Did I mention that the new arrival inevitably leads to chaos, disagreement and disaster?
The SMB Book thread
- Thread starter Monty Pigeon
- Start date
Did I mention that the new arrival inevitably leads to chaos, disagreement and disaster?
Monty Pigeon
Striker
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry 10/10
My book of 2016. Way better than any of the Booker longlisted books I read, inc the eventual winner. This is the story of a cross-dressing Irish immigrant in mid-19th century America, set against the backdrop of wars against the Indians and then the Civil War. The quality of writing is staggering. It's got to be favourite for the Costa Novel Award, for which it's been shortlisted.
My book of 2016. Way better than any of the Booker longlisted books I read, inc the eventual winner. This is the story of a cross-dressing Irish immigrant in mid-19th century America, set against the backdrop of wars against the Indians and then the Civil War. The quality of writing is staggering. It's got to be favourite for the Costa Novel Award, for which it's been shortlisted.
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phil
Striker
War of the Roses - Conn Iggulden . Four books about the English civil War between the Plantagenet Houses of York and Lancaster - Never really studied any history at school, these books taught me a lot and a really good read as well. Little bits of fiction blended with fact. Author points out what was fiction at end of each book. Start with "Stormbird". Read the first one and would be amazed if you don't immediately read the others.
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JonnotheMackem
Striker
Party Members by Arthur Meursalt
An utterly silly novel about a Chinese Government official who's penis starts telling him what to do. Bitingly satirical about corruption in the Chinese government and Chinese society. Would likely go over the heads of those not familiar with the country.
Where My Heart Used To Beat by Sebastian Faulks
A doctor gets an invitation to an Island off the coast of France to piece together and come to terms with his own past and that of his father. You know what to expect with Faulks. Excellent prose, vivid, visceral wartime recollections. Charming, yet heartbreaking.
Motor City Cobra
Winger
Alan partridge(Steve coogan) - nomad
Audio cd in the car, f***ing brilliant.
Audio cd in the car, f***ing brilliant.
D
DeLonge
Guest
Old Records Never Die by Eric Spitznagel - 8.5/10. Received it as a Christmas present (that I asked for). It's about the author who sold all of his vinyl records in the 90's and decides to try and find the original albums he owned and the personal stories that go along with them. I really enjoyed it.
Flash Gordon
Striker
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An excellent read about the lives of people who lived behind the wall and of some former Stasi men desperate to still believe they were right. Enlightening but harrowing. 9/10
riffraff
Striker
Read it a couple of years back before going ower for a holiday. Excellent but weird read.
Days Of Future Past by John Lighfoot. 1/10.
Bought as a xmas present. Its a SAFC fan type book so I'll be as polite as possible in case the author gets on here. I'll be very wary of any ALS books in future. Nick Hornbys got a lot to answer for.
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errant
Striker
Me too...
Want to read something more about the iron curtain era some time this year.
Explains something about the German national consencious in 2017...
Monty Pigeon
Striker
Excellent book. Read it when it first came out, and then again when I travelled round the former East Germany a couple of years ago.
Try this:
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JonnotheMackem
Striker
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Tales-from-the-Red-Whites/0993238122
Tales From The Red And Whites
Interesting enough to justify the purchase. Monty writing about his career was good, David Corner's bit was fantastic.
Tales From The Red And Whites
Interesting enough to justify the purchase. Monty writing about his career was good, David Corner's bit was fantastic.
riffraff
Striker
There's a good book about the USSR space program. Red something or other iirc. I read it at the same time as I read Moondust which is about the US one.
errant
Striker
ta - i'll have root round amazon at lunchtime...
riffraff
Striker
Red moon rising!
Careful though as there's a few books with that title knocking around.
SYB_DC
Winger
Edit: Not sure why images aren't showing. Enjoy the imaginary Amazon-linked cover images, or in the event that they choose to stop in, the real Amazon-linked cover images.
One of Us - Asne Seierstad
Anders Behring Breivik is not a nice man. This book helps explain why and what actuates him - and to a lesser extent, his fellow travelers. Very few people come out of this story looking good, with the exception of a few of the victims of Behring's massacre. The book is in some ways sadly more relevant to the present than it even was to the instant of Breivik's crimes. The book is very well researched, sometimes even uncomfortably so. 8.5/10
The Winter Fortress - Neal Bascomb
Because neo-Nazis killing people in Norway might not be your cup of tea, I present to you the story of Norwegians fighting back against actual Nazis. This history of a British-trained Norwegian commando unit's sabotage of the occupying Germans' use of a heavy-water plant in southern Norway is interesting, but it occasionally gets sidetracked by some poorly-developed additional analytical lines. For example, the book focuses primarily on a single sabotage operation but sometimes delves into other commando and resistance operations in Norway without providing enough detail to make those digressions worthwhile to the story. One thing it does do well is place the commando raids in the context of the larger nuclear arms race during WWII, although it is somewhat forced to downplay this placement because of what a full appreciation thereof would do for the historical significance of the book's primary subject matter. Nonetheless, it's a smooth read about some true patriotic heroes. 7/10
Detroit City Is The Place To Be - Mark Binelli
Detroit really isn't the place to be, and this probably isn't the book to read about it. The author, who grew up in suburban Detroit, manages to successfully convey a general history of Detroit and understanding of why it's a shithole, but he utterly fails in any attempt to convince the reader that the city's destiny is much other than to occupy a singular niche as a living corpse of a city, a post-apocalyptic metaphor that retains the trappings of major city status solely on the backs of its suburbs. A lot of people come off looking badly in this book, and it's hard to feel sympathy for many of them. The main policy position this caused me to become convinced of is that it would be a positive step indeed if Michigan could be expelled from the United States. The writing is good in some parts. In others, rather the opposite. 4.5/10.
One of Us - Asne Seierstad
Anders Behring Breivik is not a nice man. This book helps explain why and what actuates him - and to a lesser extent, his fellow travelers. Very few people come out of this story looking good, with the exception of a few of the victims of Behring's massacre. The book is in some ways sadly more relevant to the present than it even was to the instant of Breivik's crimes. The book is very well researched, sometimes even uncomfortably so. 8.5/10
The Winter Fortress - Neal Bascomb
Because neo-Nazis killing people in Norway might not be your cup of tea, I present to you the story of Norwegians fighting back against actual Nazis. This history of a British-trained Norwegian commando unit's sabotage of the occupying Germans' use of a heavy-water plant in southern Norway is interesting, but it occasionally gets sidetracked by some poorly-developed additional analytical lines. For example, the book focuses primarily on a single sabotage operation but sometimes delves into other commando and resistance operations in Norway without providing enough detail to make those digressions worthwhile to the story. One thing it does do well is place the commando raids in the context of the larger nuclear arms race during WWII, although it is somewhat forced to downplay this placement because of what a full appreciation thereof would do for the historical significance of the book's primary subject matter. Nonetheless, it's a smooth read about some true patriotic heroes. 7/10
Detroit City Is The Place To Be - Mark Binelli
Detroit really isn't the place to be, and this probably isn't the book to read about it. The author, who grew up in suburban Detroit, manages to successfully convey a general history of Detroit and understanding of why it's a shithole, but he utterly fails in any attempt to convince the reader that the city's destiny is much other than to occupy a singular niche as a living corpse of a city, a post-apocalyptic metaphor that retains the trappings of major city status solely on the backs of its suburbs. A lot of people come off looking badly in this book, and it's hard to feel sympathy for many of them. The main policy position this caused me to become convinced of is that it would be a positive step indeed if Michigan could be expelled from the United States. The writing is good in some parts. In others, rather the opposite. 4.5/10.
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Charmless Man
Striker
Spqr - Mary beard. Magnificent!
D
DurhamRifleman
Guest
Pegasus Bridge. Steady read 6/10.
errant
Striker
Stephen Ward Was Innocent, Ok - 7/10
Bit legal in format, and repeats itself as its really a case for for the appeals court to re-open the case (someone thought it would make a good book!).
Great take down on a real travesty of justice… interesting juxtaposition of the judiciary as a tool of the ‘establishment’ when considered against the current Article 50 review.
He really was a sacrificial lamb to the time…
Bit legal in format, and repeats itself as its really a case for for the appeals court to re-open the case (someone thought it would make a good book!).
Great take down on a real travesty of justice… interesting juxtaposition of the judiciary as a tool of the ‘establishment’ when considered against the current Article 50 review.
He really was a sacrificial lamb to the time…
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Monty Pigeon
Striker
Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd 9/10
Gripping, occultish novel. Narrative alternates between eighteen century and 1985, with lots of overlap. You'll never look at London churches such as Christ Church, Spitalfields, the same way again.
Gripping, occultish novel. Narrative alternates between eighteen century and 1985, with lots of overlap. You'll never look at London churches such as Christ Church, Spitalfields, the same way again.
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Finished this around Christmas time. Essentially, it's a coming of midlife crisis book. It's very funny, if a tad thin on plot. Fundamentally, it's about a man working for a New York university in a department which procures donations from wealthy benefactors for new buildings, exhibits etc. He loses his job but gets a chance to get it back if he can get a now very wealthy college contemporary to donate. His old college mate requires him to perform a task... meanwhile, the narrator is having family issues etc. 8/10
Currently reading Kink Me Honey by Martin Millar, which is set in the London fetish scene. Will review in full once done. Millar's near enough my favourite author (in both this and his Martin Scott guise) and I'm enjoying it thus far, although I wasn't quite sure what to make of it given the subject matter.
