The SMB Book thread



Harry Angstrom said:
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10/10 Glorious book of Julian Cope madness and bitchiness. Still got some of the second one to read but both books are magnificent. Listening to the albums as I read as well.
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Head-On is fantastic like. I didn't enjoy Repossessed quite as much but it's kind of a necessary antidote to Head-On.

The shower scene. :lol: And the acid infused 'recording' sessions. :lol:
 
Sticky Fingers - The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine by Joe Hagan.

What an absolute classic and so evocative of the times and of its place in 60s/70s counter culture.

Joe Hagan paints such a vivid picture of the times in which the magazine evolved and of its subject matter of Wenner himself.

For fans of that particular time in music/cultural history.....a book you'll definitely find hard to put down. 9/10:cool:
 
Just finished a Rudyard Kipling short story- 'The Gardener.'
I'd always been a bit reluctant to engage with his writing tbh ,but having read this it is so well constructed, such a subtle piece of writing that it's whetted my appetite for more. 9/10
I have also been reading Aidan Hartleys 'The Zanzibar Chest.' He was a Reuters African correspondent covering some of the horrendous brutality and dystopian events in places like Somalia, Rwanda etc. If you thought evil was only an abstract concept... It is much more than just disaster porn however, it really explores some of the irony, the muddled thinking, the cultural mindsets, the mutual misunderstandings, lost opportunities et al, et al.
Another 9/10
 
Old Prestonian said:
Just bought the first three in the series for the Kindle as the reviews on Amazon were also good.
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Been recommended on here before. I've started looking at The Troubles more since working over there a couple of times. Ignored the nightly brutality on the news as a kid which was surprising as our neighbours were actually refugees from them
 
I've just finished Wild Tales by Graham Nash. It's a very detailed story of his life, loves and music. If you like Crosby Stills Nash and Young you'll love this book.
At first I kept putting it down cos he comes across as being up his own arse and he probably is as in his words The Hollies and CSN Y are the best thing since sliced bread.
However, I learnt a lot about him that I didn't know and he's been with some famous ladies in his time. As the book goes on I warmed to him and his tales of Crosby's drug antics are an eyeopener and it seems he never really got on with Neil Young.
8/10.
 
You Could Do Something Amazing With Your Life [You Are Raoul Moat] by Andrew Hankinson 10/10
Billed as a non-fiction account of the Raoul Moat saga, but is written in the second person and reads like a novel. Gives a real insight into Moat's disturbed state, mostly using his own words. I'm not usually interested in the true crime genre, but I'd had numerous recommendations for this. Well worth it.

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I have started 2018 on a mission to read more books. Set myself a challenge of reading at least 36.

January:

Inhuman Bondage, David Brion Davis - 8/10 - book about the history of slavery. Some grim reading of course, but very interesting all the same, especially the early stages and how it eventually became associated with specific races. Also interesting to see the differences in the abolition movement in the UK compared to the US.

Sapiens, Yuval Noah - 7/10 - recommended to me after I read Guns, Germs and Steel. It started off pretty well, then lost my interest a bit before picking up again. Maybe all the good reviews built it up too high for me, but I was a little disappointed.

The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins - 9/10 - very good and well written as usual by Dawkins who I have always thought was exceptionally good at writing science for the layman. Was surprised to see Sunderland AFC's relegation at the hands of Bristol City and Coventry referenced in a section discussing cooperation between rivals. :lol:

I'm on The Better Angels of our Nature (excellent start) though I might need to ally it with something a bit more "light" after 4 fairly heavy reads. Maybe some football.
 

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