Books
04 March 2005, 02:00 PM
#31
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Originally Posted by Milamber
Q.Which book are you currently reading/Have just read?
A. The Lake House by James Patterson. Just biding my time until Frankenstein By Dean Koontz is released.
Q. Which book couldn't you finish and why?
A. I know I will get slated for this but have never really got into the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Can't undertsand why it is so popular. Still have every edition in a 1st edition hardback though. I'm a bit of a collector.
Q. Which book did you enjoy so much, you might just read it again one day ?
A. I often re-read my books. I would definitely read "Magician" by Raymond Feist again, "Replay" by Ken Grimwood is just fantastic and makes me cry EVERY time. The last time was at an airport with my wife, the plane was delayed and i was sniffling in a corner like a baby.
A. The Lake House by James Patterson. Just biding my time until Frankenstein By Dean Koontz is released.
Q. Which book couldn't you finish and why?
A. I know I will get slated for this but have never really got into the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Can't undertsand why it is so popular. Still have every edition in a 1st edition hardback though. I'm a bit of a collector.
Q. Which book did you enjoy so much, you might just read it again one day ?
A. I often re-read my books. I would definitely read "Magician" by Raymond Feist again, "Replay" by Ken Grimwood is just fantastic and makes me cry EVERY time. The last time was at an airport with my wife, the plane was delayed and i was sniffling in a corner like a baby.
I have just finished The Lake House and was a little disappointed, the story felt forced. I thought the author trying too hard to contrive a follow up story after an excellent story in When the Wind Blows.
In saying that I did read it in about 3 days, so couldn't have been all that bad.
Just like to here how you thought it compared
04 March 2005, 02:08 PM
#32
Originally Posted by the moose
Oh, and I should have mentioned Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson - his best book, I think, and one I love to dip into, a chapter at a time.
I nearly wet myself at Mr. Catz antics in "A walk in the woods" - throwing all their camping gear over the ravine in a fit of rage, and Brysons bear paranoia
04 March 2005, 02:18 PM
#33
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Q.Which book are you currently reading/Have just read?
Torey Hayden - One Child : Have read about the first 100 pages so far and its a very well written book. Bit of a woman's book and very touching so far! Just finished John Grishams 'The Last Juror' also a great book but could say not one of his best.
Q. Which book couldn't you finish and why?
A book someone lent me by Penny Vincenzi. It was that boring I cant even remeber what it was called!
Q. Which book did you enjoy so much, you might just read it again one day ?
ANY book by Martina Cole as they are all great reading.
Torey Hayden - One Child : Have read about the first 100 pages so far and its a very well written book. Bit of a woman's book and very touching so far! Just finished John Grishams 'The Last Juror' also a great book but could say not one of his best.
Q. Which book couldn't you finish and why?
A book someone lent me by Penny Vincenzi. It was that boring I cant even remeber what it was called!
Q. Which book did you enjoy so much, you might just read it again one day ?
ANY book by Martina Cole as they are all great reading.
04 March 2005, 02:20 PM
#34
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Book I am reading: Dead Famous by Ben Elton. Not too bad, sums up my views on the crappy BB shows, and maybe if we're really lucky, it'll pan out in the real world and put an end to this type of shows
Book I could not finish: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallinger - Got bored with it, seemed to be going nowhere
Book I will read again (and again): ooh, a few. All of Iain M Banks' books and Iain Banks' too
all of William Gibson's books, but the book I come to again and again. Vurt, by Jeff Noon, love that book.
Book I could not finish: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallinger - Got bored with it, seemed to be going nowhere
Book I will read again (and again): ooh, a few. All of Iain M Banks' books and Iain Banks' too
all of William Gibson's books, but the book I come to again and again. Vurt, by Jeff Noon, love that book.
04 March 2005, 02:37 PM
#35
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Originally Posted by hail-hail
Did you read the first part of The Lake House, i.e. When the Wind blows.
I have just finished The Lake House and was a little disappointed, the story felt forced. I thought the author trying too hard to contrive a follow up story after an excellent story in When the Wind Blows.
In saying that I did read it in about 3 days, so couldn't have been all that bad.
Just like to here how you thought it compared
I have just finished The Lake House and was a little disappointed, the story felt forced. I thought the author trying too hard to contrive a follow up story after an excellent story in When the Wind Blows.
In saying that I did read it in about 3 days, so couldn't have been all that bad.
Just like to here how you thought it compared
I read a lot for a living and then go home and read every night before going to bed, love it and always have done. Even as a child I would go to nursery and not play with any children until I had finished my comic. I read every page including the proof page and even remember page numbers. Sharpens the mind!
04 March 2005, 02:39 PM
#36
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Apparition you're so right about the wonder of getting lost in a good book, I become totally oblivious to everything around me which includes the other half/daily chores/dog/work. I'll read anything and everything, I'm like a book hoover just sucking the pages up and, if I get into one particular author I'll read everything they've written. Over the years I've driven everyone around me pretty much nuts as I become completely deaf whilst reading
I loved the 19th & 20th Century classics by Jane Austen, the Brontes, Evelyn Waugh, and especially E.M. Forster and also went through a massive Fay Weldon phase too. I just can't get enough 21st Century Chick Lit either, I've been known to devour about 4 of these books a week I've also recently become interested in books about life from the Industrial Revolution up to and including the second world war. I read a book called Silver Street recently about the true story of a woman growing up in the East End during the early part of the last century through to the recent past and it was fascinating to see how much life changed in general in such a short space of time.
I suppose my favourite read though has got to be anything about motorsport, especially biographies. I'm nosey so I like to know all the ins and outs of the behind the scenes stuff Actually I just love biographies full stop, Simon Cowell's was the last one I read.
So in answer to your questions:
Q.Which book are you currently reading/Have just read?
A. Martin Brundle - Working The Wheel
Q. Which book couldn't you finish and why?
A. Josef Skvorecky - The Engineer of Human Souls. I've started in numerous times over the last twenty years but always lose complete interest by about page 4, I originally bought it expecting it to be another great read like Kafka's The Trial but it wasn't. Perhaps I've never given it long enough Also tried LOTR but failed there too.
Q. Which book did you enjoy so much, you might just read it again one day ?
A. Jack Kerouac - On The Road. It is my all-time favourite book and I've actually lost count of the times I've read it, probably once every two or three years since the early eighties. It seems to get better with each read
and, if I get into one particular author I'll read everything they've written. Over the years I've driven everyone around me pretty much nuts as I become completely deaf whilst reading I loved the 19th & 20th Century classics by Jane Austen, the Brontes, Evelyn Waugh, and especially E.M. Forster and also went through a massive Fay Weldon phase too. I just can't get enough 21st Century Chick Lit either, I've been known to devour about 4 of these books a week
I've also recently become interested in books about life from the Industrial Revolution up to and including the second world war. I read a book called Silver Street recently about the true story of a woman growing up in the East End during the early part of the last century through to the recent past and it was fascinating to see how much life changed in general in such a short space of time.I suppose my favourite read though has got to be anything about motorsport, especially biographies. I'm nosey so I like to know all the ins and outs of the behind the scenes stuff
Actually I just love biographies full stop, Simon Cowell's was the last one I read.So in answer to your questions:
Q.Which book are you currently reading/Have just read?
A. Martin Brundle - Working The Wheel
Q. Which book couldn't you finish and why?
A. Josef Skvorecky - The Engineer of Human Souls. I've started in numerous times over the last twenty years but always lose complete interest by about page 4, I originally bought it expecting it to be another great read like Kafka's The Trial but it wasn't. Perhaps I've never given it long enough
Also tried LOTR but failed there too.Q. Which book did you enjoy so much, you might just read it again one day ?
A. Jack Kerouac - On The Road. It is my all-time favourite book and I've actually lost count of the times I've read it, probably once every two or three years since the early eighties. It seems to get better with each read
04 March 2005, 02:41 PM
#37
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BTW I've got a fantastic mental picture of Brendan hastily scanning through the Ikea catalogue desperately trying to remember product details in case someone asks him to prove he's not highbrow 
04 March 2005, 02:54 PM
#39
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Originally Posted by scoobychick
BTW I've got a fantastic mental picture of Brendan hastily scanning through the Ikea catalogue desperately trying to remember product details in case someone asks him to prove he's not highbrow
The darkwood bedroom shelving range is called Hopen, IIRC...
04 March 2005, 03:10 PM
#41
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Currently reading: Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds. Not a patch on his other stuff really - he's definitely got better. Still worth reading tho if you like scifi
Didn't finish... First book that I loathed so much that I couldn't finish was "The God of Small Things" by Arundati Rhoy. It won the booker prize, but I couldn't hack it at all.
Read again? Most things, particularly Pratchett, Banks, Adams... Desperately trying to remember a sublimely good book I read not long ago, but it's escaped me.
Didn't finish... First book that I loathed so much that I couldn't finish was "The God of Small Things" by Arundati Rhoy. It won the booker prize, but I couldn't hack it at all.
Read again? Most things, particularly Pratchett, Banks, Adams... Desperately trying to remember a sublimely good book I read not long ago, but it's escaped me.
04 March 2005, 03:26 PM
#42
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Originally Posted by unclebuck
21st Century Chick Lit
What is Chick Lit?
Originally Posted by Brendan Hughes
The darkwood bedroom shelving range is called Hopen, IIRC...
I can categorically confirm that Brendan isn't quite so highbrow as at first he may appear
04 March 2005, 03:30 PM
#43
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Originally Posted by Milamber
I agree with you completely, thought the beginning was ....alright. It was nice to meet the characters again and catch up on therir lives since we last "met". Then I felt the story lost its way and like you I felt it was "forced". The author is not one of my favourites to be honest, I do read his books but only whilst waiting for one of my favourite authors to release something new.
I read a lot for a living and then go home and read every night before going to bed, love it and always have done. Even as a child I would go to nursery and not play with any children until I had finished my comic. I read every page including the proof page and even remember page numbers. Sharpens the mind!
I read a lot for a living and then go home and read every night before going to bed, love it and always have done. Even as a child I would go to nursery and not play with any children until I had finished my comic. I read every page including the proof page and even remember page numbers. Sharpens the mind!
I have now started going into book shop and searching for books that I really do NOT like the look of and then trying to read them.
The Time Travellers Wife was one that I read recently applying this technique, and again i really enjoyed it.
So go then, recommend me some books, I am currently reading the Shadow of the Wind
, but that will be consumed in teh next few days.
04 March 2005, 03:33 PM
#44
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And another offshoot of reading, is that immense store of accumulative knowledge..... the tripe I have in my head..... when's that next quiz night ?
04 March 2005, 03:37 PM
#45
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Originally Posted by Apparition
And another offshoot of reading, is that immense store of accumulative knowledge..... the tripe I have in my head..... when's that next quiz night ?
04 March 2005, 03:42 PM
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scoobychicklit - got my wife something called The Nanny, have you read that? Made me chuckle at parts, even if it was generally aimed at naive female undergrads.
And to continue my dumbing down, and in echo of chiark above, I read the entire Bonfire of the Vanities with gritted teeth, convinced it was going to get better, and all I got was a huge dental bill. The only award he should get in my mind was the world's most irritating writing style.
And to continue my dumbing down, and in echo of chiark above, I read the entire Bonfire of the Vanities with gritted teeth, convinced it was going to get better, and all I got was a huge dental bill. The only award he should get in my mind was the world's most irritating writing style.
04 March 2005, 03:47 PM
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04 March 2005, 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by hail-hail
I
So go then, recommend me some books, I am currently reading the Shadow of the Wind, but that will be consumed in teh next few days.
So go then, recommend me some books, I am currently reading the Shadow of the Wind
, but that will be consumed in teh next few days.If you can, try and get the Ken Grimwood book I mentioned. Amazon have used copies but don't get a hardback (like mine) as they are over £100.
Its an amazing love/sci fi story. Sounds odd but trust me. Its a bit like Quantum Leap I suppose'ish but that doesn't do it justice.
05 March 2005, 08:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Milamber
If you can, try and get the Ken Grimwood book I mentioned. Amazon have used copies but don't get a hardback (like mine) as they are over £100.
Its an amazing love/sci fi story. Sounds odd but trust me. Its a bit like Quantum Leap I suppose'ish but that doesn't do it justice.
Its an amazing love/sci fi story. Sounds odd but trust me. Its a bit like Quantum Leap I suppose'ish but that doesn't do it justice.
05 March 2005, 11:33 AM
#53
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At the moment I'm reading Anvil of the Stars by Greg Bear who may well be my favourite author, although this changes daily.
Feist is very good, nice and easy to read, Pratchett is absolutely superb, really hits the spot, the way he can keep a joke going for half a book a you still laugh at the punch line is superb.
As to favourite book that's a real tough one. As I'm browsing my library at the moment it's going to have to be.....
Sci-Fi:........Darwins Children by Greg Bear
Fantasy:.........Can't narrow it down to one book so it is the Song of Fire Ice series by George R R Martin
Other:.......... Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Feist is very good, nice and easy to read, Pratchett is absolutely superb, really hits the spot, the way he can keep a joke going for half a book a you still laugh at the punch line is superb.
As to favourite book that's a real tough one. As I'm browsing my library at the moment it's going to have to be.....
Sci-Fi:........Darwins Children by Greg Bear
Fantasy:.........Can't narrow it down to one book so it is the Song of Fire Ice series by George R R Martin
Other:.......... Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
05 March 2005, 03:00 PM
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Just Read - 'Fear and loathing in Las Vegas'. Day after I finish it the silly bugger tops himself, which was weird.
Reading - 'Paris Option' Robert Ludlum, usual ludlum thriller. 'Natural Vision' According to an optician called WH Bates we shouldn't need glasses.
Read Again - 'Chickenhawk' Robert Mason, brilliant story of a Huey pilot in the Vietnam war. Read it a number of times. Recomended!
Reading - 'Paris Option' Robert Ludlum, usual ludlum thriller. 'Natural Vision' According to an optician called WH Bates we shouldn't need glasses.
Read Again - 'Chickenhawk' Robert Mason, brilliant story of a Huey pilot in the Vietnam war. Read it a number of times. Recomended!
05 March 2005, 04:04 PM
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Originally Posted by chiark
Didn't finish... First book that I loathed so much that I couldn't finish was "The God of Small Things" by Arundati Rhoy. It won the booker prize, but I couldn't hack it at all.ng to remember a sublimely good book I read not long ago, but it's escaped me.
05 March 2005, 04:46 PM
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Originally Posted by ProperCharlie
Funny - I loved that book. Her Capitalisation of Odd Words annoyed me to begin with, but I got used to it.
05 March 2005, 05:41 PM
#57
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Just goes to show, what one person enjoys, another finds tedious.
When I began this thread the other day I really didn't envisage it making 1 full page never mind 3 ! Does me little heart good to see that reading is alive and well.
Someone on here reminded me about Wilbur Smith, I went looking and lo, discovered there's a book of his out in paperback which I missed! Just bought it brand new off Amazon for 99p !
Bargains to be had out there......
When I began this thread the other day I really didn't envisage it making 1 full page never mind 3 ! Does me little heart good to see that reading is alive and well.
Someone on here reminded me about Wilbur Smith, I went looking and lo, discovered there's a book of his out in paperback which I missed! Just bought it brand new off Amazon for 99p !
Bargains to be had out there......
06 March 2005, 12:30 AM
#58
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Originally Posted by hail-hail
Magician ordered from Amazon, Replay is being re-released on May 12th so I have pre ordered. Looking forward to them already.
Really? Excellent. Magician is slightly slow but builds real quick. It is such a good book, really character defining in my opinion. You'll love it.
PM me when you've read it, I'd love to know what you thought. It was one of the BBC big read winners IIRC.
Have some tissues ready for R
eplay
17 March 2005, 04:02 PM
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Currently reading - Porno by Irvine Welsh (the follow-up to Trainspotting). Nearly at the end now and its been excellent, as have all his other books I've read - all of em except Glue and thats on order.
Didn't finish - nothing ! I always finish them !
Would Read Again - probably Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson & Wuthering Heights
Any more book recommendations from anyone ? I've just ordered the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (as recommended by my mum !) and a couple of Chuck Palahniuk novels - 'Choke' and 'Survivor'
Didn't finish - nothing ! I always finish them !
Would Read Again - probably Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson & Wuthering Heights
Any more book recommendations from anyone ? I've just ordered the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (as recommended by my mum !) and a couple of Chuck Palahniuk novels - 'Choke' and 'Survivor'
17 March 2005, 04:06 PM
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1. Currently reading - The secret diary of adrian mole, aged 13 and 3/4 by Sue Townsend. I last read this about 10 years ago or so and it still makes me laugh just as much today.
2. Didn't finish - Lord of the rings
3. Would read again - The godfather, no other book has gripped me so much I found myself carrying it in my pocket and grabbing it whenever I had 2 minutes spare regardless of where I happened to be
2. Didn't finish - Lord of the rings
3. Would read again - The godfather, no other book has gripped me so much I found myself carrying it in my pocket and grabbing it whenever I had 2 minutes spare regardless of where I happened to be