A jolly good read?

[sycophantia]

Surprised to see today that Bernard Cornwell is releasing a new Sharpe book later this month. I suppose Uthred is knocking on a bit these days, if he's still going (only halfway through the series) so be interesting to see what Sharpe is up too some 15 years since his last appearance.

I'll probably give it a go but suspect it should be left where it is. Think he went on too long with the Uthred stuff. He needs to come up with summat new imo

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

It’s going to be set in the immediate aftermath of Waterloo so it will interesting to see where the character goes at that point. Sharpe stuff is entertaining enough as long as you park the ridiculous concept of one officer being present at pretty much every major battle of the Peninsular War, popping over for Waterloo, and also taking in Trafalgar.

 

[Tredman]

Owned all the Sharpe books at one time, though think Waterloo was the last I was really bothered by - will give this a go, but I fully expect to be disappointed.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

I'll probably give it a go but suspect it should be left where it is. Think he went on too long with the Uthred stuff. He needs to come up with summat new imo

I loved the Uthred stuff, it was very formulaic though especially when I devoured them.

I don't know where I got to in the end. I've never read the Sharpe stuff, is it of a similar vein?

 

[lemonjelly]

just less than a year since the last bookshelf tidy up. Since last december I have read the following;

robert galbraith - troubled blood (I usually like the strike novels. the story is decent, and there were certainly twists I didn't see coming. tv series has spoiled it a bit for me though)
rudolph hoess - commandant of auschwitz
alain de botton - essays in love (I do enjoy de bottons work)
stephen king - outsider
noam chomsky - manufacturing consent (wished I had read it years ago. bit dated now mind)
brett easton ellis - american psycho (enjoyed this!)
michael schermer - the science of good and evil
melvyn fairclough - the ripper and the royals (90% tosh)
emma donoghue - room (not seen the film, cracking book)
jonathon kellerman - the web
jonathon kellerman - bad love
michel de montaigne - the complete essays (1300 pages! took a while, and lockdown is the kinda time to read it. really accessible though. had this for many years and always intended to get around to reading it and really glad I have.)
lewis carroll - alices adventures in wonderland
lewis carroll - through the looking glass (had honestly never read either of them)
chuck palahniuk - fight club
agatha christie - the mysterious affair at styles/peril at end house/the abc murders/one two buckle my shoe (poirot is a right knob in the books)
stephen jay gould - bully for brontosaurus (brilliant, and another long but rewarding read on the role science has for our lives)
heather morris - the tattooist of Auschwitz (decent story, but a bit odd)
antonio damasio - decartes error (another consciousness book. tried to be a bit too clever, though really interesting in parts)
c collodi - pinnochio
stephen fry - troy (all the mythos books are really enjoyable)
albert borowitz - the jack the ripper walking tour murders (quite a funny(!) novel)
ray bradbury - something wicked this way comes (@nimrod mentioned his favourite book, and this encouraged me to purchase a few by bradbury. this was my bradbury cherry, and it's a really really good novel.)
jennifer ackerman - the genius of birds (someone else on here raved about this, and rightly so. a fairly joyful little book)
brett easton ellis - less than zero (better than american pyscho, which is really good imo!)
robert mclaughlin - the first jack the ripper victim photographs (this is quite a rare book that i got lucky finding a copy of. it examines loads about the history of photography, and examines photo's of all the victims that we know of (and some we have lost). It's a fascinating book.)
michael moore - dude where's my country
philip k dick - do androids dream of electric sheep (so, so good! why had I never read this before?)
john locke - political writings
stephen king - finders keepers
gerold frank - the boston strangler
robert louis stephenson - dr jekyll and mr hyde
harry leslie smith - don't let my past be your future (ideal xmas pressie for @Johnny75 )
ray bradbury - farenheit 451 (read for @nimrod, have to say mind, something wicked is superior imo)
robert eastway - how long is a piece of string
dean koontz - sole survivor
paul begg - jack the ripper the uncensored facts
robin cooper - the timewaster letters (dogshit presented as "humour". neither as funny nor as clever as it thinks it is or tries to be)
stuart turton - the seven deaths of evelyn hardcastle (absolutely mental headfuck time travel style novel, that is also a kinda whodunnit. hurt my brain in a good way trying to keep up with it. really enjoyable)
james shapiro - 1606 (the year shakespear wrote king lear, kinda.)
james riordan - war song (drivel)
david nicholls - one day (absolute masterpiece! god I got so into this story. and the ending is totally fucking brutal. highly recommended)
malcolm gaskill - witchfinders
chuck palahniuk - choke (realised i have built up several of palahniuks books. maybe i should be worried, but there are others I also want to read...)
dennis neilsen - history of a drowning boy
jonathon coe - what a carve up
derren brown - happy (re-read this, as it is a phenomenally useful book. also re-read it as prep for the follow up, see 2 lines down)
adam kay - this is going to hurt (phenomenal. genuinely everyone should read this book. so funny in so many ways, and so, so human)
derren brown - a book of secrets (follows on from happy. both these books are really thought provoking, and really useful)
robert harris - munich (really good and thoughtful novel set at the time most of harris' books are)
drew d gray & andrew wise - jack and the thames torso murders (linking JtR to a 2nd series of murders that occurred in 1888 london. basic premise, that it is unlikely that 2 serial killers would be in action at the same time)

I recently started the stephen king dark tower series. liked the first 2 books, recently started the third instalment. They'll keep me busy til spring i reckon...

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Had a quick scan through that list LJ and I also read The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle this year. I really enjoyed the concept and thought it was a great read.

I am just finishing Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon. It is an 800 page horror/crime epic set in 17th century America. I like historical fiction anyway but have really enjoyed it. I will definitely be looking out for some more of his books.

 

[Dire Wolf]

I've just downloaded Shogun for my Audible app. I noticed they are remaking the TV series and as I must have read the book (all 1300 pages or so) about 6 times, but not for a good 20 years, thought I'd revisit it. It is a cracking book. The original TV series was good too.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

brett easton ellis - american psycho (enjoyed this!)
brett easton ellis - less than zero (better than american pyscho, which is really good imo!)

welcome to the 90s! Do not under any circumstances attempt Glamorama, an awful book the put me off Ellis for over a decade.

The rest is pretty good, his latest autobiographical effort is alright I guess the book before I really enjoyed.

I must say I am envious of your reading list, wish I had the discipline to read more on an evening

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Had a quick scan through that list LJ and I also read The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle this year. I really enjoyed the concept and thought it was a great read.

I am just finishing Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon. It is an 800 page horror/crime epic set in 17th century America. I like historical fiction anyway but have really enjoyed it. I will definitely be looking out for some more of his books.

Have you read any of CJ Sansom's 'Shardlake' series? Shardlake is a lawyer serving under Henry VIII and the first book he's set about investigating a crime to try and shut down a monastery during the period if dissolution, Dissolution also being the title of that first book.

I've read the first two so far and just about to start the third.

 

[Jack Regan]

I've read all the Shardlake novels, they're mostly excellent. The main plot in Heartstone is probably the weakest of the series but there's some excellent stuff about the Mary Rose in it.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Have you read any of CJ Sansom's 'Shardlake' series? Shardlake is a lawyer serving under Henry VIII and the first book he's set about investigating a crime to try and shut down a monastery during the period if dissolution, Dissolution also being the title of that first book.

I've read the first two so far and just about to start the third.

No, I haven’t yet but I have been meaning to give them a try. I will give Dissolution a go at some point.

I’ve also just realised that I was getting my books muddled up on lemonjelly’s list. I did indeed read The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle this year and did enjoy it but when I commented on it I had The Invisible Life of Addie Larue in mind which was also a really good read!

 

[Jabbawolf]

Been trying to learn more about things like British history, anti-semitism, Empire etc but not every last detail, and have happened upon the “A Very Short Introduction” series - spot on.

Around 100 pocket-sized pages, and enough information to get across the key points.

 

[PPB]

Don't Laugh It'll Only Encourage Her by Daisy May Cooper. Read this in 3 days

 

[lemonjelly]

Been trying to learn more about things like British history, anti-semitism, Empire etc but not every last detail, and have happened upon the “A Very Short Introduction” series - spot on.

Around 100 pocket-sized pages, and enough information to get across the key points.

recommend this:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/317240/empireland/9780241445310.html

disclaimer, haven't read it, it is amongst all the other stuff I have yet to read, but it looks quality, and every recommendations is glowing.

 

[lemonjelly]

Not long ago I managed to finish the Dark Tower series by stephen king.
definitely a series of 2 distinct parts imo.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

I've been flying through books so far this year (having a week and a bit off after testing positive for covid again helped).

Since Christmas I have finished:

Stephen King - Billy Summers. Another top read from the master. Not a typical King story, and I thought parts of it were slightly far fetched, but it's one of his good ones. Not quite as good as The Institute though, I thought that one was his best novel for years.

Josh Malerman - Black Mad Wheel. Since reading Bird Box, he has become one of my favourite authors. I'm not sure if he will ever match Bird Box but I have really enjoyed all that I have read from him so far, including this one.

Dave Grohl - The Storyteller. Tore through this in about 3 days. Some great tales from his life in there as expected.

Laura Lam - Goldilocks. Slightly disappointed with this one as I was expecting a bit more from it. Not a bad book but a bit more of a slow burner than I was expecting.

Blake Crouch - Recursion. Woah. I loved this. I'm not typically a big sci-fi fan but was hooked on this one. I knew of him from the Wayward Pines tv show but this is the first book of his I have read. I'll have to make sure I go on and read Dark Matter now.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

I've been flying through books so far this year (having a week and a bit off after testing positive for covid again helped).

Since Christmas I have finished:

Stephen King - Billy Summers. Another top read from the master. Not a typical King story, and I thought parts of it were slightly far fetched, but it's one of his good ones. Not quite as good as The Institute though, I thought that one was his best novel for years.

Josh Malerman - Black Mad Wheel. Since reading Bird Box, he has become one of my favourite authors. I'm not sure if he will ever match Bird Box but I have really enjoyed all that I have read from him so far, including this one.

Dave Grohl - The Storyteller. Tore through this in about 3 days. Some great tales from his life in there as expected.

Laura Lam - Goldilocks. Slightly disappointed with this one as I was expecting a bit more from it. Not a bad book but a bit more of a slow burner than I was expecting.

Blake Crouch - Recursion. Woah. I loved this. I'm not typically a big sci-fi fan but was hooked on this one. I knew of him from the Wayward Pines tv show but this is the first book of his I have read. I'll have to make sure I go on and read Dark Matter now.

I was proud of my 3 book January! Read the Dave Grohl book too, as you say some great stories in there.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

I was proud of my 3 book January! Read the Dave Grohl book too, as you say some great stories in there.

I don't usually read that fast but I had 6 days off work due to isolating and spent the whole time either reading or building the model of Molinuex that I got for Christmas!

Plus, I've got a pile of about 10 books by my bed to get through so I have been making the effort to read whenever I get a spare moment.

I also seem to have stopped playing FM Mobile on the tablet which has given me a bit more time to read (and any type of social life I had died when I had kids!)

 

[The Bear]

In the last couple of months I've re-read all the Harry Potters, Bob Mortimer's autobiography, and am now working my way through all of Pratchett's Discworld novels again.

 

[Jabbawolf]

recommend this:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/317240/empireland/9780241445310.html

disclaimer, haven't read it, it is amongst all the other stuff I have yet to read, but it looks quality, and every recommendations is glowing.

My wife bought me that for Crimbo - it’s on the pile to read - thanks for the suggestion.