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I need to find some new authors to read. Preferably ones with a large back catalogue. Anyone got any suggestions?

I read all sorts: literary, intelligent thrillers, humorous, historical, contemporary, crime, classic. Authors: Jonathan Coe, Iain Banks, Paul Murray, David Mitchell, Philip Roth, Alan Hollinghurst, have read a few Pratchett, Iain Pears, Magnus Mills, le Carre, John Irving, Evelyn Waugh, others in the same vein(s).

Not really into SF or (serious) fantasy. All suggestions gratefully received

Richard Morgan back in form with Thin Air.

I'd rate it as his best Neo-Noir yet.

He can't write Fantasy for shite mind

Anyone read Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges by Anthony Beevor yet?

I've been trying to give fiction more of a go lately and maybe it's because I've been trained by movies, TV, and graphic novels, but do a lot of books have so much pointless fluff in them?

I just finished The American War on 1.25 speed audio and glad I chose to speed it up as I was left feeling that not much happened that couldn't be told in a short story. I'd abandoned two other books last week because nothing gripped me.

But back to the GNs, if you like Bond, I highly recommend this ... basically, if Moneypenny actually was a field agent in her youth and comes out of retirement to solve Bond's murder.

Struggling through Bleak House at the moment. I love Dickens but this is proving quite hard work.

Anyone read Mick Herrons Slow Horses series? Started off a bit ropey but getting more and more enjoyable as they go.

HKCJ wrote:Struggling through Bleak House at the moment. I love Dickens but this is proving quite hard work.

Anyone read Mick Herrons Slow Horses series? Started off a bit ropey but getting more and more enjoyable as they go.

Yep, bought Spook Street the other day. They're very, very good.

Dobbin wrote:I need to find some new authors to read. Preferably ones with a large back catalogue. Anyone got any suggestions?

I read all sorts: literary, intelligent thrillers, humorous, historical, contemporary, crime, classic. Authors: Jonathan Coe, Iain Banks, Paul Murray, David Mitchell, Philip Roth, Alan Hollinghurst, have read a few Pratchett, Iain Pears, Magnus Mills, le Carre, John Irving, Evelyn Waugh, others in the same vein(s).

Not really into SF or (serious) fantasy. All suggestions gratefully received

Try Dashiell Hammett if you haven't, The Dain Curse, The Maltese Falcon, etc. etc. Also Truman Capote, In Cold Blood, to start with. John Dos Passos, The Manhattan Transfer.

julian wrote:

Dobbin wrote:I need to find some new authors to read. Preferably ones with a large back catalogue. Anyone got any suggestions?

I read all sorts: literary, intelligent thrillers, humorous, historical, contemporary, crime, classic. Authors: Jonathan Coe, Iain Banks, Paul Murray, David Mitchell, Philip Roth, Alan Hollinghurst, have read a few Pratchett, Iain Pears, Magnus Mills, le Carre, John Irving, Evelyn Waugh, others in the same vein(s).

Not really into SF or (serious) fantasy. All suggestions gratefully received

Try Dashiell Hammett if you haven't, The Dain Curse, The Maltese Falcon, etc. etc. Also Truman Capote, In Cold Blood, to start with. John Dos Passos, The Manhattan Transfer.

Norman Mailer, just remembering some authors I went through. The Executioner's Song.

Brazil wrote:

HKCJ wrote:Struggling through Bleak House at the moment. I love Dickens but this is proving quite hard work.

Anyone read Mick Herrons Slow Horses series? Started off a bit ropey but getting more and more enjoyable as they go.

Yep, bought Spook Street the other day. They're very, very good.

Some of the metaphors and similes are a bit ridiculous but all can be forgiven for the character of Jackson Lamb.

Cheers julian, I might try some of that old noir stuff. I've read some of what I presume to be newer stuff of the same type - Elmore Leonard, for example.

Mailer - I read The Naked and theDead and enjoyed it. I understand he's very hit and miss though.

danny_fitz wrote:Anyone read Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges by Anthony Beevor yet?

Not as good as Stalingrad, better than Berlin. I enjoyed it but then that has a particular interest for me.

A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan came back to the library the other day and I had a flip through it. Was surprised to see a very graphic image of a German with the top/back of his head blown off. Didn't think books from the era contained such things.

(Just looked it up... turns out it was Major General Friedrich Kussin, and it's now pretty clear that he was scalped, unless some freakish cut from the glass of the windscreen?)

Nieghorn wrote:A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan came back to the library the other day and I had a flip through it. Was surprised to see a very graphic image of a German with the top/back of his head blown off. Didn't think books from the era contained such things.

(Just looked it up... turns out it was Major General Friedrich Kussin, and it's now pretty clear that he was scalped, unless some freakish cut from the glass of the windscreen?)

A brief internet search reveals gory pics and confirmation of scalping... Aldo Reine stylee...

Publisher HarperCollins announced on Wednesday morning that the final novel in Mantel’s trilogy of historical novels about the life of Thomas Cromwell, will be published in March 2020. The long-awaited novel will cover the final four years of Cromwell’s life, starting with Boleyn’s execution in 1536, and moving to his own execution for treason and heresy in 1540.

At least someone is finishing a series

Just started reading ... enjoying so far... (but bit worried seems to be 'populist science' - which i think is a worry...)

Mantel has finished the third book. Coming out spring next year

One for the history lovers on the bored. Set during the fall of Constantinople. Turns out there was a Scottish mercenary among the defenders. God only knows what he was doing all that way east. It's a good read and the author's note at the end is quite interesting too as a lot of the bits I assumed he'd made up turn out to be historical fact.

Thanks, looks right up my st.

Just started the first book in the Wheel of Time series. Hope it gets better soon, 50 pages of nothing to engage my interest as yet. Not as immediate as LOTR or AGoT but I need to give it, cough, time I guess.

been slowly working through this over the last month or so.

wonderful characters in a gripping story

much enjoyed this recently

one of the best things i did this year was messing about with bitters.

this was my guide:

village wrote:One for the history lovers on the bored. Set during the fall of Constantinople. Turns out there was a Scottish mercenary among the defenders. God only knows what he was doing all that way east. It's a good read and the author's note at the end is quite interesting too as a lot of the bits I assumed he'd made up turn out to be historical fact.

That's a very winning combination for me, on order, thanks.

kiwigreg369 wrote:Just started reading ... enjoying so far... (but bit worried seems to be 'populist science' - which i think is a worry...)

I thought this was brilliant after a friend advised me to read just one chapter at a time. It was enough to get into it but not get yourself too muddled incorporating too many ideas in one sitting.

I came across this guy giving away his books for free and I figured I’d be thrifty and give them a shot.
Free download for part one of each trilogy.

Unfortunately I quite enjoyed them and now I’m going to have to buy the sequels.
He played me like a cheap fiddle.

tabascoboy wrote:Just started the first book in the Wheel of Time series. Hope it gets better soon, 50 pages of nothing to engage my interest as yet. Not as immediate as LOTR or AGoT but I need to give it, cough, time I guess.

It's Pish.

Get thee to Malazan!

tabascoboy wrote:Just started the first book in the Wheel of Time series. Hope it gets better soon, 50 pages of nothing to engage my interest as yet. Not as immediate as LOTR or AGoT but I need to give it, cough, time I guess.

The first couple of books are the high point, so if you're not enjoying the first book, step the fuck away. And if you are enjoying the first book, step the fuck away.

Seriously, it's a trap. A giant, convuluted, shit filled trap.

tabascoboy wrote:Just started the first book in the Wheel of Time series. Hope it gets better soon, 50 pages of nothing to engage my interest as yet. Not as immediate as LOTR or AGoT but I need to give it, cough, time I guess.

I think I gave it 100 before I gave up.

... I'm no account of taste though. I'm on volume five of Rick and Morty comic compilations.

Most recent 'adult' book I read was "Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, the Northfield Raid and the Wild West's Greatest Escape" ... would have made a MUCH better film than the Brad Pitt movie...

Before that, I found Roger Moore's collection of stories from Hollywood interesting (One Lucky Bastard or Last Man Standing - depending if you're in NA / UK ... appreciated the audiobook, which is probably a better medium than reading ... even if not in his voice).

I’ve been reading a few books by an Irish author named Brian O Sullivan.
He’s hoovered up all the old Celtic literature pertaining to Fionn Mac Cumhaill and used it as the framework for a series of novels, fleshing out the characters while following the thread of the legend.

There’s also a purely fictional series featuring a female warrior called Liath Luachra, (the grey one of Luachair), which acts a prequel to the Fionn Mac Cuamhaill series.
She’s named as Fionn’s Childhood protector in the Fianian cycles, and O Sullivan brings her to life as an ultra violent, PTSD suffering, Fian leader (who occasionally drinks from the furry cup, which is nice).

If you like the odd fantasy novel, but are a bit sick of the overdone wizardry and goblins and knightly gallantry then give these a shot.
The Iron Age setting is harsh and brutal, and the supernatural elements are Druidic, so it’s a lot closer to Vikings than lord of the rings.
Liberal use of Irish makes them more accessible to those of us with the Requisite Celtic Soul but there’s a handy pronunciation guide for the foreigners covering the commonly used terms, and most of the others are translated as you go.

You can pick up a few free chapters on the guy’s website to whet your appetite before you commit.

http://irishimbasbooks.com/book/fionn-t ... g-silence/

So when last here the youngest sprog leaves this at home and says I should read it.

It's called "Infinite Jest" by a fellow called David Foster Wallace: over a thousand pages of it.


Ho Ho Ho - Am i going to smack sprog on his head with Infinite Jest when he next sets foot here?

George RR Martin did a script for an action-comedy cop show with aliens... didn’t get picked up, but is a good graphic novel. I don’t know if the original was meant to be live action, but it could be animated and be successful, I think.

Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry, reading it at the moment and its a really good read, Its dialogue driven a bit like with Waiting for Godot with aging drug dealers

slick wrote:

village wrote:One for the history lovers on the bored. Set during the fall of Constantinople. Turns out there was a Scottish mercenary among the defenders. God only knows what he was doing all that way east. It's a good read and the author's note at the end is quite interesting too as a lot of the bits I assumed he'd made up turn out to be historical fact.

That's a very winning combination for me, on order, thanks.

Hmm, not sure im enjoying this. It's the guy's first novel and he is just trying too hard to be descriptive of everything. The story is pretty decent so far but it's beginning to get on my tits.

Just finished and enjoyed these:
Shadow King: The Life and Death of Henry VI

Interesting to read about a time when the political class were if possible even more useless than today. Less reassuring that it ended up in a civil war, though on the positive side nearly all of the useless politicians ended up horribly dead.


Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King

Interesting take on the pre-Reformation importance of Edmund; I think he overplays his hand a little on Edmund's importance to the creation of England, but still, lots of stuff I didn't know.

This is out in paperback recently. Its apparently very interesting. ahem.

In my quest to read some of the Classics intermittently I gave up on Bleak House which is the only Dickens I've disliked and read A Clockwork Orange instead. To my surprise I loved it. Am currently reading The Woman in White. It's fantastically well written and am devouring it at a rate of knots which is just as well as its another doorstop. Has anyone read much else that Wilkie Collins has done? Any recommendations?

Elsewhere the book that I really enjoyed lately was A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman. Completely different from his Beartown series of books. Good, lighthearted fun. Its almost like a book version of the emotional scene about the old couple and their life in the movie UP.

You're reading the best book he wrote imho.

From memory, No name and moonstone were worth a read

Just read the blurb about moonstone and sounds like my cup of tea so will stick it in the 'to read' list. Cheers HH

Been reading A few Maigret's and a couple of John Sandford's Davenport crime novels for holiday reading.
Started age of myth today.

Starting with the first one about the Peninsular War, Rifles, I've been re-reading Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series for the first time since my late teens (a decade ago now *sigh*). Bloody brilliant they are. Tearing through one every 2 - 3 days at the moment.