^soundman smart move soundman. I gave up cards about 5 years ago and haven't looked back. (then again, I don't look forward much either)

Books.. ah glorious books.

I love books that make me laugh, I love books that make me cry.

Give me a good book and I'll stay out of the way from start to finish.

I recently had a marathon reading session, getting through half a dozen books in a couple of days while getting used to my new found sobriety.

Courtesy of a Robski loan:

Mao II - Don Delillo. Excellent piece of work.

Mao II is not only a disturbing work of fiction. It is a debate about the point and purpose of writing itself, about the survival or elimination of the individual at a time when history is passing to the crowd, about our inability to take seriously anyone other than the lethal believer, the person who kills and dies for a faith.

In and out of the pages flit powerful contemporary images - the funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini, the Hillsborough tragedy, the Tiananmen Square massacre - Mao II is a work of fiction not only astonishingly fitting for our times, but rich and rewarding for anyone wishing to understand them. (The Sunday Times)

Graham Greene - The Power & The Glory.

Greene's Masterpiece, rich in exactly etched and moving portraits of real human beings.

Other books sitting on my shelf:

The monk who sold his ferrari - Robin s. sharma

Utter drivel destined for yuppies who need to feel better about themselves.

SLAM - Nick Hornby.

Excellent little book. I read it straight through, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Written in the persona of the central protagonist, a teenage skateboarding north Londoner and the trials and tribulations of the old adage "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree; "Hornby takes the raw ironies of life and gently rubs away at them to reveal gems of bittersweet truth" (-the Observer)

Eric Clapton - Clapton: The autobiography.

I've read a lot of autobiographies of artists I like. Most have been pretty lame.

The two standouts are a collaborative work about Neil Young that I read a few years ago, and this. But this is a genuinely wonderful novel. As with his music Clapton positively shines when he's being honest, forthright, and upfront.

This is far and away the single best Musician's autobiography out there.

The chapter where he talks about discovering and arriving at the scene of his son's balcony tumble is positively devasating and had me shed a few tears. His open and frank observations upon his own alcohol and drug abuse was revelatory and at times heartwrenching.

And of course the music.

Wow.

Ian McEwan - On Chesil Beach.

Wonderful, funny, short, and what a great author. The whole book is basically about the first honeymoon night of a couple who grew up in restrained post war england (she,wealthy socialite, he - poor country boy_, and now find themselves - both virgins - on their honeymoon during the dawn of swinging sixities.

I'm really glad you enjoyed Mao II, to me it is a little masterpiece, a wonderful piece of art that can be viewed from many angles.

keep it on your bookshelf and read it again sometime...

I think you would like Vurt by Jeff Noon as recommended by Redrus, a brilliant book (once I got my head around the concepts) hip, far out, disturbing and highly addictive. A little sub heading from the book; 'A glass of Fetish. Clean drugs. Good friends. A hot partner.

I'll be looking out for the sequel soon.

I also read Freakonomics as recommended by Suegha, I found it rasied some very interesting issues and ways of looking at problems, but I found it a little too inconclusive and meandering. However it was very interesting and I'd give it a 7/10, something kind of similar is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and that was I think much better presented and indeed useful, I'd give it 8/10, an excellent book about perceptions and how we continually make snap judgments, but how those snap judgments are seemingly more accurate than prolonged investigations..

I also read Freakonomics as recommended by Suegha, I found it rasied some very interesting issues and ways of looking at problems, but I found it a little too inconclusive and meandering. However it was very interesting and I'd give it a 7/10

Just want to add to Robs comments (Rob the book critic! ) I don't think 'Freakonomics' was meant to be conclusive and I certainly agree that many of the chapters weren't linked in any way. If fact the last chapter about names bored me. 7-8/10 is a fair assessment! (suegha the book critic! )

In the dog-house with the wife again...................

Reading " Horses Arse " by a chap called Owen. I could not stop myself from going into hysteria after the trout had fallen asleep, woke her up, never and I mean never a good thing. Book's about 70's coppers in the roughest part of the North West. Their exploits are truely hysterical.......................get it.

That looks great, I'll keep my eye open for a copy.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/o/charli...horses-arse.htm

I have been looking for the book that was about how the United States had interfered in the politics of countries since Hawaii. I believe it had mixed reviews but I would like to read it myself and make my own opinion. I don't know the name or author so am looking for a fair bit of guidance here.

thanks in advance

CB

"Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq"

Stephen Kinzer?

"Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq"

Stephen Kinzer?

Yep that's the one.

UG do you have it in stock?

CB

It does not ring a bell, but I have something like 100,000 titles in stock now. I will look on the computer later to make sure.