Just read up on Ali Smith, sounds like a writer worth trying. Ta!
Devoured Nick Hornby’s Funny Girl in less than a day. which says more for the writer than the subject matter.
Reading the Vlad Taltos books. quite enjoyable apart from being quite short (few hours for each).
Was looking through year-end best-of lists recently and one that sounded up my alley was “10:04” by Ben Lerner. Has anyone read it who could offer an opinion?
What other recent books do you rate? I guess some of my fave authors would be Murakami, Martin Amis, Vonnegut, James Kelman, Kundera, and humourous stuff like David Sedaris or John Kennedy Toole, if that narrows my tastes a bit.
If you like M Amis and haven’t read The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch you might consider it worth a try, the latter helped shape The Information and is Murdoch’s best novel. If you want something sharp, clever, modern, sexy, witty, a bit bent and literary for all that I recommend anything by Ali Smith, I reckon she’s the cat’s pjs. She was unofficially second in the Booker, her third nomination, with How to be Both but personally I’d start with Girl Meets Boy or her wonderful short stories.
A reply to: @GRR regarding QuoteLink
If you like M Amis and haven't read The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch you might consider it worth a try, the latter helped shape The Information and is Murdoch's best novel. If you want something sharp, clever, modern, sexy, witty, a bit bent and literary for all that I recommend anything by Ali Smith, I reckon she's the cat's pjs. She was unofficially second in the Booker, her third nomination, with How to be Both but personally I'd start with Girl Meets Boy or her wonderful short stories.
I honestly can’t remember whether I’ve read The Black Prince or not. I read all the Iris Murdochs at one stage up to a certain point. I certainly read Bruno’s Dream and I’m pretty sure I read An Accidental Man and A Fairly Honourable Defeat, which were the two immediately preceding The Black Prince, and I definitely did not read The Sea, The Sea, which came a bit later. I think the one I liked best was The Flight from the Enchanter.
I have picked up Ali Smith a couple of times in bookshops but not been hooked. I might try an audiobook.
Got a lot of books for Christmas. Some good, some gross.
Just read Wilbur Smith; Desert God in a day or so. He used to write a good yatn, but now just lives on his name and puts out a book for Christmas to rake in the money I reckon. Very light weight read and very predicable story. It will make a good Disney Animated Movie.
I’m a regular visitor on this site, although I don’t post comments. Prefer to keep my views to myself. I have been an
Essendon supporter all my life, following the bombers since the 1950’s.
I’m an ex soldier and have written two books and both books published by Big Sky Publishing, Sydney.
Links to my two books below…
http://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Ice-Journey/917/productview.aspx
My royalties go to SOLDIER ON, supporting our young veterans.
http://www.soldieron.militaryshop.com.au/catalogue/displayProducts/lineId/4962.html
My two books are available in all bookstores around the country eg QBD or on the internet eg amazon.
I will be touring Victoria this April and talking at different libraries.
I hope you don’t mind me mentioning my two books on here but the love of my football club Essendon is
mentioned in both books.
Thank you…Go Bombers
The sequel to Red Rising, Golden Son has come out, cannot wait to finish the current series im reading to dig into this, the first one was a ripper.
Just finished reading Time and Time Again by Ben Elton. Have read a few of his and this is certainly different to the comedic writer I had grown used to. I found the book quite engrossing. The theme “If you could change one thing in the past, what would it be?” was one that has been addressed in many ways but this had its twists and certainly made me think about action and consequence.
The story is basically about a “Bear Grylis” type character who is recruited to go back in time and put right the wrongs of the past. So it’s decided that he will go back and prevent the Great War. How does he do this? Prevent the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Elton points out the historically correct absurdity that led to the assassination of Ferdinand - the bungling, incompetence and sheer luck that created history. The story involves historic characters and the scenario painted was very interesting. Of course changing the past alters the future and our character finds this out to horrifying effect.
I’d recommend this to anyone who knows their history reasonably well and just wants a good rollicking yarn.
Just finished reading Time and Time Again by Ben Elton. Have read a few of his and this is certainly different to the comedic writer I had grown used to. I found the book quite engrossing. The theme "If you could change one thing in the past, what would it be?" was one that has been addressed in many ways but this had its twists and certainly made me think about action and consequence.The story is basically about a “Bear Grylis” type character who is recruited to go back in time and put right the wrongs of the past. So it’s decided that he will go back and prevent the Great War. How does he do this? Prevent the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Elton points out the historically correct absurdity that led to the assassination of Ferdinand - the bungling, incompetence and sheer luck that created history. The story involves historic characters and the scenario painted was very interesting. Of course changing the past alters the future and our character finds this out to horrifying effect.
I’d recommend this to anyone who knows their history reasonably well and just wants a good rollicking yarn.
Finished this one a couple of days ago as well.
I’ve read all his novels, which I put down to reading Stark at an impressionable age and therefore forgiving him a lot since. I do like his voice, although I can see how some of his novels might come across as smug. That doesn’t really bother me.
While I raced through Time and Time Again, I found it ultimately unsatisfying. It felt overly sentimental to me, and given its simple and obvious premise it took a long time to get where it needed to go, to get to the dust cover blurb.
Quite frankly I would have preferred the story to have started two thirds of the way into the book (and if that meant losing one character in particular then so much the better).
The historical detail is interesting, but what seems conspicuous in its absence is any knowledge of speculative time travel fiction by the protagonist, or even the most basic introspection on the subject. Certain reveals that are described breathlessly had me mentally shouting ‘Uh…f*cking DUH!’ at the hero so that was annoying.
Having said that it was still a good read, although I enjoyed his war books without the time travel, The First Casualty and Two Brothers far more.
I think my main problem with the book is that it just wasn’t time travelly enough, and just when things get interesting the book finishes.
I read (as an audiobook) Ali Smith’s How to be Both. It’s an experimental novel in two halves, one being the story of George (Georgia), a teenage girl coming to terms with the recent sudden death of her mother, and the other being the story of Francesco del Cossa, a 15th century painter who really existed but for some reason has been transformed in the novel into a female who lives as largely as a male. The nivel was printed in two batches, and depending on which copy you happen to pick up, you may get either George’s part or Francesco’s part first.
I was very disappointed. I didn’t know what to expect although I looked up some reviews while I was listening to it. The reviews were all favourable although none of them seemed terribly enthusiastic about it. The things the reviews said were all true; there are lots of reflections on the nature of time, and ways of perceiving the world and all sorts of other abstract/metaphysical things. But none of them are resolved (mainly because they have no resolution), and I found the reflections tedious and superficial. I also found the writing style extremely annoying. The narrative jumps all over the place in time and it’s difficult to follow, especially in Francesco’s part, and there seems to be no point to the jumping other than to make things difficult for the reader.
I doubt that I’ll try any more Ali Smith.
I’m now listening to The Bell, an old Iris Murdoch that I read decades ago, and yesterday I also picked up Emma by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a retelling of the Jane Austen novel in the present day. I’m only up to page 30, but so far I’ve been very pleasantly surprised.
Smashed a few Bernard Cornwell books in the Sharp series over christmas. Also started reading Dreadnought by Robert K Massey, a look at the political scene in the lead up to World War 1.
Trying to get Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Care done but having alot of trouble reading it.
I’ve been thinking about having a crack at the Sharpe books. I didn’t mind the TV series they made from it.
I've been thinking about having a crack at the Sharpe books. I didn't mind the TV series they made from it.
Patrick O’Brian (sp?) and C S Forester might be worth a gig for the naval stuff. O’Brian wrote Master and Commander.
Conan Doyle’s Brigadier Gerard and Dennis Wheatley’s Roger Brook books are both set in the Napoleonic Wars too. Maybe not the Doyle ones but they’re French war ones.
I found I prefer Alexander Kent over Patrick O’Brian’s books. Sometimes O’Brian’s story can be a little scattered. C S Forester is great!
Too confusing. Back to space opera and post humanism novels for me.
A reply to: @Disinterested Handjob regarding QuoteLink
Too confusing. Back to space opera and post humanism novels for me.
Haha sorry!. The Sharpe series is a great easy read, nothing to heavy but has a great historic feel to it. Worth having a go at a few books to see if you like it.
Vale Colleen McCullough.
From the outset she was pigeonholed as a best selling hack but “The First Man In Rome” is a masterwork of historical fiction and I suspect it’s a book that will live on.