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Post by Dougs on Jan 3, 2023 13:43:57 GMT
Paul Merton's (2014) autobiography. Bought for me for Christmas 8 years ago, finally got round to reading it. Interesting, funny chap, Had no idea he had a couple of breakdowns either. More than anything it highlights just how sodding hard comedians work -not just on their stand up but also to get stuff commissioned. Worth a read if you're a fan.
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Post by Trowel 🏴 on Jan 4, 2023 20:09:59 GMT
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jan 5, 2023 6:42:41 GMT
We have a copy at the library, I had a look over my lunch break today. Seems pretty easy tbh
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nazo
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Post by nazo on Jan 5, 2023 10:54:19 GMT
A book that requires you to cut the pages out and rearrange them sounds like a great fit for a library
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Rich
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Posts: 1,791
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Post by Rich on Jan 8, 2023 19:05:25 GMT
Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill
Guy buys a haunted suit. Frequently mentioned in r/horrorlit as 'genuinely terrifying' and 'scariest ever' etc (which is why I read it). I didn't think so, but it's a fun thrilling read. More like one long chase sequence when it gets going.
7/10
Definitely trying to read more this year and watch TV less.
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Post by Trowel 🏴 on Feb 1, 2023 17:54:12 GMT
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
His lockdown book, and it feels like he had too much time to write it. It's little more than a short story stretched to the length of a novel with some ridiculous padding in places, particularly in the first third where I become desperate for something to actually happen. After that it slips into a clichéd monomyth/hero's journey, and it all finishes with the pacing and rhythm that'll be all too familiar to the Constant Reader, along with his usual rushed coda framed by a dark shadow.
He builds his worlds as strongly as ever (with major Wizard of Oz and Dark Tower influences, and a touch of Lovecraft), but he's introduced this irritating habit of leaning on innocuous items as plot devices (plot vouchers?), but going to great lengths to ensure we know just how innocuous they are... lending an inevitability to their eventual importance.
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n0mis
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Post by n0mis on Feb 2, 2023 10:52:50 GMT
This time of year I have stacked up books I received for my birthday and Christmas to read while my academic research reading has a lull.
1. The Game: Player Pundit Fan Book by Micah Richards Enjoy his charismatic manner and opinions, very interesting on his background and thoughts about the sport.
2. The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart This was a recommendation in an end of year list, it is from a podcaster I did not know, Story is pulpy but just the right side of far fetched. All about how a forensic pathologist investigates a serial killer. Has all the hallmarks of being adapted into a gripping visually engrossing film.
3. Don't Laugh It'll Only Encourage Her by Daisy May Cooper Only recently seen her work, was a name I was aware of but after seeing Am I Being Unreasonable? but then This Country (plus her other shows), have become a big fan. Can not wait to see Rain Dogs later this year. This book has so many, I can not believe this happened and occurred to her. Was so funny, numerous times I had to put it down as I was laughing so much.
4. The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, Book 3) by Richard Osman Another light but enjoyable read in this series. Great main story with intricating twists and turns. Slightly stronger than book two.
5. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Saw this in Waterstones and its cover peaked my interest. A chemist in the 60's working in a research institute becomes a TV chef, while pushing back on the status quo and boundaries society tries to fit her into within her work and lift environment. Parts and themes of it reminded me of Julia Child to some extent. Could well be one my my favourite books of the year. Superb style of writing and I didn't want it to finish.
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Post by rhaegyr on Feb 13, 2023 12:06:47 GMT
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
An 'inverted' detective story dealing with the effect a murder has on a group of classics students, both before and after. One of the most well-paced novels I've ever read - by the last fifty pages I was utterly absorbed and had to stop myself from read ahead. Some great character work and a style of writing I found really immersive.
Fantastic stuff.
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malek86
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Pomegranate Deseeder
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Post by malek86 on Feb 17, 2023 10:27:46 GMT
Lud-in-the-mist by Hope Mirrlees
I was expecting a more typical high fantasy book. Instead, it's really weird. Plays out more like a supernatural mystery, and I guess it's all an allegory or something? Anyway, it was pretty good and even had a few surprises, though the author's writing style does tend to get lost in metaphors a bit too often, which bogs down the whole thing.
8/10
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Post by drhickman1983 on Mar 12, 2023 7:57:55 GMT
Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes - Rob Wilkins
The Pratchett biography written by his long time assistant, and friend, Wilkins. At turns insightful into Pratchett's life and at times funny, but inevitably really quite sad as Pratchett declines in his last year's due to his Alzheimers. Did cry a bit towards the end.
8/10.
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Mar 12, 2023 21:27:54 GMT
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cubby
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doesn't get subtext
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Post by cubby on Mar 12, 2023 23:02:11 GMT
Which order have you read them in?
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Mar 12, 2023 23:26:58 GMT
Weirdly, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, then looped back to 15th and 16th century which I'm still struggling through. It really seemed like a good idea when I was stood in Waterstones.
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Post by dfunked on Mar 14, 2023 19:23:35 GMT
Blake Crouch - Dark Matter - 8/10 A decent little sci-fi yarn with a thriller twist. Spent most of the book thinking "this would make a great film", which apparently was the plan until it morphed into an upcoming series instead.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Mar 15, 2023 4:42:39 GMT
Blake Crouch - Dark Matter - 8/10 A decent little sci-fi yarn with a thriller twist. Spent most of the book thinking "this would make a great film", which apparently was the plan until it morphed into an upcoming series instead. I assume it's not this one from SyFy / FreeVee
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nazo
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Post by nazo on Mar 15, 2023 8:09:30 GMT
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Powerful and disturbingly believable given what's happened in the US in recent years.
5/5
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Post by simple on Mar 15, 2023 10:00:16 GMT
I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future by Michael Molcher
Considering the author is the 2000ad/Rebellion marketing guy who fronts their podcast and social media content I was expecting something fairly light and a bit fluffy. But from the off its an almost academic text about the very concept of policing and the state’s monopoly of violence. I’m not at all surprised most of the negative reviews are about how left wing and anti-cop it is. Although to be fair the positive ones say the exact same thing.
I think its a good read. Its content is quite academic but the writing is very accessible and their is a lot of comic book history alongside the social/politic stuff.
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wunty
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Pastry Forward
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Post by wunty on Mar 15, 2023 10:00:24 GMT
Blake Crouch - Dark Matter - 8/10 A decent little sci-fi yarn with a thriller twist. Spent most of the book thinking "this would make a great film", which apparently was the plan until it morphed into an upcoming series instead. Keep forgetting about Blake Crouch. Only read one of his (Abandon) but I really liked it. Might check this one out.
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Mar 15, 2023 20:49:37 GMT
The Deep - Nick Cutter
Underwater horror set in a research station at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. It's very good, starting with the feeling of dread that comes from descending down to the depths of dark isolation, and gets progressively weirder combining supernatural and very real fears, leading to a satisfying ending.
9/10
I've read a lot of horror recently. Back to Discworld for something lighter with Lords and Ladies next I think.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Mar 15, 2023 21:21:31 GMT
Loved The Deep. As an aside, read it before or after playing Soma for double trench thrills.
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Mar 15, 2023 21:38:18 GMT
Yeah, really need to play through that at some point. I've started it a couple of times but never stuck with it. Not sure why, just not been in the right mood.
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Post by UncleLou on Mar 23, 2023 15:42:44 GMT
Bret Easton Ellis - The Shards
8.5/10. Beverly Hills 90210 meets Stephen King. Superb atmosphere, scary, clever.
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Post by mowgli on Mar 24, 2023 15:12:31 GMT
Eliza Clark - Boy Parts
Brilliant debut novel. Very strong American Pshyco vibes (Funny as I see UL has just reviewed BEE's new book above). Manages to be 'young' (in the sense these are relatively trendy twenty year olds) without making me feel like a boomer to read. Some cultural references which didn't mean much to me but didn't get in the way at all.
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Post by 😎 on Mar 24, 2023 16:36:07 GMT
More like the sharts am I right
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Post by Trowel 🏴 on Mar 26, 2023 18:05:46 GMT
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
A stunning retelling of the Illiad that will stick in my mind for some time to come. Flawless pacing, evocative descriptions - it's probably the best book I've read in the last decade, perhaps longer.
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Post by simple on Mar 27, 2023 18:40:05 GMT
I just read Chris Gethard’s new e/audiobook The Lonely Dad Conversations. Its really good, lots of conversations with dads (and one lesbian mam) about their anxieties around parenting.
Since I don’t have any IRL dad friends outside of some women at work and one guy whose kids are 10+ years older than mine it was nice to hear people of similar ages and dispositions getting deep about their kids and parenting styles. Some bits I could really relate to, others totally alien, but four hours well spent I think.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Mar 29, 2023 5:13:18 GMT
The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy
This is kind of heartbreaking. Cormac is probably my favorite living author, he spent decades of his life writing this thing, and it (aside from the companion thing Stella Maris) is probably the last thing he will ever publish. But...
I hated it. HAAAAAAAATED it. Hated hated hated hated hated it. Hated it. Hated it with the fire of a thousand nuclear suns. Normally I would stop reading something if I hated it that much, but *points to previous paragraph*
The plot is about a salvage diver who is desperately in love with a girl, who is also his sister, and is also dead. The government is after him because of a thing he found (or didn't find) on a plane, and there's a bit of a thriller element to it.
But any time that plot threatens to get interesting, the book screeches to a halt with interminable flashbacks to his sister talking to a crew of imaginary friends. Like Cormac just read a bit of Murakami and thought "Hmm, that was pretty cool! Maybe I should get some of that magical realism stuff in here!"
Whole swathes of the book read like he learned some cool new fact, and just had to stuff it in somewhere. It's a book that was clearly written by someone who spent the last decade or so hanging around scientists and nuclear physicists (which he did). So you have characters breaking into multi-page-long conversations about quarks and bosons and particles and OH MY GOD I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT THIS WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON HERE, THIS IS NOT HOW PEOPLE TALK
It's not as if his other books have page-turning narratives or anything. But there's a kind of mythical dreaminess to the prose, and aside from a few good examples that is largely missing here.
He's still my favorite living writer; most of this hate just comes from bitter disappointment. But I'm going to pretend that The Road was the last thing he wrote.
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Post by 😎 on Mar 29, 2023 5:14:21 GMT
Tooooold yoooooou
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MolarAm🔵
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Bad at games
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Mar 29, 2023 5:21:44 GMT
What can I say, I just wanted to believe that it would be worth it
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askew
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Post by askew on Mar 29, 2023 7:43:50 GMT
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller A stunning retelling of the Illiad that will stick in my mind for some time to come. Flawless pacing, evocative descriptions - it's probably the best book I've read in the last decade, perhaps longer. Interesting. I've read Circe by the same author and while enjoyable, it didn't stick out to me in quite the same way. You might be interested - though you might be all mythed out - in Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls: another retelling from an alternate perspective.
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