New now reading

in reality, all of this has been a total load of old bollocks
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Darkness_Fish
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Re: New now reading

Postby Darkness_Fish » 28 Dec 2016, 10:57

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Like fast-moving clouds casting shadows against a hillside, the melody-loop shuddered with a sense of the sublime, the awful unknowable majesty of the world.

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northernsky
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Re: New now reading

Postby northernsky » 28 Dec 2016, 14:10

Christness_Fish wrote:Rather Be The Devil


I read all the Rebus books pretty much as they come out; this one felt pretty tired, I thought, despite the benefit of having Cafferty back on full gas. Considerably weaker than the other "post-pension" books.

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Re: New now reading

Postby Darkness_Fish » 28 Dec 2016, 14:37

northernsky wrote:
Christness_Fish wrote:Rather Be The Devil


I read all the Rebus books pretty much as they come out; this one felt pretty tired, I thought, despite the benefit of having Cafferty back on full gas. Considerably weaker than the other "post-pension" books.

Hmm, I'm only just starting it, to be honest, but I don't feel that it's starting out firing on all cylinders. Rebus opening another cold case at random, and Malcolm Fox is a character that Rankin seems to be sticking with, but doesn't know what to do with. Some time back, even pre-pension, he seemed to get a bit stuck with Rebus, and focused more heavily on Siobhan Clarke, and it feels to me that would be a better direction for him to head in.

Still, it's been a long time since I read a Rankin novel I didn't like, so I'm sure it'll be at least a pleasant diversion.
Like fast-moving clouds casting shadows against a hillside, the melody-loop shuddered with a sense of the sublime, the awful unknowable majesty of the world.

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the masked man
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Re: New now reading

Postby the masked man » 02 Jan 2017, 19:26

Finished this early this morning:

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Samuel Bjork is seemingly the new kid on the Scandi-crime block. A Norwegian writer whose characterisation owes quite a bit to Stieg Larsson, it has to be said. Nonetheless, he spins a decent tale in this, the first of a projected series. The book starts quietly if intriguing, making it clear that both protagonists have a significant and disastrous past leaving one of them demoted and the other contemplating suicide. Yet their collected talents are needed back in Oslo when a series of ritualistic child murders are uncovered. Could this have something to do with a sinister Christian cult based outside the city, or are more basic themes of revenge at play? The translation is clear and crisp, while the tension ramps up nicely towards the end. This series is worth watching out for.

Now, casting my net wider when it comes to translated crime fiction, here's a notable German hit novel that I've just started:

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Nele Neuhaus' originally self-published novel became a literary phenomenon in Europe, and reads well so far. Her novel focuses on a young man recently released from prison for the murder of a young woman which he is seemingly innocent of, only to discover the extent to which his parents have suffered as a result of this incident. It's clear at this early that one of her persuasive themes is the suffocating nature of a small-minded village community. This is uncomfortable but compelling reading so far.

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Re: New now reading

Postby Velvis » 02 Jan 2017, 19:58

Rereading Watchmen. I still am finding new bits of cleverness.
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Re: New now reading

Postby Graham Murakami » 02 Jan 2017, 20:10

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Julian Maclaren-Ross is noteworthy for his life as well as his writing since he was X Trapnel in Antony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time, for example, as well as an enigmatic guest on a 60s chat-show. I am always told that his short stories are possibly his best work, but this is a great novel and a treat to re-read while convalescing over the new year. It hints at wider themes such as love, poverty, politics and impending war but is really just a perfectly written autobiographical sketch.

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Re: New now reading

Postby Graham Murakami » 02 Jan 2017, 20:17

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Has anybody tried reading this? I am not convinced you are meant to. There are 100 pages of words between the lovely covers with the great joke, but the first few pages don't make any sense really.

On the other hand, this is the finest Christmas stocking book since the Meaning of Liff or the Big Hard Number Two:
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Re: New now reading

Postby Snarfyguy » 02 Jan 2017, 23:42

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Re: New now reading

Postby BARON CORNY DOG » 03 Jan 2017, 08:14

echolalia wrote:Image

I was hoping to love this book but merely enjoyed it – but enough to order her next one, Slow Days, Fast Company. I thought I recognized Gram Parsons (she changes some names) and a quick web search seemed to corroborate this.


I had the same view, basically. I've just started Slow Days. Erstwhile BCBer mspecktor wrote the introduction to Slow Days and had suggested to me that it is the better book. A (short) chapter or two in and I'm hopeful.
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Re: New now reading

Postby Darkness_Fish » 03 Jan 2017, 09:14

Darkness_Fish wrote:
northernsky wrote:
Christness_Fish wrote:Rather Be The Devil


I read all the Rebus books pretty much as they come out; this one felt pretty tired, I thought, despite the benefit of having Cafferty back on full gas. Considerably weaker than the other "post-pension" books.

Hmm, I'm only just starting it, to be honest, but I don't feel that it's starting out firing on all cylinders. Rebus opening another cold case at random, and Malcolm Fox is a character that Rankin seems to be sticking with, but doesn't know what to do with. Some time back, even pre-pension, he seemed to get a bit stuck with Rebus, and focused more heavily on Siobhan Clarke, and it feels to me that would be a better direction for him to head in.

Still, it's been a long time since I read a Rankin novel I didn't like, so I'm sure it'll be at least a pleasant diversion.

Hmm, I'm not sure I agree with it being tired, I think it was probably as good as the other post-pension Rebus books. The only real downsides are the practical irrelevance of the cold case, and the incongruity of Rebus being so heavily involved with the investigation. Otherwise, it's a pretty good addition to the collection. It does make me wonder where Rebus is going to go, though, he can't keep tagging along with the real cops, surely?
Like fast-moving clouds casting shadows against a hillside, the melody-loop shuddered with a sense of the sublime, the awful unknowable majesty of the world.

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Re: New now reading

Postby Darkness_Fish » 03 Jan 2017, 09:17

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A mammoth door-stop of a book from the writer and director of Withnail & I. Seems to be a very aggressive book so far, his hatred of Victorian society is clear, perhaps too clear, but it appears to be hugely well researched.
Like fast-moving clouds casting shadows against a hillside, the melody-loop shuddered with a sense of the sublime, the awful unknowable majesty of the world.

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Re: New now reading

Postby Robert » 03 Jan 2017, 15:30

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Sorry couldn't make it any smaller. Only 30 pages in but a great story about a real person - Joe Gould- who had the ambition to write an oral history of the common people by writing down everything anybody ever told him at any given moment. Gould was made famous by a New Yorker journalist who wrote two fantastic essays about the man but started to doubt whether the manuscript of 90.000.000 words actually existed. Jill Lepore explores in this book if it did or not.

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Re: New now reading

Postby Velvis » 03 Jan 2017, 21:55

Now reading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.
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Re: New now reading

Postby copehead » 04 Jan 2017, 17:42

Phil T wrote:I'm currently reading this again, not having done so for a couple of decades.
It's the type of thing you dip into, rather than read as a whole.

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as is this, which I'm also reading, alongside the above.
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Re: New now reading

Postby Jimbo » 12 Jan 2017, 13:31

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So far fantastic!
Question authority.

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Robert
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Re: New now reading

Postby Robert » 12 Jan 2017, 16:02

Joe Gould's teeth was good but not extraordinary. This one promises to be a life changing event according to the introduction:


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Re: New now reading

Postby Snarfyguy » 12 Jan 2017, 20:20

Robert wrote:Joe Gould's teeth was good but not extraordinary. This one promises to be a life changing event according to the introduction:


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I have that on my shelf and I've always meant to get to it. Do let us know what you make of it.
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Re: New now reading

Postby toomanyhatz » 12 Jan 2017, 20:26

The Zinn is pretty dry reading. And for a would-be-centrist like myself (mind you, the complete kookiness of the far right pushes me further and further to the left) it's a bit strident.

That said, as revisionist tomes go, it has an admirable consistency and adherence to its own worldview.
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Re: New now reading

Postby toomanyhatz » 12 Jan 2017, 20:39

Meanwhile, I've just finished this fun piece of New England Goth. I love Jackson - she's quite good at revealing the inner workings of her characters by what they don't reveal.

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Footy wrote:
The Who / Jimi Hendrix Experience Saville Theatre, London Jan '67
. Got Jimi's autograph after the show and went on to see him several times that year


1959 1963 1965 1966 1974 1977 1978 1981 1988 2017* 2018 2020!! 2023?

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echolalia
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Re: New now reading

Postby echolalia » 12 Jan 2017, 22:37

Still Baron wrote:
echolalia wrote:Image

I was hoping to love this book but merely enjoyed it – but enough to order her next one, Slow Days, Fast Company. I thought I recognized Gram Parsons (she changes some names) and a quick web search seemed to corroborate this.


I had the same view, basically. I've just started Slow Days. Erstwhile BCBer mspecktor wrote the introduction to Slow Days and had suggested to me that it is the better book. A (short) chapter or two in and I'm hopeful.

The introduction is very good – I didn’t make the connection with mspecktor, so thanks. He says something about Babitz being wise, which occurred to me while reading Eve’s Hollywood. I’m a bit suspicious of this though, as there may be subconscious archetypes at work. And even allowing that she’s “wise”, that doesn’t necessarily make it interesting. But as mspecktor also mentions Slow Days, Fast Company has got perceptiveness on top of the wisdom – it’s definitely the better book of the two. Not everyone survives, like the tragico-irrelevant housewife in Emerald Bay, an account of a creepy gated community where originality is frowned upon and creativity is bundled off the premises, and political protest would probably be shot dead but Babitz never goes there, as she’s completely in tune with the local ecology. She celebrates the vegetation and loves the smog. And she has a wonderful eye for nuanced, smudgy colours like turquoise and peach. I could definitely read more – maybe I’ll try Black Swans next.


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