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(I helped save b3ta! rob, Sun 1 Apr 2001, 1:00)
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Book thread.
Come on you literary bores, tell us what you're reading at the moment.

I'm reading The Long Song by Andrea Levy as a change from the Sci fi and weird shit I usually go for. I like historical fiction and this, while interesting in learning more about slavery, isn't really grabbing me that much.

After this it's Room by Emma Donoghue.
(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:19, 189 replies, latest was 15 years ago)
I'm reading 'Threadstomping Bitch' by Biggie Blouz.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:20, Reply)
See below you old gimmer.

(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:21, Reply)
Why would she do that? What the hell is wrong with her? I don't understand, how could one supposed human do that to another animal, let alone another human.
BGB is offically the worst human being between Katie [Sirname] and Tony Blair.
(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:24, Reply)
She's kind of like the internet version of NICK CLEGG AND HIS CRONIES.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:26, Reply)
I'm lovely : (

(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:27, Reply)
I'm with you Blousie.

(I helped save b3ta! JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:28, Reply)
Tell that to the students you've let down, Cleggsy.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:29, Reply)
*lobs fire extinguisher*

(Zoz prayed for twink on, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:44, Reply)
I got nine books for Christmas so I am wading through them.
Current: 'Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World' by Justin Marozzi. It's well written and informative.
Next up: 'Kubilah Khan' by John Man - author of a superlative Genghis Khan biography so v much looking forward to that.
Last: 'The Afghan Campaign' by Stephen Pressfield, about Alexander the Great. It was a solid 7/10 but not a patch on his 'Gates of Fire' about Thermopylae.
(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:23, Reply)
Not David Bowie's biography then?

(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:25, Reply)
Have you read that book "Boys, Shoes and frilly knickers" ? I think you would like that.

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:25, Reply)
It's about a writer who can't think up a good story so has to work in starbucks where every day a very rude but handsome man orders the same thing.
One day he forgets his credit card at home, so she says they can pay the next day. After that a whurlwind romance comes about that involves a trip to paris where she falls over on a catwalk.
(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:26, Reply)
Her boss is a real bitch, but it's OK because she falls over and ends up in a fowntain.

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:27, Reply)
She saves up all month long to buy a new dress from [french boutique], but it turns out that her collegue got the same dress and wore it to the same event.
She was mortifide so tried to modify it by ripping off the sleeves and ends up having to wear the waiter's uniform and serve all guests. One of the guests was the guy from the coffee shop and he recongises her but doesn't say anything.
(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:30, Reply)
Katy Parry is involved somehow. I don't understand how. And the horse one from Sex in the City.

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:31, Reply)
There is a soundtrack to the book too.

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:33, Reply)
£4.99 at ASDA

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:33, Reply)
Man I am so buying that.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:35, Reply)
Gimmi 4-6 weeks to write it.

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:52, Reply)
Read it? It's my autobiogrpahy.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:27, Reply)
I'm glad you said that.
I just ordered 'Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection'.
(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:12, Reply)
BTW.
Have you read 'The Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan'? Sounds more interesting than most other books on leadership.
(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:17, Reply)
We have a book swap club thing in work
so I did a random dip and came out with Time's Eye by Arthur C Clarke and Stephen Baxter. A bit odd as just starting it, but quite readable on the metro to and from work
(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:24, Reply)
Lucky you didn't get
'Sri Lankan child rent-boy's japs-eye' by Arthur C Clarke.
(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:28, Reply)
That is next on the list

(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:30, Reply)
currently it's Undead and Unfinished by Mary-Janice Davidson, about the queen of vampires, her husband, her sister [the anti-christ], her love of shoes
it's wonderful and hilarious and I have the whole collection [this is number 9]

Next it will be Simply Forbidden by Kate Pearce, which comes out tomorrow *girly squeals*
(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:26, Reply)
Have you read the Aisling Gray books by Katie MacAlister?
sounds very similar.
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:44, Reply)
no, I think I've heard of them though
does she sleep with a load of different people?
(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:53, Reply)
Not really
lots of steamy supernatural sex but mostly with the leader of the green dragons, and a fair amount of snarky humour.
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:59, Reply)
definitely not what I was thinking of, but I'm sure I've heard of it through passing...perhaps whilst drunk
will check it out
if I remember
(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:00, Reply)
i read "room" on holiday over christmas
it's very un-put-downable.
(I helped save b3ta! rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:27, Reply)
Ooo! jolly good.
Early nights in bed then.
(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:28, Reply)
You already go to bed early.

(I helped save b3ta! JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:31, Reply)
I go to bed early to read.

(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:35, Reply)
How long do you read for most nights?

(I helped save b3ta! JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:36, Reply)
That's not English, Jeff.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:37, Reply)
Sorry.

(I helped save b3ta! JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:42, Reply)
About an hour, till 11pm and then lights out.
Unless the book is very good and then I might stretch to 11.30.
(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:39, Reply)
I feel old now.

(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:01, Reply)
Why?

(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:02, Reply)
I go to bed by 10:15 at the latest
sometimes as early as 9:30
it better be a special fucking occasion if I'm awake until 11
(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:05, Reply)
haha!
I thought I was crap but I do have to get up at 6.30am.
(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:11, Reply)
my alarm goes off around 6:15
I stumble out of bed and hit off, turn on the second alarm which goes off around 6:35, I keep getting up and hitting snooze until around 7:25
It's pathetic, really
(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:21, Reply)
I am waiting and waiting and waiting for The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
It's the final in a series of six and it's been years. I thought she was going to pop her clogs before it was finished.
www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/28/jean-auel-earths-children
(I helped save b3ta! Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:28, Reply)
Are they the ones where the protagonist single-handedly invents civilisation?
Invents cooking, the wheel, agriculture, domesticates the horse and the dog and the cat, and still has time to spend the majority of each book having hot sex with hairy cavemen?
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:46, Reply)
Yup, that's the one.
It's like Catherine Cookson and Jilly Cooper for Cro-Magnon people.
(I helped save b3ta! Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:53, Reply)
my mum had the first few when I stll lived at home
and I read practically EVERYTHING In that house, including several of the "Chalet School" books of my sister. Grim times when the library was shut on a Sunday.
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:04, Reply)
I love following Ayla's travels.
I care not for the inaccuracies and the increasing sexual drama elements.
When I was little I even read all my mum's Catherine Cooksons. I just couldn't be without a book at the time (I'm not much of a reader any more) and I also read really fast.
(I helped save b3ta! Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:09, Reply)
I once went to the library in the morning, took out 5 books
read them, and took them back in the afternoon and got 5 more. It was perhaps a little excessive.
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:31, Reply)
The first one was amazing
by the fifth one, you could skip 3 pages in every 10 because it was either the same repeated drivel about how wonderful she is or ridiculous descriptions of the amazing and girthy sex she's getting. There's supposed to be a sixth one in the works but frankly I'm not sure I'd bother - that is, if the excitement of writing all that sexual guff doesn't give Jean Auel a coronary mid-book.

EDIT - If I'd actually read properly what you'd written, Roota, I would see that there is indeed a sixth book out soon. *belms* I'm still not sure I'll bother though.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:51, Reply)
Til Friday, it'll be
Lewin's Genes X by Krebs, Goldstein and Kilpatrick
and Understanding Immunology by Peter Wood.
And then it'll be back to Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch and the Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson that I got for Christmas.
(Applebite Uh! A cow!, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:29, Reply)
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Homicide by David Simon
and trying AGAIN to read Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
(I helped save b3ta! The Teviot Moose major 5th., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:30, Reply)
I'm going to start reading 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'

(I helped save b3ta! JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:31, Reply)

Henrietta Lacks Shep
(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:34, Reply)
Get down!

(I helped save b3ta! JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:35, Reply)
*jives*
*gets down*
(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:36, Reply)
Get up!

(I helped save b3ta! The Teviot Moose major 5th., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:37, Reply)
*gets back up again*
not like a sex machine
(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:49, Reply)
come by!

(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:54, Reply)
I've not read anything new in a few months
The last new book I read was 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult. Very good book, really enjoyed it, even if it was fucking depressing.

The book I read most recently was 'Foley Is Good' by Mick Foley. It talks about his mindset as he was retiring from wrestling, very enjoyable read.
(I helped save b3ta! Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:31, Reply)
I'm reading 'I forgot to put my penis away after urinating' by Terry Pratchett.
It's AWESOME. In it, the character of death (I know!!! Death as a CHARACTER!!111!!) goes to claim his latest victim but the victim puts him off by writing books that are so toe-curlingly embarrassing, and by wearing such fucking gay hats, that death cannot face ever dealing with the cunt so he just arranges for Pestilence (how apt) to give him CRIPPLING (diagnosed) ALZHEIMERS.
(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:33, Reply)
OK, so you don't like Pratchett....
So what *are* you reading?

Edit : of course I could be less of a mong and actually read the rest of the thread.
(I helped save b3ta! The Teviot Moose major 5th., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:34, Reply)
*sarcasmometer explodes*

(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:34, Reply)
Wasn't that by Mervyn Peake?

(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:55, Reply)
haha!

(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:00, Reply)
Monty, a couple of months ago
you recommended a book, or possibly a series of books to me. I can't remember anything other than that it was historical fiction (I think). Have you any idea what it might have been?
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:59, Reply)
They are the Shardlake novels by CJ Sansom.
They are wonderfully well-written and researched.

If you'd have been awake and I'd not been blind drunk I could have given you the lot on Saturday.
(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:04, Reply)
Aha, yes that's him
It's very kind of you to offer but I am even worse at returning books than I am at staying awake at parties...(again, sorry)
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:12, Reply)
i'm awaiting the delivery of The Amber Spyglass
as I realised this weekend that I've read the first two but not bothered to read the third.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:33, Reply)
It's good.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:33, Reply)
Thoroughly overrated.

(I helped save b3ta! Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:35, Reply)
This.
Potter was entertainingly simple, Pullman just tries too hard to be a "modern" CS Lewis, and on the whole fails.
(I helped save b3ta! The Teviot Moose major 5th., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:36, Reply)
You are, yes, but what am I?

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:36, Reply)
Mildly retarded?

(I helped save b3ta! Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:39, Reply)
I know you are, I said you are but what am I?

(PsychoChomp, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:48, Reply)
Fuck off
that trilogy kicks seven bells out of a lot of books I've read, and I have read a lot of books.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:41, Reply)
Is 'See Spot Run'
Still your favourite?
(I helped save b3ta! JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:49, Reply)
No, and I don't want to borrow your copy either
I reckon it'd be all sticky.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:57, Reply)
I've got the wipe-clean edition.

(I helped save b3ta! JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:00, Reply)
Even so.
I wouldn't want to deprive you, and I don't normally read things that would require me to wear latex gloves to turn the pages.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:04, Reply)
You are, once again, irretrievably wrong.
Sorry chap.
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:46, Reply)
I actually just finished a non-SF book
"The Seven Days of Peter Crumb", by Jonny Glynn. Really good look inside the head of a proper mental.

I'm now reading "The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi, which is post-oil, post-climate-change SF where GM food companies are the big players with monopolies on foods resistant to pests and diseases they cooked up to kill off their competitors foods. Very interesting.
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:34, Reply)
I have just read that.
I enjoyed it a surprising amount, given that there is not a single character in it who is even remotely likeable.
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:47, Reply)
which one?
Preumably the former, since so far at least the eponymous windup girl is fairly likeable.
The mumbling to himself, soiling himself and killing people did remind me of /OT a bit.
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:56, Reply)
Nope, the windup.
I shall refrain from spoilering things though.
(wellgroomedwookiee is a filthy-minded hobgoblin, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:59, Reply)
I feel like that girl Precious in that movie Precious: A film based on the novel Precious by Precious.

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:34, Reply)
what, 20 stone and raped a lot?

(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:40, Reply)
challenged by Mariah Carey?

(Zoz prayed for twink on, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:50, Reply)
Anna Karenina
good so far and it has short chapters which is usually a crucial determining factor in whether or not I finish a book.

next up: Surface Detail by Iain M Banks or Arrival and Departure by Arthur Koestler.
(Zoz prayed for twink on, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:37, Reply)
You will become increasingly frustrated at just how rubbish
the main male character (Ablonsky?) is at making any form of decision. But still a great novel.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:43, Reply)
I thought as much
he's come across as a bit of a nob thus far.
(Zoz prayed for twink on, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:48, Reply)
I don't read many books
Instead tonight I'll be starting Alan Wake, which is a game about an author investigating the disappearance of his wife, all while characters and events from his own novel seem to come to life.
(I helped save b3ta! Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:37, Reply)
I started playing that a few months ago
Didn't really like it, I stopped quite quickly. I know people who loved it though.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:49, Reply)
I have it on Lovefilm
So if it's shit I'll just send it back.
(I helped save b3ta! Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:50, Reply)
I just wasn't keen on the way the controls were set up, I found it too confusing.
Then again, I'm exceptionally bad for that.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:54, Reply)
You should definitely 'tweet' this information.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:08, Reply)
But I'm busy saving /links from doing a very bad thing
because of something I just saw on Twitter.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:20, Reply)
Don't believe everything you read on Twitter
or actually anything you read on twitter, that's going to have no effect.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:32, Reply)
But I noticed they were posting links to the actual Daily Mail website rather than using the proxy.
I've just cost the Mail money, I'm practically a hero.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:33, Reply)
No you just saved the mail money if anything
you'll do more good by going to the mails site and not clicking the adverts.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:35, Reply)
Just finished "Scat" by Carl Hiassen
Dipping in and out of "how soccer explains the world: an unlikely theory of globalisation" .. which is pretty good except it's written by an American so uses the word "soccer" ... and he also has the problem that some over-zealous Jews do of occasionally seeing anti-semitism where none is actually present.
(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:40, Reply)
For Hiassen A+
For "how soccer explain...." it's a bit of a mixed bag in my opinion. Sometimes stretches things to the point of insanity.
(I helped save b3ta! The Teviot Moose major 5th., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:41, Reply)
yeah, that was my kind of take, but there is some good stuff eg Old Firm
and talking about african players in eastern europe. And his summary of Italian football and politics is a slightly different stance than, say, Tobias Jones, but probably just as valid.
(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:44, Reply)
It was my intention
to make a list of 'classics which I should have read and havent' and borrow them all from the library, reading one a week.
Thus far I have borrowed 6 books which I have failed utterly to read and now owe about £7 in fines.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:43, Reply)
I've done a similar thing
but on my phone because the books are out of copywite they're often free.
I now have 22 classics I haven't read in my pocket at all times, I tend to play Tetris instead of reading them.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:47, Reply)
It's bad enough trying to browse b3ta on my phone
I would really, really struggle to read a whole book using it.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:50, Reply)
It's not perfect on mine but it's fine for train journeys and things.
It's actually quite nice in bed as well because it's backlit I don't need any other lights on.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:53, Reply)
I signed up to my local libary about 2 years ago and got out a couple of books, I still have them.
About a year ago I decided not to return them 'cus I really can't afford a grand or whatever it is now.
(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:47, Reply)
Just go in and say you found them when you moved into a new house.

(PsychoChomp, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:49, Reply)
Won't they still charge me like ten grand or whatever?
Is there a limit to how high it can go? 'cus I'm pretty sure if there is, I've hit it.
(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:51, Reply)
well, see the problem is, you already owe that.
Whether you give them back or not doesn't change that. And not giving them back is, well, theft.

Usually you just say you "forgot".

The limit, incidentally, is the value of the book. So probably about a tenner each unless they are textbooks or rare or obscure.
(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:54, Reply)
Oh god, I don't even like Dickings, I don't know why I would think taking home a first edition autographed version would be a good idea, I can't even relate to WW2 stuff, let alone victorian.

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:56, Reply)
Oh win, the back of the book says it is 4 shillings, that's a turn up for the books.

(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:00, Reply)
just return them
in my experience they'll be reasonable and cut the fine down to some suitable amount.
(Zoz prayed for twink on, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:57, Reply)
This, too.

(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:07, Reply)
Haha!
Try The Book People. They do sets of books quite cheaply and there's no lower limit on how many books you need to buy like the other book clubs. There's quite a lot of crap but you can get some good deals.
(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:49, Reply)
Oooh! Cheers, I shall have a browse of that when I get home.
There's a really good Oxfam bookshop a few minutes walk from me, I tend to get most of my books there or on ebay. I just can't get rid of them once I've bought them, even if I didn't enjoy it or actually read it.
I also have considerably more books than I do room for them which is why I thought I'd get them out of the library, but since I now owe them a fuckton of money it hasn't really worked out so well...
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:55, Reply)
I got about 1/3 through "A Confederacy of Dunces"
and two chapters into "The Master and Marguerita" before deciding classics weren't all they're cracked up to be.
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:09, Reply)
I was quite selective in the ones that I picked, to be fair
most of it is traditional classic stuff (Dickens etc) but anything that looked tedious got left out.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:13, Reply)
I'm quite fond of Confederacy of Dunces.
It's one I re-read from time to time.
(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:22, Reply)
Reading about a fat autism who lives with his mum and hates his job
was a bit too much like hanging out on /talk.
(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:32, Reply)
Currently dipping in and out of
Books v Cigarettes - George Orwell (reread)
Whatever's Happening to Women? - Julia Neuberger
What's Right With Feminism? Elaine Storkey

I've not been reading many books recently though, I tend to just read online stuff now.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:47, Reply)
Currently Finishing Bad Science.
Next up Flat Earth news. Both factual books so I can spout relatively benign and useless facts at parties and make myself look vaguely intellectual.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:48, Reply)
Flat Earth News is OK, but it's a bit too willing to leave certain theories unexplored.
Definitely worth a read though.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:50, Reply)
re: flat earth news
I read about it on here and someone said it was good. Amazon reviews seem to corroborate that. I got some shit book from relatives for xmas so I'm using this as an excuse so I don't have to read their book.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:53, Reply)
Oh, don't get me wrong, it's a great book
It's just that there's a few things he hints at but doesn't develop, when he really should. He just kind of ignores them, and it's a bit disappointing.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:57, Reply)
ah...good to know.
He does have a website too I believe, but with my busy social life on several websites such as B3ta, twitter and FB I haven't bothered, I mean found the time, to read it.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:05, Reply)
I was reading Pratchett but seeing how that will make Monty spew forth ANOTHER rant
I bought the first Bourne book for £2 and when it arrives I shall be reading that instead
(I helped save b3ta! TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:50, Reply)
I've got the Bourne Deception at home, might give that a read soon.
Which Pratchett?
(I helped save b3ta! Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:58, Reply)
psssst.
I quite like pratchett. It's formulaic, and hardly mentally challenging, but given the work shit I have to read most of the time I need something I can switch off with entirely sometimes.
(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:04, Reply)
Pratchett is superb.

(I helped save b3ta! Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:06, Reply)
He's 'superb' in exactly the same way as
'finding out you have hepatitis' is superb.
(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:09, Reply)
I can see what other people see in his writing but it's not really my cup of tea.

(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:14, Reply)
Each to their own, Monty.

(I helped save b3ta! Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:14, Reply)
No. Tolerance will not be tolerated
Pratchett is a cunt. Full stop.
(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:22, Reply)
I've heard him mainly described as being friendly.

(I helped save b3ta! Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:28, Reply)
Towards the mentally ill that buy his books.

(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:39, Reply)
yeah thta's why i like it

(I helped save b3ta! TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:19, Reply)
I can also highly recommend...
'My fried the mercenary - James Brabazon'. If you like fast moving thrillers and even more so when they are based on real events then read this. It also made any dreams I had of retiring in Liberia completely vanish.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:55, Reply)
Hit by a flamethrower, was he?

(I helped save b3ta! The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:33, Reply)
Dexter by Design
and Moab is my Washpot
(Bonzodog29 is an unemployed sponge of the worst kind, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 13:56, Reply)
You reminded me
I have the 2nd Stephen Fry book (of which the title escapes me). It is written exactly like he speaks, which is quite unusual.
(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:03, Reply)
The Hippopotamus

(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:06, Reply)
Its kind of autbiography part 2
Not hippo related
(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:08, Reply)
the second half of his autobiog is called The Fry Chronicles.
only released last year though.
(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:10, Reply)
Thats the one!

(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:11, Reply)
I liked that
I love the way Stephen Fry speaks.
(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:17, Reply)
When you read it, you can hear him speaking

(I helped save b3ta! sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:18, Reply)
That is the joy of an audiobook.

(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:22, Reply)
It's like an intellectual hug in book form

(BelladonnaAnodyne Melissa's gonna wet herself, I swear..., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:24, Reply)
I tried working my way throught the Challenged Book List one year.
I've managed about 18, and some I'd already read anyway.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-commonly_challenged_books_in_the_United_States
(I helped save b3ta! Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:03, Reply)
Have you already read 'The Adventures of Super Diaper baby'?
That sounds like a winner. Number 3 in the list? It must be off the hook!
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:08, Reply)
I'm writing the screenplay.

(I helped save b3ta! Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:15, Reply)
That's kinda cool
if I ever get my finger out of my arse enough to complete the book challenge I've already set myself, I'll give those a whirl next. I've read *counts* 21 of them already, which isn't bad. Americans take offence at some weird stuff though - James and the Giant Peach?!
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:08, Reply)
To Kill A Mocking bird was complained about because it features racism.

(I helped save b3ta! Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:15, Reply)

it feautures America thought there was not enough
(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:20, Reply)
I was entirely shocked to see "nigger" sprayed quite liberally all over Huckleberry Finn
I haven't read the whole thing but a few chapters for some kids I babysat one time.
(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:25, Reply)
And it was spelt in the old fashioned, racist 'nigger' way...
...rather than the post-modern 'nigga' so commonly used by young African Americans and dopey suburban white kids.
(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:50, Reply)
it's a metaphor for communism.

(Zoz prayed for twink on, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:18, Reply)
YOU'RE a metaphor for communism.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:21, Reply)
YOU'RE a metaphor for bumderism.

(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:23, Reply)
Gone with the Wind?
Why on earth would anyone challenge that?
(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:09, Reply)
The Bible features on one list. The reason given?
It's sexually explicit!
(I helped save b3ta! Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:14, Reply)
ignoring harry potter and goosebumps, I've read 3 on that list
not sure how I feel about it, none of them seemed too out of whack
go ask alice was pretty interesting
(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:14, Reply)
Judy Blume bumped up my numbers.
Read all hers at school.
(I helped save b3ta! Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:16, Reply)
I've read 50 of them
But loads of of the others looked rubbish. And why would they challenge The Chocolate War. I read it a few tears ago and remember it being excellent
(I helped save b3ta! Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:41, Reply)
have you ever seen footloose?
where they outlawed pop music and dancing?
it's a bit like that
(I helped save b3ta! Lisette von Falcon, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:46, Reply)
this
A lot of it seems to be PTC pressure - as ever a large majority are accepting but silent, and the ones that object make the loudest noise to get 'this sick filth' etc banned.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:47, Reply)
I feel like I'm missing out, having, I think, only read one book on that list.
(And no, it wasn't The New Joy of Gay Sex.)
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:43, Reply)
One?!
tsk. Poor effort.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:48, Reply)
...and even that one was a set text for GCSE English
So on the one hand I have read and re-read To Kill a Mockingbird back to front and analysed it to death in that manner so beloved of English teachers, but on the other hand it's just the one "controversial" book. Pathetic, I know.

(Actually, it might be two, I have a faint recollection of reading one or two of the Goosebumps books as a wee Crow.)
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:50, Reply)
I'm having trouble finding good books
All the ones I've read recently have been shit. Misspent Youth by Peter Hamilton was dire, Trudi Canavan's The Magicians Guild was rubbish, Claudine by Collette was quite good but too short and now I've got a trashy Phillipa Gregory book to read that isn't even fun enough to redeem it. Any suggestions?
(I helped save b3ta! Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:07, Reply)
Same answer I always give.
Christopher Brookmyre. All of them bar two are works of black comedy literary genius. And the other two are merely very good.
(I helped save b3ta! the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:09, Reply)
Generally with Brookmyre - the older the better.
Pandaemonium was a bit shit.
(I helped save b3ta! The Teviot Moose major 5th., Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:35, Reply)
White Line Fever by Lemmy
It's a great Autobiography.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:10, Reply)
It surely is.
The Lemmy documentary is out on DVD now (Amazon have just shipped mine). It's excellent.

You can borrow it along with the Saxon film if you like.
(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:12, Reply)
I'm going to rent it on Love film.

(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:13, Reply)
The anecdote about his shorts is fucking hysterical.

(I helped save b3ta! Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:14, Reply)
I'll make a note, thanks
I quite like biographys
(I helped save b3ta! Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:24, Reply)
The second one in the Trudi Canavan trilogy is better than the first
but they are teen fiction, I believe.
I suspect you're either too cynical or too intelligent to really enjoy most of my favourite books...
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:10, Reply)
I think I've got pickier
As I've got older. When I was 9 or 10 I would happily read Anne McCaffrey, but by the time I was 14 I couldn't stand them. My requirements are simple, wellwritten, thoughtprovoking, original and fucking amazing haha. The market is saturated with shit books though.
(I helped save b3ta! Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:21, Reply)
Well written and entertaining/enjoyable are all I ask for
I've even been known to compromise on the well written bit. I'll have a rummage through my books when I get home and see if I can't suggest something.
(berk, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:44, Reply)
The Magicions (only spelt right) by "Lev Grossman".
I'm reading it at the moment and really enjoying it.
(I helped save b3ta! G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:10, Reply)
Have you read Anthony Burgess?
His Enderby books are quite enjoyable.
(I helped save b3ta! girlinthehole, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:12, Reply)
Ian McEwan's 'Solar'.
Don't bother - so far it is shite and I am 80% through.
So unless I am about to reach the part where Moaty joins Primal Scream I will stick to that as my review.
(Tugnut Ex of this parish, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:28, Reply)
I'm currently switching between two interesting volumes, depending on my mood:
The first is The Moral Animal by Robert Wright. A fascinating book that looks over various theories of evolutionary psychology, and argues that human behavioural traits can be explained in terms of behaviour and instincts that would have helped us to survive in our wild ancestral environment, and the author cleverly illustrates his arguments with examples taken from Charles Darwin's personal life.

And the second is this month's Viz.
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:37, Reply)
I found out during my degree that pretty much anything can be logically
explained by evolutionary psychology and the advantages it gave us as a developing species.
At the same time we know relativly little about our enviroment as we were developing.
So I don't trust it at all.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:41, Reply)
I'm not sure that's entirely fair
Obviously nobody's going to dig up photo albums of the very first human settlements or bands of travelling nomads, but it's possible to infer an awful lot: it's certainly very telling to see the parallels between the "primitive" hunter-gatherer tribes that still exist today and the way we behave in "civilised" society. The similarities between ourselves and other pack animals is also suggestive of quite a lot.
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:48, Reply)
I think it's a branch of Psychology which is going the wrong way.
Back to the days of introspection and vague assumptions. While most other branches are heading further towards a pure science fully testable and evidence based disipline.
(PsychoChomp, Mon 24 Jan 2011, 14:52, Reply)

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