Beecher Networks - Web Development, Hosting & Domains
Page 8 of 9 FirstFirst ... 6789 LastLast
Results 141 to 160 of 179

Thread: Recommended Reading

  1. #141
    Capped Player SkStu's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    13,932
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    3,354
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    4,782
    Thanked in
    2,612 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Eminence Grise View Post
    Bedtime reading is Heartstone, by CJ Sansom, the fifth in a series of whodunnits set in Tudor England. The first four were very enjoyable - just enough historical detail, and the bodies stacked up at a decent pace! Bit of a sucker for good historical fiction, but I'm up to date with most of the writers I like (Bernard Cornwell, Susanna Gregory, Ellis Peters, Bernard Knight). Any suggestions, anyone?
    I bought herself the series, EG, and she demanded that i read them after her. I just about finished the first book and gave up after two pages of the second. I just cant get into the series or characters at all. I dont know why. Maybe I just dont like historical fiction.

    Did you read any of the outlander series by Diana Gabbadon (a cross between historical fiction and time travel)? Can be a slog at times but you may enjoy them if you havent already read (seen as though you seem to enjoy that shoite! ). I havent yet finished the series.

  2. #142
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    May 2010
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    2,662
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,280
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,854
    Thanked in
    893 Posts
    Thanks for that. I’ll look out for Gabbadon and let you know what I think.

    Don’t give up on Sansome’s Shardlake series. Dark Fire is much better than Dissolution. For one thing, Dissolution is a typical first novel - it lacks finesse and the character development is clumsy, and, for another, Shardlake’s annoying sidekick is replaced. I did history in college (still doing history in college –trying to finish a PhD before it finishes me) and I studied Tudor Ireland, so that’s possibly why I like the series. And since Sansom is an historian turned lawyer, he keeps to the first rule – write about what you know.

    Mrs SkStu certainly likes her whodunnits bloody... she might like to dip into Susanna Gregory’s Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles. Nowt bloodier than a Cambridge doctor-cum-sleuth during the Black Death!

  3. Thanks From:


  4. #143
    Capped Player SkStu's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    13,932
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    3,354
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    4,782
    Thanked in
    2,612 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Eminence Grise View Post
    Thanks for that. I’ll look out for Gabbadon and let you know what I think.

    Don’t give up on Sansome’s Shardlake series. Dark Fire is much better than Dissolution. For one thing, Dissolution is a typical first novel - it lacks finesse and the character development is clumsy, and, for another, Shardlake’s annoying sidekick is replaced. I did history in college (still doing history in college –trying to finish a PhD before it finishes me) and I studied Tudor Ireland, so that’s possibly why I like the series. And since Sansom is an historian turned lawyer, he keeps to the first rule – write about what you know.

    Mrs SkStu certainly likes her whodunnits bloody... she might like to dip into Susanna Gregory’s Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles. Nowt bloodier than a Cambridge doctor-cum-sleuth during the Black Death!
    excellent! Thanks for the recommendation EG - its her birthday coming up soon so thats given me a good pointer. Sounds like her cup of tea alright.

    Regarding the Outlander series - its Diane Gabaldon (my mistake in my initial post)

  5. #144
    International Prospect osarusan's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    7,908
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,206
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,787
    Thanked in
    999 Posts
    A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

    About 200 pages in now - it's the best of his I've read since The World According to Garp.

  6. #145
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    May 2010
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    2,662
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,280
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,854
    Thanked in
    893 Posts
    To my shame, I've never read much Irving. Bad memories of trying to translate a lengthy passage from Garp into French as an undergrad. Made me appreciate just how complex and tight his prose is. One more to add to the list!

  7. #146
    Reborn thischarmingman's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    3,574
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    715
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    659
    Thanked in
    290 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Eminence Grise View Post
    Bit of a sucker for good historical fiction... Any suggestions, anyone?
    I think I have a massive (intellectual) crush on Hilary Mantel, I think she's utterly brilliant. You should give Wolf Hall or A Place of Greater Safety a go.

  8. Thanks From:


  9. #147
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Here. Or there.
    Posts
    2,776
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    57
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    158
    Thanked in
    115 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Eminence Grise View Post
    Bit of a sucker for good historical fiction, but I'm up to date with most of the writers I like (Bernard Cornwell, Susanna Gregory, Ellis Peters, Bernard Knight). Any suggestions, anyone?
    Yes. Robert Harris' Pompeii.
    Love this book. Easy storytelling style, but really well researched, with the fiction nicely intertwined with real events and characters. Go visit the place then after you read it, you'll recognise some of the real places from the story!
    Also, Imperium and Lustrum by the same author, brilliant books both. First two parts of a trilogy based around the career of Cicero, third one is still to come.
    Last edited by stann; 26/04/2011 at 7:14 AM.
    more bass

  10. #148
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    May 2010
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    2,662
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,280
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,854
    Thanked in
    893 Posts
    You've got impeccable taste, but I've read 'em all Stann! And Enigma, Archangel, and Fatherland. The Ghost, too. Wikipedia says he has a new one out this year - The Fear Index.

    Gonna need new bookshelves very soon.

  11. #149
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    May 2010
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    2,662
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,280
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,854
    Thanked in
    893 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by thischarmingman View Post
    I think I have a massive (intellectual) crush on Hilary Mantel, I think she's utterly brilliant. You should give Wolf Hall or A Place of Greater Safety a go.
    Just googled Wolf Hall. Will definitely give that a go. A Place... looks good too.

  12. #150
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Here. Or there.
    Posts
    2,776
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    57
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    158
    Thanked in
    115 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Eminence Grise View Post
    You've got impeccable taste, but I've read 'em all Stann! And Enigma, Archangel, and Fatherland. The Ghost, too. Wikipedia says he has a new one out this year - The Fear Index.

    Gonna need new bookshelves very soon.
    I fear anything I can suggest will draw a similar reply, your Eminence, but I'll try again. And ta!
    If you've not read any Salman Rushdie stuff, The Enchantress Of Florence is well worth getting hold of. Massively allegorical like all his works, full of all the magic realism malarkey, but for your historical fiction fix this one is set both in Renaissance Italy with the likes of the Medicis, Macciavelli and Amerigo Vespucci as characters, and in the Mughal empire of the same era. It's a brilliant read.
    Last edited by stann; 26/04/2011 at 12:20 PM.
    more bass

  13. Thanks From:


  14. #151
    International Prospect osarusan's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    7,908
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,206
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,787
    Thanked in
    999 Posts
    Historical fiction - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

  15. #152
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    May 2010
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    2,662
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,280
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,854
    Thanked in
    893 Posts
    That one got me thinking, Osarusan, and it prompted me to dip into John Banville's The Book of Evidence. I hadn't read it for quite a few years, but it's as brilliantly nuanced and blackly (or bleakly, perhaps) comic as anything he ever wrote. Might follow up with Capote for dessert...

  16. #153
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    May 2010
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    2,662
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,280
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,854
    Thanked in
    893 Posts
    Finished Mark Gatiss' The Vesuvius Club last night, the first in a series featuring the splendidly named Lucifer Box, society portraitist by day, spy and assassin by night. It's the book equivalent of a walking cane tipped in curare... An arch, risque, Flashman meets Raffles kind of book. If there's to be a film version, please let it be with his fellow League of Gentlemen conspirators!

  17. #154
    Capped Player SkStu's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    13,932
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    3,354
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    4,782
    Thanked in
    2,612 Posts
    Just finished getting up to date on the Game of Thrones series. Enjoyable stuff. Will be interesting to see what George RR Martin does after what happened at The Wall. Still enjoying Arya's and Tyrion's stories the best but wish Cersei would just **** off and die.

    Started "Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey--and Even Iraq--Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport". Absolutely brilliant so far. I love the conclusion that England are performing just as they should. Just finished reading about penalty strategy, so interesting.

    After that I have a few Jeffrey Archer books to catch up on...

  18. #155
    International Prospect osarusan's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    7,908
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,206
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,787
    Thanked in
    999 Posts
    Amongst Women by John McGahern

    Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

  19. #156
    First Team
    Joined
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Ballybofey
    Posts
    2,226
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    43
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    114
    Thanked in
    79 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by SkStu View Post
    Just finished getting up to date on the Game of Thrones series. Enjoyable stuff. Will be interesting to see what George RR Martin does after what happened at The Wall. Still enjoying Arya's and Tyrion's stories the best but wish Cersei would just **** off and die.
    Excellent books, yeah Tyrion & Arya my favorites too. Didn't like him at first but over the last tow book gained a growing respect for Jamie. Cersei it a proper b*tch but she is needed as the hate figure
    54 Crew-Finn Harps FC Supporters Club
    Following Harps Home & Away
    https://www.facebook.com/54CrewFHFC

  20. #157
    Coach BonnieShels's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Holm Span, Blackpool
    Posts
    12,026
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    2,397
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    2,635
    Thanked in
    1,813 Posts
    Reading Empire by Niall Ferguson. Very entertaining book. Like all of his stuff.
    Some major issues with his references to Northern Ireland in the 1700's but bar that it's good.
    His other book Civilization is next after this.

    Have read the Ascent of Money and it was an enthralling read.

    http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Demise-...4953566&sr=1-3
    DID YOU NOTICE A SIGN OUTSIDE MY HOUSE...?

  21. #158
    Reserves McNasara's Avatar
    Joined
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Serbia
    Posts
    280
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    26
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    34
    Thanked in
    22 Posts
    Anything from Alexandre Dumas (adventures), Ephraim Kishon (humorous), Charles Bukowski (underground), Ursula Le Guin (SF), Mario Puzo (crime)...

    The last good I read were George Orwell ("1984" and "Animal Farm") and Mikhail Bulgakov (The Master and Margarita), and now I'm reading "Hunger" by Knut Hamsun.
    Until The Last Rebel!

  22. #159
    Seasoned Pro
    Joined
    May 2010
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    2,662
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,280
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,854
    Thanked in
    893 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by thischarmingman View Post
    I think I have a massive (intellectual) crush on Hilary Mantel, I think she's utterly brilliant. You should give Wolf Hall or A Place of Greater Safety a go.
    Finally got round to Wolf Hall. Three hundred pages in and really enjoying it.

    Quote Originally Posted by McNasara View Post
    Anything from Alexandre Dumas (adventures), Ephraim Kishon (humorous), Charles Bukowski (underground), Ursula Le Guin (SF), Mario Puzo (crime)...

    The last good I read were George Orwell ("1984" and "Animal Farm") and Mikhail Bulgakov (The Master and Margarita), and now I'm reading "Hunger" by Knut Hamsun.
    Dumas is fantastic - good old fashioned swashbuckling at its best! Downloaded 1984 recently to re-read. So little time... Went through a short story phase recently - Maupassant, Borges, Hanif Kureishi, Bernard McLaverty, William Trevor, Alan Sillitoe.
    Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!
    - E Tattsyrup.

  23. #160
    Reserves McNasara's Avatar
    Joined
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Serbia
    Posts
    280
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    26
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    34
    Thanked in
    22 Posts
    https://www.goodreads.com/

    I would like to share an interesting website with you, something like imdb for movies.
    Until The Last Rebel!

Page 8 of 9 FirstFirst ... 6789 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Recommended Bob Dylan Albums
    By Wolfie in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 18/08/2008, 11:28 PM
  2. Recommended Films
    By gilberto_eire in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 664
    Last Post: 04/08/2008, 11:50 AM
  3. Foot.ie recommended
    By Thomo in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 40
    Last Post: 27/09/2007, 5:56 PM
  4. Recommended downloads?
    By sligoman in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 25/06/2007, 8:48 PM
  5. Recommended Golf Courses
    By PaulB in forum Other Sports
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 26/09/2006, 11:10 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •