair by Graham Greene is quality.

[Alex]

It really starts getting into its stride now so you're in for some good ones, you only really notice it going back to them but the first three feel like a slightly different style. Your last sentence is bang on, although for me he manages to stop short of being preachy or too on the nose and lets the satire do the work for him.


I've finished them all now, Alex, and you've a lot of good shit to come. There aren't really any proper duffers in my opinion but you're about to get into a run of exceptional books from the point you're at. :drool:

You weren't wrong chaps. Mort was excellent, and definitely my favourite of the series so far. Death's cameo's in the previous three were always highlights, so a book that revolved more specifically around him was always going to be a winner.

I find a lot of the funnier bits are the ridiculous little asides that Pratchett occasionally throws in, usually for the purpose of comedy world building. I often find myself laughing out loud at them.

[Alex]

I've just finished Blood Meridian. That was an interesting book. Very bleak, but often quiet profound. It seems to go out of it's way to disavow any romantic notion of the Old West. Just "violent men committing horrible acts" is the prevailing order of business. Which I imagine it's probably quite close to the real thing.

I've never read any McCarthy before. I maybe wouldn't have it down as the absolute nailed on classic it often seems to be regarded as (his style of writing is a little off-putting and hard to follow at times, I found) but it certainly held my attention. Quite an intense read in places. The Judge is as fascinating a character as I've come across in a long time.

[Ian]

Blood Meridian is the closest I've ever come to just binning off a book altogether.

Hated it. I've read that and The Road and I'm all for not being a grammar Nazi but McCarthy's work is just obtuse to me.

And the bloke just wants to read a book and not have to activate his brain to work out who's saying what or whether what's happening is a verb or an adjective and he thinks oh ffs i need to double check this last sentence so anyway the protagnist says the thing or has he done the thing is really not clear but hopefully the next couple of sentences will clear it up nope oh bloody hell what is this shit anyway the read is fighting his every instinct to close the book and not read the next Malazan because honestly what even is this anyway a person does another terrible thing and shrug whatever everybody does terrible things all the time fucking hell thought the reader how much of this book is left oh jesus there are still 128 pages im not sure this sentence will ever end let alone the book

[Alex]

That is exactly what I was getting at with my comments regarding his writing style Ian. :D

Massive, earth shattering events would quite often just casually occur in the middle of one of his massive, unpunctuated missives and have you reading back entire pages like "hang on...what now?". I actually had a quick look online right after I finished it and I seem to have completely mis-interpreted the ending for this very reason!

The lack of quotation marks in particular is infuriating. It's not clever at all, and I don't know why the publishers indulged him in that nonsense. There were also large chunks of dialogue and, sometimes, entire run-on conversations that would occur completely in Spanish which, not knowing any Spanish, was a bit odd.

I'm sure he would, from the artistic perspective, tell you that he was putting you in the position of the protagonist who (presumably) also did not speak Spanish. I could have very much done without it though.

[Boydy]

Although I finished The Road it bored the shit out of me.

I started Blood Meridian years ago and gave up very quickly.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The Road pissed me right off as well to the extent I won't even try Blood Meridian. One has to be entertained by this stuff ffs.

[Alex]

Is The Road the same then, I'm guessing? With the style of writing?

[Jimmy Floyd]

If anything I found it a pain in the arse in the opposite way to what Ian said (not having read Blood Meridian), as it was all in short sentences. Starting with the wrong words. He looked at the ash and the trees. Bleeding dead grot from the moon. That boded barren ill. He didn't know why. An eagle lurched overhead and he wondered if the sky would shed its silliest metaphors. Until the night time came. Then the non-sequiturs rose, misshapen, blue. Like the sea he remembered from childhood.

[Alex]

:D

I might give that a wide berth then. I'm not saying I won't read anything else the guy has done as, generally speaking, I did enjoy it. I'm just not sure I can be arsed again right now.

[Shindig]

That would send me round the bend. Like a poem that's winding up for 800 pages with no finish.

[mugbull]

Nothing can be worse than Joyce

[Ian]

Before I read Blood Meridian (for "fun") I'd have said the worst book I ever read was Samuel Johnson's Rasselas whoch I had to read for A Levels. Some Abyssinian prince is kept with his siblings in a secluded valley to protect them from the world, or whatever. He's miserable because boo hoo my pampered life is too boring.

So he decided he's going to get out of the Happy Valley, see the world and FIND THE SECRET OF HUMAN HAPPINESS. So about 20 years later (not exaggerating) he finally manages to escape, ponces about places in Egypt for a bit and then decides his quest is impossible and just fucks off back to the valley. The end. It's only 90-odd pages but I'm not sure I've ever endured a more pointless story.

In other reading news, I've barely read anything in lockdown other than re-reading old stuff before bed when I'm tired and don't want to concentrate. If not having an hour of commute every day is going to be the norm I'm going to have to make time for myself to read because I had so much time to read going to/from work before I didn't bother much in the house unless the mood particularly took me. I'm going to make a push to get Steel Frame finished though because it is really good.

[Kikó]

I'm currently making my through Slaughterhouse 5 and it really wasn't the book I was expecting it to be. So it goes.

[Shindig]

My reading gets done during the breaks I give myself whilst working from home. Usually 5-10 minutes an hour and then whatever spare time I have on my lunch.

[mugbull]

I just started reading Vonnegut too, Breakfast of Champions. A lot like Joseph Heller, but even more idiosyncratic

[Kikó]

Just thinking about Heller and Catch 22 gives me a minor migraine.

[mugbull]

That was such a good book though

[Boydy]

Catch 22 is another I gave up on.

Vonnegut is great though.

[mo]

Been working my way slowly through The Five (about the lives of the canonical five victims of Jack the Ripper) - it's an excellent read but I go through phases of being really into reading and others where I just don't make the time to do so. Hoping to read more in the school holidays, and have bought Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann to spur me on to finish The Five.

[Ian]

I've barely been reading properly during lockdown but I'm making an effort to finish Steel Frame. It's building up to a nice mech battle which I am thoroughly in favour of.

[Ian]

I have finished the book! I am a reading god. Despite my lockdown habits holding up my finishing it Steel Frame is excellent.

I've moved onto The Death and Life of Schneider Wrack, about a fella who through circumstances I haven't got to yet has been reanimated to become a zombie slave for some sort of sea-monster-fishing operation. It's by Nate Crowley whose games writing I love and is very funny on Twitter and interviews and podcasts and things so I've got high hopes for this.

[Kikó]

I've got four books to read on my holiday (or finish):
- A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
- The End of Poverty - Jeffrey Sachs
- The Barrytown Trilogy - Roddy Doyle
- My Life in Football - Kevin Keegan.

Should be a nice varied mix of topics.

[Ian]

I don't really do biographies but I might get the Bob Willis one.

Bob. :cool:

[Kikó]

That would be a cracker actually. I highly recommend Bobby Robson's audio book as the great man narrates it.

[Dquincy]

Currently reading this. Really good so far.

https://blackwells.co.uk/jacket/l/9781474608053.jpg

[Ian]

Rusty Firmin is a good name.

[Shindig]

I've got four books to read on my holiday (or finish):
- My Life in Football - Kevin Keegan.

Should be a nice varied mix of topics.

Let me know what you think of that one. I might pick that up at some point.

[Kikó]

I've got four books to read on my holiday (or finish):
- A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
- The End of Poverty - Jeffrey Sachs
- The Barrytown Trilogy - Roddy Doyle
- My Life in Football - Kevin Keegan.

Should be a nice varied mix of topics.

- A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
Absolutely brilliant crime thriller. Set in Derbyshire in the 60s , a disappearance of a young girl gets the outsiders called in to help the backwards village of Scarsdale. I think I'll pick up some more of the McDermid books - she's got a whole series around Manchester which I never realised.

- The End of Poverty - Jeffrey Sachs

Last book I read off the 4. More interesting when he's talking about the countries development (case studies of India, Russia etc interesting), less interesting when he's spelling out the practical steps on how (probably because it's the same message a number of times - give more aid to allow countries to rise out of the poverty trap). Worth a read if you are into the subject matter.

- The Barrytown Trilogy - Roddy Doyle

This is 3 books into one - the Commitments, the Snapper and the Van. Written in conversational style across the books, it follows an Irish family across 3 different subject matters. The Commitments is the set up of a soul band in Dublin (became this film- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101605/) , the Snapper is the young girl having a baby from a mysterious father (or she doesn't want people to know who it is) and the Van is about a chipper van being bought and run based around the 1990 Ireland WC run). The Van is just brilliant. The scenes as these daft old blokes try and work this pokey chip van while having stones thrown at it by the local chavs, chip fat flying everywhere, sweat dripping off and mixed in with Ireland's world cup run is just a joy. Well worth a read.

- My Life in Football - Kevin Keegan.

I was a bit disappointed in this one. Keegan had an amazing career and considering he made it was a miracle in itself but something about the story was flat. I think the best thing was Keegan describing Jimenez at Newcastle. What a complete fraud of a man he is, the best anecdote was them meeting with Luca Modric's agent and him being told by Jimenez that Modric was too small and wouldn't make it in the Barclays Premier League sponsored by Barclays!

[Jimmy Floyd]

The Commitments is great.

[Giggles]

Champagne Football is proving entertaining.

[Lofty]

Got Wenger's book but not sure whether to ingest it via audiobook and have him read it to me. The only problem is, as predicted by the Arseblog podcast, he is a bit drier when reading from a script than when he was in organic conversation like interviews etc.

Really need to get back into fiction reading too, at one point I was reading 3 books a week but I couldn't tell you the last time I read one.

[Ian]

By checking this thread the other day I realised I'm only on about my fourth or fifth book this year.

I really need to force myself to include a bit in my daily routine (other than just before I go to sleep) to make up for the fact that I'm not reading an hour per day while commuting.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I consumed Ferguson's autobiography (barf) via audiobook and I would say it was a lot better having Kenny McScot, the generic Scotsman read it to me than it would have been having the man himself doing it slurring the words between glasses of Barolo. Whether that would be the same for Wenger I don't know, but he never really learned to speak English intelligbly so I reckon it would grate.

I've wanted to read some Roth for a while so currently reading The Human Stain - the writing is top drawer, even though I sometimes wish these people were capable of writing about characters that aren't Ivy League English professors.

[Kikó]

I've struggled this month to finish a book but hopefully will finish this soon. It's absolutely brilliant considering it's just talking about the sea.

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9780691149561?gC=5a105e8b&gclid=CjwKCAjww5r8BRB6EiwArcckCxC5uKU7-NMjvN5KoyLUYGWRD1X6VSbIE4lYp_ZRnSN8xNz4j1E8JhoCRv8 QAvD_BwE

[niko_cee]

I mostly only read kids books these days, and 99% of them are Dork Diaries level awful, but I'm reading The Beast and the Bethany (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084S8G4R5/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) at the moment and, without knowing how it's going to end up, would definitely recommend it to any small(ish) child owners or weirdos who like kids books [Harry Potter] as adults.

[Ian]

"child owners." :D

[Boydy]

I consumed Ferguson's autobiography (barf) via audiobook and I would say it was a lot better having Kenny McScot, the generic Scotsman read it to me than it would have been having the man himself doing it slurring the words between glasses of Barolo. Whether that would be the same for Wenger I don't know, but he never really learned to speak English intelligbly so I reckon it would grate.

I've wanted to read some Roth for a while so currently reading The Human Stain - the writing is top drawer, even though I sometimes wish these people were capable of writing about characters that aren't Ivy League English professors.

Try American Pastoral or The Plot Against America.

[Kikó]

I consumed Ferguson's autobiography (barf) via audiobook and I would say it was a lot better having Kenny McScot, the generic Scotsman read it to me than it would have been having the man himself doing it slurring the words between glasses of Barolo. Whether that would be the same for Wenger I don't know, but he never really learned to speak English intelligbly so I reckon it would grate.

I've wanted to read some Roth for a while so currently reading The Human Stain - the writing is top drawer, even though I sometimes wish these people were capable of writing about characters that aren't Ivy League English professors.

On the flip side - listen to Bobby Robson's. That's definitely worth having him read it.

I've got Steve Peters Chimp Paradox book as well on the go which he reads which also works.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The best one I've ever heard of that type was Ball Four (probably the best baseball book ever written) which Jim Bouton read for audiobook as an old man having written it as a much younger man, and you can hear him sort of laughing to himself at points and the emotion coming through as the memories come flooding back in the text.

I will definitely try those, Boydy - the writing style I find infectious and he has proper searing insight of the type that, say, newspaper columnists all wish they had.

[Lofty]

Decided against audio Wenger.

Has anyone read Conn Iggulden's Greek series? I enjoyed all his stuff but forgot about him after his War of the Roses series concluded.

[phonics]

Im at the parents so going to re-read A Scanner Darkly again.

[AyDee]

After almost exclusively reading fantasy this year, I picked up Say Nothing by Patrick Rassen Keefe at the start of the month and just finished it. I knew nothing about Northern Ireland / the Troubles / IRA going into it but feel like I've got at least somewhat of a sense of what went on now. I think it's been receiving rave reviews and justifiably so; would recommend.

[Spammer]

Reading The Stand and loving it so far

[Shindig]

I've been pulled back into another F1 book after hearing about Sid Watkins' books. I remember thinking after Newey's book I'd heard enough about Imola 94. In Sid's first book, the first chapter is on Imola. :moop: Once I'm done with those two I'll dive back into fiction or something. John Le Carre's Agent Running in the Field is getting some facebook ads so it'll probably be that.

[Kikó]

I've started Obama's book. Cool that he narrates it for the audio version.

[Alex]

I'm reading Moby Dick at the moment. It's a strange book.

When he allows himself to get going his writing is excellent and it can be really riveting. But then he breaks up the story by occasionally diverging off into these weird, almost text-book style tangents about the history of the whaling industry and what not. For example, he dedicated maybe the longest chapter I've read so for to just meticulously cataloguing all the various types of whales in the world. So it can be quite tough going in places.

[Shindig]

Back reading Syd Watkins' first book because I need something to kill time at work. I think the way he recounts Ronnie Peterson's death is more harrowing than Senna's. I hate the tifosi more, now.

[Disco]

I'm reading Moby Dick at the moment. It's a strange book.

When he allows himself to get going his writing is excellent and it can be really riveting. But then he breaks up the story by occasionally diverging off into these weird, almost text-book style tangents about the history of the whaling industry and what not. For example, he dedicated maybe the longest chapter I've read so for to just meticulously cataloguing all the various types of whales in the world. So it can be quite tough going in places.

Don't try reading any Homer, almost half of the Iliad is him listing the ships they used to get to Troy and what must have been every fucker on them.

[CJay]

Last year I read the 5 (excluding prequels) books of Asimov’s Foundation series. The first couple were fantastic, and then the story nearly became too big and it became a bit of trudge towards the end. There are some spectacular plot twists over the course of the series.

Onto his robot series now. Caves of Steel was very good. I think Naked Sun is next.

Currently trying to finish off Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. It’s taken nearly two years and 3 concerted but stop-start efforts, but I’m finally approaching the end now.

So yeah I’m on a sci-fi kick right now. Although I don’t know if Foundation is really sci-fi or some kind of geopolitical psychological thriller.

[Ian]

If you're into robot-y sci-fi things CJay I can recommend Steel Frame by Andrew Skinner.

I'm still on Sunburn at the moment but it's quite easygoing so I'm ripping through that pretty quickly. Deciding whether or not once I'm done I can be arsed with this David Jason sort-of autobiography thing my mum and dad decided to get me for Christmas (the sole reason being "Well he likes Only Fools and Horses", I've never expressed any special interest in David Jason and don't usually read autobiographies.) On Waterstones it has reviews from such luminaries as Zoe Ball and Chris Moyles so it must be good, eh.

[CJay]

Thanks Ian, sounds good. Will add that to the list. :thbup:

[Ian]

After Sunburn (fuck The Sun, man) I went on to The Birdwatcher, a police thriller thing which is pretty light and doesn't have a particularly gripping ending (or endings, as it's also telling a story of the protagonist's childhood) but was a decent enough read.

I'm now onto Notes from Small Planets by Nate Crowley. Crowley is one of my favourite writers across his gaming stuff and what he puts on Twitter and the other book I've read and I'm liking this so far. It's basically a riff on typical fantasy and sci-fi tropes by way of a travel guide. It is physically a beautiful little book and it's been funny so far.

[Spammer]

Reading I Am Legend which has been enjoyable and not massively taxing, which is what I need really.

[Ian]

I'm now onto Notes from Small Planets by Nate Crowley. Crowley is one of my favourite writers across his gaming stuff and what he puts on Twitter and the other book I've read and I'm liking this so far. It's basically a riff on typical fantasy and sci-fi tropes by way of a travel guide. It is physically a beautiful little book and it's been funny so far.

I'm really enjoying this. It's like Bill Bryson and Terry Pratchett had a very hairy little baby. Though structured more like an actual travel guide than Bryson's stuff.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Middle England by Jonathan Coe. I was looking for a funny, contemporary British novel and this is a pretty enjoyable attempt at exploring the Brexit landscape. There are some very good set pieces but it doesn't really go anywhere narrative-wise and ends up being a bit too floppy to actually make any kind of meaningful conclusion. Although most of the better characters are remainers, I think it's trying very hard to be even-handed (it tries somewhat to sympathise with leavers from the Frank Sobotka 'We used to make things, in this country!' angle) but still ends up being a bit of a smug remainer soup. Was worth reading though, 7/10.

[Shindig]

One more F1 book for the pile. Murray Walker's 'If I'm Very Much Mistaken'. Not a lot here that I haven't already absorbed by osmosis but still enjoyable. Delves more into the earlier broadcasting stuff but, again, nothing I didn't already know. Some decent anecdotes but the main driving force is Murray's absolute enthusiasm and pride for everything he's done in life.

The audiobook narrated by the man himself really, really sells it.

[igor_balis]

Just read the power and the glory by Graham Greene. It was dead good AND a good length - boshed it out in two evenings. I think 200-250 pages is gonna become the book equivalent of a 90 minute film for me, e.g. a major preference.

[Ian]

I finished Notes from Small Planets (it was ace, Crowley is the best) and am onto Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. Which is the third of this specific trilogy but that itself is part of 7 books in the series or something? I dunno.

[Kikó]

I'm reading Norman Moss' book about Karl Fuchs 'The Man who stole the Atom bomb'. It's about the race to build the atomic and plutonium bomb and subsequent years after. Amazing how the SCIENCE were able to create something of such magnitude in such a short space of time.

[Alex]

I'm reading Dune at the moment and it's very good. I love the whole world he builds in it. It sort of spills onto the page almost fully formed from the get-go too, which is a difficult thing to do. I was invested from the first chapter. There are so many fascinating little details to it and well thought out little quirks and bits of colour and backstory that he throws in that just flesh it out perfectly.

I also now feel like George Lucas basically owes Frank Herbert a co-writing credit for large parts of Star Wars.

[Ian]

I've considered Dune, though people who I've asked said to read the first book and stop there

I'm on Mistborn 3 at the moment. Sanderson is very readable.

[Pepe]

I bought Dune a year or so ago. Should probably get to it at some point.

[Shindig]

Masters of Doom was going for a fiver on Apple's book store. Looking forward to getting into that. I've heard it's a good tale of Doom's development and ID software.

[Ian]

Well I finished the Mistborn book I was on and it came to a surprisingly good ending so after that trilogy and finishing off Wheel of Time Sanderson clearly knows how to do an ending so which is not the most common trait.

Currently reading a Warhammer/Blackhearts book as I just wanted something short and breezy so I'm already nearly done with that.

A Joe Abercrombie book next. :nodd:

After that I should probably read something non-fantasy to mix it up.

[Lofty]

I am a boring non fiction master at the moment, once I have completed the latest round I might get my kindle charged up again and start getting fiction devoured.

The last few books I have read are Wenger's autobiography (haven't finished it, terribly dry, didn't even get to the Arsenal part). That's Not The Way It Works by Bob Saenz, a book on screenwriting, currently half way through Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, a book on screenwriting, to be followed up by The Film Director's Intuition by Judith Weston, a book on screenwriting. Bit of a theme there.

[Spammer]

Masters of Doom was going for a fiver on Apple's book store. Looking forward to getting into that. I've heard it's a good tale of Doom's development and ID software.

I read it yonks ago and It was great.

[Shindig]

Yeah, I'm early days on it but I'm amazed at how much of an edgelord Romero was.

https://dondeq2.com/2018/11/30/melvin-comics-by-john-romero/

[Dquincy]

I have been reading a James Patterson novel, but lost interest in it halfway through. The problem is I have bought a new book on 9/11 that I want to read, but I have a rule that I cannot read the new book until the old book is completed. It's a whole catch-22.

[Ian]

James Patterson is balls. Just sack that off.

[Dquincy]

Yeah I think you're right. :( Still might just get through it quick time. Maybe just read every other page. :cab:

[Ian]

I always knew they weren't GREAT but I had to read some back to back when I ran out of my own stuff on a holiday years ago. I'm sure this would be true of many authors if you powered through a few of their books in a row but it really drove home how not very good he is.

[Shindig]

Masters of Doom is finished. I really enjoyed that. You see how game development changes from an indie pursuit to a big effort requiring dozens of people and all the highs / lows that come with it. The author's got one about GTA but I just don't find the Housers especially compelling. That terrible BBC effort with Daniel Radcliffe probably ruined them for me.

I've spent way too much time watching Carmack lectures on youtube.

[Lofty]

A lot of 'airport' authors are just brands now rather than quality. I used to enjoy the odd Lee Child inbetween genre changes/series changes as a pallette cleanser, literary sorbet in the form of short clipped sentences.

Forgot I pre-ordered a signed copy of Bob Mortimer's autobiography which turned up yesterday, nice surprise.

[Shindig]

I bet that's a good read. Although I wonder if he erm... switches off for it.

[Lofty]

It is what you would expect so far, fishing and WILTY blended up and spat out.

[Dquincy]

James Patterson is balls. Just sack that off.

I finished The Summer House by James Patterson. It was alright but no better.

[Baz]

Anyone listen to audiobooks?

I've a few books I want to read but as I've not been on holiday in ages, I've just not. So I figured I'd put podcasts on hold for a little while and listen to an audiobook in the car instead. I only get like 15 mins a day but I'm enjoying it nonetheless. Can see me listening to more once I've finished this one. First one I've gone for is an Elliott Smith biography, Torment Saint. Widely panned by fans, mostly because he used a misheard lyric (torn mid sail) as the title and well apparently he backs up Jennifer Chiba who most of us want to believe did a murder, rather than believe our sweet sweet prince took his own life, but I'm really enjoying it.

Best part is, if I didn't know better, I'd say it was being read to me by Agent Doggett from the X-Files, aka T-1000, so it all sounds cool as fuck. I've never heard throwaway stories about 15 year olds recording songs onto a cassette in their mates garage sound so damn badass.

[Kikó]

I periodically listen to them. I've got Bob Mortimer ready to go and my father in law actually has just recorded one so that'll be the next two. Last one was Obama which was long but good to hear him actually read it.

I used to listen more when I was on long walks but I barely do it anymore so don't really find time to dedicate to it.

[Giggles]

I can neve find the time. I already gave up music because of podcasts and it's at the stage now that I can't even listen to all the ones of those I want to.

[Kikó]

My hour walk to work was perfect because you couldn't distract yourself with this place.

[Manc]

27 in the library currently with 6 outstanding. The narrator is key.

[Baz]

Started reading The Magical Faraway Tree, or whatever it's called but my wife's old copy was too tatty so bought a new copy, and it had changed the names of the three kids from Jo, Bessie and Fanny to Joe, Beth and Frannie. :cab:

[Shindig]

Modern names for modern times.