[Hippy Dave]

We've got music, we've got films, we might as well go for books too. I'm going to have to have a think about this before I post here

[A.M.P]

To me, books are like Condoms. I don't like to read 'em twice, nor do I like to have them lying around after I've finished.

(AMP 2006)

But, if I was to read a book twice it'd be these five off the top off the top of my head:

Antohny Burgess - Clockwork Orange
Hunter. S Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas
Stephen King - The Stand
James Herbert - "The Rats" Trilogy
Cormack McCarthy - Border trilogy.

If anybody votes for "Da Vinci Code" can I please leave this forum and never return?

FYI (like you care) I'm currently reading the Bourne trilogy and it's a ripping read. At least that one would double as a weapon after I've finished with it....

[Computer Guy]

Centrebet
Bet365
Betfair
Pinnacle
Nordic Bet

[mrmuzeman]

Gota love the top 5s

[Winrew]

A bit like the Top Album thread , it constantly changes.

I`ll pick 10 books for my first choice , its a series of books by Len Deighton
Berlin Game
Mexico Set
London Match
Winter
Spy Hook
Spy Line
Spy Sinker
Faith
Hope
Charity

It features the trials and tribulations of a world weary spy called Bernard Samson , brought up in post war Germany , a son of a spy , its a great series of books , the one called Winter is set during the build up to WW2 , and features some of the older characters that are in the other 9 books.

Then anything by Carl Hiaasen ,some of the funniest books i have read are by Hiaasen , a real strange sense of humour to all the books.
And finally , the Wilt series of books by Tom Sharpe , black humour at its best.

[pistol984]

Moby Dick - Herman Melville
To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee
The Three Musketeers - Alexandr Dumas
Dark Tower series - Stephen King
Player of Games - Iain M Banks

[A.M.P]

Ahhh, Ian M Banks. I've only read two so far but I like 'em. "Inversions" was one of them, can't remember the other one but it wasn't as good.

Anybody read "The Wasp Factory"?

[Run Dmc Vs Pat Nevin]

Yeah, I've read the Wasp Factory. Got to say I was very disappointed by it. I like a few of Banks's other books, but that one just seemed a bit overhyped to me. Anyone remember the BBC adaptation of The Crow Road about 10 years ago? That was brilliant.

Top 5 books (in no particular order.)

1. Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh
2. Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
3. Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen
4. Out Of Sight by Elmore Leonard
5. Return Of The Native by Thomas Hardy (had to include one that wasn't pulp fiction.)

[madaxeman]

Catch 22...Joseph Heller,
The Grapes Of Wrath...John Steinbeck,
To Kill A Mockingbird...Harper Lee,
War And Peace...Leo Tolstoy,
Hitler.My Part In His Downfall...Spike Milligan.

[ONEDUNME]

Originally Posted by A.M.P

Ahhh, Ian M Banks. I've only read two so far but I like 'em. "Inversions" was one of them, can't remember the other one but it wasn't as good.

Anybody read "The Wasp Factory"?

It wasn't "Dead air" was it AMP? The one about the radio presenter (I think).
If not, then I'd recommend it, cos I liked it a lot.

Reading Winrew's mention of "Wilt" made me giggle just thinking about when I first read it. It had me in fuckin stitches. Some of his others were good too but that was the pinnacle I reckon. The film was a big pile of steaming wank stain by the way.

I'm not a big lists person. In fact, if I had to make a list of thinks that I hate, making lists would be pretty near the top of it I reckon.

Didn't that bloke who wrote Fever Pitch (which I enjoyed) make a big deal about lists in one of his books. What it called Hi Fi or something? Says it's something that "lads" do. Suppose this forum proves that he was right eh

Anyway, a few of my favs are

The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood

The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood

I found the writing style of both to be excellent. One of them is a Booker Prize winner but don't let that pretentious bollox put you off

Daddy - Loup Durand.

Bringing it more up to date, "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger.
Damned original this. I loved it.

Speaking of original, I also liked "Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold.


Anyway, that's five so I'd better stop but I can't go without mentioning one that I mention every time a book thread comes up on here. Derek Robinson wrote it but I can't remember whether it was "Piece of Cake" (which was very badly made into a very bad series in the 80s or something and the makers should be dropped from a spitfire into the channel) or one of his others.

Anyway, whichever it was, it starts with the birth of the RAF (Royal Flying Corps then I think) and the young cocky fuckers joining up to have a go at Jerry. The next bood (is it Goshawk Squadron? - I might have them mixed up) follows it through to the second world war when some of the cocky fuckers are a lot older and wiser having lived through hell and seen colleagues lost in battle. Then they see the same cocky fucking bell end attitude from the youngsters joining up.

Suppose that reflects life really

Anyway, the thing I loved about these books was that the author would spend the same length of time introducing you to the bloke who was still going to be around 20 years later as he did to the rest. So you've just got to know "Young Ginger from Cambridge" who can't understand why everyone hates him (for the crime of moving into their dead colleague's bunk - not whilst he was still in it by the way ) and the next thing you know, you turn the page and the cunt's flown into a bridge and bits of him are floating through France.

Bastard. I love it.

[keemanan]

Appears you read an awful lot of female writers ODM.

For me

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintanence - Robert Pirsig

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegs - hunter

for whom the bell tolls - Big Ern

Wuthering heights - emily bronte

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

[ONEDUNME]

Originally Posted by keemanan

Appears you read an awful lot of female writers ODM.

I realised that as I was writing out my post Keem. To be honest, I used to be a prolific reader (who's somehow managed to avoid picking up any idea of how to spell ). I've tried to read most things, even the bible (which was a pile of wank - he dies in the end by the way, if you haven't read it).

I started off reading the "Just William" books (though I stress that I'm not old enough to remember the original publications before anyone mentions it and in the winter when the weather was too bad to play football, I'd get through three or four books a day.

I've tried to read a wide range of stuff (though Oscar Wilde would have to be my fav writer) I've even tried the Catherine Cookson type bollocks on the basis that I shouldn't really knock it until I've tried it but by the time I'd got three chapters into the third book it all started to look strangley familiar. I've had several discussions with women about what they see in it and they all seem to quote "escapism". If your idea of escapism is reading about some young trout who is so poor that she has to eat coal sandwiches, works 23 hours a day and then gets pregnant by being raped by the lord of the manor then your life must be pretty damned bad I reckon . I suppose the key is that they always come good in the end (a la Barbara Taylor Bradford type shite).

I hate Stephen King books. I like (though don't love )Terry Pratchett - Which reminds me, "The Truth" was one I particularly liked. I think that was the name anyway, or something similar. That one and the one where they went to war over an island that no fucker wanted anyway.

Oh, and James Herbert too. Not much time for horror at all, although I did enjoy "The Spear" I think that was Herbert but I may be wrong.

I love all things Sherlock Holmes. Books, films, spoofs, anything. Even Basil the great mouse detective on DVD

Anyway, the bottom line is that I love books, which is why I'm whittering on like a fuckin granny at a cake baking contest.

Sorry

[ONEDUNME]

Oh and I've read "Zen" too by the way. Thought I was enjoying it until I got about 3/4 of the way through when I completely lost interest in it for some reason.

Same thing happened to "Lord of the Rings" which at the time it seemed I'd dedicated my entire life to reading it. Became a complete chore so I fucked it off with a couple of hundred pages to go.

Loved "The Hobbit" though

[ONEDUNME]

Originally Posted by A.M.P

Ahhh, Ian M Banks. I've only read two so far but I like 'em. "Inversions" was one of them, can't remember the other one but it wasn't as good.

Anybody read "The Wasp Factory"?

Yes AMP but unlike RunDMC, I quite enjoyed it. It may have helped that I wasn't even aware of "the hype" that he mentioned. It was that that got me into reading "Dead Air".

[christianu]

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

I just finished reading "The rules of attraction" by Bret Easton Ellis the other day Keem.

Its at a blistering paste all the way through, really unique in style as well. Its about how we all misunderstand each other and I would definitiely say read it but I cant promise you'll like it as im not sure if even I do. Just an interesting read.

The film is also good, but it takes liberties with the book and I really liked the film and now ive read the book im not sure what I like.