scottyboy Posted September 1, 2015 Report Share Posted September 1, 2015 I read and watched both versions in my teens (again...), and thought both were pretty dire. Not much to add, /cool story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 This is one of the nerdiest things I've ever done, but with the help of Excel I am keeping track of all the Stephen King books I've read. Including novellas, short story collections, co-written books, non-fiction and The Dark Tower series, he has 75 books, of which I've only read 31. My goal for 2016 is to add another 25 to that. (I need to read some other stuff too). This would probably be a better post on the Stephen King forum I post on. I'm going to go talk to them about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyboy Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) Edited September 3, 2015 by scottyboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyboy Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) I was going to put it in the classics thread but: I also got through Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater. There's tonnes of Western pop-culture about the use of all kinds of hard drugs, from Naked Lunch to Trainspotting (and that just about heroin), but I was curious about 19th-century opium (it having huge importance to 19th-century Asian history, in which I have a bit of an interest; it's also central to the majestic novel Sea of Poppies I posted about recently) and it was enticingly slim. The first half is a patchwork autobiography. The guy seems to have thought of a lot of himself, and was enormously verbose and waffle-y I think even by standards of the day. So this part was a bit of an ordeal to get through. The second part, about both the "pleasures" and the "pains" of opium was a lot more worthwhile. Some interesting bits about getting high and then going to take in the opera (I'm vaguely reminded of the legalise-drugs thread a while back on here...). OK-ish. Edited September 3, 2015 by scottyboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsum_Fantastic Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 I was going to put it in the classics thread but: I also got through Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater. There's tonnes of Western pop-culture about the use of all kinds of hard drugs, from Naked Lunch to Trainspotting (and that just about heroin), but I was curious about 19th-century opium (it having huge importance to 19th-century Asian history, in which I have a bit of an interest; it's also central to the majestic novel Sea of Poppies I posted about recently) and it was enticingly slim. The first half is a patchwork autobiography. The guy seems to have thought of a lot of himself, and was enormously verbose and waffle-y I think even by standards of the day. So this part was a bit of an ordeal to get through. The second part, about both the "pleasures" and the "pains" of opium was a lot more worthwhile. Some interesting bits about getting high and then going to take in the opera (I'm vaguely reminded of the legalise-drugs thread a while back on here...). OK-ish.If you like books about drugs i'd recommend Howard Mark's Book of Dope Stories. Excerpts from stories from different ages, cultures etc. Including the Opium Eater one. Very good toilet read, varied in terms of style and easy to pick up and find something to suit your mood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Broonbreed Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 I read the first two stories of Jungle Book. The Disney adaptation really doesn't do it justice. The bit where Balou dresses up as an ape was totally made up, he actually just smashes fuck out of hundreds of them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Broonbreed Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Currently working my way through Papillon. Good shit like. I had no idea it was autobiographical - mostly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 Reading Legacy by James Kerr about the All Blacks process of culture change. Really enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroopy121 Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 Just finished The Colour of Magic and fucking loved it. It's a crime that I've never read Terry Pratchett before now, given that Douglas Adams is one of my favourite authors!xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Broonbreed Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 I read Mort about a month ago. I'll sporadically read some more Pratchett. Very similar to Douglas Adams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 I've never read anything by either but I'm intrigued now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 Just finished The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thomson. Not a bad read. I wasn't blown away by it but it was solid enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyboy Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Started the Psychopath Test this morning based on a recommendation on here. Entertaining start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 I'm currently reading Embassytown by China Mieville, it's a bit of a mindfuck (like most of his other stuff) but once you get further in and learn more about the world he's constructed it's got a really absorbing, politically charged storyline. He's an underrated writer for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Broonbreed Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 I've got a chapter left of Robinson Crusoe. It's fucking magic. I wish I was marooned to fuck on an island with loads of goats and an abundance of muskets and gunpowder for 30 odd years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Started the Psychopath Test this morning based on a recommendation on here. Entertaining startMaybe my favourite book from my 50 book challenge this year. Loved it. I'm currently reading "Sourcery" by Terry Pratchett. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 In a book club at the moment, which has been very enjoyable and giving me a good reason to get fired into some reading. Book #1 was Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and the next one is Cities of the Red Night by William Burroughs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 How is Brave New World? It's a book that I've considered attempting but for some reason I've always had this idea that it's pretty hard going and I don't know where that opinion came from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsum_Fantastic Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Would say it's a pretty easy read. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyboy Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Felt pretty easy when I did it in Higher English. Really good too: like I said in the classics thread, still sticks in the mind as one the 20th century big names that I've enjoyed the most (just read it the once). Much better, and certainly much more prescient than 1984. The latter might have really nailed the Stalinist state (still extant in... North Korea) but Brave New World describes what you now see in modern China, anywhere like it, and probably for a long time yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Finished The Psychopath Test which was a excellent read as recommended, and am currently on Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work which is interesting but a bit all over the place and not as engaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 My Kindle has died. Is the Paperwhite worth spunking the extra cash on? I do read a fair bit in bed while my girlfriend is asleep trying to sleep. Will this help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Yes and yes - it's ace for that, just bring the brightness down and she can snooze away while you read intellectually stimulating books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Cool. And any tips on covers/cases/waterproof thingies for poolside etc etc. Or do you bother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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