mids
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Post by mids on May 20, 2015 18:21:03 GMT
Re. Space Opera - I'm almost through the Knight's Dawn Trilogy by Peter Hamilton. Very good but would recommend Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained over it. If you like space opera you should give them a go. Last month I picked up Hawaii by James Michener, something to read on my vacation there. I was surprised at how good it was. It bogged down at the end a bit (~1000 pages) but what a story teller. Next up is The Razor's Edge. Cheers, I'll have a look at his stuff. |
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Post by wetkingcanute on May 20, 2015 18:38:53 GMT
My favorite English author is Graham Swift - and I've read all his books.
I also like Don DeLillo and really enjoyed Underworld - but then I read Falling Man - which was bollocks.
On the strength of liking Don DeLillo - my step son gave me American Tabloid by James Ellroy to read.
Andy - have you read him? Is he highly regarded in the States? I read it - realised it was 'good' but was pleased I'd finished it.
Anyway...I've just read The Plague - Albert Camus - it's been sitting on my bookshelf for ages - no wonder he got the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.
Van - what did you think of The Stranger?
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mids
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Post by mids on May 20, 2015 18:54:39 GMT
James Ellroy is very good. Try the LA Quartet and also the one about golf caddying. Can't remember the name.
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Post by wetkingcanute on May 20, 2015 19:10:50 GMT
I'm sure you're right mids - I just couldn't bring myself to read three books of his in a row.
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Post by Repat Van on May 20, 2015 19:59:45 GMT
My favorite English author is Graham Swift - and I've read all his books. I also like Don DeLillo and really enjoyed Underworld - but then I read Falling Man - which was bollocks. On the strength of liking Don DeLillo - my step son gave me American Tabloid by James Ellroy to read. Andy - have you read him? Is he highly regarded in the States? I read it - realised it was 'good' but was pleased I'd finished it. Anyway...I've just read The Plague - Albert Camus - it's been sitting on my bookshelf for ages - no wonder he got the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. Van - what did you think of The Stranger? I actually thoroughly enjoyed it. Started and finished it in one day, it was that good. Easy reading. Nothing too deep and complex, but good. Satisfying ending too. |
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Post by wetkingcanute on May 20, 2015 20:18:05 GMT
Good...I shall read it.
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mids
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Post by mids on May 20, 2015 20:43:34 GMT
I'm sure you're right mids - I just couldn't bring myself to read three books of his in a row. He does have a definite style but it's very addictive once you get into it. If you've seen the film LA Confidential, that's an adaptation of his book....errrm... LA Confidential. A brilliant film and a better book. |
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Post by wetkingcanute on May 20, 2015 21:14:46 GMT
Yeah - I know - seen the film - excellent - but the books...I just think...oh I don't know...just found it was like being hit over the head by a writer trying to be Raymond Chandler.
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mids
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Post by mids on May 20, 2015 21:34:20 GMT
Who's this Roger Chandelier bloke? Some sort of James Ellroy rip-off?
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Post by Repat Van on May 20, 2015 22:07:37 GMT
Sad ending but realistic and it closes things out nicely. Kinda. Not like that Gone Girl shoite. |
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lala
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Post by lala on May 21, 2015 5:43:26 GMT
james Ellroy is great but mids is wrong. The LA Quartet is great on atmosphere and thrills but rubbish as mysteries. Baffling poor reveals of The Culprits. Some twists ae so bloody obvious you think they aren't twists at all because you see them coming so far in advance. Still, they are a wild ride.
American Tabloid is great. The Cold Six Thousand also great. Blood's a Rover not so great, as he seems to be re-telling essentially the same story. Still, as achievements go, that trilogy is a pretty mammoth one.
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Post by flatandy on May 21, 2015 9:49:02 GMT
Raymond Chandler is fantastic. So is Elmore James. That is all
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lala
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Post by lala on May 23, 2015 9:11:20 GMT
Coincidentally, I've just bought:
The Big Sleep
Farewell My Lovely
The High Window
The Long Goodbye
Smart Aleck Kill
Playback
Poodle Springs
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Post by hammerhead on May 24, 2015 23:10:01 GMT
My Family and Other Strangers - Jeremy Hardy
My Kobo ebook reader thing broke and this was the only tome on the bookshelf I'd never read.
It's sweet and funny, but in Hardy's typical overly self-deprecating style which exudes smugness.
He re-uses jokes and anecdotes massively so if you've listened to his 'Speaks to the Nation' stuff on Radio 4, you'll get a sense of deja-vu.
Still enjoyable, mind.
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Post by Marshall on Feb 3, 2017 0:49:17 GMT
One of the most interesting books I've ever read, a "wow" moment on practically every page.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Yuval Noah Harari
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Post by Repat Van on Feb 3, 2017 4:54:19 GMT
I don't buy books, I borrow them from the library. I just finished The Stranger. Pretty good. Zero idea what I was referring to here. |
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Post by flatandy on Feb 3, 2017 5:51:11 GMT
Camus, probably
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Post by Repat Van on Feb 3, 2017 6:36:30 GMT
I really doubt that though and reading the description I am sure I have never read it.
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lala
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Post by lala on Feb 3, 2017 6:37:31 GMT
I'm re-reading William Manchester's Death of a President.
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lala
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Post by lala on Feb 3, 2017 6:39:31 GMT
I really doubt that though and reading the description I am sure I have never read it. Stranger, by David Bergen? "Iso, a young Guatemalan woman, works at a fertility clinic at Ixchel, in the highlands of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. She tends to the rich northern women who visit the clinic hoping that the waters of the nearby lake might increase their chances of conception. Like many of the women working at the clinic, Íso is aware of the resident American doctor, Eric Mann. Soon Íso is his secret lover, stealing away with Dr. Mann on long motorcycle rides through the mountains and enjoying beach vacations with Eric and his doctor friends. But their tryst does not last long. Dr. Mann decides he will return to the US, and a freak accident cuts the couple’s time together even shorter. Before Íso can tell Dr. Mann that she is pregnant, he is gone." |
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