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Desperation by Stephen King and

 

Memories of my Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

 

Hippo to Help.

 

Not one of his better efforts but like most of his books it's readable - the ending isn't great though. It's interesting what he does with the same characters in 'The regulators'.

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Not one of his better efforts but like most of his books it's readable - the ending isn't great though. It's interesting what he does with the same characters in 'The regulators'.

 

I am looking forward to 'the regulators' but I havent finished Desperation yet. Its just so f**king long! I'm on page 600, and its getting harder and harder to read because I'm not really enjoying it.

 

If I am enjoying a book, I want it to last as long as possible, and then I get withdrawal after its over, but I dont think it will happen with this. I was hoping it would be a good ending to justify the effort, but apparently not.

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I am looking forward to 'the regulators' but I havent finished Desperation yet. Its just so f**king long! I'm on page 600, and its getting harder and harder to read because I'm not really enjoying it.

 

If I am enjoying a book, I want it to last as long as possible, and then I get withdrawal after its over, but I dont think it will happen with this. I was hoping it would be a good ending to justify the effort, but apparently not.

 

To be fair there aren't too many King books that have a decent ending. There's a book by Chuck Palahniak called 'haunted' that fits in well with 'Desperation' in that the characters are trapped in a theatre. It's a good read. In fact Palhuniak (sp?) is one of the scariest writers around at the moment and not scary in a blood and guts way. I read his books and on the one hand think how true they are and on the other think they're really ****ed up. I really like them but have to think whether i have the stomach to re-read them.

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I have had this book for 6 months and not read it yet. I must get round to it before a film is released!

 

if you've not read any McCarthy before which I hadn't you may find his style hard (no speech marks and very sparse language) but stick with it and its a haunting read, he has an almost poetic language in his descriptions of a post apocalyptic world.

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Was in Denmark recently and they had a deal on Stephen King books so I got Bag of Bones, which i've finished and I also got Skeleton Crew which I am currently reading. Although Skeleton Crew seems to be a mix of novellas instead of a whole story but i'm enjoying that too. The Mist is a cracker.

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'House of Sleep' very good, too

 

It is but very different to 'The rotters club' and 'What a carve up'.

 

Yesterday I used up the borders vouchers I got when I left my old job on 'The suspicions of Mr. Whicher' and 'The Damned United'. It was a close call but I've started 'The suspicions of Mr. Whicher' first.

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Now I'm about to start Silence, by Shusaku Endo.

 

Right, while I remember I'm going to have to recommend this last one to absolutely everybody. One of the best things I've ever read. It's about a Portuguese Catholic missionary in 17th century Japan, a time when Catholics were being systematically tortured and killed. Deals with massive themes like the possibility of faith, the possibility of truth and the pressure of humanity, but in such a quiet measured way. It's quite beautiful and will alter how you think. Apparently Scorcese is making a film of it; I can't wait!

 

After something that good I worry that the next thing I read will be a let down. So I've turned to Iris Murdoch, who's never disappointed yet. The Black Prince, which so far seems to be up with her finest (The Sea, The Sea; Under The Net; A Severed Head)

 

Can someone who's stumped up their fiver possibly start a What Films Are You Watching thread so I can have a rant on there too? I'd be much obliged...

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Dean Koontz - The Good Guy.

 

Never read any of his stuff before, but someone passed the book to me as a decent trash read. About 5 chapters in and so far his writing style is ****ing me off. Cant finger exactly what it is, maybe its the constant use of metaphor for everything, like you would expect from a school kid. I'll stick with it, but Im not expecting too much here.

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Mrs Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf. This book comes with a lot of baggage, as I hated Virginia Woolf at school and this was given to me as a Christmas present by my girlfriend, who then savagely dumped me on Boxing Day.

 

People keep telling me how great it is though, so here's hoping.

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Dean Koontz - The Good Guy.

 

Never read any of his stuff before, but someone passed the book to me as a decent trash read. About 5 chapters in and so far his writing style is ****ing me off. Cant finger exactly what it is, maybe its the constant use of metaphor for everything, like you would expect from a school kid. I'll stick with it, but Im not expecting too much here.

 

I gave up with some Koontz book a few years back for similar reasons. You can see why they get sold in job lots with other trashy authors in 3 for £5 polythene wrapping.

 

I am currently reading a book about the near collapse of the Roman Empire in the third century. It's called "The Roman Empire - from Severus to Constantine". I had no idea that so many Emperors were assassinated during that period.

 

I thought it would make a good setting for a new series of Bernard Cornwell-esqe books and then saw yesterday that someone had beaten me to it. A new hardback release in ASDA set in that time by some guy called Harry something.

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Dean Koontz - The Good Guy.

 

Never read any of his stuff before, but someone passed the book to me as a decent trash read. About 5 chapters in and so far his writing style is ****ing me off. Cant finger exactly what it is, maybe its the constant use of metaphor for everything, like you would expect from a school kid. I'll stick with it, but Im not expecting too much here.

 

Yes, I agree. I did finish a Dean Koontz book once - something about a kid who saw dead people (Tomas Odd or something) but it wasn't very good at all.

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Dean Koontz - The Good Guy.

 

Never read any of his stuff before, but someone passed the book to me as a decent trash read. About 5 chapters in and so far his writing style is ****ing me off. Cant finger exactly what it is, maybe its the constant use of metaphor for everything, like you would expect from a school kid. I'll stick with it, but Im not expecting too much here.

 

Yes, I agree. I did finish a Dean Koontz book once - something about a kid who saw dead people (Tomas Odd or something) but it wasn't very good at all.

 

I gave up with some Koontz book a few years back for similar reasons. You can see why they get sold in job lots with other trashy authors in 3 for £5 polythene wrapping.

 

Well, surprisingly it wasnt a bad book at all. I could easily read over the terrible metaphor and simile in the end as, apparently, each one required its own paragraph. Plot was OK, but wishy washy at the end but the chase part of the book (the main bulk) gripped you well enough for this kind of thing.

 

Oddly, I would recommend it to others if they needed to kill 4 hours or so!

 

Now reading: Stephen Leather - Cold Kill

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Now reading: Stephen Leather - Cold Kill

 

Now that was better! Never even heard of this guy before, but this was a great read. Simple and quick, decent plot (if a little hammy at times, but hey, this is a crime thriller, it aint going to be Shakespeare is it?) and well written.

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I'm reading Great Expectations, because I never have before. It's one of those books that gets referenced in other works all the time and it'd started to bug me that I was missing something. Have the same problem with a lot of Shakespeare; really should get round to watching more of his sh1t.

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Just finished 'The Fourth Crusade' and coincidentally, I am currently in Istanbul, which, for those who care, is as far as the Fourth Crusade to Jerusalem got. At the weekend, I will take in some of the sites and view some of the Palaces that are still standing.

 

On the way out here, I purchased 'Centurion' by Simon Scarrow, as it is based in and around Syria, I thought that would be relevant enough. The dialect makes the Centurions sound like they are from South London though, but it's ok.

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Just finished reading The Camal Club by David Baladacci and quite liked it.

 

Started reading A good Day to Die by Simon Kernick.

 

I read Dean Koontz The Good Guy and agree with everyone here at how his writing is like a school kids! I find the same applies to Chris Ryan and Andy McNab!

 

I would recommend the following books:

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

The Dice Man - Luke Rhinehart

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S Thompson

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