[Spliffy]

Great thread I never stop reading.

Ok this week I read "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" which I thought was a bit poo after all the hype about it,

Also "The Da Vinci code" hmmmmm not really impressed and I was solving the clues in my head way before the answers were given in the book "Of seeded womb and rosy body" I was almost screaming "You stupid bastards, its an apple for fucks sake"

And Andy McNab's "Deep Black" cause I love a good SAS story, mainly from childhood fantasys of watching the Iranian embassy siege and thinking "Thats what I wanna do when I grow up Turned out I'm colour blind so I couldn't even join the regular army

[Twenty Three]

grobag, on Jan 23 2006, 10:27 AM, said:

I couldn't get into Gormenghast and gave up which is rare for me - I usually read it anyway. Maybe I'll try again, it's in one of the bookcases I'm sure

Give it another go grobag...it can take a while to get into it,but once you do..boy oh boy

[little plonkie]

Quote

I really recommend the collection of his routines, Love All The People.

read that as well, it is good. i think i'm a bit obsessed at the moment: i downloaded 7 hrs of comedy albums of his from Bit Torrent as well . i liked American Scream though, wasn't half as factual as some books i read, but i would have liked to have had more quotes from his friends rather than just having to trust the interpration the author gave.

[grobag]

I was exactly the same with the Da Vinci Code. Good yarn poorly written were my thoughts.

Currently reading: (you've got to have a few on the go depending on your mood)

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel - Wierd book but an excellent opening novel. I bet her next one will be shit hot.

Villa Incognito by Tom Robbins - bloody good but as the man is a total tripper - again it's wierd. It opens with a Tanuki parachuting to Earth using his scrotum! Set in Cambodia/Kampuchia.

The Skinner - Neal Asher. A re-read as the sequel comes out next month - Bloody Brilliant. I just love the Warship hero - Sniper.

[Twenty Three]

For those who like 'The Wasp Factory' and dark fiction,I can recommend Patrick McCabe's 'The Butcher Boy' and Will Self's 'My Idea of Fun'.

[grobag]

Cheers for the recommendation 23.

I'll check out the Will Self one. I like his articles in the Independent Maqazine on a Saturday, not read any for a while though - keep buying the Guardian recently.

[Punky]

I've just read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and just finished One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. i'm currently reading A Clockwork Orange

Heart of Darkness was a superb book, in my opinion a proper exploration of the psyche. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich made me appreciate the smaller things in life, like how a piece of bread or a scrap of wire could change your life forever, be it for better or worse.

punky

[Punky]

indica, on Jan 23 2006, 03:14 PM, said:

Hi,

My friend gave me a copy of the Da Vinci Code when he came down for the weekend thought at the time if it was good he would want to keep it?

Not worth reading then or is it worth a look??

i found the Da Vinci Code a decent enough read, took me a 14hr flight then a 7hr flight (heathrow to sydney via tokyo) to get through, and i cudnt put it down tbh. each to their own tho, some people will like it, some won't enit. just read it n see

my return-flight reading was 'Marching Powder' by Rusty Young. now thats a fuckin good book!! about a UK cocaine smuggler in a Bolivian jail, its absolutely amazing,no other way to describe it

punky

[ninorc]

indica, on Jan 23 2006, 01:14 PM, said:

Da Vinci Code...
Not worth reading then or is it worth a look??

It is the kind of compulsive reading that keeps you turning the pages but makes you feel slightly soiled and used after it's done. The details are deeply irritating to the English reader (A stretch Jag! How fucking posh is that?) and the story is complete bollocks (except inasmuch as it plugs into a current thread in our zeitgeist that is re-examining the roots of Christianity, the defamation of Mary Magdalene, etc. )
Richard & Judy are recommending a book called Labyrinth, which they compared to the DVC... Here's the author's web site

Grobag, I also recommend that you persevere with Gormenghast, which is just pure fucking brilliant. Start with Titus Groan and read them in order...

[jaygrow]

Great Idea for a thred, nice one boojum.

At the moment I'm reading Inside Out - History of Pink floyd, well written by drummer Nick Mason.

Also doing my random skim though the bookshelf, inc Ian Banks Complicity & Irvine Welsh Filth (Such a strong character)

and ehm, fhm bar room jokes? Don't ask, it was a christmas present.

[S2001]

Last book I read was Snowblind, that was about 8 years ago