Ah yeah, from Chapter 5 if I'm not mistaken. I know the book practically by heart now. I like getting my students to practice speaking like the goose ("It's my idio-idio-idiosyncrasy"). Bloody Shakespeare though. If he'd put more talking animals in his stories then he might have had a bit of success. Wasted talent.
No he is not thread banned...............Other people want to discuss books why cant you?. Please keep to the subject matter of the thread.Or if your not interested please do not post.
I used to read a lot of Wilber Smiths books although I seem to remember getting board with them. What about dear old Agatha Christy.........as a youngster I was enthralled by her writing..........how sad is that?
I have been busy with work throughout the last week so it was nice to return to this board and find a new thread about books. It is fascinating to read some of the comments here as I am an avid reader. These days, I suppose my interests tend to switch between fiction, history and archaeology, bird watching, jazz and airplanes. At the moment I have been reading anything I can get my hands on about biplanes including technical books about the Fairey Swordfish and the Hawker fury which my Grandad built in the 1930s. I have been intrigued by some of the comments about favourite authors. Like FLT, my interest in reading started with the Willard Price books which I devoured. I did buy a couple for my nephew but he was not interested even though he likes animals. Over the last thirty years my tastes have changed and I find I go through fads regarding writers and styles of books. This has included a multitude of styles ranging from medieval literature like Chaucer and Mallory, Classic writers like Dickens, Conrad and Orwell, French writers such as Zola, Balzac, Sartre and Proust as well as contemporary writers. I must admit that I hated Proust and wasn't enamoured with Sartre but I am glad I tried them. For me, the best French writer was Alain Herni-Fournier as I love the nostalgia "Le Grand Meulnes. " The books by St Exupery about flying are also fascinating. Erskine Childer's "The riddle of the sands" is one book I have often returned to. I am not prejudice against women writers either. I thought Karen Blixen was a great writer and found "Out of Africa" really thought-provoking. The comments on this thread about "Frankenstein" are spot on whereas some "classics" by the likes of HG Wells and Jules Verne I found to be really unconvincing. Mary Shelley was so much better. With regard to contemporary literature, I have to admit to being a bit of a snob. When I was a teenager I would read stuff by the likes of Alistair McLean and Wilbur Smith but I now avoid what I would consider to be "airport fiction." I read a Tom Clancy novel years ago and thought it was dreadful. Any pulp novels by American writers have no appeal for me whereas I find that more literary writers hold my attention more. I would include the likes of Iain McEwan, Sebastian Faulks and William Boyd in that category although the writer how has impressed my most in recent years has been Kate Atkinson. About 20 years ago McEwan was on a terrific run of form but I have not read the latest novels. I thought both "A god in ruins" and "Life after life" to be brilliant and love the sense of humour in her books. This year I was surprised to find out how good a writer James Herriot was too. Hannah Kent's "Burial Rites" from a few years back was another book which moved me - it was based upon a real event in Iceland early in the 1800s. I am not surprised to find crime and detective novels to be popular here. For ages I always held them in poor esteem but there are a couple of writers who have changed my opinion on this. The first was Reginald Hill whose "Dalziel & Pascoe" books are very well written even though they often date from the 1980s. "On Beulah Height" mixes crime with superstition and was a terrific read. At the moment the writer I am reading a lot if Phillip Kerr and I am really surprised that no one has mentioned his Bernie Gunther detective stories. Initially I was sceptical about the praise heaped upon these books which involve a detective working in Nazi-era Germany although they include flashes forward to post-war scenarios such as Eva Peron, communist East Germany and Castro's Cuba. The style of writing reminds me of Ian Fleming at his best although the feel of these books is very noirish. They are very easy to read but well researched. I was amazed how good these books are.
Were you aware that there is another book by Nevil Shute that was written in the 1930s which was about Southampton being devastated by air raids. I cannot remember the title of the book and have not read any of his work although I believe he spent most of his life in Hampshire.
**** me Ian, I do like reading your stuff, but I feel just read a couple of novels whenever I do read them. At least that was topical, dont want Beddy Thread Barring me...
Well Because it was a mod that started the thread and there was a lot of complaints because he stickied it. Ok Fair enough....so I have unstickied it............
I enjoyed Ready player one by Ernest Cline. I read it around 7 years ago and the pop culture references were right up my street being a nerd. A couple of years later I found out that Spielberg was making a movie from it and that really sang to my inner geek, as always the film differed to the book but it was a good watch too.
That’s one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, as is the follow up ‘Falling Towards England’. Proper “laugh out loud and draw attention to yourself on public transport” funny. Clive James had such a rare gift as a writer, that you could hear his mildly sarcastic but unfailingly good natured Aussie twang in your head when you read him.
I have just ordered it from my local bookshop Well . It is being re-printed so IF they can get hold of any . I will get one ...
