Jump to content
aberdeen-music

Your current read?


Guest Jake Wifebeater

Recommended Posts

Read this one too, and really enjoyed it. A bit repetitive at times, but really interesting.

If you liked that and want a laugh, read Pointless by Jeff Connor which I read a few years back and it had me in bits!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pointless-Jeff-Connor/dp/0755313534/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427375734&sr=1-1&keywords=pointless

No Kindle version :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tearing through Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. I only started reading them to appease my annoying younger friend who kept insisting I read them, I didn't really expect to enjoy them (and the first few were a bit of a slog) but I'm glad I stuck with them. Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows have both been superb.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The girl with all the gifts - halfway through, and enjoying it so far.  I've heard mixed reviews, some saying it's boring others saying they were hooked. 

 

I do enjoy a good zombie/dystopian future novel :) hence my love for Philip K Dick (please don't shorten that to "love for dick" in a quote... I know what you lot are like)

 

Any recommendations along these lines?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Robert Rankin Is really good, I think. I can't copy links for some reason, but The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions is pretty awesome. Douglas Adams-esque comedy steampunk/sci-fi but without the socio-political commentary in there. Much more light-hearted, so might not fill your need for dystopian Dick, though.

 

xx

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Currently reading Vagabond, the second of Bernard Cornwell's (of Sharpe fame) Grail Quest series. Feels a bit like he's just taken Richard Sharpe and planted him in 14th century Europe but it's OK.  Not really enjoying it as much as I did the Sharpe books.  Might be the slightly unsympathetic eye of history on that era though.  France, England and Scotland are all just acting like shits to each other so I don't really care about the wider conflict of the 100 years war.  At least in Napoleonic Europe you were rooting for Sharpe's side more often than not (even with it's own share of unsympathetic characters placed throughout the British army in those books).

 

Having said that I do have a general interest in that period of history. I like medieval castles and shit so it's the main reason I'm still reading the book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The girl with all the gifts - halfway through, and enjoying it so far.  I've heard mixed reviews, some saying it's boring others saying they were hooked. 

 

I do enjoy a good zombie/dystopian future novel :) hence my love for Philip K Dick (please don't shorten that to "love for dick" in a quote... I know what you lot are like)

 

Any recommendations along these lines?

If you like weird dystopia then China Mieville's Bas Lag series is really good with added steampunk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started Sarah Silverman "The Bedwetter" yesterday at dinnertime, by bedtime I was 75% through it. So I'll probably have that finished off pretty soon. Next on my list I have Is the Baw Burst? A Long-Suffering Supporter's Search for the Soul of Scottish Football in which a guy visits every stadium in the Scottish football leagues to take in a match.

Edited by Lemon Raspberry
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recently read 'First Time Solo' by Aberdonian writer Iain Maloney. It's about an Aberdeenshire farmer who joins the RAF during WW2 and tells the story of his training and forming a jazz band. I wasn't that keen on his writing style - he used a lot of short or one word sentences for impact but it didn't really seem to fit. There were some good passages and one liners and it was obviously well researched but I can't say it really grabbed me much. It was not bad for a debut and I'd read more from him to see how he develops. 

 

I then tried 'Jazz' by Toni Morrison  Great writing but I couldn't get into the story so shelved it for now. 

 

Hoovered up 'Dead I Well May Be' by Adrian McKinty and really enjoyed it. It's the second one of his I've read and both have really stuck with me. The stories are probably fairly stock yet enjoyable anti-hero crime but the way he tells them and his understanding of the human condition sets him apart. If you like noir and a want a bit more to think about than Stuart MacBride and Lee Child I'd recommend this guy.

 

Now reading 'The Cider House Rules' by John Irving. Lovely so far. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finished a couple of management-type-self-help-type books over the weekend; Top Dog: Impress and Influence Everyone you Meet by Andy Bounds and Procrastination: Stop F#cking Procrastinating And Do Some F#cking Work! by William Wyatt. The former wasn't bad, some decent tips and practical stuff in there. The latter was nothing new at all, just a repackaging of plenty of other things I'd read before.

Gonna get into Grey Granite by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, the last of the Scots Quair when I get to the gym tonight and then re-read some classics; Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Some great stuff in both of them and nice to get a refresher.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
I've just started "Along Came A Spider" by James Patterson. I've only read one of his books before but I liked it. This is number 20 of my 50 book challenge.

 

The others I've read so far this year, on a four point scale from shite to great:

 

Stephenie Meyer - "Twilight" (shite)

 

Holly Goddard Jones - "The Next Time You See Me" (alright)

 

Iain Hyslop - "Is the Baw Burst?: A Long Suffering Supporter's Search for the Soul of Scottish Football" (shite)

 

Sarah Silverman - "The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee" (alright)

 

JK Rowling - "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)" (great)

 

Roddy Doyle - "The Snapper (The Barrytown Trilogy, #2)" (good)

 

Roddy Doyle - "The Commitments (The Barrytown Trilogy, #1)" (alright)

 

Lee Price - "Turning My Back on the Premier League" (good)

 

David Wong - "John Dies at the End" (shite)

 

R.D Reynolds - "The Death of WCW: 10th Anniversary Edition" (alright)

 

Michael Connelly - "The Black Echo" (Harry Bosch, #1) (good)

 

Thom Fell - "Acceptable in the Eighties" (good)

 

J.K Rowling - "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (Harry Potter, #6) (great)

 

Chuck Palahniuk - "Pygmy" (shite)

 

James Crosbie - "Peterhead Porridge: Tales From The Funny Side Of Scotland's Most Notorious Prison" (alright)

 

Richard Wiseman - "59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot" (shite)

 

Chris Jericho - "The Best in the World: At What I Have No Idea" (alright)

 

Richard Bachman (Stephen King) - "Thinner" (good)

 

Stephen King - "22/11/63" (great)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I've just started "Along Came A Spider" by James Patterson. I've only read one of his books before but I liked it. This is number 20 of my 50 book challenge.
 
The others I've read so far this year, on a four point scale from shite to great:
 
Stephenie Meyer - "Twilight" (shite)
 
Holly Goddard Jones - "The Next Time You See Me" (alright)
 
Iain Hyslop - "Is the Baw Burst?: A Long Suffering Supporter's Search for the Soul of Scottish Football" (shite)
 
Sarah Silverman - "The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee" (alright)
 
JK Rowling - "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)" (great)
 
Roddy Doyle - "The Snapper (The Barrytown Trilogy, #2)" (good)
 
Roddy Doyle - "The Commitments (The Barrytown Trilogy, #1)" (alright)
 
Lee Price - "Turning My Back on the Premier League" (good)
 
David Wong - "John Dies at the End" (shite)
 
R.D Reynolds - "The Death of WCW: 10th Anniversary Edition" (alright)
 
Michael Connelly - "The Black Echo" (Harry Bosch, #1) (good)
 
Thom Fell - "Acceptable in the Eighties" (good)
 
J.K Rowling - "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (Harry Potter, #6) (great)
 
Chuck Palahniuk - "Pygmy" (shite)
 
James Crosbie - "Peterhead Porridge: Tales From The Funny Side Of Scotland's Most Notorious Prison" (alright)
 
Richard Wiseman - "59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot" (shite)
 
Chris Jericho - "The Best in the World: At What I Have No Idea" (alright)
 
Richard Bachman (Stephen King) - "Thinner" (good)
 
Stephen King - "22/11/63" (great)

 

 

James Patterson is my favourite "airport novel" writer.

 

I really enjoyed a bunch of his Alex Cross series.  I'm sure you'd enjoy them as well if you haven't already!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

James Patterson is my favourite "airport novel" writer.

 

I really enjoyed a bunch of his Alex Cross series.  I'm sure you'd enjoy them as well if you haven't already!

 

The only one I read was "Alex Cross's Trial", which tecnhnically isn't even an Alex Cross book but it was really, really good. A proper page-turner.

Edited by Lemon Raspberry
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Beasted through Irvine Welsh's newest one A Decent Ride about Juice Terry and his taxi driving and shagging adventures. Pretty good and now reading The Sex Lives Siamese Twins which is a change from his Edinburgh-based stuff and entertaining whilst ridiculous so far

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read Nick Hornby - "Juliet, Naked" and Roddy Doyle - "The Van" last week. I'm becoming a big fan of Roddy's.

 

Just starting James Joyce "Dubliners". Third attempt at it. I've never get very far through it before. It's nicely written and easy enough to read, it's just not very interesting. I also plan to read Joyce's "A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man" this year as part of my 50 book challenge, then next year I'm going to attempt to tackle "Ulysses".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read Nick Hornby - "Juliet, Naked" and Roddy Doyle - "The Van" last week. I'm becoming a big fan of Roddy's.

 

Just starting James Joyce "Dubliners". Third attempt at it. I've never get very far through it before. It's nicely written and easy enough to read, it's just not very interesting. I also plan to read Joyce's "A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man" this year as part of my 50 book challenge, then next year I'm going to attempt to tackle "Ulysses".

 

Dylan Thomas' "A portrait of the artist as a young dog" is a nice collection of shorts. Worth a read.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...