Meh, it's not a competition.
reading any old shit is better than not reading at all.

Books that I like that no-one else has mentioned:

If this is a man - Primo Levi
Shatterer of Worlds - Peter Goodchild (Oppenheimer's biography)

Books that, despite any number of pseud critics stranglewanking over them, are utter unreadable horseshit:

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
How Late it Was, How Late - James Kelman (despite winning the Booker Prize)

Anything else, knock yourself out. But if you insist on reading Harry Potter as a grown adult, absolutely fine, but do please buy the children's version. Some gothic-styled dragon and dark cover colours is unlikely to convice the rest of the train carriage you're actually reading Joyce, you stupendous twathammer.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:42, 27 replies)

*click*
If only for twathammer which I find amusing.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:44, closed)

Yes!
That hiding behind an grown up looking book cover thing annoys me more than anything that anyone may actually choose to read. Same for Terry Pratchett books. If you are going to read one, fine, but read the joyously coloured, detailed, silly covers, not those fucking matte black, single image, pretentious "I'm a grown up and I want to appear that way" ones.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:46, closed)

I'm reading the black covered series of city watch books at the moment
I prefer the cartoony covers but when amazon put the whole lot up as a bundle for under £20 vs the obscene amount that would normally cost. Well I'm not going to be too precious about that
(Sir Tainley Barking Ezekiel 23:20, Mon 9 Jan 2012, 1:58, closed)

Cock
I hate the 'joyously multi-coloured' covers, always have. The only thing they depict with any accuracy is the Luggage.
(Che Grimsdale Best before:, Mon 9 Jan 2012, 14:24, closed)

My mate liked American Psycho.
I love him dearly, but he's clearly a book idiot.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:46, closed)

no he's not.
american psycho is excellent.
( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:48, closed)

Difference of opinion
online

I'm going to cry and mash my fists on the keyboard now, I'M UPSET.

seriously though, it is arse gravy of the highest order.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:51, closed)

I love you dearly, but you are clearly a book idiot.

( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:00, closed)

it actually makes more sense
if you just read every other page. Just about.

As opposed to HLIWHL, which makes no sense at all. It took me about 18 months to finish it.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:49, closed)

What's wrong with American Psycho?
Other than the fact that the entire story is an absurd fantasy playing out in the main character's head?^*

It's all perfectly sane, if you compare it with Glamorama.

^*Spoiler alert, by the way.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:51, closed)

it's fucking unreadable.
that would be what's wrong with it.

But, meh, like I said. Personal opinion. I just found it to be a total emporer's new clothes thing when it came out.

it's not that much of a spoiler. if you're reading it and you think he really did fuck the neck of a tramp or shove an acid-covered drainpipe up a hooker's clunge just to introduce a starved rat into her, I reckon you should probably go back to The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:53, closed)

Incidentally, I've nothing particularly against Ellis
I quite liked Less than Zero.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 14:57, closed)

you just have to acclimatise to it.
american psycho, that is.
( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:07, closed)

nope, what I have to do is, having read it once
refuse to ever do so again. Writing deliberately badly as a plot point is neither big nor clever, it's just fucking annoying. Quite possibly, if you have more patience than me, there's a great book in there. Well, I guess there must be given those defending it on here.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 16:33, closed)

It's got girl-on-girl action, spluffing into disembodied heads, and nailing hookers to doors.
What's not to love?
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:09, closed)

it's fucking atrociously written in such a way as to make it very difficult to read certain parts.
it's obviously deliberate, and part of the whole ethos of the thing, but that sort of arse really fucking annoys me.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 16:31, closed)

I thought it skirted around the realms of plausible,
up to the point where he becomes involved with a running gun battle with the SWAT teams - then it becomes abundantly clear that his mind snapped, somewhere back at the beginning of the story.

I see it as a neat little satire of yuppie culture, buried inside a fairly purile story.

Like you say, each to their own.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:13, closed)

And what about those who actively prefer the gothic covers?
Does this mean I have to get my Edgar Allan Poe books illustrated by Quentin fucking Blake now or something?
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:05, closed)

he can already do ravens, so you'll probably be ok.

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:07, closed)

Quentin Blake is shit.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:08, closed)

no, fuck YOU.

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:09, closed)

You keep offering but I'm already taken.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:12, closed)

Bollocks. Jerusalem is great.

( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:18, closed)

That's by Matisyahu, you bellend.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 15:22, closed)

No, he taught The Karate Kid, you fuckwit.

( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 17:21, closed)

no, as they aren't pretending they are something they're not.

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 16:28, closed)

How Late it Was, How Late - James Kelman
complete fucking pish. I had never read such a pile of smelly rats infested bollocks before in my life and hope I never will again.
( sutit only the crumbliest, flakiest posts, Fri 6 Jan 2012, 19:27, closed)