TTH Book Club

[-james-]

Book/film/album/video game/whatever

Submit your (anonymous) nominations here (https://forms.gle/SqA6kKdBDgjov67eA) and I'll stick a poll up with the first however many nominations. Everyone is then invited to consume the selected piece of work and talk about their feelings afterwards. Can do it monthly if it gets off the ground.

[Spikey M]

I would, but Niko(?) burned me with his CD Club circa 2005 and I've never joined a club since.

[niko_cee]

Not me guvnor.

CD club? 2005?

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'm in, but proper cultural void at the moment so I can't suggest anything first up.

[Ben]

I'll be in for books. I've really fallen off reading since the start of the year and this will be a good way to get back into it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'll be up for getting involved. No idea recommendations though.

[Kikó]

I've recommended shantaram. Hopefully I won't get burned like I did in the CD club by Niko.

[Spikey M]

Not me guvnor.

CD club? 2005?

Someone (you) arranged a mass CD exchange, where we all burned a CD (nostalgia :drool:) of our favourite music and posted it to them, they'd then do a lucky dip and send them on to others in the group. But the second part never happened (you cunt).

[niko_cee]

:D

Was probably doing you all a favour putting them straight into the bin.

[-james-]

Some good suggestions so far. For now I think taking them in order rather than polling seems a better shout.

First up is Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. Off you go.

[Boydy]

944 pages according to Amazon. I'll sit this one out.

[-james-]

I was wondering why it wasn't under a tenner anywhere. Give it a few weeks and see how people are getting on.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'll give it a go. 944 pages is piss easy.

[-james-]

Yeah Boyd you big baby.

[Baz]

Anyone want the ebook or audiobook?

[Giggles]

Everyone should just lie in a dark room and listen to Animals.

[Lofty]

How long is the audiobook?

[Kikó]

I'm currently listening to the audiobook and it's 43 hours long. But the narrator is really good.

[Kikó]

And if you can't be arsed with that, I think Netflix made it into a series.

[Lofty]

Giz an audiobook, Barrington.

[Baz]

Giz an audiobook, Barrington.

https://akr.st/shantaram

[Spikey M]

Barrington Potter and the Affiliate Link.

[Baz]

Nope, it’s just a shortened link to my google drive.

[Ben]

Pop a link in to the ebook if you have it please, I can’t get invested in audio.

[-james-]

I grabbed the audiobook because I have Audible credits coming out my arse but I've never got on with fiction audiobooks either. You need to be able to linger and like fuck am I going to hover over the pause button.

[Lofty]

https://akr.st/shantaram

Thanks for the link, my phone doesn't like trying to play an mp4 for some reason :moop:

[Jimmy Floyd]

I spent a princely £5.99 to get it on Kindle and am 13% through. Try it, y'all.

[Baz]

Pop a link in to the ebook if you have it please, I can’t get invested in audio.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CebAsvYT_v7k2gh74youUe-zWgxxHMog/view?usp=drive_link


Thanks for the link, my phone doesn't like trying to play an mp4 for some reason :moop:It''s an m4b, to be imported to your Books app via iTunes.

For all the Android nonces here's the audiobook as a load of mp3 files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1d0oPjlAMg16oIV4WNrJ2PDSxY5uX7lvO?usp=drive_link

In the [g]olden days I'd have omitted the final part just to troll, so you're all welcome for me not being as much of a knob anymore. :baz: There are 41 parts.

I've not used my link shortener this time, to avoid any false referral claims.

[Lofty]

The audio book with him doing the indian accents is something :moop:

[-james-]

The audio book with him doing the indian accents is something :moop:

:D

It is a pretty good Indian accent though. I find his Karla worse.

[Kikó]

😂 is a bit jarring at first and then they're are more and more Indian characters so the accents all blur into one. Prubaka though is the man.

[Lofty]

Yeah his Karla sounds like Peter Kay's impression of his mum.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm reading it but at a very slow pace.

[Kikó]

Did I kill this dead?

I still have ten hours left.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'm soldiering on, fuck me it will never end though. The first 40% was a novel in itself.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm only 25% through.

I'm not sure this was the best first choice.

[Ian]

New book: Mr Bump. Let's reconvene in November.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

2024, right?

[Lofty]

Haha I got to the car crash on the audio book and it kept breaking, so I left it. Reckon I got the jist though :D

[Jimmy Floyd]

My thoughts at 46% are that it's one of the best attempts at conveying a sense of time and (particularly) place that I've ever read, but as a work of fiction it could use an edit. Oh and the shifts to when he's meeting / talking to / thinking about Karla are quite jarring, like he stops being the relatively interesting narrator he is and starts being a randy teenage boy. Maybe that's the intention, I don't know.

[Boydy]

944 pages according to Amazon. I'll sit this one out.


I'll give it a go. 944 pages is piss easy.


Yeah Boyd you big baby.

https://media.tenor.com/5JOkNTd0c08AAAAd/vindication-justice.gif

[Kikó]

My thoughts at 46% are that it's one of the best attempts at conveying a sense of time and (particularly) place that I've ever read, but as a work of fiction it could use an edit. Oh and the shifts to when he's meeting / talking to / thinking about Karla are quite jarring, like he stops being the relatively interesting narrator he is and starts being a randy teenage boy. Maybe that's the intention, I don't know.

It's a bit like it's hidden inside him because he has to basically do loads of mad shit to just stay alive and he forgets that he has sexual urges.

Also, Prubaka and his taxi. Ffs.

The Cholera (?) Outbreak was pretty powerful as well as his time spent in jail.

[Kikó]

I watched the first episode of the Apple version of it and it really jarrs. The pacing is all over the place and Charlie Hunnam as usual, has a questionable accent.

(Into the last 6.5 hours)

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I'm 50% into the book and it's dragging a lot. No idea how there's still another half to go.

[Kikó]

What's happening at 50%?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

He's recently gotten out of prison and is now working for Khaderbhai. Currently learning the ropes of the black market money exchange whilst pining for Karla.

I guess what's left is rise up the ranks of the gang, think about Karla a million times before she comes back/he goes looking, find out who put him away and extradition to Australia?

[Kikó]

Got it

Not quite. It's about to take a different step from where you are with not too much pining for Karla (although some).

The black market business sounds pretty amazing as well (FREE MONEY!)

[Boydy]

Who picked this shit book you all seem to dislike?

Also, you should have definitely gone for something shorter.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I've got a short one in the tank for when we all eventually give up / finish it.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Who picked this shit book you all seem to dislike?

Also, you should have definitely gone for something shorter.

It was Keeks the fucking dickhead.

[Kikó]

It's a brilliant book, what are you talking about Boydy??

:mad:

[Boydy]

It might well be (although it doesn't seem it from what people have said) but it's a shit recommendation for a book club.

[Kikó]

Maybe people should read more and post less. Research on that.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

More posts > less posts.

We've done this before in TTH history.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It is a good book, but it could also be a trilogy, or just shorter.

It's basically if igor dialled up the zaniness and became an Aussie bank robber, then settled down for a nine-hour pub session and you were chained to the chair opposite.

[Kikó]

There is a second Shantaram book so I guess he's more of a Lord of the Rings type author.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It's basically if igor dialled up the zaniness and became an Aussie bank robber, then settled down for a nine-hour pub session and you were chained to the chair opposite.

You've absolutely nailed it on the head.

[Kikó]

'Yeah yeah, you really had a mate called Didier :rolleyes:"

[igor_balis]

How long is it? If its more than ~ 400 pages that's a very ambitious pick for a book club.

[Boydy]

944 pages.

[Kikó]

I don't remember there being rules. Anyway we can't move on until we finish it.

[igor_balis]

944 pages.

Jesus christ

[igor_balis]

I don't remember there being rules. Anyway we can't move on until we finish it.

Well rules or not, it's just asking a lot. When me and the IRL lads did covid album club there was nothing physically stopping you picking a 2 hour monster, but everyone had the sense to largely to stick to around 45 mins or less just so people are actually gonna be likely to listen to the cunt.

[phonics]

It is a good book, but it could also be a trilogy, or just shorter.

It's basically if igor dialled up the zaniness and became an Aussie bank robber, then settled down for a nine-hour pub session and you were chained to the chair opposite.

To be fair to igor, from my experience, every character would be from the Black Country.

[igor_balis]

To be fair to igor, from my experience, every character would be from the Black Country.

This is more a reflection of how yamyamified worcester was than any limited range in my voice work.

[Kikó]

Well rules or not, it's just asking a lot. When me and the IRL lads did covid album club there was nothing physically stopping you picking a 2 hour monster, but everyone had the sense to largely to stick to around 45 mins or less just so people are actually gonna be likely to listen to the cunt.

You would have finished the book by now if you spent more time reading and less time complaining.

[Kikó]

I'm finally done.

it really is an incredible journey and having visited India a few times, the description of India and Indian lives really strike home. He's captured a way of living and being that is really quite unique.

On the book itself, I think the trip to Afghanistan is an additional flourish that is probably not needed. It hangs a lot of the Kader Khan story together but seems jarring compared to the parts before. I'm not sure it's necessarily needed but it does provide a great insight into the pure rawness of a journey of that magnitude.

The love story with Carla was obviously important but it showed how broken both characters were. Prubakha was my favourite character and the finish with his son was a lovely moment.

In summary, bit too long.