Finoshed Calvin Wade's Another Saturday and Sweet FA. Amusing tale of foitball fans attempt to see every game in every round of last season's FA Cup including qualifying rounds.
Finished Jef Stelling's Jelleyman's Thrown a Wobbly. A bit dated with lots of references to Besty and Rodney Marsh. Good tale if you are addicted to Soccer Saturday
FInished A Bend in the River by V S Naipaul. Beuatifullt written novel about the fragility ofife and social breakdown in Africa. Written almost 40yrs ago but history still repeating iitself today.
It's a tremendous read. I think my favourite of his work.
the beach cafe by lucy diamond, chick lit but v good nonetheless!!
30 something evie, the 'black sheep' of the family has learnt that her beloved aunt jo who runs the beach cafe in cornwall has been tragically killed in an accident and has left her niece her beloved cafe in her will...
easy read, very funny in parts, moving in others, i've only just started it but thoroughly enjoying it!:)
One Plus One - Jojo Moyes
I raced through this, not wanting ito to end. All the characters, I really cared about
and my emotions were all over the place, between laughter and tears.
Brilliant.
I'm about halfway through listening to Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs. Trains aren't really my thing but this is very entertaining. It's the 40th Discworld book, I think that I've read them all apart from Unseen Academicals (didn't fancy football much). I don't know whether the Science of the Discworld books are included in the 40 - I haven't read those.
I'm reading The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman, Merrily Watkins no. 4. Dennis Wheatley with a dash of the Vicar of Dibley and mixed with Agatha Christie. Good characters, I like to sleep at night so I hope that it's no scarier than the previous books.
I'm just reading another Hugh Howey - looks like young adult (A Hurricane). But I've recently read Stuart MacBride's Birthdays for the Dead and A Song for the Dying. Both are dark as hell, and very funny in parts, and I loooove Ash Henderson. I think. Sometimes I hate him.
I'm about halfway through listening to Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs. Trains aren't really my thing but this is very entertaining. It's the 40th Discworld book, I think that I've read them all apart from Unseen Academicals (didn't fancy football much). I don't know whether the Science of the Discworld books are included in the 40 - I haven't read those.
I'm reading The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman, Merrily Watkins no. 4. Dennis Wheatley with a dash of the Vicar of Dibley and mixed with Agatha Christie. Good characters, I like to sleep at night so I hope that it's no scarier than the previous books.
BIB: I've read Unseen Academicals, and it's also very clever and funny. I'm not into football either, but it's not really celebrating football - more taking the P out of it and the mob culture, type of thing? Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the impression I got, and I did read it a while back. It's worth a read, if only reading about the star player.
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. I've been meaning to read it for years and have finally got around to it. I can't say I'm "enjoying" it due to the subject matter, but it is nevertheless a brilliantly written and engrossing book.
David Baldacci's (he of Absolute Power book and movie fame) Zero Hour. Follows the exploits of the very capable combat specialist military police CID agent, John Puller Jr. Not been reading it long but I can assure you that if you like American police procedurals with a military/government conspiracy twist then this is for you. Plenty of intrigue form the off. There's two sequels as well - The Forgotten and The Escape. Looking forward to reading them already!!
Whatever Happened to Billy Parks by Gareth Roberts.
An alcoholic ex footballer, who was on bench the night that England drew with Poland in 1973, is given the chance to possibly rewrite history (in particular getting on the pitch to score the goal that gets England to the World Cup), and gain redemption from the mess his life has become.
Really, really liking this, nearly at the end, there's a possible supernatural (if that's the right word) overtone, although, so far, not quite sure if Billy's 'second chance' is real or imagined, mixed with his present day life, and descriptions of his downfall from being England's most promising player during the 1970s. Fiction mixed brilliantly with real life players/situations/games from the 1970s. At the moment I'm still not sure I didn't actually see Billy Parks play for Spurs back in the day
Just read James Hilton's two 'Mr Chips' books and am starting
a re-read of his 'Lost Horizon'. Have just read a marathon of
mainly American writers, and find the old fashioned, perfect
grammar and pace of these, a pleasant 'palette cleanser' for
a change! Old fashioned views of an Englishness that, like
Wodehouse, may never have actually existed, but comes across
from the written word, extremely well. A real treat for these old
eyes at any rate!
Whatever Happened to Billy Parks by Gareth Roberts.
An alcoholic ex footballer, who was on bench the night that England drew with Poland in 1973, is given the chance to possibly rewrite history (in particular getting on the pitch to score the goal that gets England to the World Cup), and gain redemption from the mess his life has become.
Really, really liking this, nearly at the end, there's a possible supernatural (if that's the right word) overtone, although, so far, not quite sure if Billy's 'second chance' is real or imagined, mixed with his present day life, and descriptions of his downfall from being England's most promising player during the 1970s. Fiction mixed brilliantly with real life players/situations/games from the 1970s. At the moment I'm still not sure I didn't actually see Billy Parks play for Spurs back in the day
That was enough to persuade me to buy it as it's only £1.99 for Kindle. Thanks!
David Baldacci's (he of Absolute Power book and movie fame) Zero Hour. Follows the exploits of the very capable combat specialist military police CID agent, John Puller Jr. Not been reading it long but I can assure you that if you like American police procedurals with a military/government conspiracy twist then this is for you. Plenty of intrigue form the off. There's two sequels as well - The Forgotten and The Escape. Looking forward to reading them already!!
Oops sorry, title is Zero Day!! Also some mentions much earlier in this thread if you want to search for them. Zero Hour is an Andy McNab book, which I've also got!!
I'm reading 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman. It's the first of his that I've read and I've got no idea why I haven't read anything by him before - it's absolutely brilliant.
I'm listening to Bloodline by Mark Billingham - definitely one of his best Thorne novels. There are some great little descriptive moments and dry humour.
Comments
It's a tremendous read. I think my favourite of his work.
30 something evie, the 'black sheep' of the family has learnt that her beloved aunt jo who runs the beach cafe in cornwall has been tragically killed in an accident and has left her niece her beloved cafe in her will...
easy read, very funny in parts, moving in others, i've only just started it but thoroughly enjoying it!:)
I raced through this, not wanting ito to end. All the characters, I really cared about
and my emotions were all over the place, between laughter and tears.
Brilliant.
I'm reading The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman, Merrily Watkins no. 4. Dennis Wheatley with a dash of the Vicar of Dibley and mixed with Agatha Christie. Good characters, I like to sleep at night so I hope that it's no scarier than the previous books.
BIB: I've read Unseen Academicals, and it's also very clever and funny. I'm not into football either, but it's not really celebrating football - more taking the P out of it and the mob culture, type of thing? Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the impression I got, and I did read it a while back. It's worth a read, if only reading about the star player.
An alcoholic ex footballer, who was on bench the night that England drew with Poland in 1973, is given the chance to possibly rewrite history (in particular getting on the pitch to score the goal that gets England to the World Cup), and gain redemption from the mess his life has become.
Really, really liking this, nearly at the end, there's a possible supernatural (if that's the right word) overtone, although, so far, not quite sure if Billy's 'second chance' is real or imagined, mixed with his present day life, and descriptions of his downfall from being England's most promising player during the 1970s. Fiction mixed brilliantly with real life players/situations/games from the 1970s. At the moment I'm still not sure I didn't actually see Billy Parks play for Spurs back in the day
a re-read of his 'Lost Horizon'. Have just read a marathon of
mainly American writers, and find the old fashioned, perfect
grammar and pace of these, a pleasant 'palette cleanser' for
a change! Old fashioned views of an Englishness that, like
Wodehouse, may never have actually existed, but comes across
from the written word, extremely well. A real treat for these old
eyes at any rate!
I'm reliving my youth.