What book are you reading/reccomendation thread

[Bill Edwards]

Have finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Devoured The Girl Who Played With Fire and am now racing through The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest.

Brilliant stuff! ;D

[GR]

I'm almost finished with Cormac McCarthy's Suttree (one of his pre-Blood Meridian books). It's about a guy who, after a spell in prison, abandons his privileged, prominent family to live as a fisherman in a houseboat just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. In Suttree's interactions with the fringes of society, he is usually the sympathetic ear and/or the voice of reason, though he himself is not above the occasional screwup (particularly whenever he gets to drinking).

I think McCarthy improved considerably as a storyteller as he got older -- here, the combination of the slangy and crude with the poetic in the 3rd-person narrative voice may have been trying to echo Suttree's own speech patterns, but sometimes it just seems jarring. Still, this book does a remarkable job of balancing very funny material (especially regarding the antics of Harrogate, Suttree's dimwitted former cellmate) with unbearable sadness.

[jill]

Too Darn Soulful (David Nowell)

I've been wanting to read this book for ages, but couldn't track it down in a local library and its been prohibitively expensive to buy until now.

It's a nice little book-thoroughly researched, well written and very engaging, probably because it's written by a dedicated old soul boy. Nowell's an old Wigan Casino boy, but he writes about the Twisted Wheel and the Torch just as authoratively-tracking down and interviewing the people who made the scene in the early days and including snippets (probably from letters) from fans who frequented the venues. A lot of it is anecdotal stuff-people reminiscing about what it all meant to them personally, but he also goes into some detail about how the scene emerged in the Mod era, its evolution, the places, DJs etc, and the drugs, of course.

As you'd expect, there's quite a bit about the records too-accounts about the obsessives who travelled all over the States picking up obscure Okeh and Ric Tic numbers by 'unknowns' from 10 cent bargain bins and bringing them back to the U.K, where they were then often deliberately mislabelled to prevent rivals discovering the name of the track! Funny to think that songs that can be easily downloaded nowadays were once such precious rarities. Nowell covers the rivalries too especially between Levine (Blackpool Mecca) and Winstanley (Wigan Casino), although disappointingly he skims over the barneys and back-biting (I would have liked more dirt-ha, ha).

My only criticism is that towards the end of the book, it gets a bit repetitive maybe because he just doesn't seem to have the same passion for the later and contemporary scene, so it all becomes a bit nostalgic towards the end.

I was too young to go to Wigan, but I love the music and really enjoyed the ride. Must admit I kind of like the more 'poppy' sounds of Wigan in the 70s than the rare soul groves (can understand why they were and remained obscure-ha, ha), so its not really surprising that in all the favourites lists reproduced here (all the key people and some fans list their all time top tens), there were a few in every compilation I'd never heard; probably a badge of honour to include one or two that nobody else knows. I'll enjoy tracking them down.

At some point, I'd like to read the book Nowell co-wrote with Winstanley on Wigan, but since the latest edition (2003) is currently selling for about £100, it's gonna be a while. There are now a few copies of this book to be had for about £15 though, so probably the right time to buy if you're a big Northern Soul fan.

[GR]

I just finished Maeve Binchy's most recent novel, Heart and Soul. It's about a year in the lives of various people -- staff, patients, and their families and friends -- associated with a newly-established heart clinic in Dublin.

A must-read for Binchy's fans, as it brings back a lot of characters from her past several novels -- Aidan Dunne and his onetime Italian instructor Nora of 1996's Evening Class; twins Simon and Maud from 2002's Scarlet Feather; young nurse Fiona and her friends David and Vonni of 2004's Nights of Rain and Stars; Father Brian Flynn of 2006's Whitethorn Woods, etc. Granted, 2003's Quentins was pretty much the same way -- incorporating characters from 1998's Tara Road as well as Evening Class and Scarlet Feather -- but I found Heart and Souls much more emotionally satisfying, and its new characters (especially compassionate young doctor Declan, and hardworking, humble Polish immigrant Ania) more memorable and generally more endearing.

[amy]

I'm currently reading Alan Hollinghurst's The Swimming Pool Library, but I can't seem to get through it. It's a good enough book, and I love Hollinghurst's descriptive writing style (I bought the book because I loved In The Line Of Beauty), but there's just something not quite grabbing my attention. Nearly finished it now though!

[GR]

*BUMP*

I'm almost finished with Bryan Burrough's Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 -- about the exploits of and investigations into Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, and the Barker Gang. Thoroughly researched (with a great deal of myth-busting, especially regarding Bonnie and Clyde and the Barkers) as well as very entertaining!

[Hyde]

Just read bukowski's ham on rye and post office. glad at least someone let me know its ok to drink and smoke all the time, probs cause i'm not as witty. Useless cunts.

[shindig]

I actually really want to get a hold of 'The Day the Promises Had to Stop' by Denis Cassidy. I rarely bother (well, not at all) with sports books but it covers arguably the most pivotal period in Newcastle United's backroom history. Starting at 1988 it charts from the Sir John Hall takeover and culminates in the absolute clusterfuck of Keegan's second departure.

I steered clear of the Keegan book that got littered on shelves once Kevin had left a second time but, as a chance to brush up on the lithany of ropey chairman decisions and to get a viewpoint of arguably the moment Newcastle almost ceased to be a club and a passion for me, it's a welcome opportunity.

Christ, what a scramble of a sentence.

[Companero]

I'm currently reading Joe Ezsterhas's excellent DEVIL'S GUIDE TO HOLLYWOOD.

[GR]

I just finished Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City, a dual history about the World's Columbian Exposition (which lasted for 6 months in 1893 in Chicago) and the crimes of Dr. Henry H. Holmes (one of America's first documented serial killers, who built a hotel for the World's Fair). Very well-researched and well-written -- the planning and staging of the Fair proves both inspiring and tragic, while Holmes' story is as gripping as it is horrifying. Endlessly fascinating, too, especially regarding the many historical figures who ended up at the Fair (Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, etc.) and all the things that came out it (such as Cracker Jack, Shredded Wheat, and the first Ferris wheel).

[Companero]

Currently reading HIT AND RUN- it's a brilliant, and often hilarious, expose on bigshot producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber.

[PatrickCoyle]

Just finished Colin Bateman's Dr Yes and am about halfway through Booky-Wook 2 by Mr Russell Brand. I only read Colin Bateman novels and comedian autobiographies.

[julian]

If you love This is England, try my book, 'Yeah Baby' from Waterstones, Amazon etc. this one's true...x

[julian]

Oops, sorry here's the book's website, so you can have a look and see what you think. A script has been written from it, not by me, but that's as far as it's got at the moment
www.yeah-baby.info
J x.

[clayman]

I've read 40 pages of this thread, surely that counts as something?

There are some fine books mentioned but my own outright favourite and multiple read book is Clive Barker's Weaveworld. I love his other stuff but am really connected to this particular gem.

I haven't had much time to read of late but I've picked up Dostoyevsky's 'Notes From The Underground' for a bit of bed time reading. I thought Crime & Punishment was superb so I thought I'd have a go at some of his other work.

I'm half way through The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist but for some reason have stalled on it completely, despite loving what I've read thus far.

Recommendations: Count of Monte Cristo, Homers Odyssey, David Eddings Seeker Series (last few are a touch tedious), Adventures in Screen Trade and Which Lie Did I Tell by William Goldman, Endymion by Dan Simmons and also anything by Terry Pratchett.