Books

My wife just told me she got 76. She reads a lot, but even so. I will audit her count over the weekend.

25 for me.

Worst of them was The Secret History. Can never work out why it makes Best Of lists. I thought it was a book you couldn’t put down lightly - you had to hurl it with great force.

I liked it for a lot of the way, but I was disappointed when it turned out to be another murder story. I had thought that for once I was reading a contemporary American novel without a violent death in it. She’s only written one other novel and I haven’t bothered reading it.

99 for me. Because ■■■■■■ if I ever plan to read the Merry Wives of Windsor…

99 for me. Because ■■■■■■ if I ever plan to read the Merry Wives of Windsor...

You don’t know what you’re missing!

Neither do I, as it happens.

“Benjamin Black” is the moniker the Booker Prize winning “serious” author John Banville goes by when he’s slumming it in crime fiction.
“The Silver Swan” is the second of a series set in a noirish Dublin in the 50s focusing on the dour pathologist Garrett Quirke. I’ve read that Banville claims that he finds the series therapeutic and that he knocks them off at twice the pace. Certainly they’re not as polished as his “serious stuff”, which is very good indeed, but they’re better than most crime fiction. The story finds its own atmospheric pace and “Black” doesn’t splatter the bookscape with blood and violence but there’s a dark and intriguing mystery to be solved and plenty of red herrings on the side.
It might be a bit revisionist for some but I reckon it’s a ■■■■■■ good read.
P.S. It probably should be read after “Christine Falls” to which it makes a number of allusions, but imo it’s a better book

32 for me.
Only 2 through school I think.
There’s a couple where I’ve read 2 or 3 from an author but not the one they listed (Charlie and the chocolate factory, A Christmas Carol)

99 for me. Because ■■■■■■ if I ever plan to read the Merry Wives of Windsor...
But you read The DaVinci Code? Sheep...

On recommendation from a work colleague, after finishing the last GoT book I am now about halfway through The Eye of the World, book one of the Wheel of Time series.

It’s pretty good actually. Easy reading, flows well without stagnating (which is what I found with LOTR). Less gritty than GoT.

I’m probably one of the last people alive who had until recently not even heard of the series, but I can recommend it to anyone else who likes the Fantasy genre.

I’ve been reading the Deeds of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth moon, So far so good, enjoying the pacing of it. Halfway through the 2nd book.

99 for me. Because ■■■■■■ if I ever plan to read the Merry Wives of Windsor...
But you read The DaVinci Code? Sheep...

Know your enemy.

On recommendation from a work colleague, after finishing the last GoT book I am now about halfway through The Eye of the World, book one of the Wheel of Time series.

It’s pretty good actually. Easy reading, flows well without stagnating (which is what I found with LOTR). Less gritty than GoT.

I’m probably one of the last people alive who had until recently not even heard of the series, but I can recommend it to anyone else who likes the Fantasy genre.

Just wait until you get to the books that are six hundred pages of ■■■■■■■ NOTHING HAPPENING.

lol, I’m fearful of that happening at some point. No way can 14 books at 750+ pages each be exciting the whole way through. That’s what turned me off the LOTR book - I got tired of 30 pages describing a meal.

Just finished “Words of Radiance” by Brandon Sanderson - the guy who finished off the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan died. It’s a cracking read. Book 2 in a trilogy, and they are both very hefty, but for the most part they hold the interest nicely and he certainly has an imagination.

99 for me. Because ■■■■■■ if I ever plan to read the Merry Wives of Windsor...
But you read The DaVinci Code? Sheep...

Know your enemy.

On recommendation from a work colleague, after finishing the last GoT book I am now about halfway through The Eye of the World, book one of the Wheel of Time series.

It’s pretty good actually. Easy reading, flows well without stagnating (which is what I found with LOTR). Less gritty than GoT.

I’m probably one of the last people alive who had until recently not even heard of the series, but I can recommend it to anyone else who likes the Fantasy genre.

Just wait until you get to the books that are six hundred pages of ■■■■■■■ NOTHING HAPPENING.


That’s what I’ve heard, which is why I’ve steered clear.
lol, I'm fearful of that happening at some point. No way can 14 books at 750+ pages each be exciting the whole way through. That's what turned me off the LOTR book - I got tired of 30 pages describing a meal.
As opposed to the GoT books where it's 30 pages describing a bowl of grapes?

If you want a thrill-a-minute book, epic fantasy is about as bad a choice as you can make…

Alright, finally finished Dreadnought and moved on to Steel Castles. Talks about the political lead up to World War 1 and the overhaul of the British navy. Steel Castles then talks more about the actual naval battles of World War 1. Very interesting and worth reading!
Moved onto Gallipoli by Les Carlyon.

Alright, finally finished Dreadnought and moved on to Steel Castles. Talks about the political lead up to World War 1 and the overhaul of the British navy. Steel Castles then talks more about the actual naval battles of World War 1. Very interesting and worth reading! Moved onto Gallipoli by Les Carlyon.
That was one of the hardest books to read that I've ever read.

Well written but it just infuriated me every ten or so pages as yet another debacle was described…so many young men killed in such senseless ways.

If you want a thrill-a-minute book, epic fantasy is about as bad a choice as you can make...

Not necessarily thrill-a-minute, just interesting to read.

Just finished "Words of Radiance" by Brandon Sanderson - the guy who finished off the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan died. It's a cracking read. Book 2 in a trilogy, and they are both very hefty, but for the most part they hold the interest nicely and he certainly has an imagination.
99 for me. Because ■■■■■■ if I ever plan to read the Merry Wives of Windsor...
But you read The DaVinci Code? Sheep...

Know your enemy.

On recommendation from a work colleague, after finishing the last GoT book I am now about halfway through The Eye of the World, book one of the Wheel of Time series.

It’s pretty good actually. Easy reading, flows well without stagnating (which is what I found with LOTR). Less gritty than GoT.

I’m probably one of the last people alive who had until recently not even heard of the series, but I can recommend it to anyone else who likes the Fantasy genre.

Just wait until you get to the books that are six hundred pages of ■■■■■■■ NOTHING HAPPENING.


That’s what I’ve heard, which is why I’ve steered clear.
lol, I'm fearful of that happening at some point. No way can 14 books at 750+ pages each be exciting the whole way through. That's what turned me off the LOTR book - I got tired of 30 pages describing a meal.
As opposed to the GoT books where it's 30 pages describing a bowl of grapes?

But if the 30 pages of describing the grapes holds my attention and is interesting, I have no problem with it. For me, LOTR just dragged and did not captivate me for page upon page. It was a slog.

lol, I'm fearful of that happening at some point. No way can 14 books at 750+ pages each be exciting the whole way through. That's what turned me off the LOTR book - I got tired of 30 pages describing a meal.

Could you perhaps point out the thirty page meal description? I don’t recall it.

Alright, finally finished Dreadnought and moved on to Steel Castles. Talks about the political lead up to World War 1 and the overhaul of the British navy. Steel Castles then talks more about the actual naval battles of World War 1. Very interesting and worth reading! Moved onto Gallipoli by Les Carlyon.
That was one of the hardest books to read that I've ever read.

Well written but it just infuriated me every ten or so pages as yet another debacle was described…so many young men killed in such senseless ways.

That’s absolutely spot on. I’m about half way in and angry with a lot of different people. The ineptitude displayed by alot of the officers is staggering.
I do enjoy Carlyon’s style of writing tho!

lol, I'm fearful of that happening at some point. No way can 14 books at 750+ pages each be exciting the whole way through. That's what turned me off the LOTR book - I got tired of 30 pages describing a meal.

Could you perhaps point out the thirty page meal description? I don’t recall it.

You want me to trawl through 1000+ pages to find you 30? Bugger off! :stuck_out_tongue:

It would be in the first third to narrow it down for you. It would be a chapter on Hobbits, as they are food obsessed.