The SMB Book thread

Thurston said:
Occasional, Critical, and Political Writing by James Joyce. A captivating read which imbues the reader with a deep and enriching perspicacity towards the changing attitudes of the greatest poet, artist and one of the profound intellectual minds of the last one-hundred and fifty years. Joyce is erudite, his style a pleasing aesthetic and one in the same, the books presentation engenders the reader to cultivate an appreciation for his masterful craftsmanship, and intellectual oeuvre. 8.5/10
Click to expand...
I read a few chapters of Dubliners when I was about 20 and have steered clear of him for about 35 years since then.
It sticks in my mind as some of the most depressing literature I have ever read.
 


jacko100 said:
Been meaning to read those for a while. Read the emperor series and loved them.
Click to expand...
Another vote for the Conqueror series here. Thoroughly enjoyed them.

Currently reading The New Depression - The Breakdown of the Paper Money Economy by Richard Duncan. It's heavy going, but a very good analysis.

Monty Pigeon said:
Along the same dystopian lines, I thoroughly recommend this, from the author of The Boys from Brazil and Rosemary's Baby:

Logon or register to see this image


And this, a dystopian nightmare by a Soviet author who was inspired to write it by his time in - I kid you not - South Shields:

Logon or register to see this image
Click to expand...
Was it not Jesmond that became the catalyst for We?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Monty Pigeon said:
Strictly speaking, Tyneside. But there was a BBC Radio documentary a few years ago that focussed particularly on his time in Shields, both North & South.
Click to expand...
Ah, I've never heard that. I'd read about his dislike of Jesmond. Suppose it applies to the whole NE as you say.
 
The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington

Logon or register to see this image

a take on the SIS operation during the war, 8/10 - hangs it coat on the dahl name as a way to bring the audience in, best parts of the book are about those you don't really know about. basically how the brits tried to bring america into wwii, and then with them in how they tried to influence them - all done via public opinion.

not that you'd see a foreign power meddling in american domestic politics in this day & age...
 
Agent Zigzag... great non-fiction account of a Northeast lad who was a WWII double agent working between British and Nazi intelligence.

Halfway through Legacy of Ashes which is about the CIA's operations since its formation after WWII, but that's heavy reading at times. Some very interesting stuff in it though.
 
James Yorkston - Three Craws

Yorkston is well known as a singer songwriter who has a small but devoted fanbase (myself included). His previous book, 'It's Lovely to be Here', published in 2011, was a tour diary and was pretty enjoyable. Three Craws is his first novel and is, to some degree, Trainspotting minus the heroin, set in Fife, even down to being set in the early 90s. Johnny, the narrator, is returning to Fife, after going to art school and doing temporary jobs in London, to live in the farm cottage that his best mate Stevie has inherited. On the bus up, he ends up lumbered with Mikey, a small time dealer and waster, who's travelling up for a break. Johnny looks to get work, paper over the cracks with his mam etc., but keeps getting lumbered with Mikey, who has taken a strong mutual dislike to Stevie. It's funny, engaging and, ultimately, sinister. Well worth a read. 8/10
 
Brave New World Revisited (Aldous Huxley), with a foreword by Christopher Hitchens.

Well worth the read. A rather short book. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that. Essentially it's a series of essays by Huxley, written 20 years after BNW, commenting on it and 1984.

Some fascinating insights and marvellously quotable excerpts that are even more relevant today in many ways.

The foreword by CH was incredibly interesting, especially in so far as it sounded like it was Peter, not Christopher, in terms of points being made and fundamental ideology of the overview. It was written during a time when they weren't speaking so I wonder if it was a message to him, knowing that the two bonded over a mutual love of BNW and that sort of literature.

8.5/10
 
What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years Of Modern Art In The Blink Of An Eye by Will Gompertz.
A quick romp through the history and personalities of art since the Impressionists kicked off. I found it an interesting read concerning the schools I like but a bit dull when it gets to the stuff I don't. Obviously can't delve too deeply but a decent enuff overview. 7/10.

Detroit 67: The Year That Changed Soul. By Stuart Cosgrove.
A chapter a month through a turbulent year in US music and politics.
Florence Ballard and Holland Dozier Holland leave the Supremes and Motown, Motown start to leave Motown, the death of Tammi Terrell, The MC5, MLK, Mohammed Ali, The Stooges, Smokey, Marvin, Lil Stevie, The Black Panthers, The White Panthers, The Funk Brothers, drug busts, James Brown, Vietnam, Agent Orange, the draft, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, LBJ, Nixon etc etc.
Everyone who's anyone wanders through the story. Slightly repetitive and as usual Diana Ross and Berry Gordy don't come out of it too well. A difficult big subject in which Cosgrave repeats himself too many times. Apparently it's the first part of a trilogy with 1968 set in another city. 7/10.

The Third Brother by Nick McDonnell.
Load of pretentious auld woe is me shite. 1/10.
 
Last edited:
riffraff said:
What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years Of Modern Art In The Blink Of An Eye by Will Gompertz.
A quick romp through the history and personalities of art since the Impressionists kicked off. I found it an interesting read concerning the schools I like but a bit dull when it gets to the stuff I don't. Obviously can't delve too deeply but a decent enuff overview. 7/10.

Detroit 67: The Year That Changed Soul. By Stuart Cosgrove.
A chapter a month through a turbulent year in US music and politics.
Florence Ballard and Holland Dozier Holland leave the Supremes and Motown, Motown start to leave Motown, the death of Tammi Terrell, The MC5, MLK, Mohammed Ali, The Stooges, Smokey, Marvin, Lil Stevie, The Black Panthers, The White Panthers, The Funk Brothers, drug busts, James Brown, Vietnam, Agent Orange, the draft, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, LBJ, Nixon etc etc.
Everyone who's anyone wanders through the story. Slightly repetitive and as usual Diana Ross and Berry Gordy don't come out of it too well. A difficult big subject in which Cosgrave repeats himself too many times. Apparently it's the first part of a trilogy with 1968 set in another city. 7/10.

The Third Brother by Nick McDonnell.
Load of pretentious auld woe is me shite. 1/10.
Click to expand...

Might just get the Cosgrove book. I've a week off and haven't a book on the go at the moment.

Not really a huge soul fan but there seems to be other subjects/artists involved and i do like social/political/cultural history.

Also a big fan of a year in history covered month by month so this book might just surprise me.
 
Decided to read more Emile Zola, this time 'L'assomoir' I'm a few chapters in, very gritty and entertaining opening.
 
Monty Pigeon said:
Yes, though I'd seen the film first, so I already knew the story. Maugham's Cakes and Ale is an easier and more enjoyable book (and is half the length).
Click to expand...
Please say the book picks up once the kid grows up? (Didn't realise it was a film mind!)
 
Finished His Bloody Project earlier - absolutely flew through the final 100 pages or so. Quite an odd way to structure a book, but fantastically well written, very vivid in the imagery it conjures and it did make me think quite deeply about the case at hand. Have now read 3 of the Booker finalists from last year and I'd put this as my favourite. 9/10.
 

Back
Top