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"Books I have read recently"

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Sun 20/06/04 at 02:45
Regular
"Infantalised Forums"
Posts: 23,089
On a major reading frenzy at the moment, bored with video games and movies so have returned to the page and thanks to the "I'm not really spending money" feeling I get from Amazon, have been reading like a madman.
Quick capsule reviews:

Robert Heinlein "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Martian/Human hybrid comes to earth for the first time ever and experiences this planet.
Very good indeed, another "SF Masterworks Classic" that gave me "I Am Legend". Heinlein uses the character as a way of exploring our world, from religion to monogamy and all the stuff inbetween. Surprisingly easy reading considering I don't usually enjoy sci-fi stuff. Pretty scathing to organised religions, politicians and our inability to be honest to one another about ourselves.

George R Stewart "Earth Abides"
Post apocalypse story much in the vein of the (written later) Stephen King book "The Stand".
Bloke gets bitten by a rattlesnake when out climbing and develops a fever. Comes to and discovers that 99% of the country/world has died from a mysterious disease and has to learn to live. There's no clumsy good vs evil flavour like King's. Just a literate and thoughtful prediction on how we would survive in a world without cars, electricity, running water, medicines, laws, governments, religion. Bloke meets woman, they have kids and so on down the line. Interesting to see the beginnings of new religions, superstitions, traditions and the dying of what we take for granted. They have to learn to catch animals, develop their own languages and basically return to cavemen, unable to start fire or figure out how to read/write.

Jeff Long "The Descent"
People discover another race of things living under the planet that want to kill us.
Or do they? Is Satan their leader?
Very enjoyable, a worldwide-scale end-of-the-world story about a group's journey thousands of miles under the surface to discover stuff and an eventual battle for the planet.

Sebastian Faulks "Birdsong"
Awful awful chick-lit of the highest water.
Dreadful. Incredibly pretentious, DH Lawrence wannabe story about a bloke that lives with a French family, has affair with the woman of the house, gets sent to WWI and trench warfare, feels bad about stuff and generally tortures himself about how nasty and unfair the world is.
Very slowly.
It's...imagine being forced to listen to a distant Aunty talk about how she fell in love with a soldier and how she used to have to wash her clothes in a river for 5 days straight.
Avoid unless you are a woman.
Or Grix.

Mark Haddon "The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nightime"
Surprisingly very good indeed. I usually avoid these pre-praised "book of the month!!!!" things because I invariably find them to be dullness in word-form (Brick Lane or any Salman Rushdie for example).
But this really worked for me. Reminded me a lot of "Flowers for Algernon" in it's style - written from the pov of a 15yr with Aspergers Syndrome (a form of autism), so the sentences are constructed very simply and in character. Initially I found that a bit gimmicky but soon hooked me in. Read the thing in 2hrs this afternoon in 1 sitting from start-to-finish because I wanted to see what happens.
Christopher finds a neighbours dog murdered with a pitchfork and decides to investigate. He likes red things, doesn't like yellow or brown. Likes numbers and maths, hates people touching him and lays on the floor "doing the moan thing until they went away".
Recommended 100%

Loung Ung "First They Killed My Father"
Autobiography of a woman who's family was caught up in the Khmer Rouge invasion of Cambodia in the 1970s.
Heartbreaking to read what happens to her from aged 3 upwards, the incredible hardships imposed, the fear and loathing of Khmer Rouge, the "training camps", the enforced brutality of that regime, starvation, death of family members....just an awful, awful experience but with a glimmer of hope and happiness towards the end.
It's not an easy read by any stretch, nor would you be interested if you think Pol Pot was "misunderstood". It discusses the genocide of Cambodians, the persecution of anybody not "base", the incredible suffering that hundreds of thousands of innocent people endured at the hands of that tyrant.
----------

And, on their way to me, I shall be reading this week:
The Life of Pi & Vernon God Little - reports to follow
Sun 20/06/04 at 18:15
Regular
"gsybe you!"
Posts: 18,825
Amazon's a bi*ch. I've nearly spent about £70 today from putting stuff in my shopping trolley, then closing the window in a fit of discipline - hence I nearly bought Levelling The Land, End Serenading, Gladius, Freedom Fighters and The Minnipins (Legends. Legends).

I like the sound of that Descent book. My kind of story.
Sun 20/06/04 at 17:59
Regular
"+34 Intellect"
Posts: 21,334
Goatboy wrote:
> Mark Haddon "The Curious Incident of The Dog in the
> Nightime"

> Surprisingly very good indeed. I usually avoid these pre-praised
> "book of the month!!!!" things because I invariably find
> them to be dullness in word-form (Brick Lane or any Salman Rushdie
> for example).
> But this really worked for me. Reminded me a lot of "Flowers for
> Algernon" in it's style - written from the pov of a 15yr with
> Aspergers Syndrome (a form of autism), so the sentences are
> constructed very simply and in character. Initially I found that a
> bit gimmicky but soon hooked me in. Read the thing in 2hrs this
> afternoon in 1 sitting from start-to-finish because I wanted to see
> what happens.
> Christopher finds a neighbours dog murdered with a pitchfork and
> decides to investigate. He likes red things, doesn't like yellow or
> brown. Likes numbers and maths, hates people touching him and lays on
> the floor "doing the moan thing until they went away".
> Recommended 100%

I read it too, i done a post on it too, although it seemed about as welcome as a wasp at a picnic. Did you find that it seemed to end just as it was getting good?
Sun 20/06/04 at 17:54
Regular
"Led Zeppelin"
Posts: 3,214
GUINNESE WORLD RECORD READ IT IT'S WEIRD
Sun 20/06/04 at 17:53
Regular
"SOUP!"
Posts: 13,017
I read a book once.

I couldnt find where you plugged it in.
Sun 20/06/04 at 17:46
Regular
Posts: 23,216
Goatboy wrote:
"Avoid unless you are a woman. Or Grix."

I will find you, and I will kill you.

Other than that, Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nightime is high on my readlist, I seem to read a few pages of it every time I find it in the bookshop.

I read Diary, Chuck Palaauguahuick. Enjoyable for me, know you won't like it. I'm really going off the "hey, there's going to be a twist... BIG twist coming... oooh here's the twist... THERE IT IS!" kinda writing, because it feels so limp.. but I like his writing style, so I read them.

Other than that, I've got Life of Pi and On the Road to read too.
Sun 20/06/04 at 14:46
Regular
Posts: 20,776
Goatboy wrote:
> Robert Heinlein "Stranger in a Strange Land"

Have been meaning to read.

> George R Stewart "Earth Abides"

Again, have been meaning to read - the SF Masterworks haven't let me down yet.

> Jeff Long "The Descent"
> People discover another race of things living under the planet that
> want to kill us.
> Or do they? Is Satan their leader?
> Very enjoyable, a worldwide-scale end-of-the-world story about a
> group's journey thousands of miles under the surface to discover
> stuff and an eventual battle for the planet.

Bloody excellent, nearly finished it for the 2nd time.

haven't heard of the rest, although, I have to recommend some to you :

Spares - Michael Marshall Smith : Futuristic Fantasy. Genius, really.
The Face - Dean Koontz : Supernatural Horror story. Also, bloody excellent.
Sun 20/06/04 at 11:24
Regular
"Which one's pink?"
Posts: 12,152
Goatboy wrote:
> Mark Haddon "The Curious Incident of The Dog in the
> Nightime"


A friend got this from the library t'other day and said it was very good. The name alone tempts me.
Sun 20/06/04 at 11:20
Regular
"Pouch Ape"
Posts: 14,499
My girlfriend has read most of these books, so I feel a bit dumb right now. Last book I read was the CD booklet that came with the new Ikara Colt album.
Sun 20/06/04 at 11:18
Regular
"Laughingstock"
Posts: 3,522
Just finished 'Despair' by Nabokov, which was a very good first-person descent into madness thing.
Sun 20/06/04 at 02:45
Regular
"Infantalised Forums"
Posts: 23,089
On a major reading frenzy at the moment, bored with video games and movies so have returned to the page and thanks to the "I'm not really spending money" feeling I get from Amazon, have been reading like a madman.
Quick capsule reviews:

Robert Heinlein "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Martian/Human hybrid comes to earth for the first time ever and experiences this planet.
Very good indeed, another "SF Masterworks Classic" that gave me "I Am Legend". Heinlein uses the character as a way of exploring our world, from religion to monogamy and all the stuff inbetween. Surprisingly easy reading considering I don't usually enjoy sci-fi stuff. Pretty scathing to organised religions, politicians and our inability to be honest to one another about ourselves.

George R Stewart "Earth Abides"
Post apocalypse story much in the vein of the (written later) Stephen King book "The Stand".
Bloke gets bitten by a rattlesnake when out climbing and develops a fever. Comes to and discovers that 99% of the country/world has died from a mysterious disease and has to learn to live. There's no clumsy good vs evil flavour like King's. Just a literate and thoughtful prediction on how we would survive in a world without cars, electricity, running water, medicines, laws, governments, religion. Bloke meets woman, they have kids and so on down the line. Interesting to see the beginnings of new religions, superstitions, traditions and the dying of what we take for granted. They have to learn to catch animals, develop their own languages and basically return to cavemen, unable to start fire or figure out how to read/write.

Jeff Long "The Descent"
People discover another race of things living under the planet that want to kill us.
Or do they? Is Satan their leader?
Very enjoyable, a worldwide-scale end-of-the-world story about a group's journey thousands of miles under the surface to discover stuff and an eventual battle for the planet.

Sebastian Faulks "Birdsong"
Awful awful chick-lit of the highest water.
Dreadful. Incredibly pretentious, DH Lawrence wannabe story about a bloke that lives with a French family, has affair with the woman of the house, gets sent to WWI and trench warfare, feels bad about stuff and generally tortures himself about how nasty and unfair the world is.
Very slowly.
It's...imagine being forced to listen to a distant Aunty talk about how she fell in love with a soldier and how she used to have to wash her clothes in a river for 5 days straight.
Avoid unless you are a woman.
Or Grix.

Mark Haddon "The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nightime"
Surprisingly very good indeed. I usually avoid these pre-praised "book of the month!!!!" things because I invariably find them to be dullness in word-form (Brick Lane or any Salman Rushdie for example).
But this really worked for me. Reminded me a lot of "Flowers for Algernon" in it's style - written from the pov of a 15yr with Aspergers Syndrome (a form of autism), so the sentences are constructed very simply and in character. Initially I found that a bit gimmicky but soon hooked me in. Read the thing in 2hrs this afternoon in 1 sitting from start-to-finish because I wanted to see what happens.
Christopher finds a neighbours dog murdered with a pitchfork and decides to investigate. He likes red things, doesn't like yellow or brown. Likes numbers and maths, hates people touching him and lays on the floor "doing the moan thing until they went away".
Recommended 100%

Loung Ung "First They Killed My Father"
Autobiography of a woman who's family was caught up in the Khmer Rouge invasion of Cambodia in the 1970s.
Heartbreaking to read what happens to her from aged 3 upwards, the incredible hardships imposed, the fear and loathing of Khmer Rouge, the "training camps", the enforced brutality of that regime, starvation, death of family members....just an awful, awful experience but with a glimmer of hope and happiness towards the end.
It's not an easy read by any stretch, nor would you be interested if you think Pol Pot was "misunderstood". It discusses the genocide of Cambodians, the persecution of anybody not "base", the incredible suffering that hundreds of thousands of innocent people endured at the hands of that tyrant.
----------

And, on their way to me, I shall be reading this week:
The Life of Pi & Vernon God Little - reports to follow

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