What are you reading and book reviews - Page 59

SCM · 30-05-2010, 03:37

Since my last post have read The Word and the Void trilogy from Terry Brooks, fantasy set in our time with Demons trying to change the future in each book to suit themselves/the Void for the future. Knights of the Word battling them to stop them with help from a young girl who grows into a woman during the trilogy ending up playing a big part in the future when the Demons have have taken over, the world is devastated and the world is close to destruction.

This leads onto Armaggedon's Children which i am now re-reading where the Demons have been successful and war has devastated the planet, where humans now try to survive against them and their armies of corrupted men. Where someone from the past in the Word and the Void trilogy still influences the battle against the demons.

semi-pro waster · 06-06-2010, 18:14

In The Dark by Mark Billingham, a fairly entertaining crime thriller with a couple of decent enough twists and an interesting story. I picked it up for £3 in HMV so really can't complain about it.

One Fine Day In The Middle Of The Night by Christopher Brookmyre, also a variation on the crime thriller but sometimes also known as tartan noir. Brookmyre is a very entertaining writer with a turn of phrase that perfectly captures a lot of the idioms that you might hear in Scotland with some sharp satire thrown in. I've read quite a few of his books now and haven't found one that I disliked, they're never going to be Pulitzer nominees but that's not really the point, for a book to entertain and even make you laugh out loud they're consistently good.

Briggykins · 06-06-2010, 18:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by semi-pro waster

One Fine Day In The Middle Of The Night by Christopher Brookmyre, also a variation on the crime thriller but sometimes also known as tartan noir. Brookmyre is a very entertaining writer with a turn of phrase that perfectly captures a lot of the idioms that you might hear in Scotland with some sharp satire thrown in. I've read quite a few of his books now and haven't found one that I disliked, they're never going to be Pulitzer nominees but that's not really the point, for a book to entertain and even make you laugh out loud they're consistently good.

Very much a gaming nerd too, him. One of his books mentioned Catch the Chicken, a quake mod I'd completely forgotten about. You're right, his books don't contain complex characterisation or interesting metaphor or anything like that, but they're very entertaining and engagingly written.

Garp · 06-06-2010, 23:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCM

Since my last post have read The Word and the Void trilogy from Terry Brooks, fantasy set in our time with Demons trying to change the future in each book to suit themselves/the Void for the future. Knights of the Word battling them to stop them with help from a young girl who grows into a woman during the trilogy ending up playing a big part in the future when the Demons have have taken over, the world is devastated and the world is close to destruction.

I love them. So dark but well written.

SCM · 09-06-2010, 13:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garp

I love them. So dark but well written.

He did do a great job with those and at times you look at current events wondering just for a moment if he had a crystal ball, as he managed to tie in what he wanted to what we see around us. Hence it being dark as we realise we are living through some of the events in the book minus the demons of course.

Got through the next 3 books that follow on in the timeline pretty quickly so waiting on the next book being released later in the year now and already seeing Amazon bugging me to pre-order it for a price saving.

Decided after this mini Terry Brooks reading session to go back and hit some Pratchett to cheer myself up after SKYs recent poor attempt at another Pratchett book. So City Watch trilogy hardback for me now and my laughing at times has my girlfriend going ok whats happening now

Garp · 09-06-2010, 18:43

I'm taking a slight diversion:

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Technically I'm listening, rather than reading, and I'm not finished with it yet (should be before the week is out.) It's one of my Audible books this month.

Wow. Wish I'd read this book earlier. I really do. It's tragic that certain phrases get heard so often without context that they lose their real sense of meaning and switch your brain off. Phrases like "make money work for you". It's a nice sentence and all, but it's not practical, right? You just see the phrase and the lack of life lesson associated with it means you sort of write it off.
It's something those that have money can do, right? You need to have money in the first place to make it work for you.

This book rips that to shreads, strip by strip. It breaks the lies you've been taught by society/life/school/parents about working to make money, and presents a new and liberating way of looking at yourself and your finances. It looks at the myth that you need to do school>colllege>university->work to earn money, and presents clearly the truth: Those that earn more are rarely better off, often struggle just as hard to pay the bills month-to-month. Give an average man a pay rise and he'll just find new ways to leave himself poor, like buying a bigger house (a liability, not an asset).

I would strongly urge you to get hold of a copy of this book and learn from it. I'm tempted to start buying a few copies to hand out to a few older kids I know that would seriously benefit from it. If I'd only known half of this stuff when I was 18...

semi-pro waster · 09-06-2010, 19:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Briggykins

Very much a gaming nerd too, him. One of his books mentioned Catch the Chicken, a quake mod I'd completely forgotten about. You're right, his books don't contain complex characterisation or interesting metaphor or anything like that, but they're very entertaining and engagingly written.

I vaguely remember that mod too, I'd wondered about the gaming references but hadn't decided that he was a gaming nerd so that's interesting. I've got a couple more to read in the near future, I thought I'd read/own most of his but discovered a few more on Amazon so that's always a pleasant surprise.

Currently reading Scoop by Evelyn Waugh, seems pretty good as a satire of journalism so far but I'm only about halfway through it.

semi-pro waster · 18-06-2010, 08:41

Scoop was entertaining, I'd have no aversion to reading more Evelyn Waugh if the chance comes.

Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre was up next, pretty good in its way although I'm less fond of the dimensional shifting and monsters which appeared in this than the more usual Brookmyre fare of Weegies taking on the World. When an artistic world is set up then as long as it sticks within the boundaries it has set then anything goes (which incidentally one of his characters mentions in the other book by him above) then it's fine but this looked to be shifting the goalposts.

Bumf by Alan Coren is the book I've just finished and while in places quite entertaining with the surrealism there was far too much of a people who have a different skin colour or live in a different place must be laughed at 'cos they're different approach to many of the columns. Maybe it was funny back in the 70s and 80s but it's not really now, I'm not sure that I would have laughed even back then though - it's a pity really because as I say some of the surrealism is great but too many of the columns rely on this cheap hack-stuff for me to enjoy the book. This is one of the risks I suppose you take when playing roulette with someone elses book collection.

Now I'm ready to start Be My Enemy by Christopher Brookmyre, that'll round out my little Brookmyre odyssey for the moment.

Kitten · 18-06-2010, 19:01

Just finished

Jeremy Hardy - My family & other strangers
Funny in parts, but he annoyed me in others by being a bit of a whiner and also for making throwaway comments or assumptions about groups of people and then complaining when other people do similar to him.

The Girl who Played with Fire - Steig Laarson.

Follows in similar vein to the Dragon Tattoo. Also quite annoying for over detailing & also making people that 'little' bit too good to be believable. Bit of the Dan Brown syndrome. The blurb on the front says it has a 'jaw-dropping' conclusion. Well, very nearly! Good enough to hold attention, but is about 1/3 too long imo.

Currently reading 84 Charing Cross Road

Really enjoying this.

NokkonWud · 20-06-2010, 18:50

That's the issue I had with The Girl Who Player With Fire too, much like the first book, it was too detailed, but the first one still really impressed me, the second book for some reason really struggled to hold my attention and I got about 150 pages in before stopping, I'll start it again soon. I actually got the third one the day it came out, loaned it to my Gran and I've not seen it since, waste of £14.

30-05-2010, 03:37	#581
SCM As endorsed by Mr Black Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hell/Scotland take your pick Posts: 443	Since my last post have read The Word and the Void trilogy from Terry Brooks, fantasy set in our time with Demons trying to change the future in each book to suit themselves/the Void for the future. Knights of the Word battling them to stop them with help from a young girl who grows into a woman during the trilogy ending up playing a big part in the future when the Demons have have taken over, the world is devastated and the world is close to destruction. This leads onto Armaggedon's Children which i am now re-reading where the Demons have been successful and war has devastated the planet, where humans now try to survive against them and their armies of corrupted men. Where someone from the past in the Word and the Void trilogy still influences the battle against the demons. __________________ The sun is rising The screams have gone Too many have fallen Few still stand tall Is this the ending of what we've begun? Will we remember what we've done wrong?

06-06-2010, 18:14	#582
semi-pro waster Provider of sensible advice about homosexuals Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: London Posts: 2,615	In The Dark by Mark Billingham, a fairly entertaining crime thriller with a couple of decent enough twists and an interesting story. I picked it up for £3 in HMV so really can't complain about it. One Fine Day In The Middle Of The Night by Christopher Brookmyre, also a variation on the crime thriller but sometimes also known as tartan noir. Brookmyre is a very entertaining writer with a turn of phrase that perfectly captures a lot of the idioms that you might hear in Scotland with some sharp satire thrown in. I've read quite a few of his books now and haven't found one that I disliked, they're never going to be Pulitzer nominees but that's not really the point, for a book to entertain and even make you laugh out loud they're consistently good. __________________ "Your friend is the man that knows all about you, and still likes you." - Elbert Hubbard

09-06-2010, 18:43	#586
Garp Preparing more tumbleweed Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 6,038	I'm taking a slight diversion: Rich Dad, Poor Dad Technically I'm listening, rather than reading, and I'm not finished with it yet (should be before the week is out.) It's one of my Audible books this month. Wow. Wish I'd read this book earlier. I really do. It's tragic that certain phrases get heard so often without context that they lose their real sense of meaning and switch your brain off. Phrases like "make money work for you". It's a nice sentence and all, but it's not practical, right? You just see the phrase and the lack of life lesson associated with it means you sort of write it off. It's something those that have money can do, right? You need to have money in the first place to make it work for you. This book rips that to shreads, strip by strip. It breaks the lies you've been taught by society/life/school/parents about working to make money, and presents a new and liberating way of looking at yourself and your finances. It looks at the myth that you need to do school>colllege>university->work to earn money, and presents clearly the truth: Those that earn more are rarely better off, often struggle just as hard to pay the bills month-to-month. Give an average man a pay rise and he'll just find new ways to leave himself poor, like buying a bigger house (a liability, not an asset). I would strongly urge you to get hold of a copy of this book and learn from it. I'm tempted to start buying a few copies to hand out to a few older kids I know that would seriously benefit from it. If I'd only known half of this stuff when I was 18... __________________ Mal: Define "interesting"? Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die"?

18-06-2010, 08:41	#588
semi-pro waster Provider of sensible advice about homosexuals Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: London Posts: 2,615	Scoop was entertaining, I'd have no aversion to reading more Evelyn Waugh if the chance comes. Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre was up next, pretty good in its way although I'm less fond of the dimensional shifting and monsters which appeared in this than the more usual Brookmyre fare of Weegies taking on the World. When an artistic world is set up then as long as it sticks within the boundaries it has set then anything goes (which incidentally one of his characters mentions in the other book by him above) then it's fine but this looked to be shifting the goalposts. Bumf by Alan Coren is the book I've just finished and while in places quite entertaining with the surrealism there was far too much of a people who have a different skin colour or live in a different place must be laughed at 'cos they're different approach to many of the columns. Maybe it was funny back in the 70s and 80s but it's not really now, I'm not sure that I would have laughed even back then though - it's a pity really because as I say some of the surrealism is great but too many of the columns rely on this cheap hack-stuff for me to enjoy the book. This is one of the risks I suppose you take when playing roulette with someone elses book collection. Now I'm ready to start Be My Enemy by Christopher Brookmyre, that'll round out my little Brookmyre odyssey for the moment. __________________ "Your friend is the man that knows all about you, and still likes you." - Elbert Hubbard

18-06-2010, 19:01	#589
Kitten Spinky-Spank Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: 668. The Neighbour of the Beast Posts: 11,226	Just finished Jeremy Hardy - My family & other strangers Funny in parts, but he annoyed me in others by being a bit of a whiner and also for making throwaway comments or assumptions about groups of people and then complaining when other people do similar to him. The Girl who Played with Fire - Steig Laarson. Follows in similar vein to the Dragon Tattoo. Also quite annoying for over detailing & also making people that 'little' bit too good to be believable. Bit of the Dan Brown syndrome. The blurb on the front says it has a 'jaw-dropping' conclusion. Well, very nearly! Good enough to hold attention, but is about 1/3 too long imo. Currently reading 84 Charing Cross Road Really enjoying this. __________________ "You only get one life. There's no God, no rules, except for those you accept or create for yourself. Then once it's over... it's over. Dreamless sleep for ever and ever. So why not be happy while you're here?" Nate Fisher

20-06-2010, 18:50	#590
NokkonWud BD Recruitment Officer Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Smogville Posts: 3,880	That's the issue I had with The Girl Who Player With Fire too, much like the first book, it was too detailed, but the first one still really impressed me, the second book for some reason really struggled to hold my attention and I got about 150 pages in before stopping, I'll start it again soon. I actually got the third one the day it came out, loaned it to my Gran and I've not seen it since, waste of £14. __________________