Books

[bigbadjack]

Have you read any good ones recently? Iv just started coldbrook it's about zombies and shit apparently

[jonnydog]

I read Fatherland the other month, and also 'A street cat named Bob'.

Both very different, but thought both were good reads

[Crowle Rover]

Just finished "All The Madmen" about Bowie,Barrett,Drake,The Who,The Kinks and the dark side of British Rock.

Great book!!

[wilts rover]

Reading Chris Hargreaves, 'Where's Your Caravan' at the moment (thanks to Crowle Rover). I just about remember him playing for Grimsby and its a great read on the perils of lower league football. Also on how your off the field behaviour can help/hinder your performance on it - usually the latter in CH case.

[Nudga]

I've just read The Silmarillion by Tolkien, it's not as good as The Hobbit or Lord of The Rings but I enjoyed it all the same.

[Dutch Uncle]

Glad you enjoyed the Silmarillion Nudga 

I think I have said before that I was fortunate to meet Prof Tolkien a few times when I was at College, so I am naturally a self confessed Tolkien-nut. IMHO the Silmarillion is great if you are a Tolkien fan, but not otherwise. Since it was put together by his son (who did a great job) from incomplete notes after JRR died it is a bit inconsistent in tone and detail. For me the best bit is the story of Hurin, and this is told in more detail in the more recently published beautiful book 'The Children of Hurin' which I would recommend more.

Recently I have enjoyed 'Invictus' - the brilliant and truly inspiring story of Nelson Mandela and the Rugby World Cup, 'Bounce' - a very readable book by Matthew Syed on sport talent, practice and psychology, and 'My Father and Other Working Class Heroes' by Gary Imlach - an eye-opening book about Professional Footballers in the 1950's

[Nudga]

Glad you enjoyed the Silmarillion Nudga 

I think I have said before that I was fortunate to meet Prof Tolkien a few times when I was at College, so I am naturally a self confessed Tolkien-nut. IMHO the Silmarillion is great if you are a Tolkien fan, but not otherwise. Since it was put together by his son (who did a great job) from incomplete notes after JRR died it is a bit inconsistent in tone and detail. For me the best bit is the story of Hurin, and this is told in more detail in the more recently published beautiful book 'The Children of Hurin' which I would recommend more.

Recently I have enjoyed 'Invictus' - the brilliant and truly inspiring story of Nelson Mandela and the Rugby World Cup, 'Bounce' - a very readable book by Matthew Syed on sport talent, practice and psychology, and 'My Father and Other Working Class Heroes' by Gary Imlach - an eye-opening book about Professional Footballers in the 1950's

Hi Dutch, I found it a bit tough going because of all the characters from when time began in Middle Earth. I'm going to start on Unfinished Tales tomorrow night, have you read that one.

[River Don]

I just bought a copy of Silmarillion off a second hand stall for £1. I haven't started it yet, I didn't recognise the title but noticed it was a Tolkien high fantasy novel, I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings at school and I enjoyed them back then. I didn't realise there were more books and was intrigued enough to pay £1 for it!

I'll keep a look out for the Children of Hurin.

Has his son recently released both of them? I believe he still gets royalties from his fathers work, a very nice little nest egg no doubt... Particularly if these works also make it to the big screen!

[BobG]

Boring I know. But I've enjoyed  3 book recently:

The Arms of Krupp, William Manchester (fascinating. Absolutely bloody fascinating)

Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth, Gitta Sereny (and a wonderfully intelligent and humane book it is too. Gitta died last year. The world is a poorer place as a result)

Masada, Yigael Yadin (not a subject I ever knew anything about. What a story! Love to go there now to see both the amazing rock and the amazing ramp the Romans built, and, to stand in awed contemplation of what happened there)

Cheers

BobG

[Dutch Uncle]

Nudga & River Don

Don't really want to hijack this thread just for a Tolkien discussion, but a couple of comments. First of all, although I met JRRT on many occasions I never met any of his family, and I am definitely not in the know about his estate, but I am sure his son Christopher will have been rewarded for all the excellent work he did with his father's notes and unfinished tales. I do know that the initial contract in the 1950's with publishers George, Allen & Unwin for LoTR was an unusual one based on their premise that it would not sell many copies - so instead of a lump sum JRRT was offered a percentage of sales. That worked out pretty well for the publisher then 

I actually preferred the Unfinished tales to the Silmarillion - the Silmarillion is great for finding out about the worlds that JRRT created, and it is amazing to see just how LoTR is just the tip of an enormous iceberg. However you can see where things are missing - with about 10 pages to go you feel you are in the middle of a truly epic tale - and then the end is sketched out in those 10 pages. But the whole does give the overview of what happened in the various phases and ages of Tolkien's world. Looking back in the book I see Hurin's Children only have a small part in the Silmarillion (mainly Turin Turambar), and that they are more fully recounted in the Unfinished tales, and then even more in the Children of Hurin. The Unfinished tales do not have the overview picture of the Silmarillion, but do contain some great stories - I love the tale of the Numenor and Sauron, and some of the more vague references in LoTR then make much more sense.

If you are going to read them all I would recommend Silmarillion first - and do persevere when its get tough, then the Unfinished Tales, and then The Children of Hurin. However they are all tough reading if you are not a Tolkien fan, but brilliant if you are.

[DaveDRFC]

I've just finished reading the new Dan Brown one, which I thought was good, far better than the last one anyway. Currently trying to get through Life Of Pi, although it's a bit weird and hard going at the moment.

My favourite books I've read recently were The Hunger Games trilogy, enjoyed every one of them and read all 3 in a week, which is always a good sign.

Will probably get slated for this but the Game of Thrones books are dire, just so so depressing and badly written, in my opinion anyway!

[Jenny]

Dave, don't tell me that I have just bought the first 7....!!

[Dutch Uncle]

Dave - I read Life of Pi a few months back. Yes it gets tough at a certain point, but do keep going - the ending is brilliant IMHO

[Mr Brightside]

Colin Bateman always makes me chuckle, I've just got this one out of the library

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/colin-bateman/prisoner-of-brenda.htm

[Sandy Lane]

I've just finished reading the new Dan Brown one, which I thought was good, far better than the last one anyway. Currently trying to get through Life Of Pi, although it's a bit weird and hard going at the moment.

My favourite books I've read recently were The Hunger Games trilogy, enjoyed every one of them and read all 3 in a week, which is always a good sign.

Will probably get slated for this but the Game of Thrones books are dire, just so so depressing and badly written, in my opinion anyway!

I'm in the middle of the new Dan Brown one now.  I always like books set in other cities, but this one has so many references to famous things I've forgotten (or never knew) that I've had to keep the computer handy to look at maps and Dante and paintings!  Oh my!

[MR A-Z]

Jo Nesbo all the way, hate papers referring to him as the 'new Stieg Larsson' he's miles better. Ventured away from the Harry Hole trilogy to read Headhunters and it was just as good if not better. Hooked on Scandinavian crime at the minute.

Also finished Bukowski's Chinaski novels and toying with the idea of buying some of his poems and short stories. Wondered if anyone had read John Fante and if so whether they could recommend which one to start with?

[moses]

Sandy
Be interested in your views on the new Dan Brown, just finished it so wont say anything.

Mr MR A-Z if you like Scandi crime Hening Mankell is a must. I think the Wallender novels are my favourite series. Karim Foss are beautifully written as well.

[MR A-Z]

Yeah, I've read the first three Wallander books but wasn't too keen but I'm gonna persevere because I think they'll get better. Same with Karin Fossum read Black Seconds and wasn't massively impressed but I'll give her another go.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Big Bad Jack

Given today's news, have a go at Complicity by Iain Banks. It's 20-odd years old now, but it's still a grand rip-roaring read.

In fact, have a go at owt he ever wrote. One of the finest UK authors of the last 50 years. Either the fiction or the sci-fi. Both were equally believable, both were compulsive page-turners and both were brilliant commentaries on our modern society.

[Sandy Lane]

Sandy
Be interested in your views on the new Dan Brown, just finished it so wont say anything.

Mr MR A-Z if you like Scandi crime Hening Mankell is a must. I think the Wallender novels are my favourite series. Karim Foss are beautifully written as well.

Ok, will let you know.

[colfromdonny]

Have just finished reading the Thursday Next series of books by Jasper Fforde, he is a very clever writer but not everybodys cup of tea.  Also I was a world book giver this year and I was giving away the first of the series called 'The Eyre Affair' which got me hooked (still got a few left). Anyway holidays soon so it will be 'The Humans' by Matt Haig and a few Tom Sharps

[Donnywolf]

Reading Chris Hargreaves, 'Where's Your Caravan' at the moment (thanks to Crowle Rover). I just about remember him playing for Grimsby and its a great read on the perils of lower league football. Also on how your off the field behaviour can help/hinder your performance on it - usually the latter in CH case.

Just finished that last night. Was glad to get to the end because I was not enthralled by it but did not want to pack in before the end in case I missed anything

Not the best Book I have read but I am struggling to think of a worse one

[Sandy Lane]

Sandy
Be interested in your views on the new Dan Brown, just finished it so wont say anything.

Mr MR A-Z if you like Scandi crime Hening Mankell is a must. I think the Wallender novels are my favourite series. Karim Foss are beautifully written as well.

Ok, will let you know.

Finally finished the Dan Brown book and enjoyed it.  Thought it was a bit slow going for the first half, but it picked up nicely about half way through and the ending was fab! I won't say more so I don't ruin it for anyone.  I do wish they explored the WHO and the global issues a bit more though, because I was hoping for some miraculous answers.

[Orlandokarla]

I'm usually found reading anything by Bernard Cornwell, especially his Dark Ages/Medieval stuff.

[scaley back rover]

the sharpe collection cant beat a bit of sharpe to pass a bit of time. Intrestingly the tv series is very good even if the ranks are a bit mixed around it keeps to the stories in the books quite well

[Belle-Vue-Ghost]

I used to be an avid reader but am ashamed to say I've not really read anything in the last couple of years.

Thankfully this thread is inspiring me to pop to the supermarket after work, pick up a decent novel and get it started over the weekend, so thank you all 

I might give Life of Pi a go or the new Dan Brown one.

A good series of books I can recommend if anyone likes a good crime thriller is the Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham.  Excellent reads

[Nudga]

Just been given The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien for Fathers day. I've still got Unfinished Tales to read so not sure which to read first.

[Dutch Uncle]

Nudga - just my own preference, but I would probably read Unfinished tales first. The Children of Hurin takes one story (and a few connected areas) from the Unfinished tales and expands on them.

Be very interested to hear what you think of both books.

[bigbadjack]

Some good stuff too be getting on with Iv started to actually switch the telly off on a night now and read!!! So much better

[Nudga]

Cheers Dutch, it may take a while though as Unfinished Tales is a massive book and I only tend to read for about half an hour before lights out.