Books & Reading Thread 2025

The Testaments - Margaret Atwood.

Was slightly concerned about reading this given the amount of time since The Handmaid's Tale and all the subsequent expansion done by the TV series (though I understand she gave the TV producers the heads up so they could coordinate) Shouldn't have worried, I had forgotten what a brilliant writer Atwood is. Really sharp punchy prose, like being jabbed by a boxer and then throws a combination or two. 4/5

The Man Who Was Thursday - GK Chesterton

A short and a completly bonkers read. What is interesting though is that despite being utterly of it's time (1908 I think) it says some things and poses some questions that are completely of our age. The musings by one of the characters on who the real anarchists are, is particularly pertinent to the age we live in. The prose is quite antiquated but if you can get past that.

4/5
 
bennyboy said:
I was going to start the satsuma complex by Bob Mortimer so I will nominate that.
Again though happy enough with anything really.
www.theguardian.com

The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer review – the sleuth is out there

The much-loved comic proves adept at noirish fiction in a debut whose surrealist humour sets it apart
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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Already got this on Kindle.

My wife wanted to download his autobiography on Kindle and downloaded this by mistake!

I also have the autobiography from a friend in paperback, which I plan to read in the summer.
 
10/23 Three Assassins - Kotaro Isaka

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I’m always keen to extend my horizons and read books from other countries and I bought this because it was cheap (99p for Kindle) and also because it was heavily promoted as by the author of Bullet Train, which was made into a movie last year.

The central character, Suzuki, is an ordinary man until his wife is murdered and after discovering the gang behind it, sets about joining them to take his revenge. He is then drawn into the world of professional assassins. The 3 assassins, of the title are The Whale who convinces victims to commit suicide, Cicada the knife expert and The Pusher.

This was a book I had no strong feelings about either way, didn’t love it nor hate it. It was a strange story in an unfamiliar culture, doubt if I’ll read his other books.

I do however have another Japanese novel on my reading list but is a long read so may need to save it for my holidays!
 
stoneblue said:
10/23 Three Assassins - Kotaro Isaka

View attachment 75529

I’m always keen to extend my horizons and read books from other countries and I bought this because it was cheap (99p for Kindle) and also because it was heavily promoted as by the author of Bullet Train, which was made into a movie last year.

The central character, Suzuki, is an ordinary man until his wife is murdered and after discovering the gang behind it, sets about joining them to take his revenge. He is then drawn into the world of professional assassins. The 3 assassins, of the title are The Whale who convinces victims to commit suicide, Cicada the knife expert and The Pusher.

This was a book I had no strong feelings about either way, didn’t love it nor hate it. It was a strange story in an unfamiliar culture, doubt if I’ll read his other books.

I do however have another Japanese novel on my reading list but is a long read so may need to save it for my holidays!
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Is it Lady Joker? I'm going to read that soon. I've read Hideo Yokohama's books and the David Peace's books set in Japan. Very good reads
 
Out on blue 6 said:
Is it Lady Joker? I'm going to read that soon. I've read Hideo Yokohama's books and the David Peace's books set in Japan. Very good reads
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Yes, it is! I bought it on a whim in Waterstones recently after reading the back cover! Think it was not long after watching Tokyo Vice on tv so I must have had a bit of a Japanese vibe going on! I'll check out some of David Peace's books - any particular ones to watch out for?
 
stoneblue said:
Yes, it is! I bought it on a whim in Waterstones recently after reading the back cover! Think it was not long after watching Tokyo Vice on tv so I must have had a bit of a Japanese vibe going on! I'll check out some of David Peace's books - any particular ones to watch out for?
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It's a trilogy starting with Tokyo Year Zero set just after the end of World War 2. Peace's writing isn't for everyone though.
 
Out on blue 6 said:
It's a trilogy starting with Tokyo Year Zero set just after the end of World War 2. Peace's writing isn't for everyone though.
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You can say that again. This is what I wrote when I read this back in 2009:

It's all just too grim and the style of writing did nothing to alleviate my distaste for this novel. It really was a struggle to pick this up and read a bit more and I could only stomach this in small doses. Reading, to me at least, is supposed to be an enjoyable way to relax and get lost in a story. The only reason I think I finished this book was to make sure I never go back to it.
 
JRockBlues said:
You can say that again. This is what I wrote when I read this back in 2009:

It's all just too grim and the style of writing did nothing to alleviate my distaste for this novel. It really was a struggle to pick this up and read a bit more and I could only stomach this in small doses. Reading, to me at least, is supposed to be an enjoyable way to relax and get lost in a story. The only reason I think I finished this book was to make sure I never go back to it.
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Thanks for the heads-up. If I go for it it will either be from the library or 2nd hand!
 
I'm a bit late to the party this year, but here goes with my completed books so far this year.

1. Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch. 7/10.

I enjoyed the book. The characters were engaging, and the mystery quite ingenious, but for me, the story was quite convoluted and I lost the plot near to the end of the book. That might have been my fault though, due to other distractions.

Not my favourite genre though, and I don't think I'll be following the series.

2. The Racketeer - John Grisham. 5/10.

I've read a lot of Grisham and enjoyed his early stuff like The Firm, The Pelican Brief, A Time to Kill etc. But this was just a little too predictable and the outcome very convenient, with everyone living happily ever after, except for the double-crossing FBI. I can't imagine picking up another Grisham for some time.

3. Orphan X - Gregg Hurwitz. 9/10.

The best book I've read for a while (well, audiobook listened to). The dedication of this book says "To all the bad boys and girls, rulebreakers and vigilantes", and lists a whole host of them. Evan Smoak is in the mould of Jason Bourne.

Smoak is required to protect a succession of clients, whilst at the same time he is aware of a serious threat to his own life. His adversary is an assassin, and the winner becomes the world's best assassin.
 
OK, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of new offerings for our group read this quarter, so I'll list the four that have been nominated:-

1. Kafka on the shore - Murukami (a bit old so people might have read it -but if we fancied something a bit out there)
2. The Way Back To Florence - Glen Haybittle (as we seem to have a few Italophiles - Italy WW2)
3. Notes on an Execution - Danya Kukafka (I don't think it's as girlie as it might appear)
4. The Satsuma Complex - Bob Mortimer

My vote goes for Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka (I'd also be happy to read The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer).
 
RobMCFC said:
OK, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of new offerings for our group read this quarter, so I'll list the four that have been nominated:-

1. Kafka on the shore - Murukami (a bit old so people might have read it -but if we fancied something a bit out there)
2. The Way Back To Florence - Glen Haybittle (as we seem to have a few Italophiles - Italy WW2)
3. Notes on an Execution - Danya Kukafka (I don't think it's as girlie as it might appear)
4. The Satsuma Complex - Bob Mortimer

My vote goes for Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka (I'd also be happy to read The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer).
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On the basis I'd like to read both Notes on an Execution and the Satsuma Complex I have a suggestion. They are both crime novels but come at it from totally different angles, neither are too long (300 pages each) so we could do both in a contrast and compare fashion?

I'd probably read Notes on an Execution first because Bob's surrealist humour might be sorely needed after the first one.

Just a thought.
 
threespires said:
On the basis I'd like to read both Notes on an Execution and the Satsuma Complex I have a suggestion. They are both crime novels but come at it from totally different angles, neither are too long (300 pages each) so we could do both in a contrast and compare fashion?

I'd probably read Notes on an Execution first because Bob's surrealist humour might be sorely needed after the first one.

Just a thought.
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Not a bad suggestion. If everybody else is OK with that, we might have to designate this "Crime Quarter"!
 
hello, never ventured here - this is not just a 'my favourite books' thread, is it - sorry if that should be obvious - just that I have three suggestions that everyone should read, different from the classic/obvious choices
 
threespires said:
On the basis I'd like to read both Notes on an Execution and the Satsuma Complex I have a suggestion. They are both crime novels but come at it from totally different angles, neither are too long (300 pages each) so we could do both in a contrast and compare fashion?

I'd probably read Notes on an Execution first because Bob's surrealist humour might be sorely needed after the first one.

Just a thought.
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Suits me.
 
Kinkybyname said:
hello, never ventured here - this is not just a 'my favourite books' thread, is it - sorry if that should be obvious - just that I have three suggestions that everyone should read, different from the classic/obvious choices
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It's everything to do with reading.

We use it primarily to track and review what each of us is reading, but anybody is more than welcome to chuck suggestions in here. Which remind me, I haven't done this for a bit, so here goes.

My favourite ever two books are as follows:-
  • The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
  • The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
If you've never read them, put them on your list and when you get around to them, you can come and thank me later!
 
RobMCFC said:
It's everything to do with reading.

We use it primarily to track and review what each of us is reading, but anybody is more than welcome to chuck suggestions in here. Which remind me, I haven't done this for a bit, so here goes.

My favourite ever two books are as follows:-
  • The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
  • The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
If you've never read them, put them on your list and when you get around to them, you can come and thank me later!
Click to expand...


thanks RobMCFC - will definitely check those out
and for what it's worth - forgive me if they have been mentioned before:

Horn - D. Keith Mano - way ahead of its time - for anyone who thought they weren't racist
The Thought Gang - Tibor Fischer (Stockport born) - fkn dazzlingly intelligent and hilarious
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving - brilliant writing, goose-bump inducing denouement
 
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