The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright. It chronicles Al-Qaeda’s road to 9/11, it won the Pulitzer Prize apparently. I couldn’t put it down, a brilliant read.
Presently reading The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson. I've read quite a bit about Churchill and the war days, but very little about the family. Interesting read.
Last one out. When Hull invaded Wembley. An informative account of when Hull FC played Rervers in the Challenge Cup.
Ive just started it too, onto page 32 and you may be right about the comedian David Mitchell writing it.
Well, this turned out to be a bit spooky. I wanted a book to read on holiday, but I was running a little late getting to the gate at the airport, so I ran into Smiths and grabbed the first thing that caught my eye. A best-seller, about a band, set in 1960’s Soho, I thought it would probably be my cup of tea. What’s weird, is though it’s largely set in London, bits of it are set in Hull. The drummer’s from Hull, Albert Ave to be precise, there’s references to Hull Royal Infirmary, the Hull Daily Mail, even Boothferry Park. What’s the chances, eh?
Johnson at 10. I've only read the first few chapters but I'm already sat in the corner of a darkened room, rocking backwards and forwards, hammering six inch nails into my eyeballs and moaning "say it ain't so, Mummy, say it ain't so."
Just finished 'animal house' by James Brown. Great read about 80's music from a young fanzine writer's rapid rise to the top of NME by his mid 20's, brief mention of Hull's Swift Nick/tenfoot tiger. The pre internet end of the century story continues with his launch of loaded magazine in the 90's, a successful challenge to London centric publishing. James Brown is very northern, very engaging and quite self deprecating about his support for L**ds, he doesn't let this spoil his story, recommended for my generation who enjoyed the lad culture of this era.
I read it too. The Hull referances were a surprise and the author must have some connection to these parts? Even City got a mention. Didn't understand the mental health stuff and found the 'knock knock' stuff irritiating. But the rest of the book turned out to be a good read if you stick with the first few chapters. Bit heavy on the cliche's and name dropping but the author obviously had a deep knowledge of the music scene in the 60's and was probably a musician himself ? Went from Utophia Avenue to Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh without realising it was written in Glaswiegen. Hard work so far.
Just finished reading 'Melting in the Middle' by City fan Andy Howden....Great read...very impressive writing and a great storyline with plenty of laughs, football references (eg pearls of wisdom from an omnipresent John Motson) cutting dialogue and characters. Well worth a purchase. Published by Matador...ISBN 9781800460645
Trainspotting is more a slang Edinburgh accent U.P. I have difficulty understanding them,Fifers and Aberdonians at times! And yet it you go further up the West of Scotland(even as far up as Fort William,Inverness and the Islands) they speak much slower and more polite(almost upper class English). If the book had been written in Glaswegian you'd have tossed it in the bin after the first pageMy old man was from Kilmarnock and couldn't understand a word my Mrs said(really strong Glaswegian dialect and a temper to match),yet my Mam from Driff could. Overall,it's a bit like sitting my kids down to watch Kes
Currently reading The Chaos Machine by Max Fisher. Details the journey of how social media became so influential within our lives and how it impacted everything from politics to celebrity status. It also explains exactly how social media works. We think we know, but in reality, we’re miles off. And it serves to highlight the worrying trend in social media sites using algorithms powered by AI. I did laugh at the “Tay” bot Microsoft put onto Twitter. “Humans are so cool” it tweeted to one user. Within 24 hours, it tweeted “Hitler was right about the Jews” amid other racist, xenophobic and disturbing messages. In one day, the bot had been corrupted by the worst bits of social media because of the algorithms Twitter uses. About 2/3 of the way through it after starting a couple of days ago, but man alive, it’s brilliant.
I realised it was set in Edinburgh a part way into it. However the first couple of chapters were very hard work but once you get into it the book is exceptional. I actually re read the first couple of chapters again when i'd finished the book because I then understood the Edinburgh slang dialect. Currently reading The Attonement by Ian McEwan, which again was a difficult start, I know people who walked out of the film after the first twenty minutes and I can see why but if you stick with it the story unfolds beautifully. Another good one I read recently was the Ann Robinson autobiography 'Unfit mother'.
Glad you liked Trainspotting, one of my favourite books, big Irvine Welsh fan. If you are tempted to read any of the spin offs I'd recommend Glue over the prequel Skagboys and follow up Dead Men's Trousers, he uses a lot of the same characters and Glue expands on the Hibs football aspect with Renton etc doing cameo appearances, his second best novel I'd say. Marabou Stork Nightmares is also a good stand alone novel.
Ian McEwan can definitely be challenging! I've just picked up his latest, Lessons. I'm not expecting an easy ride!
Read the first five pages then put it down! I'll go back to it when I have more time and a clearer run.
It won't be Jack Hawkins, so which character are you from the League of Gentlemen film? The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
