Book thread: what are you reading?

[tim2]

Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy.

We had a look at Hardy's poetry at our poetry group and the novels were mentioned. I've never read this one, and it's the one that killed off Hardy's novel writing because it had a bad critical response.

As one of the printing apprentices said in Tom Sharpe's Wilt, "It's about a bloke called Jude"

[The Hallucinating Goose]

This morning I purchased 15 novels of Julian Stockwin's Thomas Kydd series in a local charity shop. I've not read any of the series or know much about it particularly but I'm a big fan of Patrick O'Brien so thought I'd give these a go.

I bought them as soon as I saw them because about a year ago, the same charity shop had a lot of Alexander Kent's novels but when I decided a few days later to get them they had already gone, and I've been struggling to find them ever since. 

[DavidM]

I read the Railway Detective series and I’m on book 21 . 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

2 hours ago, DavidM said:

I read the Railway Detective series and I’m on book 21 . 

I read them all last year, not the best quality writing but entertaining enough nonetheless. 

[DavidM]

4 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

I read them all last year, not the best quality writing but entertaining enough nonetheless. 

Yeh entertaining fluff really

[The Hallucinating Goose]

On 18/04/2024 at 07:22, The Hallucinating Goose said:

3 down, 10 to go. Sword Song next! I love Bernard Cornwell!

4 down, 9 to go. The Burning Lands next! They just keep getting better! 

[Futtocks]

Considering Mark Dapin's book Carnage for an imminent purchase. Why? here's the blurb:

"Millions have been entertained by the viral video of a man being arrested after a ‘succulent Chinese meal’. But when Mark Dapin investigated, it emerged that this man's story went to the heart of the Australian underworld. A true crime cult classic in the making. 
Whether you know it as the ‘succulent Chinese meal’ video, or ‘democracy manifest’, chances are you have seen the video of baritone larrikin Jack Karlson getting arrested outside a Brisbane Chinese restaurant in 1991. The Guardian called it ‘perhaps the pre-eminent Australian meme of the last 10 years’.
When Karlson called crime writer Mark Dapin out of the blue, though, Dapin hadn’t heard of him. But there was enough that intrigued him about this theatrical outlaw to continue the conversation. Over the following months emerged a dark and complex past. It turned out that Karlson had been in the background of many notorious incidents in late-twentieth century Australian crime, from collaborating with infamous prison-playwright Jim McNeil to befriending hitman Christopher Dale Flannery (Mr Rent-a-Kill).
But most shockingly of all, Karlson’s life story led Dapin to shed new light on a number of unsolved murders, by two serial killers.
The result is an extraordinary, deeply revealing portrait of Australian crime from the 60s to the 2010s – a portrait of carnage.

[gingerjon]

On 14/05/2024 at 12:16, Futtocks said:

Considering Mark Dapin's book Carnage for an imminent purchase. Why? here's the blurb:

"Millions have been entertained by the viral video of a man being arrested after a ‘succulent Chinese meal’. But when Mark Dapin investigated, it emerged that this man's story went to the heart of the Australian underworld. A true crime cult classic in the making. 
Whether you know it as the ‘succulent Chinese meal’ video, or ‘democracy manifest’, chances are you have seen the video of baritone larrikin Jack Karlson getting arrested outside a Brisbane Chinese restaurant in 1991. The Guardian called it ‘perhaps the pre-eminent Australian meme of the last 10 years’.
When Karlson called crime writer Mark Dapin out of the blue, though, Dapin hadn’t heard of him. But there was enough that intrigued him about this theatrical outlaw to continue the conversation. Over the following months emerged a dark and complex past. It turned out that Karlson had been in the background of many notorious incidents in late-twentieth century Australian crime, from collaborating with infamous prison-playwright Jim McNeil to befriending hitman Christopher Dale Flannery (Mr Rent-a-Kill).
But most shockingly of all, Karlson’s life story led Dapin to shed new light on a number of unsolved murders, by two serial killers.
The result is an extraordinary, deeply revealing portrait of Australian crime from the 60s to the 2010s – a portrait of carnage.

I see you know your judo well.

[MattSantos]

I bought Isaac Asimov's i Robot last night. 

Decent start

[The Hallucinating Goose]

32 minutes ago, MattSantos said:

I bought Isaac Asimov's i Robot last night. 

Decent start

Legendary author. I used to have an anthology of all his robot stories and novels. When I was a teenager I was obsessed with classic and pioneering sci-fi from the early to mid 20th century, read all the greats.

The absolute pioneering work when it comes to robotics is the play, 'R.U.R.', written in 1920 by the Czech author Karel Capek. The first really detailed description of robotic life and how it would function.

Edited May 16, 2024 by The Hallucinating Goose

[gingerjon]

40 minutes ago, MattSantos said:

I bought Isaac Asimov's i Robot last night. 

Decent start

"The Last Question" was Asmiov's favourite of his own stories. Mine too, proving that I am a genius like him. Seek it out.

[Futtocks]

5 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Legendary author. I used to have an anthology of all his robot stories and novels. When I was a teenager I was obsessed with classic and pioneering sci-fi from the early to mid 20th century, read all the greats.

The absolute pioneering work when it comes to robotics is the play, 'R.U.R.', written in 1920 by the Czech author Karel Capek. The first really detailed description of robotic life and how it would function.

Karel Capek's satirical novel War with the Newts is, after a slow-ish start, a darkly funny read. Pretty much everyone gets skewered and there's plenty that is still relevant today.

To be honest, R.U.R. is a bit histrionic. Capek's brother came up with the word "robot" for it, which makes the play significant.

Edited May 16, 2024 by Futtocks

[Futtocks]

After quite a lot of searching, I have acquired PDFs of the first two of Steve Bruce's three crime novels, Striker! and Sweeper!

Yes, this is the same Steve Bruce who was a long-time mainstay of Manchester United's defence before joining the managerial merry-go-round, during which latter career he penned these masterpieces.

Actual print copies are rarer and more expensive than Don Estelle's autobiography, so PM me if you're interested...

[DavidM]

Medieval Horizons : Why The Middle Ages Matter by Ian Mortimer 

[Adelaide Tiger]

Half way through ‘The things they carried’ by Tim O’Brien.  About a Platoon fighting in the Vietnam War.

[Yorks Tim]

Has anyone read any M John Harrison, particularly his sci-fi novels?

I don't tend to read the genre but he's a fantastic writer and have read 'The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again' (kind of fantasy/sci-fi about a possible new lifeform evolving on Earth, I think) and Climbers (about blokes who climb rocks). 

He's one of those writers who you can happily read whatever the subject so I'm wondering if I should tackle his other stuff. 

[Futtocks]

I am currently enjoying The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov, a mystery set in Kyiv in the year 1919.

[The Future is League]

I have just finished reading The man who died twice by Richard Osman.

The 2nd in the Thursday murder club series and an excellent read.

[Futtocks]

Amazon are offering the Kindle version of "A Load of old Balls: The QI History of Sport" for £1.99 while the Olympics are on.

[JonM]

On 29/05/2024 at 18:22, Yorks Tim said:

Has anyone read any M John Harrison, particularly his sci-fi novels?

I don't tend to read the genre but he's a fantastic writer and have read 'The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again' (kind of fantasy/sci-fi about a possible new lifeform evolving on Earth, I think) and Climbers (about blokes who climb rocks). 

He's one of those writers who you can happily read whatever the subject so I'm wondering if I should tackle his other stuff. 

(Bit of a slow reply, sorry). I've read his Viriconium series and one or two others. I wouldn't really pigeonhole him as a science fiction writer.- his wikipedia biography gives a pretty accurate picture of his writing.

[Yorks Tim]

2 hours ago, JonM said:

(Bit of a slow reply, sorry). I've read his Viriconium series and one or two others. I wouldn't really pigeonhole him as a science fiction writer.- his wikipedia biography gives a pretty accurate picture of his writing.

I've just finished The Centauri Device but not sure I enjoyed it. Turns out he didn't like it much himself, going by Wiki. Will try another though as he's a superb writer.

I know he is not solely a SF-writer but he has written a lot!

 

[17 stone giant]

Richard Dawkins - The Magic of Reality

A nice reminder of what science has achieved and also the nonsense that some humans are capable of believing.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I'm not a big fan of Richard Osman but I'm always seeing things that say his novels are excellent and if this is the case then I'd be up for giving them a go because having read the premise to them they do sound like good, old-fashioned, traditional mystery novels.

So has anyone here read them and what did you think of them?

[Phil]

Surface Detail which is the third in Iain M Banks Culture series, set in a post scarcity society on huge orbitals and interstellar ships. 
 

wheels within wheels not easy but gripping 

[Futtocks]

2 hours ago, Phil said:

Surface Detail which is the third in Iain M Banks Culture series, set in a post scarcity society on huge orbitals and interstellar ships. 
 

wheels within wheels not easy but gripping 

I think that's the eighth Culture novel (and the Ninth Culture book overall).