Books The BOOK thread

Sounds interesting. I see it has 4.5/5 on Goodreads. :eek:
I think I will pick it up, but I am unsure of which version to get. Did you read The Complete Edition?

Yes. The version I read included things like letters Pessoa sent to other people talking about the book and some of his personal notes too.

If you don't know much about Pessoa I'd advise you to read a bit about him and some of his poems before picking up that book.
 
Looking for any good nonfiction recommendations.
I am in the final straight of a book that has taken me a long time to read, mainly because it is full of statistics and analysis - so it isnt exactly a page turner. But it is really, really interesting and very current.

Already recommended it to at least one person - though I think it was in another thread. The Road to Somewhere. By David Goodhart.

It is principally written for metropolitan liberal remainers like me, to help us understand "the other side", Leavers, UKIP voters or even just people who arent "like us", the people who are completely unrepresented by the media and mainstream politicians. Its about the people who people like me fall into the trap of thinking dont really understand the issues and would have voted differently if only they werent a bit ignorant and perhaps a little racist. It was a real eye opener. Like I said, a hard book to read when you read like me (in bed mostly, for relatively small snatches, unless Im reading something that makes me stay up until 2 in the morning reading - which this didnt) because it crunches numbers and polls and stuff like that. Its not a page turner. But in terms of being a book that has changed my perspective on things and really opened my eyes to something I didnt really see before, this book will stay with me longer than a lot of books I couldnt put down and read in a couple of days.

So yeah. If that sounds interesting, give it a go.
 
He's closer to Marquez than Bolano (possibly my favourite writer), but saying that he really isn't that similar to Marquez either. He's far more philosophical. I'm actually seeing more similarities to Kafka's works.

Speaking of South American writers - over Christmas I also received The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian writer. Heard good things about him so looking forward to starting that.
I've been meaning to get into Bolano since I read Karl Ove Knausgaard rave about him. Where's the best place to start?
 
I've been meaning to get into Bolano since I read Karl Ove Knausgaard rave about him. Where's the best place to start?
Well I jumped in at the deep end and read 2666 right off the bat. It's probably my favourite book of all time, but in hindsight not the best place to start.

I would recommend The Savage Detectives, along with his short story collections: Last Evenings on Earth and The Return.
 
I finished the Word is Murder by Horowitz and was very good. I read The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan and didnt find it great as I couldnt relate to any of the characters. Currently reading My Cousin Rachel by Daphne De Maurier which I really like so far.
 
Well I jumped in at the deep end and read 2666 right off the bat. It's probably my favourite book of all time, but in hindsight not the best place to start.

I would recommend The Savage Detectives, along with his short story collections: Last Evenings on Earth and The Return.

Yeah 2666 is his epic and it's great, but might be best to start with something smaller.
 
Reading leCarre’s A LEGACY OF SPIES. Enjoying it enormously so far, with him riffing on the past.
 
I read Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse earlier this year and I loved it. The language was quite simple, but the story was amazing. One of my favourite books I've read recently.

Just finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and I liked it a lot. I went through a phase a while ago of reading dystopian/post-war novels a year or two ago but managed to miss this one, but I'm glad I went back to it. Though I did find it a bit peculiar in parts. I haven't seen Blade Runner the movie, so I'll give that a watch over the next week.

Not sure what to read next, I'm thinking perhaps The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro, or The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho.
 
I've read Robert Dallek's autobiographies of JFK and LBJ in the last year, both which were terrific. The JFK one is especially good. If you're interested in Civil Rights maybe The Autobiography of Malcolm X, or some of James Baldwin's work, like The Fire Next Time.

I've just purchased a biography of Ataturk, by Patrick Kinross, which I'm sure will be a great read.

I've been meaning to read Atatürk by Patrick Kinross for ages. I have read positive reviews of the book too. Feel free to let me know what you thought of the book.
 
Finished My Cousin Rachel and was very good.
 
Currently reading the Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri. It's a bit pulpy, but very entertaining if you're into Roman History and soldiers and sandals novels.
 
Finished Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep a couple of days ago and then launched right into Flow My Tears The Policeman Said.

Ive decided this year I am going to read a shitload of Philip Dick.
Good lad. A Scanner Darkly is absolutely brilliant, along with Do Androids? it's probably my favourite PKD book. Ubik and The Man in the High Castle are also good.
 
Good lad. A Scanner Darkly is absolutely brilliant, along with Do Androids? it's probably my favourite PKD book. Ubik and The Man in the High Castle are also good.
Up to date with The Man in the High Castle, done quite a bit of Electric Dreams, and watched A Scanner Darkly (for the second time) at the weekend.

Fair to say Im a bit obsessed at the moment.

Question on High Castle actually: how do the book and the show compare? I have heard they changed details in the show but were very true to the "spirit" of the book, rather than the letter of it. But my main question is, how far through the book are we by the end of the second series of the show? Or have they pretty much completely parted company by that point?
 
Up to date with The Man in the High Castle, done quite a bit of Electric Dreams, and watched A Scanner Darkly (for the second time) at the weekend.

Fair to say Im a bit obsessed at the moment.

Question on High Castle actually: how do the book and the show compare? I have heard they changed details in the show but were very true to the "spirit" of the book, rather than the letter of it. But my main question is, how far through the book are we by the end of the second series of the show? Or have they pretty much completely parted company by that point?
I haven't watched High Castle so I can't help you there. I've heard they are quite different.

But I would still recommend reading A Scanner Darkly even if you've seen the adaptation.
 
I picked up Infinite Jest and The Magic Mountain recently. Already looking forward to finishing both around December.

Also nearing the end of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - easily the best Murakami book I've read.
 
Out of interest, what others have you read? I read this one and Kafka On The Shore, I liked both.
Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is a great one.
 
Out of interest, what others have you read? I read this one and Kafka On The Shore, I liked both.

I've only read Norwegian Wood, which I quite liked but which is also apparently a lot less magical realism-y than most of his other works.
 
I picked up Infinite Jest and The Magic Mountain recently. Already looking forward to finishing both around December.

Also nearing the end of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - easily the best Murakami book I've read.

Infinite Jest is something else, very long and challenging at times but some parts are so good you'll breeze past them.
 
Out of interest, what others have you read? I read this one and Kafka On The Shore, I liked both.

Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and also parts of that book he wrote about running. I like both NW and Kafka a lot but the latter is a better book I reckon. My impression of Hardboiled is a bit tainted because I wasn't in a very good place when I read it. Generally speaking though, people seem to really like it and place it up there with his best work.

Infinite Jest is something else, very long and challenging at times but some parts are so good you'll breeze past them.

Oh yeah no doubt. It's a book I've heard A LOT about so I've always wanted to check it out. I've read The Broom of the System (his first) and a few of his short story collections too (Brief Interviews, and Oblivion). The 'some parts are so good' is a general theme I find with DFW - he's excruciatingly detailed to the point of excess at times - but I feel now is a good time to delve into this tome.
 
Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore, Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, and also parts of that book he wrote about running. I like both NW and Kafka a lot but the latter is a better book I reckon. My impression of Hardboiled is a bit tainted because I wasn't in a very good place when I read it. Generally speaking though, people seem to really like it and place it up there with his best work.
This happened to me with Catch 22. I never fully appreciated it because I was is shite humour!
 
Does anybody here read Sci-Fi? Specifically militaristic Sci-Fi? I've been asked to write a piece of Sci-Fi with aliens and wars and stuff, but it's not really my cup of tea. I'd like to read a few books though, if anyone can recommend any? Otherwise I'll probably just end up writing Mass Effect fan-fiction.
 
Finished Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep a couple of days ago and then launched right into Flow My Tears The Policeman Said.

Ive decided this year I am going to read a shitload of Philip Dick.
Get on to the Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Fairly mental but brilliant.
 
Get on to the Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Fairly mental but brilliant.
I just got an absolute beast of a book from the library that has five of his stories in one, starting with this. Also has your namesake, as well as Scanner Darkly and Martian Time Slip. And Do Androids Dream, but Ive read that one. Looking forward to getting stuck in this evening.
 
I just got an absolute beast of a book from the library that has five of his stories in one, starting with this. Also has your namesake, as well as Scanner Darkly and Martian Time Slip. And Do Androids Dream, but Ive read that one. Looking forward to getting stuck in this evening.
Great collection! Time Slip's lesser known but still a classic in my view. Gubbish!
 
I have a book to recommend.

The Force by Don Winslow = 4 stars (out of 5)
While Stephen King compares this novel with The Godfather, but to me it really echoes The Shield more than anything else. Denny Malone as a main character I couldn't help but read in the voice of Michael Chiklis. The novel is also packed with vulgarity yet somehow Winslow crafts the foul language so organically it feels completely natural and normal. I contrast this with poor writers like that guy who Fire and Fury about Trump. Fire and Fury has unnecessary profanity sprinkled throughout in such a non-organic way it feels uncomfortable to read. Yet Winslow can somehow make the profanity of a NYPD officer sound not quite charming but poetic in its odd way.

I also didn't like how he structured the first chapter. The first chapter takes place at the end of the story and most of the book is bringing the reader up to date with how chapter 1 starts. I have to admit I usually dislike this rhetorical trick in general whether its on film or written. I just don't like the spoiler nature of structuring stories this way. Some people obviously like this trick though. But that aside this story is so compelling it qualifies as a "page turner". The reader can't wait to find out what happens to Malone and his partners next. Winslow also does a great job to make Malone somehow likable as an anti-hero. Too often I find modern writers try to make anti-heros and they are just too unlikable for me to care about. But Winslow walks that fine line of making Malone relatable but epically flawed.
 
Does anybody here read Sci-Fi? Specifically militaristic Sci-Fi? I've been asked to write a piece of Sci-Fi with aliens and wars and stuff, but it's not really my cup of tea. I'd like to read a few books though, if anyone can recommend any? Otherwise I'll probably just end up writing Mass Effect fan-fiction.

Try hyperion cantos
 
Cannery Row by Steinbeck is a wonderful little book. I spent the last few days waiting for delayed flights and it can be read in a couple of hours.
I'm checking out Tortilla Flat next.
 
Phillip Kerr died the other day which I'm a bit gutted about, loved the Bernie Gunther series of books
 
This sounds like the worst thing ever:
Guardian said:
So Sean Penn’s novel is repellent on one level, but stupid on so many others. It follows Bob as he Just Do Stuff, often without much reason: he variously sells septic tanks, rigs explosives and kills American pensioners with a mallet, purportedly to offset their large carbon footprint. He daydreams about a hairless woman called Annie, whose alopecia is no barrier to their sexual escapades. (“Never one for psychosexual infantilism or paedophilic fantasy, after their sex he said, ‘Good vagina. Maybe more Vietnam.’”) At one point he sets fire to a dildo in the desert, due to “an assault of animism”, which makes just as much sense as anything else in the book.
Sean Penn's debut novel – repellent and stupid on so many levels
The Oscar-winning actor’s first foray into fiction, Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff, has met with derision online. But how bad can it be?:


https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/mar/29/sean-penn-debut-novel-bob-honey-just-do-stuff