Just finished reading a couple of Val McDermid psychological thrillers and I'm in the mood for something different? Any recommendations?
Any Good Reads?
- Thread starter The Raging Oxter
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The best book I've read so far this year Easy Money by Jens Lapidus,it's part of a trilogy but the other two have not been translated to english yet although 2nd one due very soon.
If you fancy some non-fiction, I'm reading this at the moment:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bounce-Talent-Power-Practice-ebook/dp/B003P2WJ18/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380271218&sr=1-1&keywords=bounce+the+myth+of+talent+and+the+power+of+practice
The main argument is that, for complex tasks, there's no such thing as natural talent. No one is naturally predisposed to excel in a particular field. He looks at the upbringing of supposed natural geniuses like Mozart and Tiger Woods and shows that they were schooled intensively from a very young age.
The author was a table tennis champion before turning to journalism, and the book focuses mainly on sport. He goes into all aspects of performance including sports psychology, the effects of religious belief and what happens when you choke - as he did himself when competing at the Olympics.
It's only 3 quid on Kindle.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bounce-Talent-Power-Practice-ebook/dp/B003P2WJ18/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380271218&sr=1-1&keywords=bounce+the+myth+of+talent+and+the+power+of+practice
The main argument is that, for complex tasks, there's no such thing as natural talent. No one is naturally predisposed to excel in a particular field. He looks at the upbringing of supposed natural geniuses like Mozart and Tiger Woods and shows that they were schooled intensively from a very young age.
The author was a table tennis champion before turning to journalism, and the book focuses mainly on sport. He goes into all aspects of performance including sports psychology, the effects of religious belief and what happens when you choke - as he did himself when competing at the Olympics.
It's only 3 quid on Kindle.
Have you read any Murukami ST? Worth a look I'dd say. Norwegian Wood if you want something fairly straight forward, Wild Sheep Chase or Kafka on the shore for something more esoteric and Wind up Bird chronicle or IQ1984 if you want an epic.
Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn trilogy. I read a lot and most of it is fantasy but this surpasses anything I have read in years. Made some friends read it too and they loved it. Starts a little slow but that's because you're being introduced to a new world. It's not your typical fantasy magical ring, sword journey. The reveal at the very end of book 3 made me literally gasp. Cannot recommend it highly enough. His other stuff is good but not as good; I really liked Elantris.
I really enjoyed Dominion by C J Sansom. I had previously read all of his Shardlake series but this is set in 1950's Britain after the Nazi's won WW2. Not an original theme but done with a twist in that it's set against the backdrop of the London smog of 1952. Thoroughly recommend it.
This isn't actually the case. The reason I buy hard copy books is to keep small businesses in business and keep people employed in jobs.
I like the thought of buying proper books like I used to, but when I'm running out the door to get the bus in the morning, grabbing a paperback instead of my Kindle is very rarely the more attractive option.
Also you may have a point about keeping small independents in business, but I think the growing self-publishing trend on the likes of Kindle will eventually transform the industry, cutting out the middleman and allowing a lot more writers a chance to publish directly (and keep more of the profits without the overheads of printing and publisher cuts).
The only problem (which is growing at the minute) is in order to get to the quality stuff you have to wade through a mass of ****ey human interest stories (I was raped by my father, I ran away as a teenager into a world of prostitution etc etc - look at the state of the Amazon non-fiction homepage already http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nonfiction-..._rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=424514087&pf_rd_i=341689031)
I'm pure fiction. Literally.
The Dark Tower series (7 books, beginning with The Gunslinger), by Stephen King.
Anything by Neil Gaiman, though specifically Neverwhere, American Gods and Anansi Boys.
The First Law Trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie.
The Dark Tower series (7 books, beginning with The Gunslinger), by Stephen King.
Anything by Neil Gaiman, though specifically Neverwhere, American Gods and Anansi Boys.
The First Law Trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie.
This is the funniest thing I've read all year.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delete-This-at-Your-Peril/dp/1841589195/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386838195&sr=1-1&keywords=bob+servant
While it's been done before (guy strings along internet scammers), the increasingly outlandish excuses he dreams up for not sending his details while keeping them interested had me in tears. The only minus point is that it's pretty short - you can probably finish it in under 3 hours.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delete-This-at-Your-Peril/dp/1841589195/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386838195&sr=1-1&keywords=bob+servant
While it's been done before (guy strings along internet scammers), the increasingly outlandish excuses he dreams up for not sending his details while keeping them interested had me in tears. The only minus point is that it's pretty short - you can probably finish it in under 3 hours.
Finished Child of God, great stuff and being done as a film which is out next month.
Now reading As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner which coincidentally has just been released as a film.
Now reading As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner which coincidentally has just been released as a film.