What good books are you reading?

[uptheos]

The Road to Little Dribbling

Bill Bryson

Quite funny.

 

Basically a follow up to Notes From a Small Island

[blazes]

12 hours ago, starky said:

SD card no problem. There are ways around everything

 

You sound like Mr Samuel Allardyce.

[Anon999]

Have a varied selection of non fiction books a limited sample:

SMERSH Stalin's Secret Weapon - Vadim Birsten

Miles M.52 -  Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown

The Most Dangerous Enemy - Stephen Bungay

We Come Unseen - Jim Ring

Codename Tricycle - Russell Miller

Finest Hour - Winston Churchill 1939 1941 - Martin Gilbert

 

[Anon999]

17 hours ago, Gillyflower said:

 

I used to read a lot of Idriess' books when I was young.  I liked this one in  particular.  As for Out of Africa....did you ever see the film?

The Polish were probably the key players in breaking the Enigma code with a couple of brilliant mathematicians. That's not forgetting the 4 or 5 ladies who were equal to their male peers. 

[tutsiwarrior]

Michel Houllebecq

Iris Murdock

 

and recently Richard Ford...all with very interesting narrative style, disturbing at times...but are we here to be entertained?

 

only the devil knows...

[Gecko123]

 

 

 

[Aussie69]

Taff's Treasure - Guy Lilburne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Speedo1968]

On 9/27/2016 at 9:07 PM, seajae said:

mate, all depends on what you like. I got into fantasy fiction while I was in my apprenticeship(worked on a huge house for a couple of months and The Hobbit was lying on the table on the back veranda, read it all by the time we finished(every lunch time) and I was hooked), then when I was in thew armed forces I read what ever was available and that went from phantom comics to westerns and action books. As previously mentioned Wilbur Smith is great(read all of his) but there are many more writers that are great reads too, Clive Custler is another good writer and then there is David Gemmell, David Eddings, Raymond Feist & off course JRR Tolkien (these  are fantasy fiction)and the list just keeps going depending on your particular preference

 

You may be interested to know that it is thought possible that The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings have thier roots 

in the The Mabinogion, Welsh tales from more than a 1,000 years ago.   The Mabinogion was translated

by Lady Charlotte Guest in around 1877 and, used to be in print.

It is an interesting read, although the fantasy tales are a little harder to understand than the more modern

ones of Tolkien.

[zd1]

On ‎27‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 6:19 AM, Khon Kaen Dave said:

Zd1

Can i suggest 'The Throwback by sharp?Like you,i couldn't stop laughing.

Ive read them all.Among the best are The two about South Africa(i think Riotous Assembly is one,cant remember the other)Blott on the landscape,Porter house blue,and obviously the Wilt books.(every time i think of the student in 'Plasterer's 5' bashing Wilt,i have to chuckle)

The other South African one is Indecent Exposure possibly my favourite, the bit when the sa police are having electric shock treatment to stop them being attracted to bantu women and the captain is showing his holiday slides of a safari, pure comic genius.

The Throwback is also hilarious, I have read all of them most of them several times, it's a shame that the great Tom Sharpe is now dead and there won't be any more of them.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Zd1

Thats it,Indecent Exposure,brilliant.

I loved Harbinger.

Sad to know that Tom Sharpe is dead.

There will never be another.I believe he was deported from south Africa due to the books.

[zd1]

2 hours ago, Khon Kaen Dave said:

Zd1

Thats it,Indecent Exposure,brilliant.

I loved Harbinger.

Sad to know that Tom Sharpe is dead.

There will never be another.I believe he was deported from south Africa due to the books.

He died a couple of years back at his home in Spain, he said that one of his influences was PG Wodehouse and I have read a couple and they are not bad but not as good as Tom Sharpe in my opinion.

He wasn't deported from SA for his books, I think the reason for his deportation from SA was due to his speaking out against apartheid and I think his south African books somewhat mocked the regime.

I've got most of his books and will have to start rereading them.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Zd1

Wodehouse (Jeeves and Wooster?) was really a bit dated for me.Sort of 1920's."The aged parents"and all that.didnt really appeal to me.I dont know what age you are,but i grew up with Richmal Crompton (Just William) Jennings,and the adventure stories such as Robinson Crusoe,etc.

Sharpe was more modern in his approach e.g the vibrating dildo's in the old womens house when the vicar comes to visit (Throwback)

Loved them all.

[Coota]

On 9/27/2016 at 10:16 AM, JingerBen said:

The Yellow Stream?

I always thought it was written by I.P.Standing.

 

I thought it was Yellow River.

[zd1]

5 hours ago, Khon Kaen Dave said:

Zd1

Wodehouse (Jeeves and Wooster?) was really a bit dated for me.Sort of 1920's."The aged parents"and all that.didnt really appeal to me.I dont know what age you are,but i grew up with Richmal Crompton (Just William) Jennings,and the adventure stories such as Robinson Crusoe,etc.

Sharpe was more modern in his approach e.g the vibrating dildo's in the old womens house when the vicar comes to visit (Throwback)

Loved them all.

I agree about Wodehouse a bit dated but still quite funny but not as funny as Sharpe, I also read Robinson Crusoe and also Swiss Family Robinson as I liked the desert island fantasy stuff.

Trying to think of the names of the Tom Sharpe novels the one where the main character licks the frog and ends up riding a motorbike across the country and the other one where the main character creates mayhem in a small village terrace.

The Wilt one where they are on holiday in America is another good one, but they are all good really.

[soc]

On 28/09/2016 at 1:18 AM, Gillyflower said:

 

I used to read a lot of Idriess' books when I was young.  I liked this one in  particular.  As for Out of Africa....did you ever see the film?

Hello Gillyflower,

Yes l saw the film & while l liked it, it only loosely follows the book.

Loved the musical score in the film though.

To make a film that follows the book would be several hours long.

The book is great in my opinion & a true story which makes it even better in my eyes.

Meryl Streep is a great actress.

[soc]

On 28/09/2016 at 6:45 PM, Anon999 said:

The Polish were probably the key players in breaking the Enigma code with a couple of brilliant mathematicians. That's not forgetting the 4 or 5 ladies who were equal to their male peers. 

True, the Poles had constructed an Enigma machine in the 1930s.

They are not always given enough credit.

The hand held mine detector used by the British Army in WWII was also a Polish invention.

[overherebc]

Surprised no-one has mentioned Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig.

Read it in the late 70's and would love to find a copy and read it again.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Zd1

There was The great pursuit,The midden,Ancestral vices,you are the master of Sharpe because i havent read the one where wilt goes to America.Did he go with his wife and the hideous triplets?

I always remember that Flint used to call him 'That f#####g little shit'

Brilliant.

I shall look for the American Wilt on my next visit to Patts

[Khon Kaen Dave]

overherebec.

If you cant find what you are looking for,i have a copy of 'how to overhaul and maintain,the 650 cc.1976 Panther combination single i n 3 easy steps.

Or i have,The life and times of a Ford Escort(or how i was used and abused by a Chevy V8)

Also i have a first edition of 'Never trust a Harley Davidson fat Boy'(or my life with the hog)

Seriously? you want a book called 'The art of motorcycle maintenance'?

Nah! c'mon,this is a joke isnt it? and who or what the F##k is Zen?.

What sort of stories do you read your kids at night? 'how to test exhaust emissions,using an old sock and a gas mask?

Is your wife as interested in this stuff as you are? I would love to be a fly on your wall when you both enjoy some idle chat.

Where do you take your kids on a day out? breaker's yard's?

WHAT ??????

[DeaconJohn]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was first published in 1974 and sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.

This book is about more than motorcycle maintenance.

[overherebc]

4 hours ago, DeaconJohn said:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was first published in 1974 and sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.

This book is about more than motorcycle maintenance.

Good to point that out, as I should have done, otherwise we'd have a lot of bikers complaining.

[Prbkk]

On 27 September 2016 at 10:38 PM, dddave said:

I really like the moody espionage novels by Alan Furst, most set in middle Europe at the onset of WW2.

Not a lot of action but great portrayals of ordinary people drawn without choice into the war.

"The Polish Officer"

"Foreign Correspondent"

"Night Soldiers"

"Dark Voyage"

 

He is very good ( reminiscent of the best of Graham Greene and Eric Ambler). If you like those, you would like Sarah Gainham ( Night Falls on the City...part of a trilogy set in Vienna)and Helen MacInnes ( both long dead but great writers of spy/espionage fiction in the 60s and 70s), Victor Canning from the same era.

John Lawton , Phillip Kerr and Olen Steinhauser are similar in theme and style to Furst, all contemporary.

Richard (?) Harris: Enignma, Archangel and his trilogy about Rome: excellent

[overherebc]

On 9/30/2016 at 8:54 PM, Khon Kaen Dave said:

overherebec.

If you cant find what you are looking for,i have a copy of 'how to overhaul and maintain,the 650 cc.1976 Panther combination single i n 3 easy steps.

Or i have,The life and times of a Ford Escort(or how i was used and abused by a Chevy V8)

Also i have a first edition of 'Never trust a Harley Davidson fat Boy'(or my life with the hog)

Seriously? you want a book called 'The art of motorcycle maintenance'?

Nah! c'mon,this is a joke isnt it? and who or what the F##k is Zen?.

What sort of stories do you read your kids at night? 'how to test exhaust emissions,using an old sock and a gas mask?

Is your wife as interested in this stuff as you are? I would love to be a fly on your wall when you both enjoy some idle chat.

Where do you take your kids on a day out? breaker's yard's?

WHAT ??????

 

Actually I'm half way through rebuilding a 60's Brit' bike and my wife is busy polishing the chrome exhaust on the vintage car.

Biggest problem is keeping the Champers intake down to minimum.

[overherebc]

14 minutes ago, overherebc said:

 

Actually I'm half way through rebuilding a 60's Brit' bike and my wife is busy polishing the chrome exhaust on the vintage car.

Biggest problem is keeping the Champers intake down to minimum.

 

PS,

 

Don't have any kids, too expensive a pastime and make buying good books a problem.

[Speedo1968]

On 9/30/2016 at 8:54 PM, Khon Kaen Dave said:

overherebec.

If you cant find what you are looking for,i have a copy of 'how to overhaul and maintain,the 650 cc.1976 Panther combination single i n 3 easy steps.

Or i have,The life and times of a Ford Escort(or how i was used and abused by a Chevy V8)

Also i have a first edition of 'Never trust a Harley Davidson fat Boy'(or my life with the hog)

Seriously? you want a book called 'The art of motorcycle maintenance'?

Nah! c'mon,this is a joke isnt it? and who or what the F##k is Zen?.

What sort of stories do you read your kids at night? 'how to test exhaust emissions,using an old sock and a gas mask?

Is your wife as interested in this stuff as you are? I would love to be a fly on your wall when you both enjoy some idle chat.

Where do you take your kids on a day out? breaker's yard's?

WHAT ??????

 

"Zen and the art ..." was a book of it's time.    A cross between On The Road by Kerouac, Easy Rider and Plato.

Depends on where you were and what you were doing in the late 60's early 70s'.

The book sold more than 5 million copies so can't have been that bad !

[Khon Kaen Dave]

overherebec.

My post was meant purely in jest,and i hope it was taken that way.

I have not read Zen,but i have read 'on the road and desolation angels.'Kerouac,was indeed the start to the beat generation.I read Sallinger in school and later i read Selby.Last exit to Brooklyn was a great book,The character of Georgie was a very modern thought.Tralala was also before her time.

 

[Speedo1968]

3 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Dave said:

overherebec.

My post was meant purely in jest,and i hope it was taken that way.

I have not read Zen,but i have read 'on the road and desolation angels.'Kerouac,was indeed the start to the beat generation.I read Sallinger in school and later i read Selby.Last exit to Brooklyn was a great book,The character of Georgie was a very modern thought.Tralala was also before her time.

 

 

Glad you enjoyed some decent reads.

I had the unfortunate luck of going to a grammar school in the 1950's so didn't get to "read books" only read books ( if you understand what I am trying to explain ) ?

Luckily I did have parents / relatives who always gave me books for my birthday and Christmas.

I did take the opportunity to leave school at 15 ( three options available to the aspiring student in those days ) and quickly found out what real reading was all about.    Oh, and working too of course !

I know Kindle is meant to be a tool for reading but there is nothing like the feel of paper pages turning in your hand.

 

[overherebc]

On 06/10/2016 at 11:50 AM, Khon Kaen Dave said:

overherebec.

My post was meant purely in jest,and i hope it was taken that way.

I have not read Zen,but i have read 'on the road and desolation angels.'Kerouac,was indeed the start to the beat generation.I read Sallinger in school and later i read Selby.Last exit to Brooklyn was a great book,The character of Georgie was a very modern thought.Tralala was also before her time.

 

 

Taken as was meant.

Still having problems motivating my wife on chromed exhaust polishing.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

overherebc

for gods sake dont give her a Brillo pad.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

speedo 1968

i too went to a grammar school.It was Adium and stanhope in Deptford London SE8. We were lucky,our English teacher was a woman of the times.We read Sallinger,as i said.And she advised us to read last exit to Brooklyn,lady Chatterly,and, others even when they were banned by the obscene publication society.(60's trial,i believe)

she also told me to read Stokers Dracula,but as a love story,not just a horror story.Frnkenstien,by Mary Shelly was great,after it was explained to me that she wrote it after a dream brought on by copious amounts of laudanum and a night in a chateaux with lord Byron,Shelly,and Dr Polidori,on the shores of lake Geneva.

What a fantastic mind.

I,like you have a kindle,but the feel of a well thumbed page from a crisp,if ancient tome is pleasure itself.

carry on the good work Mon Ami