Really late reply, but I have very similar taste and I just finished Hyperion by Dan Simmons, it was absolutely fantastic. It dislodged Dune from my favorite Sci-fi book.
Books The BOOK thread
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Thanks will add it to my list.
That's a shame, I didn't personally get put off by the points you mention. Although I do agree Jerome isn't the best character.
Brady was the character that really made the book for me. I think he nails the closet psychopath who is pointlessly destructive and grandiose. So many thrillers write bland, unbelievable villains, I thought King did a good job on this.
That's a parody of Jerome doing a parody, I think it's meant to be cringey.
Yeah I mean there are good bits but the bad bits seem to really stand out.
For every good King book is a bad King book.
I've bought - and even enjoyed - loads of King books over the years, yet I can't think of a single line of memorable prose. They're like comics for grown-ups, essentially.
I've now read all 3. They really are an odd mix of good, terrible and cringe. Strangely entertaining though.
The last one was pretty damn bad I thought.
Just read Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín. He is the author of Brooklyn which was made into a film a couple of years back with Saoirse Ronan in the main role. Nora Webster is coming to terms with the loss of her husband in a small rural town in Ireland where everyone knows your business. It's a really easy read with a great insight into what small towns were (set in the 70s) and perhaps are still like in Ireland. The story itself isn't exactly exciting (bit like Brooklyn) but then Tóibín has a way of making the characters come to life for you. I found it really hard to like Nora but still enjoyed the book.
The Da Vinci Code may be the most over rated book of all time.
I just read To Set a Watchman and thought it was absolutely awful. No redeeming features at all.
Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor is well worth a read. For any Forsyth fans Dogs of War is pretty good. I picked up an omnibus edition years ago with Day of the Jackal and thought Dogs was one of his better novels.
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice is a personal favourite (even if the sequels are not as good).
I just read To Set a Watchman and thought it was absolutely awful. No redeeming features at all.
Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor is well worth a read. For any Forsyth fans Dogs of War is pretty good. I picked up an omnibus edition years ago with Day of the Jackal and thought Dogs was one of his better novels.
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice is a personal favourite (even if the sequels are not as good).
The only people who rate the Da Vinci code are the type of people who read one book a year while on holiday. The guy is an awful writer.
Yeah, it irritates me that people think that its top quality and even more irritatingly 100% fact.
Posted this a couple of pages back, pretty amusing parody of Dan Brown's writing.
Renowned author Dan Brown woke up in his luxurious four-poster bed in his expensive $10 million house – and immediately he felt angry. Most people would have thought that the 48-year-old man had no reason to be angry. After all, the famous writer had a new book coming out. But that was the problem. A new book meant an inevitable attack on the rich novelist by the wealthy wordsmith’s fiercest foes. The critics.
Renowned author Dan Brown hated the critics. Ever since he had become one of the world’s top renowned authors they had made fun of him. They had mocked bestselling book The Da Vinci Code, successful novel Digital Fortress, popular tome Deception Point, money-spinning volume Angels & Demonsand chart-topping work of narrative fiction The Lost Symbol.
The critics said his writing was clumsy,ungrammatical, repetitive and repetitive. They said it was full of unnecessary tautology. They said his prose was mired in a sea of mixed metaphors. For some reason they found something funny in sentences such as “His eyes went white, like a shark about to attack.” They even say my books are packed with banal and superfluous description, thought the 5ft 9in man. He particularly hated it when they said his imagery was nonsensical. It made his insect eyes flash like a rocket.
Renowned author Dan Brown got out of his luxurious four-poster bed in his expensive $10 million house and paced the bedroom, using the feet located at the ends of his two legs to propel him forwards. He knew he shouldn’t care what a few jealous critics thought. His new book Inferno was coming out on Tuesday, and the 480-page hardback published by Doubleday with a recommended US retail price of $29.95 was sure to be a hit. Wasn’t it?
I’ll call my agent, pondered the prosperous scribe. He reached for the telephone using one of his two hands. “Hello, this is renowned author Dan Brown,” spoke renowned author Dan Brown. “I want to talk to literary agent John Unconvincingname.”
“Mr Unconvincingname, it’s renowned author Dan Brown,” told the voice at the other end of the line. Instantly the voice at the other end of the line was replaced by a different voice at the other end of the line. “Hello, it’s literary agent John Unconvincingname,” informed the new voice at the other end of the line.
“Hello agent John, it’s client Dan,” commented the pecunious scribbler. “I’m worried about new book Inferno. I think critics are going to say it’s badly written.”
The voice at the other end of the line gave a sigh, like a mighty oak toppling into a great river, or something else that didn’t sound like a sigh if you gave it a moment’s thought. “Who cares what the stupid critics say?” advised the literary agent. “They’re just snobs. You have millions of fans.”
That’s true, mused the accomplished composer of thrillers that combined religion, high culture and conspiracy theories. His books were read by everyone from renowned politician President Obama to renowned musician Britney Spears. It was said that a copy of The Da Vinci Code had even found its way into the hands of renowned monarch the Queen. He was grateful for his good fortune, and gave thanks every night in his prayers to renowned deity God.
“Think of all the money you’ve made,” recommended the literary agent. That was true too. The thriving ink-slinger’s wealth had allowed him to indulge his passion for great art. Among his proudest purchases were a specially commissioned landscape by acclaimed painter Vincent van Gogh and a signed first edition by revered scriptwriter William Shakespeare.
Renowned author Dan Brown smiled, the ends of his mouth curving upwards in a physical expression of pleasure. He felt much better. If your books brought innocent delight to millions of readers, what did it matter whether you knew the difference between a transitive and an intransitive verb?
“Thanks, John,” he thanked. Then he put down the telephone and perambulated on foot to the desk behind which he habitually sat on a chair to write his famous books on an Apple iMac MD093B/A computer. New book Inferno, the latest in his celebrated series about fictional Harvard professor Robert Langdon, was inspired by top Italian poet Dante. It wouldn’t be the last in the lucrative sequence, either. He had all the sequels mapped out. The Mozart Acrostic. The Michelangelo Wordsearch. The Newton Sudoku.
The 190lb adult male human being nodded his head to indicate satisfaction and returned to his bedroom by walking there. Still asleep in the luxurious four-poster bed of the expensive $10 million house was beautiful wife Mrs Brown. Renowned author Dan Brown gazed admiringly at the pulchritudinous brunette’s blonde tresses, flowing from her head like a stream but made from hair instead of water and without any fish in. She was as majestic as the finest sculpture by Caravaggio or the most coveted portrait by Rodin. I like the attractive woman, thought the successful man.
Perhaps one day, inspired by beautiful wife Mrs Brown, he would move into romantic poetry, like market-leading British rhymester John Keats. That would be good, opined the talented person, and got back into the luxurious four-poster bed. He felt as happy as a man who has something to be happy about and is suitably happy about it.
Can anyone recommend some absorbing fictional books that are reasonably easy to read?
I seem to have the attention span of a 5 year old so every time I start reading a new book I lose interest extremely quickly and the book is soon forgotten about and thrown in a pile with the other books which have also only been read up to chapter 2 or 3.
I say fictional books as I am looking for something to spark my imagination and hopefully also spark some enjoyment in reading rather than it just feeling like a chore. I usually prefer more factual reading but even then to me it's not enjoyable like it would be watching a video documentary. Maybe i'm just more of a visual learner but if anyone has any tips or recommendations I would really appreciate it.
I seem to have the attention span of a 5 year old so every time I start reading a new book I lose interest extremely quickly and the book is soon forgotten about and thrown in a pile with the other books which have also only been read up to chapter 2 or 3.
I say fictional books as I am looking for something to spark my imagination and hopefully also spark some enjoyment in reading rather than it just feeling like a chore. I usually prefer more factual reading but even then to me it's not enjoyable like it would be watching a video documentary. Maybe i'm just more of a visual learner but if anyone has any tips or recommendations I would really appreciate it.
Shane Kuhn - The interns handbook.
See mye review of that book and the sequel on page 90 of this thread.
They are not my thing at all but maybe try a Lee Child thriller. They have a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter so it may encourage you to read on. If you are up for being a bit more patient a Michael Connelly book (detective Bosch/Mickey Haller) are fantastic but it'll be a few chapters in until you are hooked. Similar with Mark Billingham books if you rather them set in England.
Not long finished the first two Rivers of London books by Ben Aaronovitch, both of which were a lot of fun.
Now on to the new Rebus book by Ian Rankin. On the list after that is Lonesome Dove by Larry Mcmurtry.
Now on to the new Rebus book by Ian Rankin. On the list after that is Lonesome Dove by Larry Mcmurtry.
Catch-22. It is my favourite book. Absolutely side-splittingly hilarious, and, at the same time, an angry anti-war story.
Since you mentioned you have a short memory. It's written in an unusual and repetitive way, and the plot is very very non-linear so its easy t glaze over a few pages without "missing" something (though you may not understand a joke or two later).
Yossarian, who decided right then and there to go crazy.
“You’re wasting your time,” Doc Daneeka was forced to tell him.
“Can’t you ground someone who’s crazy?”
“Oh, sure, I have to. There’s a rule saying I have to ground anyone who’s crazy.”
“Then why don’t you ground me? I’m crazy. Ask Clevinger.”
“Clevinger? Where is Clevinger? You find Clevinger and I’ll ask him.”
“Then ask any of the others. They’ll tell you how crazy I am.”
“They’re crazy.”
“Then why don’t you ground them?”
“Why don’t they ask me to ground them?”
“Because they’re crazy, that’s why.”
“Of course they’re crazy,” Doc Daneeka replied. “I just told you they’re crazy, didn’t I? And you can’t let crazy people decide whether you’re crazy or not, can you?”
Yossarian looked at him soberly and tried another appraoch. “Is Orr crazy?”
“He sure is,” Doc Daneeka said.
“Can you ground him?”
“I sure can. But first he has to ask me to. That’s part of the rule.”
“Then why doesn’t he ask you to?”
“Because he’s crazy,” Doc Daneeka said. “He has to be crazy to keep flying combat missions after all the close calls he’s had. Sure, I can ground Orr. But first he has to ask me to.”
“That’s all he has to do to be grounded?”
“That’s all. Let him ask me.”
“And then you can ground him?” Yossarian asked.
“No. Then I can’t ground him.”
“You mean there’s a catch?”
“Sure there’s a catch,” Doc Daneeka replied. “Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn’t really crazy.”
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
“That’s some catch, that Catch-22,” he observed.
“It’s the best there is,” Doc Daneeka agreed.
“You’re wasting your time,” Doc Daneeka was forced to tell him.
“Can’t you ground someone who’s crazy?”
“Oh, sure, I have to. There’s a rule saying I have to ground anyone who’s crazy.”
“Then why don’t you ground me? I’m crazy. Ask Clevinger.”
“Clevinger? Where is Clevinger? You find Clevinger and I’ll ask him.”
“Then ask any of the others. They’ll tell you how crazy I am.”
“They’re crazy.”
“Then why don’t you ground them?”
“Why don’t they ask me to ground them?”
“Because they’re crazy, that’s why.”
“Of course they’re crazy,” Doc Daneeka replied. “I just told you they’re crazy, didn’t I? And you can’t let crazy people decide whether you’re crazy or not, can you?”
Yossarian looked at him soberly and tried another appraoch. “Is Orr crazy?”
“He sure is,” Doc Daneeka said.
“Can you ground him?”
“I sure can. But first he has to ask me to. That’s part of the rule.”
“Then why doesn’t he ask you to?”
“Because he’s crazy,” Doc Daneeka said. “He has to be crazy to keep flying combat missions after all the close calls he’s had. Sure, I can ground Orr. But first he has to ask me to.”
“That’s all he has to do to be grounded?”
“That’s all. Let him ask me.”
“And then you can ground him?” Yossarian asked.
“No. Then I can’t ground him.”
“You mean there’s a catch?”
“Sure there’s a catch,” Doc Daneeka replied. “Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn’t really crazy.”
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
“That’s some catch, that Catch-22,” he observed.
“It’s the best there is,” Doc Daneeka agreed.
Edit: I have short attention span and found it very easy to read but I know many don't.
Having looked for 1 quote I'm now lost in that book again.
“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways,” Yossarian continued, hurtling on over her objection. “There’s nothing so mysterious about it. He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about–a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?”
“Pain?” Lieutenant Scheisskopf’s wife pounced upon the word victoriously. “Pain is a useful symptom. Pain is a warning to us of bodily dangers.”
“And who created the dangers?” Yossarian demanded. he laughed caustically. “Oh, He was really being charitable to us when He gave us pain! Why couldn’t He have used a doorbell instead to notify us, or one of His celestial choirs? Or a system of blue-and-red neon tubes right in the middle of each person’s forehead. Any jukebox manufacturer worth his salt could have done that. Why couldn’t He?”
“People would certainly look silly walking around with red neon tubes in the middle of their foreheads.”
“They certainly look beautiful now writhing in agony or stupefied with morphine, don’t they? What a colossal, immortal blunderer! When you consider the opportunity and power He had to really do a job, and then look at the stupid, ugly little mess He made of it instead, His sheer incompetence is almost staggering. It’s obvious He never met a payroll. Why, no self-respecting businessman would hire a bungler like Him as even a shipping clerk!”
“Pain?” Lieutenant Scheisskopf’s wife pounced upon the word victoriously. “Pain is a useful symptom. Pain is a warning to us of bodily dangers.”
“And who created the dangers?” Yossarian demanded. he laughed caustically. “Oh, He was really being charitable to us when He gave us pain! Why couldn’t He have used a doorbell instead to notify us, or one of His celestial choirs? Or a system of blue-and-red neon tubes right in the middle of each person’s forehead. Any jukebox manufacturer worth his salt could have done that. Why couldn’t He?”
“People would certainly look silly walking around with red neon tubes in the middle of their foreheads.”
“They certainly look beautiful now writhing in agony or stupefied with morphine, don’t they? What a colossal, immortal blunderer! When you consider the opportunity and power He had to really do a job, and then look at the stupid, ugly little mess He made of it instead, His sheer incompetence is almost staggering. It’s obvious He never met a payroll. Why, no self-respecting businessman would hire a bungler like Him as even a shipping clerk!”
But Yossarian couldn’t be happy, even though the Texan didn’t want him to be, because outside the hospital there was still nothing funny going on. The only thing going on was a war, and no one seemed to notice but Yossarian and Dunbar. And when Yossarian tried to remind people, they drew away from him and thought he was crazy.
“They’re trying to kill me,” Yossarian told him calmly.
“No one’s trying to kill you,” Clevinger cried.
“Then why are they shooting at me?” yossarian asked.
“They’re shooting at everyone,” Clevinger answered. “They’re trying to kill everyone.”
“And what difference does that make?” “
“They’re trying to kill me,” Yossarian told him calmly.
“No one’s trying to kill you,” Clevinger cried.
“Then why are they shooting at me?” yossarian asked.
“They’re shooting at everyone,” Clevinger answered. “They’re trying to kill everyone.”
“And what difference does that make?” “
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Thank you very much for your recommendations guys I will be sure to check them out.
I've always enjoyed the books of Jeffrey Archer, which I believe fit your demand. Easy to read, yet exciting imo.
Bought this book based on this comment, just finished it last night. Amazing how similar it is to IT (or rather how similar IT is to Ghost Story since Ghost Story was written first), at one stage they even call the monster 'It'.
Really good read (although it did drag in some of the descriptive parts). I'd still have IT as my favourite book in the horror genre but it might be purely because I read it first.
Started The Girl With All The Gifts last night.
Really liking it so far. Read about 60 pages, not something I would normally do but with my wife watching I'm a Celebrity...
, I have the perfect excuse to get a bit of reading in.
Really liking it so far. Read about 60 pages, not something I would normally do but with my wife watching I'm a Celebrity...
, I have the perfect excuse to get a bit of reading in.Start with short stories or books that are not too many pages.
I would recommend some classics like Animal farms by George Orwell, Call of the wild by Jack London , and 12 red herrings from Jeffrey Archer.
Kiss the Girls (by James Patterson)
Incredibly bad. Words cannot express how clichéd it is.
2/10
Amazon reviewer: 'Nearly every single character is described by what celebrity or movie character they most resemble. For example, the gentleman caller character looks like "U2 singer Bono"; our main protagonist Alex Cross looks like "Muhammad Ali"; various others are described as a "young Grace Kelly" and looking like Harrison Ford's character in The Fugitive.'
Incredibly bad. Words cannot express how clichéd it is.
2/10
Amazon reviewer: 'Nearly every single character is described by what celebrity or movie character they most resemble. For example, the gentleman caller character looks like "U2 singer Bono"; our main protagonist Alex Cross looks like "Muhammad Ali"; various others are described as a "young Grace Kelly" and looking like Harrison Ford's character in The Fugitive.'
Awful books. One of those writers it's hard to see why he's so successful.
Orphan X
6/10
Struggled to finish it. Some parts are interesting and keeps you reading but most of the book takes itself way too seriously. Doesn't help when the writer keeps starting every sentence with the name of the protagonist.
6/10
Struggled to finish it. Some parts are interesting and keeps you reading but most of the book takes itself way too seriously. Doesn't help when the writer keeps starting every sentence with the name of the protagonist.
Started The Girl With All The Gifts last night.
Really liking it so far. Read about 60 pages, not something I would normally do but with my wife watching I'm a Celebrity...
It is quality.
Stumbled upon a brilliant little second hand bookstore and they had the complete Sea of Fertility tetralogy which was a major find. Got the last three, plus Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions (despite loving Slaughterhouse Five I've never read any other Vonnegut) for less than $30. I should look for more of these.
I was going to buy some stocking stuffers for Christmas as well but I'm not sure gifting secondhand books is acceptable.
I was going to buy some stocking stuffers for Christmas as well but I'm not sure gifting secondhand books is acceptable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/18/b...bunny-my-child-is-reading-hemingway.html?_r=0
They feck you up, your mum and your dad
They feck you up, your mum and your dad
"Help!: My child read The Sun Also Rises and now she's an anti-semite"
The Daily Mail, probably.
Sirens of Titan is great too. If you like Vonnegut's black humour that is.
Just finished The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson. An excellent and funny read.
I'm almost finished with The Girl On The Train. This is such a brilliant and captivating book. I doubt I've read so many pages in so few days with any other book as I have with this. Love it. Will watch the movie once I'm done.
Can anyone recommend me some good non fiction books?
Nothing specific. I like self-improvement mostly.
If you like travel writing, here are some of my favourites:
William Dalrymple - From the Holy Mountain. Account of a trip the author did from Mt. Athos in Greece to Egypt in the early 90s, the theme being the crisis facing Middle Eastern Christians. Also check out his In Xanadu and The Age of Kali.
Paul Theroux - The Great Railway Bazaar. Classic book on the author's journey by train from London to Japan and back. Theroux has a particular grumpy/cynical outlook on life that doesn't sit well with everyone. Personally I prefer it to the kind of 'wow it was so amazing' stuff that you get from some others. Also check out his Dark Star Safari and others.
Wilfred Thesiger - Arabian Sands. Outright travel classic, Thesiger was the last of the great British desert explorers, and had the instinct of an anthropologist. This work, and his other book The Marsh Arabs capture traditional rural Arab life just before it was changed forever by the impact of oil revenues.
Eric Newby - A Short Walk in the Hindukush. Newby probably has the best sense of humour of those I've listed here, this is a great account of his attempt to climb a remote mountain in eastern Afghanistan. Also check his Slowly Down the Ganges.
Jason Elliot - An Unexpected Light. Account of a year the author spent in Afghanistan in the mid-90s, after the rise of the Taliban, but just before they conquered Kabul.
Rory Stewart - The Places In Between. Another one set in Afghanistan (Afghanistan tends to produce great travel writing for some reason), the author (a Conservative MP) walked from Herat to Kabul in the winter of 2001/2002, through the remote 'central route' of Afghanistan.
Robert Byron - The Road to Oxiana. This is considered by some to be the greatest travel book ever written. Heavy on insights on Islamic architecture, it is set primarily in Iran and Afghanistan (again) during the 1930s.
VS Naipaul - Among the Believers. The author, like Theroux above, isn't everyone's cup of tea. This is an account of his travels in Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution (1979).
Colin Thubron - In the Shadow of the Silk Road. The author travels from China to Israel/Palestine, retracing Marco Polo's route backwards through Central Asia.
Let me know if you're into any specific periods or subjects of history, I have lots of recommendations especially relating to the Middle East/Islamic history.
I beg your pardon - "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." is one of the f*cking best first sentences of a book ever.
on topic: I just finished Noah Gordon's The Physician.
An epic journey which takes its time to start and turned into a real page-turner for me.
Now I got Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind for christmas. I'm around 100 pages into it, which is a bit too early to judge it. Okay so far, I guess.
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