Books -- what are we reading lately?

[Taltos 7]

Is it alright to put them in my Box instead? They are about 8GB.

[Odense 492]

Is it alright to put them in my Box instead? They are about 8GB.

I think anywhere that will allow us (anyone with the link) to download them is fine :-)

 

Sendt fra min WAS-LX1 med Tapatalk

[Taltos 7]

Ok, it is Box. The username is taltos1802@Gmail.com and password reykjavik75. I am still working on the upload and will let you know when it is all finished.

[LocalYokul 214]

I read rock star autobiographies in between reading Sci-Fi/horror.

 

Clive Barker, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Star Trek, Star Wars

 

Tony Iommi, (Paul) Stanley Eisen, Peter (Criss) Criscuola, Ian (Lemmy) Kilmister, Saul (Slash) Hudson, Michael (Duff) McKagan, Motley Crue's "The Dirt", Andy Summers & Gordon (Sting) Sumner, Keith Richards

 

Last night I picked this one up for a song in Ollie's, a overstock/surplus warehouse:

 

Edited December 6, 2017 by LocalYokul

[MM 6,562]

Ok, it is Box. The username is taltos1802@Gmail.com and password reykjavik75. I am still working on the upload and will let you know when it is all finished.

Are they uploaded yet? It looks like you have a bunch of books already, but I don't know if they are complete.

 

This is great! Thank!

[Taltos 7]

All there now. Only 7 read by West as he never did read more.

[Siam Sam 964]

I haven't posted on the site for a while and in that time I've read some more books which were:

 

My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl

 

When I was a child Dahl was my favourite author and I had nearly all his children's books. Danny the Champion of the World is my favourite. I wish I'd kept the ones I had when I was young because I had to buy the ones I liked again. Until reading this book I'd never read any of his work aimed at adults. This was pretty good. It's a ribald tale of sex and adventure which was entertaining and, as with all his books, is testament to the wonderful imagination this man had. I didn't find it as good as his best children's books though. Dahl was well known for his benevolence as well as his writing talent and all those that knew him loved him because he was such a kind hearted and pleasant man. His books will continue to entertain and enthrall both young and old readers forever.

 

The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins by Irvine Welsh

 

I'm yet to read an Irvine Welsh novel that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. I'm not going to sing his praises too much this time because I've done it here many times already. All I can say is that he is a literary genius and a huge inspiration to me. I only have to read the last novel he wrote: "The Blade Artist" and then I've read all of them.

 

Why I Write by George Orwell

 

As well as the essay "Why I Write" this book also contains three other essays including the famous political polemic "The Lion and the Unicorn" which is about British politics and the threat of Hitler, written during wartime Britain in 1942. As with most of Orwell's work it's excellent stuff. When you read this you get a good understanding and appreciation of the thought processes that led to the writing of his 1949 masterpiece - 1984.

 

White Fang by Jack London

 

What a fantastic story. It reminds me of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha in the way that both of these novels are written from the viewpoint of somebody (or something) that has a completely different perception of the world to that of an adult male. In this case, through the perception of a wolf. I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it.

 

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

 

Finally I can fully appreciate the use of the word "Machiavellian." This book is a treatise about how to acquire and maintain political power. It was written in the 16th century but the fascinating thing about is that much of it is still relevant today. It just goes to show that no matter how much science and technology progresses, certain aspects of politics and sociology don't change and as far as I'm concerned, governments and politicians still use the dishonest and immoral principles that Machiavelli writes about. If you're anti-establishment like I am, then this is well worth a read.

 

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

 

One of the reasons I love to read so much is because I know that every now and then I'll come across a book that is so utterly sublime it won't just provide me with great pleasure, it will also have a profound effect on me that changes the way I look at life forever. Shantaram is such a book. It is, quite simply, a novel of exceptional beauty which is one of the best I've ever read. It is the story of Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber who escaped from an Australian jail and then lived as a fugitive in Bombay, India. There he lived in a slum working as an unofficial doctor before ending up in jail surviving in the most appalling conditions. On his release he then worked for the mafia, appeared in Bollywood films and fought in the war in Afghanistan for the Mujahideen, before returning to Bombay to continue working for the mafia. This amazing story is about life, love, ethics, morality, philosophy, religion, friendship, retribution, betrayal, survival in the face of adversity and the beauty of humans and human relationships. This is one of the most endearing and heart warming books I've ever read which has touched me on an emotional level so significantly that I urge everyone to read it at least once in their lives. Rather than keep using superlatives to describe this book I will leave you with the Daily Telegraph's highly appropriate and fitting tribute to this book which describes it perfectly - "it is a literary masterpiece."

[MM 6,562]

I've read White Fang, The Prince, and Shantaram long ago, though Shantaram most recently. I have to say, it's a wonderful, engaging, story of an amazing man's life. Some question about the truth to some of his stories, but nonetheless, it's a great read.

 

I concur, everyone who hasn't read Shantaram, and would enjoy an exotic view of the lesser known parts of India, should put this on their reading list.

[nkped 1,208]

A couple of novels I am working on now.

 

The Quantum Spy by David Ignatius. Ignatius is a foreign affairs columnist for the Washington Post who also writes novels and has the reputation of having good contacts in the intelligence community. Apparently quantum computing is the great holy grail in the digital world. The tone is fairly quiet, but the subject revolves around the operations of the CIA and Chinese intelligence agencies and their attempts to gain information relating to quantum computer. No real idea as to whether he is accurate as to anything, but it is well imagined and a good read.

 

The General by C.S. Forester. This is the C.S. Forester of the Horatio Hornblower novels. The fictional "hero" is Lieutenant General Herbert Curzon who reached the level of corps commander in WWI. He's brave, incredibly hard working, humane to his troops when it is possible and not terribly imaginative. Forester published this around 1935 and was praised for getting things right about combat on the western front although he never served due to medical reasons. Curzon gets jumped from Major to Major General in short order due to casualties and people in the peace time army being relieved as being manifestly unqualified. Max Hastings wrote the introduction to this edition and says that the reputation of British leadership in the Great War didn't begin to deteriorate until about 1929. He is also of the view that much of the more recent criticism is unjustified and they did what had to be done in very difficult circumstances. Hastings quotes the figure, which I believe I have seen elsewhere, of 58 British generals who were killed in action.

Edited December 17, 2017 by nkped

[Siam Sam 964]

I've read White Fang, The Prince, and Shantaram long ago, though Shantaram most recently. I have to say, it's a wonderful, engaging, story of an amazing man's life. Some question about the truth to some of his stories, but nonetheless, it's a great read.

 

I concur, everyone who hasn't read Shantaram, and would enjoy an exotic view of the lesser known parts of India, should put this on their reading list.

 

Shantaram is absolutely brilliant. People question much of what happened in the novel and I am of the opinion that it is highly embellished in places but that is what makes it such a great novel. I haven't read a book as good as that since I read Atlas Shrugged about eighteen months ago. I've wanted to go to India for years and reading this has finally made me decide that it is a place I have to go to. No more trips to Thailand for a while - we're going to Iceland next and then I'm going to India.

 

I recently read Ask the Dust by John Fante. It was very good and I highly recommend it. Last year I got in to Charles Bukowski and Ask the Dust was Bukowski's favourite book so I had to give it a try. They both have simplistic writing styles yet they're such talented writers because they still manage to convey exactly what they want to even with simple sentences and small vocabularies.

[redwood13 56]

Read about a quarter of Shantaram and put it aside. I thought it felt like a novel "soon to be a major motion picture" or maybe a miniseries. And it seems Warner is alleged to have paid $2M for the rights with Johnny Depp involved as long as 10 years ago. He was to be the lead or director or something.

Interviews with the author on YouTube. And there's a sequel, The Mountain Shadow, published in 2015 with an interesting review in the NYT.

[teelack 9,638]

I haven't read this entire thread so if I duplicate, sorry.

 

I have just finished read Stephen Leather's TAKEDOWN which I think is probably his latest. It a hard to put down read and while not the best of his work is still worth a few hours of your time if your into the hard case mentality beloved of the Lee Child school of writing.

 

What else makes this worth a review is the Pattaya connection. As is probably well known Leather is no stranger to Pattaya and brings the place into this novel. I will get back to that. The book concerns a number of threads but of interest to Pattaya people are the Russian mafia connection and the fact that it is seen as a haven for British gangsters. These two groups plus a mob of mercenaries make up the cast.

 

What you will have some fun with, is the Walking Street connection. figuring out the places that the fictional places are based on are fun. We even have a club manager called Ricky!

 

So where is Red Oktober, The Cellblock and the Firehouse? It really isn't that difficult. I like the yarn about the bar girl who has penned on one hand BUY ME A DRINK and on the other (expecting a refusal) CHEAP CHARLIE.

 

This book is a romp. The 'hero' is uncompromising, as are his English gangster mates, and two Russians who mess with a bar girl end up with beer bottles inserted where the sun don't shine. As he says "It was only a Singha bottle". Read, enjoy, forget.

[atlas2 4,329]

I've had it in a beach bag to read since it came out in regular size paperback.........Always read his stuff. The hero in 'Takedown' appears in his 'Spider' novels.

A new one of those is out called 'Light Touch'.......They will be the next two books I read.

 

I like the Pattaya connection too. One of his 'Spider' novels...(forget which) centres the action in Pattaya and Paddington's Praed St........ie where I live now and where I grew up.

 

My one problem with Leather is his book's climaxes are so exciting......I speed read the endings rushing the page turning. Not a bad problem.

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

Anyone read Hotel Scarface ? Heard the writer talking about it and it seemed an interesting historical book on a time in Miami.

[teelack 9,638]

I've had it in a beach bag to read since it came out in regular size paperback.........Always read his stuff. The hero in 'Takedown' appears in his 'Spider' novels.

A new one of those is out called 'Light Touch'.......They will be the next two books I read.

 

I like the Pattaya connection too. One of his 'Spider' novels...(forget which) centres the action in Pattaya and Paddington's Praed St........ie where I live now and where I grew up.

 

My one problem with Leather is his book's climaxes are so exciting......I speed read the endings rushing the page turning. Not a bad problem.

 

Funny but I too know Praed Street and in the only other Spider book that had a presence in Pattaya he puts his mate up in the Penthouse Hotel and that get a bit of free publicity.

[atlas2 4,329]

 

Funny but I too know Praed Street and in the only other Spider book that had a presence in Pattaya he puts his mate up in the Penthouse Hotel and that get a bit of free publicity.

 

 

 

I love Penthouse, I know it has it's haters.....but I've had some awesome times there. It reminds me of the Brighton Pavilion. That particular 'folly' began with a role of Chinese wallpaper ..........And ended up as an English Regent's interpretation of an oriental palace........OK if it was described as a collection of 'Pepper pots' (there have always been haters)......Whatever got Dudley the owner of Penthouse started I don't know? .....But the blackout curtains give you a chance at least to play in the night and catch-up on sleep in the day.......The dance poles, porn channels, love swings, disco lights, mirrors and jacuzzis cry out for GoGo girl bar-fines. The place screams tasteless fun and you must do your best to answer its' call.

 

I'm sure Leather did....randy old goat.........He'll go to Hell......( there's a pun there I won't pursue)

 

I think I've read everything from Leather. Hugely enjoyable. Oddly I'd thought 'The Chinaman' his lightest effort and yet that one gets a film treatment in, 'The Foreigner'

The 'Spider' books are just begging for the same.

 

As for you knowing Praed St.......Apart from the old, 'Count Suckles' Q Club, Praed street's only other claim to fame is the 'Clap Clinic at St Mary's Paddington' Were you a friend of Count Suckle then?.........

Edited January 27, 2018 by atlas2

[teelack 9,638]

 

 

 

I love Penthouse, I know it has it's haters.....but I've had some awesome times there. It reminds me of the Brighton Pavilion. That particular 'folly' began with a role of Chinese wallpaper ..........And ended up as an English Regent's interpretation of an oriental palace........OK if it was described as a collection of 'Pepper pots' (there have always been haters)......Whatever got Dudley the owner of Penthouse started I don't know? .....But the blackout curtains give you a chance at least to play in the night and catch-up on sleep in the day.......The dance poles, porn channels, love swings, disco lights, mirrors and jacuzzis cry out for GoGo girl bar-fines. The place screams tasteless fun and you must do your best to answer its' call.

 

I'm sure Leather did....randy old goat.........He'll go to Hell......( there's a pun there I won't pursue)

 

I think I've read everything from Leather. Hugely enjoyable. Oddly I'd thought 'The Chinaman' his lightest effort and yet that one gets a film treatment in, 'The Foreigner'

The 'Spider' books are just begging for the same.

 

As for you knowing Praed St.......Apart from the old, 'Count Suckles' Q Club, Praed street's only other claim to fame is the 'Clap Clinic at St Mary's Paddington' Were you a friend of Count Suckle then?.........

 

One last comment regarding Leather. I had heard of his Private Dancer but could not find a copy in our conservative land. One night I was working late and looked it up on the Internet and lo and behold, there it was ordering me to print it of while the office was empty! I did so and wondered if in fact there was checks on the printers and paper usage as this was about 200 pages of print. I didn't get the sack and I didn't get an account but I did start a long enjoyment of his work. I always assumed that there had been an 'arrangement' when Ricky was running the Private Dancer club because if I recall correctly he did book signings there .

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

Reading "Fire and Fury", by Michael Wolff, on iPad Pro Kindle App.

[nkped 1,208]

Reading "Fire and Fury", by Michael Wolff, on iPad Pro Kindle App.

Just finished listening to the audio book through Audible. Well suited for that format.

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

Just finished listening to the audio book through Audible. Well suited for that format.

Narration by Hillary? Like at the Grammys

Edited January 29, 2018 by RhinoTusk

[twitter 4]

[Big_Brian 179]

I'm currently working my way through the "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series by Stephen Erikson. It' actually 10 HUGE books, on my Kindle (which doesn't give page numbers) a "normal" book is about 5,000 "locations" (128 characters to a location). This monster (a compendium) is almost 190,000 locations, or about the same size as 38 normal books, heavy reading with a lot of characters too.

 

I normally get through a couple of books a week, started this late November and am only on book 5! Should finish in March/April - and now I find that there are 7 more books set in the same universe. I really enjoy getting my head well into a fully-realised book series, but this is getting silly!

 

It's not going to beat me though.

[atlas2 4,329]

As long as you're enjoying it.

[Siam Sam 964]

I've read Private Dancer twice and I've often wondered if Leather has written other books that are based in Thailand so I may well check out the ones that are although I don't think he is that great a writer. Since I last posted in this thread I read The Blade Artist by Irvine Welsh which means I've now read all of his novels. I then decided I should read his four works of short stories because I'm such a fan so I read Ecstasy again which I read back in the 90's but had forgotten all about. I'm going to read the other three soon. The Blade Artist is good but it isn't as good as his finest (Trainspotting, Glue, Porno, Skagboys) which are some of the best books I've ever read. I'd give it an 8 out of 10. Ecstasy is also an 8 out of 10 for me. In characteristic Welsh style it is debauched and controversial, at times beautifully illustrating the rave / club and drug culture of the 90's so anyone who was part of that will appreciate this book.

 

I'm currently reading I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe. I'm a huge fan of Wolfe and I've already read The Bonfire of the Vanities, A Man in Full, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby. The Bonfire of the Vanities and A Man in Full are two of the best books that I've ever read which I recommend highly. I am Charlotte Simmons started off slowly but I'm now halfway through it and really enjoying it, Wolfe's writing is fantastic and if you haven't read The Bonfire of the Vanities or A Man in Full yet then I think you should.

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

Bret Easton Ellis was a big hype writer during the yuppy years. I read Less than Zero, which surprised me as it was bloody good. He also wrote American Psycho.