R2OK!

Minx · Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:33 pm Post subject:

Just finished "Second Glance" by Jodi Picoult. It's not like her usual stuff which generally has a strong legal theme to it, this one is about the supernatural and the Vermont Eugenics Project of the 20's and 30's (where they tried "breeding out" undesirables). Very good read but one of her earlier works, first published in USA in 2003 and only recently here in the UK.

Now I'm struggling with Adam Williams' "The Palace of Heavenly Pleasures" about the Boxer uprising in China. A graphic tale, well worth the read but very ghoulish and I'm not sure how much more violence and depravity I'll be able to take. Shocked

aviddiva

Peter Kay's 'The Sound Of Laughter'. Johnny Dee's 'That Peter Kay Book' delves more into his work on Phoenix Nights, but the Kay biog says a lot about his early life and work experiences.

I love the way he ties events in with what was on TV at the time and what songs were out - he relates his time as a Manchester Evening News arena steward to when 'Highway To Heaven' was on in the afternoons, for instance, and talks about getting the'Buster' soundtrack on cassette.
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- Campbell Bain in 'Takin' Over The Asylum'

marietta honeybun · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 915 Location: Holland

Have read loads of books since I last posted but forgot to keep track of the titles ... I am halfway through Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" where he treks the Appalachian Trail. It's very interesting and funny too.
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Friends may come and friends may go, but enemies tend to accumulate.

Minx · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:29 am Post subject:

Just finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Wasn't sure that I would enjoy the setting (Afghanistan) but it was a gripping and very moving read. So much so that I've just started A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author. His books can be quite shocking but they certainly make you think.

becky sharp · Joined: 01 Dec 2008 Posts: 97

Briant · Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:54 pm Post subject: Books and more books.....

I am reading 'More time for politics' by Tony Benn, his most recent diaries.
'Heaven and Hell' by Don Felder. A former member of the Eagles gives his take on the band and its members.
'I'll sleep when I'm dead' a book about Warren Zevon. Rolling Eyes

FLYBYNIGHT · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 64 Location: At Home

I'm reading Parky's autobiography.
"Fruit of the Lemon" by Andrea Levy (who wrote Small Island)
and "The Outcast" by Sadie Jones, her debut novel and I can't put it down!

becky sharp · Joined: 01 Dec 2008 Posts: 97

Behind Geddon's Wall · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:45 pm Post subject:

I have just finished the "Star Risk" set of 4 by Chris Bunch, and havw just started The Accidental Sorcerer by K E Mills

Both Cracking stories.
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Geddon

You simply mustn't blame yourself -- the days were perfect
And so were exactly what I was born to spoil
For I am the Rider to the World's End
Bound across the cinder causeway
From the furnace to the quarry
Through the fields of oil

Minx · Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:29 pm Post subject:

Just finished Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. Terrific read. Wasn't a great fan of Da Vinci Code, thought it grossly overrated, but this was quite a compelling story with some quite thought provoking undertones. Can't imagine he would be the Vatican's most popular author as he pushes the envelope just a bit too far for them, I would have thought, but nevertheless an extremely well researched and rivetting read. I would recommend it.

Behind Geddon's Wall · Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 11:28 am Post subject:

Rachel · First Lady of R2OK Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 2952

I liked A & D, probably the best of all the Dan Brown books- maybe( D F is good too), pitty about the helicopter scene though - too far fetched. I did think the female lead was going to cop for it but as in all his books she survives. If you like A & D there's a great book called Lucifer by Michael Cordy , he writes in the same way as Dan Brown- the story is really scary too- and not just any scary,I mean keep you awake at night scary, it's about trying to capture souls on thier way to the afterlife. Blimey it makes you think.

becky sharp · Joined: 01 Dec 2008 Posts: 97

nod · Joined: 24 Dec 2006 Posts: 1467

John Peel - Olivetti Chronicles

some good comments about Timmy Bannockburn etc Laughing

FLYBYNIGHT · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 64 Location: At Home

becky sharp · Joined: 01 Dec 2008 Posts: 97

FLYBYNIGHT · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 64 Location: At Home

Hi Becky,

"Spilling the Beans" must be fascinating. Clarissa has led a very interesting, colourful life, hasn't she? I must look out for that.
I'm relaxing with a bit of chick.lit. by Catherine Alliott at the moment, but "The Story of Edgar Sartelle" by David Wroblewski is on the way to me from Amazon. Have you read it? I've heard some glowing reports.
For my reading Club I'm halfway into "H.M.S.Surprise by Patrick O'Brian" and I so wish I liked it!!!! Have you read any of his books?

davem · Joined: 13 Mar 2009 Posts: 85

'Nation' by Terry Pratchett if the wife remembers to get it today i will follow this with 'adventures on the high teas' by Stuart Maconie for light relief i'm also browsing BS 1761 17th edition wiring regulations which is a real page page turner Very Happy

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I'm not scott

Angus McCoatup · Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 8:51 pm Post subject:

That 17th edition thingy sounds a bit heavy Dave!! Why are you reading that? Surprised

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colby · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 1216

I'm currently on section 4 of "Brilliant Flash CS4" - some really useful stuff on how to embed metadata into MPEG4/H.264 tracks for playback on the web. Excellent!
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Minx · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 7:29 am Post subject:

colby · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 1216

Briant · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 4:44 pm Post subject:

I am reading '101 poems about Childhood' Ed: Michael Donaghy (F&F) My favourite is 'To any reader' by Robert Louis Stevenson. A very poignant poem about how short childhood is, but as another child takes its turn playing in a garden somewhere, the cycle continues. Smile

Minx · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 5:09 pm Post subject:

I've just finished "The Tenderness of Wolves" by Stef Penney. It's a bit of a thin tale but beautifully written. I'd recommend it.
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Minx
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Everybody needs something to believe in.... I believe I'll have another glass of wine.

davem · Joined: 13 Mar 2009 Posts: 85

colby · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 1216

Angus McCoatup · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:27 pm Post subject:

colby · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 1216

becky sharp · Joined: 01 Dec 2008 Posts: 97

davem · Joined: 13 Mar 2009 Posts: 85

aviddiva

I am currently reading 'Girls Like Us' by Sheila Weller, about the lives and times of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon.

The Carly Simon bits read like she's starring in a female version of 'Frasier' - rich girl grows up in a world of publishing. Carole King's bits show how hard it was to be working and a young mother in the early 60's, and Gerry Goffin comes across as a heel for playing away with another performer and fathering a child by her.

Said other performer has a song written for her - it's 'I'm Into Something Good' (later a UK hit for Herman's Hermits). You wonder if the child benefit was put in a Halifax account!
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We are loonies and we are proud!

- Campbell Bain in 'Takin' Over The Asylum'

aviddiva

Currently I'm reading Charlie Brooker's 'Screen Burn'. I got this and 'Dawn Of The Dumb' to read on holiday, and then I also got Stuart Maconie's 'Adventures On The High Teas', Mark Radcliffe's 'Thank you For The Days' and Andrew Collins's 'That's Me In the Corner'.
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We are loonies and we are proud!

- Campbell Bain in 'Takin' Over The Asylum'

colby · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 1216

Just finished reading Greg Dyke's 2006 memoirs, called "Inside Story". It gives a great insight into how, as BBC Director General, he was stitched up by both the BBC Governors and also 10 Downing Street after the publication of the work of fiction known as The Hutton Report (WMD, Dr. David Kelly, BBC Reporter Andrew Gilligan, a completely two-faced and gutless Tony Blair, arrogant Alastair Campbell, etc).

A superb read!
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aviddiva

Andrew Collins's 'That's Me In the Corner' shows how the author's not had one particular career post-uni. It begins with a frustrating time stacking shelves in Sainsbury's, continues with his time at NME and collaborating with Stuart Maconie on radio, and now I'm up to him leaving Q magazine to work on Empire.

I'd love to see some of the people who rejected me having a look at what must be a huge CV for him!
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We are loonies and we are proud!

- Campbell Bain in 'Takin' Over The Asylum'