What we all reading ?

[Winrew]

Just finished a cracking book by a guy called Stuart Mcbride , set in Aberdeen ,its about the chase to catch a serial killer.........Er , amazon explains it better......
The title of the books is " Cold Granite "
The debut thriller from a bright new Scottish talent set to rival Ian Rankin. It's DS Logan McRae's first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn't get much worse. Four-year-old David Reid's body is discovered in a ditch, strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. There's a killer stalking the Granite City and the local media are baying for blood. If that wasn't enough, Logan also has to contend with a new boss, DI Insch, who doesn't suffer fools gladly and thinks everyone's a fool, and his own ex-girlfriend, the beautiful but chilly Isobel MacAlister, who also happens to be the chief pathologist. The only good news is WPC 'Ball Breaker' Watson, Logan's new guardian angel. The dead are piling up in the morgue almost as fast as the snow on the streets, and Logan knows time is running out. More children are going missing. More are going to die. If Logan isn't careful, he's going to end up joining them. Set in Aberdeen, where the rainy season lasts all year, criminal gangs vie for supremacy on the streets and the oil industry brings an influx of wealth and vice, this is a gritty, powerful and page-turning debut thriller by a writer with a wonderfully observant eye and a characteristically Scottish sense of gallows humour.

Its not for the squeamish to be honest , so if you are easily shocked , i would give it a miss , Aberdeen sounds like a real bleak place the way the author describes it , does it always rain ?

Anyway , its an excellent book that keeps you guessing to the final page...

[all_funkt_up]

This post

[A.M.P]

When I came back to England recently I stocked up on books (had to even leave some due to my case being extremely overweight - the bourne trilogy being one of the heavyweight casualties..grrr...).

Was well impressed with HMV's budget priced books.

Brought a book entitled "Bringing down the house" about College Kids developing a method of card counting for blackjack and hitting vegas. A riveting true story for gamblers like us and I read it in one season.

Currently I'm reading a dune prequel but I'm not a geek honest!

After that it'll be Bez's autobiography which I've been keeping an eye open for a few years now and also picked up at HMV for 2.99.

On the shelf lined up and ready for assimilation are a couple of Tony Parsons books (quick reads), "The great gatsby", "Nostromo", "A farewell to arms", "A history of the kelly gang" and "The Da vinci code!" (and before Alien pipes up no Tony Parsons did not write those...). So quite diverse there I think.

Oh, recently read a John King novel "Human Punk" Was ok and another quick read. Would've probably enjoyed it more if I was a few years older (i.e Komps age..) and out and about in the late seventies / early eighties when it was all punk.

Right, best go.

AMP

Alcoholic. Compulsive Gambler. Bookworm.

[Beanie]

Just finished 'Heartfelt' - written by a Scotsman journalist and huge Hibs fan, who tried out supporting Hearts for a season.

I had high hopes that it was going to be very good, but I was left very disappointed. Didn't think it was very well written, the similies used to describe the differences between the two teams start off clever but end up predictable, boring, and endless, and when the author finally gets to a bit of an emotional dilemma at the end after getting attached to Hearts, it all feels a little bit put on, and I got the impression that even before embarking upon his experiment he was going to include this quandary whether he truly felt it or not, as that is what is often expected of these 'going over to the dark side' type books. These books would look a bit empty without one, but it feels insincere.

In short - Predictable, dull and disappointing. Don't buy it.

[A.M.P]

"Predictable, dull and disappointing"

Probably be the same kind of book if I decided to get me an IP scrambler and frequent the British Forum on PL then!

I could do a Stephen King (though he first nicked the idea from the beatles) and invent a whole new persona only to expose myself (be in good company with Herp there then..oo eerr) at the end.

[2damnhype]

Danse Macabre by Stephen King

It's not a novel but a history of horror/science fiction from 1950-1980ish.

Bit hard going to be honest, as he seems to be keen to relate it to America history of which i know jackshit

[keemanan]

The Constant Gardner - John le Carre , i downloaded the film and decided to read the book before I watch it. Glad I did as it's a lovely read , I read his tinker tailor spy stuff wich was brilliant but he really takes a dparture in this one and sucessfully potrays passion and love (no i'm not gay). plus its' a tale about pharmacutecal companies and their role in Africa

[Burt Saddo]

First Among Equals- Jeffrey Archer

[Swooperman]

Have spells with books...wont read one for a couple of months then I'll do 6 in 4 weeks.
Seem to be going through a factual spell at the moment & have 'We are at war' by Simon Garfield & 'Warriors' by Max Hastings on the go. Warriors is essays on various soldiers who Hastings believe showed courage 'above & beyond'. Pretty good although Hastings gets on my wick at times but the chapters on Chard of 'Zulu' fame & Audie Murphy are decent.
The Garfield book I tend to dip in & out of & its 4 or 5 people from just before the outset of WW2 having their diaries reproduced in date order, all still in Britain at the time. Very good tbh, portrays the lack of media knowledge & paranoia very well.

Got about 100 books I havent read but my next one will be from this lot I reckon:
'A blind Eye' GM Ford
'Together we stand' James Holland. The North Africa campaign 1942-3
'Wartime Britain' Juliet Gardiner. same subject as 'We are at war'
'Auschwitz' Laurence Rees
'The Rape of Nanking' Iris Chang. Jap atrocities in WW2
'The Trigger Men' Martin Dhillon. Gunmen, particularly IRA.

They all sound a bit heavy after I've listed them

[ONEDUNME]

Fuckin hell Swoops it's no wonder you're such a happy go lucky optimisitc chappy all the time

[all_funkt_up]

Yes Man by Danny Wallace.

Wallace, a freelance radio producer for the BBC in London, takes three simple words uttered by a stranger on a bus-"say yes more"-as a challenge and says "yes" to everything for a year. He says "yes" to pamphleteers on the street, the credit card offers stuffing his mailbox and solicitations on the Internet. He attends meetings with a group that believes aliens built the pyramids in Egypt, says "yes" to every invitation to go out on the town and furthers his career by saying "yes" in meetings with executives. The potential for enlightenment and insight into the human condition abounds, yet Wallace doesn't dig deep. Mostly, he covers his relationships with his male friends and former and current girlfriends. While the writing is lively enough-arch and full of colorful British slang-the minutiae of Wallace's world won't fascinate readers as much as it seems to fascinate him. The book is culled from his diary, and it shows: the text is crammed with casual observations and mundane details of everyday life. It meanders through the year, shapeless and slack. Still, Wallace raises an interesting question-if you said "yes" to everything, would you be prepared to deal with the outcome?

[all_funkt_up]

Twats, well I thought it was class anyway - a true story about one man and his yes-es..

Class book actually, yeah class.

[cakes]

just done Trainspotting and started Catcher In The Rye

[wazik]

Just now Jarhead, Hotel Honolulu and Super System2 also just finished Grass.

Grass was good, if you liked Mr. Nice its the same sort of idea about a guy who was around at the same time as Howard Marks.

Havent seen the film of Jarhead but the woman bought me the book, looks quite good, if nothing else it'll inspire me to watch full metal jacket again .

Hotel Honolulu is a bit of a random, I found it on my bookshelf, no idea where it came from. Not exactly complicated stuff but enjoyable none the less.

Super System2, poker book that I should have read before now probably....

[trainbairn]

The follow up to Bringing Down The Hourse is just as excellent-Ugly Americans by the same author.Definetly recommend it..