The SMB Book thread

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An excellent book. Honest, moving in places and very warts and all - hilarious in parts too. Probably the most thorough and realistic portrait of Big 'Ed I've come across. Highly recommended.

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Utterly, utterly ridiculous book. Falls into a couple of cliche traps, but it is entertaining enough all the same. Some of the decisions he makes will give you the urge to leap into the pages and give him a slap, but his personality and the ridiculous situations reminded me of a dear friend of mine who is now deceased, so I found myself enjoying it all the same.
Lutz is from the next town to me.
 


The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima 9/10
I hadn't read any Mishima since I was in my teens and got interested in his work after seeing the biopic by Paul Schrader. Really enjoyed this one, which, unlike many of his books, doesn't have masochistic/fascistic undertones.

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Naked Came The Manatee by Carl Hiassen, Elmore Leonard, James W Hall plus ten. 7/10.

Weird novelty Florida based eco charity raising crime fiction in which 13 crime writers and journos (inc 2 Pulitzer Prize winners) take a chapter each relay race style to tell a tale of murder n mayhem in Miami. Apparently they were given no indication of where the previous baton holders expected the tale to go so there’s obviously a few meandering sections but they were pulled together in the stand out chapter by Elmore Leonard ( obviously) near the end.
Castro, Jimmy Carter, exiled Cubans etc etc feature.
None of ems best work I’d imagine but as it’s for charity...
I'll probably give that a look as I'm a fan of Hiassen and Leonard but these things rarely work as the contrast in writing styles is too great. Suppose it is something a little different from a short story collection though.
I'm not a great collaborator when it comes to writing and I've never felt comfortable doing it.
 
I'll probably give that a look as I'm a fan of Hiassen and Leonard but these things rarely work as the contrast in writing styles is too great. Suppose it is something a little different from a short story collection though.
I'm not a great collaborator when it comes to writing and I've never felt comfortable doing it.

I only read it as it’s the last non western of Leonard’s work I’ve not read. His son Peter is apparently finishing off the crime novel his dad was working on when he died in collaboration with his long term researcher. His sons four so far are not bad tbh but he’s chosen a tuff road to walk down.
 
I must be imagining things, is there more than one book thread? Thought I'd posted on it more recently than last year.

Anyway, recent reads in no particular order

Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh
Bandits by Elmore Leonard
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
Dead Girl Walking by Christopher Brookmyre
Want You Gone, also by Brookmyre
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by Le Carré
The Honourable Schoolboy by Le Carré
Smiley's People by Le Carré


Trying to limit my podcast consumption to make more time for books at the moment, only so many hours in the day...
 
Don't cry for me sergeant major. 9/10
If you're an ex squaddie, you'll get this more than most.

I am Ozzy. 8.5/10
I hate heavy rock, hate Black Sabbath, but this book had me in stitches on holiday, I couldn't put it down. How is he still alive?
 
Reunion by Fred uhlman. Brilliant and very very short:lol::lol:

Also a whole life by Robert seethaler l a tiny bit longer.

Both stunning reads imho.

On the subject of short reads, Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin is excellent. Weird, but excellent.

Not enough short novels IMO. And too many long novels that are telling a story 100-200 pages shorter than the novel is.
 
On the subject of short reads, Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin is excellent. Weird, but excellent.

Not enough short novels IMO. And too many long novels that are telling a story 100-200 pages shorter than the novel is.

I agree. Unless there's a reason for the novel to be long (Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess, for instance, had to be massive), long books are usually due to self-indulgence by the author.

Muriel Spark and Penelope Fitzgerald both wrote brilliant yet short novels; once you get going with their work, it's hard to stop.

The Yukio Mishima novels I'm currently reading are mostly very short too.
 
I agree. Unless there's a reason for the novel to be long (Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess, for instance, had to be massive), long books are usually due to self-indulgence by the author.

Muriel Spark and Penelope Fitzgerald both wrote brilliant yet short novels; once you get going with their work, it's hard to stop.

The Yukio Mishima novels I'm currently reading are mostly very short too.
I'm a massive fan of the short story format. When done well, a short story can be truly masterful. Most authors write them as unfulfilling, meandering waffle, however, often without a real point or conclusion. When treated like a condensed story with a beginning and actual end, I really enjoy them.
 
I must be imagining things, is there more than one book thread? Thought I'd posted on it more recently than last year.

Anyway, recent reads in no particular order

Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh
Bandits by Elmore Leonard
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
Dead Girl Walking by Christopher Brookmyre
Want You Gone, also by Brookmyre
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by Le Carré
The Honourable Schoolboy by Le Carré
Smiley's People by Le Carré


Trying to limit my podcast consumption to make more time for books at the moment, only so many hours in the day...
Have you read the Shattered Sea trilogy by Abercrombie yet? It's well up to his usual standard.
 
I'm a massive fan of the short story format. When done well, a short story can be truly masterful. Most authors write them as unfulfilling, meandering waffle, however, often without a real point or conclusion. When treated like a condensed story with a beginning and actual end, I really enjoy them.

I love writing short stories - have had a few published. You can't waste a word.

Have you read anything by Francis King? He's largely forgotten now, but I think he's one of the greatest short story writers the UK has ever produced. Another favourite is the South African writer Herman Charles Bosman. One of his best stories is here (there're also a couple of mine in the archive): Starlight on the Veld by Herman Charles Bosman | Narrative Magazine
 
I love writing short stories - have had a few published. You can't waste a word.

Have you read anything by Francis King? He's largely forgotten now, but I think he's one of the greatest short story writers the UK has ever produced. Another favourite is the South African writer Herman Charles Bosman. One of his best stories is here (there're also a couple of mine in the archive): Starlight on the Veld by Herman Charles Bosman | Narrative Magazine
Written a few myself! They're the most fun.
 

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