I'm surprised that SkStu reads books. Heh.
What is everyone's favorite music related book?
Mine is probably Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall & Redemption of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.
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I'm surprised that SkStu reads books. Heh.
What is everyone's favorite music related book?
Mine is probably Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall & Redemption of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.
Just finished a cracker actually.
"Radical: My Journey out of Islamist Extremism" by Maajid Nawaz.
The title tells the story. Highly recommended. Some weaknesses (would've preferred more education on the motivation towards extremism in general as his story is so personal to him and his extremism was developed in a western culture)
I also liked the Brian Wilson bio, only complaint was that it's a bit too long. Or at least felt that way at times.
I always liked "Heavier than Heaven" about Kurt Cobain as I was a huge fan but Motley Crüe's "The Dirt" is a whole lot of fun.
Bumpity-bump.
Looking for suggestions for holiday reading, laze ‘n’ genlmen… Nothing too light, nothing too heavy. Non-fiction is a no-no (I read enough of that for work!). Got a month of rest coming up (the best reason to be an academic!) and on the shelves are a couple of Jo Nesbo’s, Kevin Barry’s first collection of short stories, Lucia Berlin’s collected short stories, Rob Doyle’s frantic, weird first collection 'This is the Ritual' (I’ve a thing for the short story alright) and since that's about a fortnight at most… over to you.
Finished Benjamin Black’s 'Prague Nights' last week. TBH, I’d rather he only wrote as John Banville. He just can’t do crime, although this one being set in 1599 had a bit more going for it that the Quirke books. Only 2 stars on this particular night.
I'm about halfway through Capital by John Lanchester at the moment and enjoying it, other than that recently I really liked Danish Dynamite by Rob Smyth et al. and the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch.
The White Tiger By Aravind Adiga
Like yourself i read a lot of non fiction and rarely anything else, but this was excellent. Really get an insight into India, and unfortunately all the corruption and poverty, and its a cracking story too!
IRON COFFINS for those who like non-fiction. Story of one of the few U-Boat commanders, Herbert Werner. who survived the War. Since I read nearly only WW2 stuff, this is one of the best of them. See the ratings on Amazon (none below 4 star) https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Coffins-.../dp/030681160X
Here's a couple which are light but serious, humorous, very well plotted and written.
David Benioff, City of Thieves, David's grandfather survived the siege of Leningrad and David based this book around his surreal escapades.
Boris Akunin and the Erast Fandorin mystery series.
Many thanks for the suggestions!
Hitman - good call with John Lanchester. Have you read The Debt to Pleasure, his first book? Very dark and blackly comic.
(Review by John Banville of the reisssue if you're interested)
Geysir - I've often flicked through Boris Akunin's books but not wanted to commit to a series (I tend to go hell for leather when I find a series I like, and it costs me a fortune!!!) Might have to bite the bullet though if they're that good.
Jerusalem - The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore. It's a place where a lot of stuff has happened. Most of it bad. If you;re not an atheist starting out, you will be by the end!
So, I finished my first Stephen King novel the other day. Misery. Ho-hum. Wouldn't rush out for a second one.
Two books on the go at the moment: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (ashamed to say I've had it on my shelves for ten years!) - 70 pages in and really enjoying it - and James Kelman's first collection of stories An Old Pub Near the Angel. Came out 44 years ago and still packs a punch. God, can he write!
I've liked quite a few of Stephen King's books, but didn't like Misery either, so maybe it was just that one didn't do it for you, Your Eminence.
If you're not put off by having seen the film versions, both Salem's Lot and The Shining might be worth a look.
The one I'd most recommend, though is The Stand. Not horror or thriller at all, but a huge great sprawling post-apocalyptic good-vs-evil yarn. Aspects of the story have been done much better elsewhere (The Road, even I Am Legend) but even for ambitious scale alone it's worth a read. Don't get me wrong, he's no Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but then he's no Dan Brown either! :D
Non-fiction-wise, I'm currently in the middle of England's Dreaming, Jon Savage's history of punk, which is fascinating and extremely detailed!
Also just finished Rip It Up And Start Again by Simon Reynolds, an excellent trawl through post-punk. Would hugely recommend both.
Thanks, Stann, that's more helpful than you know - I know somebody in the early stages of researching an MA with punk as a theme. I'll be sure to pass on those titles.
UK, maybe with an Irish comparison. Fairly mainstream afaik. It's a theme within a broader study.
Ah fair enough, I would have suggested a book title too if it were US.
What is it anyway, CTP? It might open up new ideas.