what are you reading now?

slim jenkins

slim jenkins

El Hombre Invisible
crackerjack said:
Hammett's real life was odd - his partner was communist playwright Lillian Hellman (of whom it was famously said "every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the'), but he spent years working for strike-busting Pinkertons, even though his sympathies were leftward. Post on it again if you get the time, i'd like to know what it's like.
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Didn't finish it - but if you've read my 'Disgust' thread, that won't surpise you and should not be taken as a reflection of it's merit if you're a normal reader (ie without my currently mean streak of intolerance).

Now 63 pages into Jean-Claude Izzo's 'Total Chaos' - bought when I went into Daunt, saw the price of the new Bond book and turned away to find this beautifully designed Europa editions product under my nose - yes - I bought it because of the design - and the genre, of course. Almost gave up ten pages ago when treated to boring biographical material of central character - but now the plot's taken an interesting turn I'm with it again.
 
M

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
labrat said:
JUST picked up a copy of alan garners "the owl service" in chorlton oxfam...it's meant to be great..anyone read it?
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The Owl Service is a fantastic piece of work, there's also a 1969 TV version of it that's been re-released now which is equally weird. Hope you enjoy it!
 
M

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
Mr. Tea said:
Hehe, probably my favourite bit of Family Guy ever (not really all that keen on it otherwise):

*enter sailor dude with four wooden prosthetic limbs*

"Did you lose your arms and legs in battle on the high seas?"

"No - me farrther was a tree".
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Mine's the son sitting on a diving board, and some guy comes up and goes

'Mister, can you move your van?' and another guy goes
'That's not a van, that's a FAT KID'.

Inspired. I prefer South Park's annihilation of it as a series though.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Decided to pop my Self cherry today with The Book Of Dave. A lot of the blurb calls it his 'best book yet', though blurb often says that. I've seen the guy do a kind of stand-up/book-reading before and also a funny sort of 'live writing' thing, both of which were highly entertaining, so I'm looking forward to it.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"..and also a funny sort of 'live writing' thing, both of which were highly entertaining, so I'm looking forward to it."
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Yes, I saw that too - regardless of what people think of him I thought that that was very impressive, to be able to think on your feet that fast and churn out stuff that I found genuinely funny is quite a talent.
 
slim jenkins

slim jenkins

El Hombre Invisible
I've got mixed feelings about Self's writing but in my experience he's a top chap. When I was on the dole I went to a reading of 'Tough Tough Toys'. Having told him I was a 'struggling writer' and would love to have the book but couldn't afford it he dug into his pocket, pulled out a tenner and bought a copy for me from the seller in the corner.
 
woops

woops

is not like other people
death and the penguin

after a longish break from fiction i've started this ukrainian 'black comedy' about an obituarist ('death') with a (and the') rare pet (insert guesses here).

It has its moments, but I can't shake the feeling that I've heard it all at least once too often.
 
hucks

hucks

Your Message Here
woops said:
after a longish break from fiction i've started this ukrainian 'black comedy' about an obituarist ('death') with a (and the') rare pet (insert guesses here).

It has its moments, but I can't shake the feeling that I've heard it all at least once too often.
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Yeah, I read that a couple of years ago. I think I liked it, but not as much as the author did. It's quite pleased with itself.

On the Self tip, Great Apes is wicked. That one where everyone is dead (How the Dead Live) is not so good.
 
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slim jenkins

slim jenkins

El Hombre Invisible
Halfway through 'The Goodbye Kiss' - Massimo Carlotto, who's part of the so-called 'Mediterranean Noir' set. It's almost very good, and is very good in large parts, if only for the naturalistic 1st person narrative and pace. That and the fact that the author lead a racy life himself, being accused of a murder he didn't commit, part of radical left Italian politics and, like the character here, on the run. Lends authenticity to the whole affair.

My main criticism is the lengths he's gone to to make the 'hero' an anti-hero, willing to do terrible things to a woman in particular. I don't think it was necessary to go as far as he does to make a villain of the central character. It's rather too hardcore for my taste.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
hucks said:
On the Self tip, Great Apes is wicked. That one where everyone is dead (How the Dead Live) is not so good.
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Might have to check that out soon, I thought The Book Of Dave was great. Very bleak ending(s), though with (just) enough humanity to redeem them. Great use of inventive language - comparisons with A Clockwork Orange are obvious and not unmerited - and I have to say it's been far too long since I've read a book with a hand-drawn map at the front and a glossary at the back. :D
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
Michael Frayn, The End Of The Morning. Less than half way in but loving it, seems to capture the emergence of celeb talking heads and the frustrations of the low level intellectual to perfection. And his prose is brilliant. I'd never read him before.
 
swears

swears

preppy-kei
hucks said:
On the Self tip, Great Apes is wicked. That one where everyone is dead (How the Dead Live) is not so good.
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Great Apes has a great clammy, oppresive feel to it. You really feel Simon Dykes revulsion at the hairy, sweaty ape-people he's forced to deal with. Loads of piss-taking of the social mores of men, our hierarchies and "male-bonding".

How The Dead Live is boooooring. Would have made a good short story, etc, etc...
 
D

dHarry

Well-known member
don_quixote said:
ithinkthementionofwillselfcallsfor:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1390395.stm

which is always entertaining. an easy target mind.
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priceless!

SELF: It is a 400 page... I've read 200 pages of it and that is a 200 page recruiting leaflet for the BNP.

LITTLEJOHN: Well, you can't comment until you have read the other 200.

SELF: Why? Does it suddenly turn into Tolstoy?

LITTLEJOHN: You'll have to read it and find out, won't you.

SELF: Well it won't take me long.

...................................................

SELF: What does it say on the passport - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - that is actual latest constitutional formulation of what Britain is. I regard myself as a citizen of an archipelago that happens to be called Britain.

LITTLEJOHN: You are not still on heroin are you?

SELF: No and listen, I would thank you kindly not to insult me in that fashion.

LITTLEJOHN: Well you have accused me of being the recruiting sergeant of the BNP!
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straight

straight

wings cru
swears said:
Great Apes has a great clammy, oppresive feel to it. You really feel Simon Dykes revulsion at the hairy, sweaty ape-people he's forced to deal with. Loads of piss-taking of the social mores of men, our hierarchies and "male-bonding".

How The Dead Live is boooooring. Would have made a good short story, etc, etc...
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I realised i was getting old the other day because in the 4 or so years since I read 'how the dead live' I havent the foggiest what actually went on in the book. I tend to give away books when ive finished and in that moment itr became apparent why everyone else hoards the things.

Read 'My idea of fun' a few months ago and it melted my brain like few other books have. I've never felt so uneasy and disorienatated by a book,. Probably my favourite of his full lengths.

Also, his fathers day piece in the observer(or times) got a little tear out of me
 
V

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
crackerjack said:
Michael Frayn, The End Of The Morning. Less than half way in but loving it, seems to capture the emergence of celeb talking heads and the frustrations of the low level intellectual to perfection. And his prose is brilliant. I'd never read him before.
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I really liked this too, very funny. I just started his Spies, seems good.
 
jenks

jenks

thread death
Frayn generally a very underrated writer. Spies works really well on anumber of levels - in fact it has been on the a level spec for a couple of years and it goes down very well indeed.

I thoroughly enjoyed Headlong based on the discovery of a Breughal which could ahve worn its learning all too heavily but doesn't.

I am currently reading the Mitfords letters - at forst glance it would appear to be a rather trivial collection of posh girls letters. But it is as gripping as a novel - 6 girls who grew up in the twenties - one becomes a Hitler groupie, another marries Mosely, another goes off and fights the facists in Spain and is a life long red. I suppose what it feels like is like a novel wherer there are six unreliable narrators - each with their own agenda, grudges and jealousies and each writing these most fluent and beautiful letters, some about very little and others seething with family slights never quite fixed. It's one of my books of the year.
 
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