RonManager Posted 27 July, 2009 Share Posted 27 July, 2009 Has anyone read 'Whatever happened to the Corbetts? by Nevil Shute. It's about the bombing of Southampton during WW2. It was written in 1938!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crab Lungs Posted 28 August, 2009 Share Posted 28 August, 2009 OK Ron, did I read that correctly... it was basically a premonition by Nevil Shute!?!? Just finished 'Patient Zero' - frickin' awesome. Polished it off in 3 days (or evenings, rather.) I won't go into details, I'll let you all have the fun with that. I'm liking my post-apocolyptic novels atm, too... 'The One' by Conrad Williams (I think) is the next on my list.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Block 5 Posted 29 August, 2009 Share Posted 29 August, 2009 (edited) Finally started reading "The Dice Man" by Luke Rhinehart (George ****croft). It's one of those cult books that I should have read years ago but never got round to it. Has there ever been a film made of the book? Edited 29 August, 2009 by Block 5 Swear filter over-ride - but it didn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig Posted 29 August, 2009 Share Posted 29 August, 2009 'Notes from the Underground' by Dostoevsky. Best thing I've ever read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
equalizer Posted 2 September, 2009 Share Posted 2 September, 2009 Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell, he of Sharpe books fame! Because of this I was looking forward to reading it but I never finished it. It was so dull I'm surprised I managed to get over half way through it! A very poor effort from an author who has written some excellent books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCholulaKid Posted 2 September, 2009 Share Posted 2 September, 2009 In Search of England: Journeys into the English Past - Michael Wood Debunks all those myths and legends we hold so dear (in the nicest possible way). Fascinating reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Saint Posted 2 September, 2009 Share Posted 2 September, 2009 Lost in a Good Book ~ Number 2 in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, you get lost in the recesses of your mind reading Jaspers work; all a bit in the genre of Terry Pratchet. Also recently investigated the 1st of the Flashman series which was quite entertaining. Prior to that Three Men and a Float: 3 blokes and a Milk float travelling from Lowestoft ( the most easterly) to Lands End (the most westerly) amazing how generous people were along their route, a some "well I never know that about there" moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smirking_Saint Posted 2 September, 2009 Share Posted 2 September, 2009 This..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deppo Posted 10 September, 2009 Author Share Posted 10 September, 2009 Whizzer And Chips - Annual 1981 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stain Posted 11 September, 2009 Share Posted 11 September, 2009 Whizzer And Chips - Annual 1981 I once stole that from a hospital waiting room. One of only two things I've ever stolen. The other being a small book of lick-on tattoos from Top Toys on Winchester High Street (valued at 2p). The guilt and shame were to hot too bear and my life of crime ended that day. Bliss, by Peter Carey. Brilliant. His first novel and a rampant s h a g of imagination and storytelling. A joyful cry-wanq of secular redemption. Etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheaf Saint Posted 11 September, 2009 Share Posted 11 September, 2009 I'm currently reading 13 Things That Don't Make Sense by Michael Brooks. A very interesting and informative account of the scientific community's attempts, and subsequent failure, to understand certain things like dark matter, cold fusion, life itself etc... Very well written by the author who, despite having a PhD in quantum physics, is able to convey a lot of the more intricate aspects of the book in simple enough terms for most people to understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
equalizer Posted 11 September, 2009 Share Posted 11 September, 2009 I'm currently reading, Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby and I'm struggling to be honest. I'm a fan of his and can usually finish reading one of his novels inside two days, but this!!! It's like High Fidelity but without the good bits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedAndWhite91 Posted 11 September, 2009 Share Posted 11 September, 2009 I read Friends Like These by Danny Wallace on holiday, couldn't put it down. Proper funny and a good story too, based on a true story. 10/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedAndWhite91 Posted 11 September, 2009 Share Posted 11 September, 2009 Has anyone read 'Whatever happened to the Corbetts? by Nevil Shute. It's about the bombing of Southampton during WW2. It was written in 1938!!!!!!!!! How does that work?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norwaysaint Posted 11 September, 2009 Share Posted 11 September, 2009 Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. It's teaching me what a naive fool I've been. antioxidants - a myth, although possibly harmful taken as a supplement omega 3 fish oils - never proven to help anyone in any way whatsoever Brain gym - as pointless as it sounds Well at least I always knew homeopathy was a con and I've never heard of these scam artists Gillian McKeith and Patrick Holford but they sound disgraceful This bloke needs to be on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stain Posted 11 September, 2009 Share Posted 11 September, 2009 Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. It's teaching me what a naive fool I've been. antioxidants - a myth, although possibly harmful taken as a supplement omega 3 fish oils - never proven to help anyone in any way whatsoever Brain gym - as pointless as it sounds Well at least I always knew homeopathy was a con and I've never heard of these scam artists Gillian McKeith and Patrick Holford but they sound disgraceful This bloke needs to be on TV. He sometimes is. And he has a column in the Guardian (or is it the Indie?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff leopard Posted 11 September, 2009 Share Posted 11 September, 2009 'Notes from the Underground' by Dostoevsky. Best thing I've ever read. Awesome, i'll give it a go. I think Taxi Driver was origianlly pitched as a modern day american version of that very book. It crops up a lot in American Psycho, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LVSaint Posted 13 September, 2009 Share Posted 13 September, 2009 I read Friends Like These by Danny Wallace on holiday, couldn't put it down. Proper funny and a good story too, based on a true story. 10/10. Just getting through Yes Man which is good. I'll watch the film when I'm done with it. Might do the above after I'm done with World War Z up next. I need to read about zombies. :smt095 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecuk268 Posted 13 September, 2009 Share Posted 13 September, 2009 D-Day by Anthony Beevor. A balanced, detailed but highly readable account by a serious historian. It really shows how close the whole thing came to failure. Just tried Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco but found it very hard going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillyanne Posted 13 September, 2009 Share Posted 13 September, 2009 Andrew Marr's A History of Britain - it's really boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonManager Posted 13 September, 2009 Share Posted 13 September, 2009 (edited) QUOTE=RedAndWhite91;446463]How does that work?!?! What Happened to the Corbetts is a novel by Nevil Shute. Written in 1938, and published in April 1939 by William Heinemann Ltd, the novel concerns the effect of aerial bombing on the British city of Southampton - a major maritime centre - in the early part of World War II. The novel addresses the issues of the aftermath of bombing, such as the spread of disease from lack of clean water, and what may be done to relieve the distress of those affected by it. On the initial day of publication, a thousand copies of the novel were distributed free of charge to ARP members to inform them of what they may expect. Peter Corbett, a local lawyer, his wife, Joan, and their three children make the decision to move away from the war zone after their house, and Corbett's offices, are destroyed. They move aboard their small yacht, kept on the river Hamble, but quickly realise that escaping to ports further from Southampton is the only answer. However, because of the fears of cholera and other diseases, many ports are under quarantine. Whilst on the open water of the English Channel, the Corbetts go to the assistance of some downed British naval pilots. Their commanding officer suggests that the family should head for the French port of Brest - where Corbett may volunteer for war service and his family may board a liner for the safety of Canada. They take this advice and the novel closes. Edited 13 September, 2009 by RonManager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadeem Hardison Posted 13 September, 2009 Share Posted 13 September, 2009 He sometimes is. And he has a column in the Guardian (or is it the Indie?) That book is a collection of his Guardian articles, which can also be found here. He has been on Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe a couple of times before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miserableoldgit Posted 20 September, 2009 Share Posted 20 September, 2009 I`m currently reading "Selling Your Fathers Bones" by Brian Schofield. It`s a superb re-telling of the flight of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce from their tribal land into Canada. As well as telling the story, Schofield also follows the trail himself and alternates the history with a modern day narrative on the land that they fled through. Excellent reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miserableoldgit Posted 20 September, 2009 Share Posted 20 September, 2009 D-Day by Anthony Beevor. A balanced, detailed but highly readable account by a serious historian. It really shows how close the whole thing came to failure. Just tried Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco but found it very hard going. Thought that this was a very good read. Beevor knows his subject well .His "Berlin-the Downfall 1945" is worth a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonManager Posted 20 September, 2009 Share Posted 20 September, 2009 Thought that this was a very good read. Beevor knows his subject well .His "Berlin-the Downfall 1945" is worth a go. And Stalingrad too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seany S Posted 21 September, 2009 Share Posted 21 September, 2009 Just finished reading Ian Holloway's autobiography "Ollie" having picked it up for chump change in a charidee shop. Standard football autobiography fare, really. Doesn't reveal anything vaguely controversial, glosses over some of the more interesting issues (for example, he refuses to name the players in the incident in Austria where Paul Wotton was glassed in the face by Chris Zebroski) and all in all it was one of the least challenging, least entertaining books I think I have ever read. Next up decided to re-read "the Corner" by Ed Burns and David Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff leopard Posted 7 October, 2009 Share Posted 7 October, 2009 Franz Kafka - The Metamorphosis Probably the most critically acclaimed short story/novella ever written. Travelling salesman Gregor Samsa, hated by all his customers, and, despite his role as sole bread-winner, isolated from his parents and sister, wakes up one morning to discover he has been transformed into a huge insect. What at first seems to be a curse for his unsatisfying life-style slowly reveals itself to be wish-fulfilment on Gregor's part, who is now a parasite his family must care for. Kafka buries the true horror of what is happening within Gregor's matter-of-fact narration and the wealth of tiny everyday details which place the reader at the centre of the nightmare and illustrates the macabre that exists within the mundane, in a classic gothic stylee. As I'm more of a film fan than a great reader it made me think of Lynch's Eraserhead and Cronenburg's The Fly. Brilliantly gripping, heart-breaking and strangely life-affirming. Poor old Gregor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mao Cap Posted 7 October, 2009 Share Posted 7 October, 2009 "Blackshirt: Oswald Mosley and British Fascism", by Stephen Dorrill. Pretty good, rather a surprise how many powerful upper-class people were not just very conservative but openly pro-Hitler and anti-Semitic in the 20s and 30s. I also had no idea what a playa Mosley was, seriously he ****ged every bird going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponty Posted 7 October, 2009 Share Posted 7 October, 2009 Like father.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norwaysaint Posted 7 October, 2009 Share Posted 7 October, 2009 Like father.... Is your dad a bit of a nazi then, Ponty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponty Posted 7 October, 2009 Share Posted 7 October, 2009 Careful, you can't be saying that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manji Posted 7 October, 2009 Share Posted 7 October, 2009 "Blackshirt: Oswald Mosley and British Fascism", by Stephen Dorrill. Pretty good, rather a surprise how many powerful upper-class people were not just very conservative but openly pro-Hitler and anti-Semitic in the 20s and 30s. I also had no idea what a playa Mosley was, seriously he ****ged every bird going. Bizzare. I started reading that about a week ago. Its good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mao Cap Posted 8 October, 2009 Share Posted 8 October, 2009 Like grandfather, like grandson as well, from what the book says about O. Mosley's dad... Strange coincidence, I'm on a little British fascism kick at the moment so got a few books from the library. Next up is "This Rough Game: Fascism and anti-Fascism" by David Renton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stain Posted 8 October, 2009 Share Posted 8 October, 2009 I've been reading about whales. Leviathan, by local boy done good Philip Hoare. Not much about fascism in there. But despite a lot of grim stuff about how we've nearly killed the lot of them, it's quite eerily magical. Gives you quite a yearning for these enormous unworldy creatures of the briny deep. And it's made me want to read Moby **** again even though I hated it as a teenager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stain Posted 8 October, 2009 Share Posted 8 October, 2009 Moby **** It's a book about a whale, for penis's sake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warsash saint Posted 8 October, 2009 Share Posted 8 October, 2009 Just finished High Society by Ben Elton - novel about the legalisation of all drugs. Must admit despite Elton being a bit of a knob, his books are always a good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonManager Posted 8 October, 2009 Share Posted 8 October, 2009 It's a book about a whale, for penis's sake! lmao :smt100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettuce Posted 8 October, 2009 Share Posted 8 October, 2009 "Failure Is Not An Option" the memoirs of Gene Kranz- NASA flight director, most noted for his work during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. Pretty good read, if you are interested in space flight and aren't too bothered about the nitty-gritty technical details... although not as good as "Carrying The Fire" by Michael Collins - best book written by an astronaut IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stain Posted 15 October, 2009 Share Posted 15 October, 2009 Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis. Funny, very funny. Actual genuine lol funny. And I'm a grumpy bugger generally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manji Posted 15 October, 2009 Share Posted 15 October, 2009 "Failure Is Not An Option" the memoirs of Gene Kranz- NASA flight director, most noted for his work during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. Pretty good read, if you are interested in space flight and aren't too bothered about the nitty-gritty technical details... although not as good as "Carrying The Fire" by Michael Collins - best book written by an astronaut IMHO. Best book about space flight ever is The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig Posted 15 October, 2009 Share Posted 15 October, 2009 reading some sartre atm, pretty sick yo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgerx16 Posted 4 November, 2009 Share Posted 4 November, 2009 Unseen Academicals - a ( sort of ) footbal related Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecuk268 Posted 4 November, 2009 Share Posted 4 November, 2009 "Bad Science" by Dr. Ben Goldacre. Comprehensive de-bunking of the homoeopathy and funny-diet industries. He states that Dr Gillian McKeith bought her PHD from some obscure place in the USA. He also got one from the same place for his dead cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
equalizer Posted 4 November, 2009 Share Posted 4 November, 2009 Currently reading "Thanks for Nothing!" Jack Dee's autobiography and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorpe-le-Saint Posted 4 November, 2009 Share Posted 4 November, 2009 "Zugzwang" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff leopard Posted 10 November, 2009 Share Posted 10 November, 2009 Franz Kafka - The Trial After having my mind blown by The Metamorphosis, I'm going through a bit of a Kafka phase. The Trial is much dryer and didn't move me as much emotionally, but its still a haunting and disturbing portrait of the injustice of the state and the guilt of the individual. A bit of a slog but it contains several lifetimes worth of ideas to chew over. Tove Jansson - The Exploits of Moominpappa: Described by Himself & Moominland Midwinter A couple of weeks ago Winchester Uni had its graduation ceremonies and at the one I went to Terry Pratchett was given an honouree degree. In his speech (all of which was done off the cuff - incredible considering his Alzheimer's) he said that some of the greatest writing ever published was for children and that Tove Jansson is in his opinion the greatest ever children's writer. And he's spot on. The Moomin books are full of the joys of life as adorably cute little creatures have amazing adventures, but they also embrace the fact that life can be scary, lonely and ultimately a bit of a confusing anti-climax. And the role-model for the young moomins is a dope-addled anarchist loner. Come on Snufkin, fire up the pipe and phuq the system! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonManager Posted 10 November, 2009 Share Posted 10 November, 2009 (edited) Tove Jansson - The Exploits of Moominpappa: Described by Himself & Moominland Midwinter And the role-model for the young moomins is a dope-addled anarchist loner. Come on Snufkin, fire up the pipe and phuq the system! I grew up with the Moomin books (still got them) and Snufkin was my hero. My nomadic life since then I'm sure is in part down to him. Here is the 1957 1st edition, well beaten, but well read!! Edited 10 November, 2009 by RonManager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff leopard Posted 10 November, 2009 Share Posted 10 November, 2009 I grew up with the Moomin books (still got them) and Snufkin was my hero. My nomadic life since then I'm sure is in part down to him. Here is the 1957 1st edition, well beaten, but well read!! That is completely amazing. I forgot to mention just how great her illustrations are too. I remember loving the tv series when i was very very young, but that was obviously a much simpler and sanitised version. reading the books as an adult has been a real eye-opener. i don't think you could go wrong giving the books to children as a guide to life, my girlfriend's mum said that she based her style of parenting on moominmamma and did a pretty good job too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Landrew Posted 10 November, 2009 Share Posted 10 November, 2009 Just finished Ellen MacArthur's autobiography - Taking On The World. If ever there was a personification of drive, determination, bravery, mixed with timidity and sensitivity, it's her. I admired her sailing skill before, but f*** me, do I admire it now. Plus, anyone who can endure shinning up a 90ft mast, with a belt full of tools, and just a jumar for help, 3 times, in freezing southern ocean squalls has my deepest respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonManager Posted 10 November, 2009 Share Posted 10 November, 2009 That is completely amazing. I forgot to mention just how great her illustrations are too. I remember loving the tv series when i was very very young, but that was obviously a much simpler and sanitised version. reading the books as an adult has been a real eye-opener. i don't think you could go wrong giving the books to children as a guide to life, my girlfriend's mum said that she based her style of parenting on moominmamma and did a pretty good job too. The 1st ed. is A4 hardback and contains 3 stories - Moomin and the Brigands. Moomin and family life. Moomin on the Riviera. I don't know if these stories were ever put into the later paperbacks. My hero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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