What Book Are You Reading Now?

Rudi

This is a great book to give anyone who is interested in words. A series of essays on particular words and where they come from, how they resonate etc. Words like friendship, loneliness, frustration, terror, elation. All the good stuff, basically.

CBIT

Under-the-ground "A man who let who let his own insides get eaten out by the diseases of fame had dreamed new books on this boat. He'd taught his sons to reel in something that feels like Moby Dick on this boat. He'd accidentally shot himself in both legs on this boat. He'd fallen drunk from the flying bridge on this boat. He'd written achy, generous, uplifting, poetic letters on this boat. He'd propositioned women on this boat. He'd hunted German subs on this boat. He'd saved guests and family members from shark attack on this boat. He'd acted like a bully on this boat. She'd been intimately his, and he hers, for twenty-seven years - his final twenty-seven years. She'd lasted through three wives, the Nobel Prize, and all his ruin. He'd owned her, fished her, worked her and rode her. She wasn't a figment or a dream or a literary theory or somebody's psychosexual interpretation - she was actual."

fuzzy

Rudi Great book that.

Anchor

I finished this last night and was feeling a bit meh about it. It was ok but just....

Then I woke up this morning and could not stop thinking about it. Evaluated it all again and decided all of the characters were cunts. Except one, who I decided i did like and he was purportedly the biggest cunt of them all.

So I enjoyed it.

Flaneur

You'd LOVE Succession then!

MolOverBeethoven

Terrifically entertaining this and the protagonist is a right rascal. Second of two books but works as a standalone, starting into the first one now.

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/61884995

MolOverBeethoven

Turns out I'd already read the first one, called Gatekeeper, but I read it again and it was as entertaining again.

Just finished this. A first novel and a delicious peek into the underbelly of LA with a cracking soundtrack. You'll have to read it to see how that makes sense.

https://independentbookreview.com/2023/08/21/book-review-the-loneliest-places/#:~:text=The%20Loneliest%20Places%20is%20a,surprisingly%20tenacious%20and%20insightful%20investigator.

Anchor

Enjoyed far more than I thought I was going to.

Paul Ewen. Does a podcast called London Pub Reviews. Very funny
He wrote a short story for Squids last album. I've mentioned him.

Anyway. This follows the London pub review pattern. But with booker prize winning authors and books. At one point I was thinking of making it a big book but it sprang into life and a bitter sweet narrative came through.

Very very funny and ireverent - well worth a read.

Kevin_Stapleton

Anchor I'd recommend Even The Dogs and Reservoir 13.

Kevin_Stapleton

I hadn't heard of this book before I picked it up in the Amnesty bookshop for £2 - a cracking little read.

Flaneur

Kevin_Stapleton Some team them two.

Jon

Lol

To Read Pile

Kevin_Stapleton

Flaneur "The Romford Mafia". Some of the characters and the carryings-on are described brilliantly. I'd forgotten how massive snooker was in 85-86-87, and I'd forgotten all about Joe Johnson.

otis

The partner. Grisham

Anchor

To complete the border trilogy.

fuzzy

Finished the book based on interviews with WW1 veterans. Wanted to post this page to honour the words of this lad called Cecil Withers (1898 to 2005). I'm going to keep it on my phone and post it in response the next time I see people I know talking shite about Brexit and how we beat the Germans twice blah blah blah. I know a few like that. War fetish without having ever served. This bit:

There were plenty of funny bits too. A lad called Fred Lloyd saying "I smoked from the time I was 16 until I was 104. That's when I gave up". A neighbour of his in his late 80s wanted to start smoking so he gave him his baccy and pipe etc and said his neighbour is enjoying it now.

Bod

fuzzy Max Arthur has written quite a few other books like this and going into ww2, great reviews

Under-the-ground

Just finished goddess the secret lives of Marilyn monroe. Anthony summers.

Very very good. I really enjoyed it. This could take you down a myriad of rabbit holes. Kennedys, mafia, Sinatra, Peter lawford. She was deffo knocked off I reckon. Great book

Under-the-ground

Just finished echoes will sergeants 2nd book.

It’s as good as the first. I like his style of writing & he is a sarcastic funny bastard . What a band. I just noticed in the back of the book no reference to McCulloch?

It’s a real shame they aren’t close to make the music that they can. Pure magic

Jon

Under-the-ground I’m working through my to read pile but I’ve just finished his first one and really want to buy Echos. There’s a new book shop in town and I want to support them so I’ll probably crack and get them to order it. Our town is about 15,000 people. I don’t think we’ve ever had a book shop so, you know…
My biggest take away from the first book is something I’ve thought about before; the talent that’s just laying around is astounding. Not just Will and Mac sort of finding each other through Simpson (another great talent, someone who was at the same school as Will) but Pattinson just randomly declaring he will play bass, never having played before. I mean he’s not just a good bass player is he? He’s astounding. Then De Freitas joins because someone knows someone who knows a kid who plays drums and it works spectacularly. Show me a better rhythm section from that era.

As for Mac. He’s an oddball. My mate roadied for them and did the Bluer skies fanzine. He reckons Mac set himself apart but the rest of them, including Jake were a great laugh and had a lot of fun.

They were a brilliant band and I wish I’d seen them more.

Young_Marxist_at_Tescos

This absolute house brick

Harvest

Young_Marxist_at_Tescos I read that last year. Good book but goes off on some right tangents. I like the way the stories all interweave and come together.

Young_Marxist_at_Tescos

Young_Marxist_at_Tescos Just finished this. And it nearly finished me

Under-the-ground

Jon i agree with all those comments on the bunnymen. Les Patterson playing bass from the bottom up, rather than the top. Gave that circular motion to them. It hurts my head.

Them & joy division / new order drum & bass imho. Then the Mondays later on. The smiths weren’t bad either. But I think the bunnymen could go anywhere they wanted & had adventure about them. What gives them their mystery.

Under-the-ground

Jon just been thinking about this over the weekend & your comments on their talent. From this second book they seem as if they had no idea.

They genuinely seemed surprised when the world opened up & were fawned over by arty types worldwide. Mad, shit kickers one minute pissing about then changing the world with their music.

New order & joy division fall in the same category for me anyhow.

That meet me in the bathroom film they have a bit with Interpol & they are all excited about going to Liverpool & Manchester, like I would be about going to New York. I love all these links

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