Books & Reading Thread 2025

Paladin said:
How about The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, or Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Both have good reviews, neither would be in my regular list of books I must read before I die.
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I feel bad saying this because I'm usually happy to embrace most of what people nominate. But neither of those seem to grab me.

However, as ever, it's about what everybody feels works best as a group, so I'm happy to either sit it out or give one a go, depending on my mood. Just using this post to register my thoughts!
 
Paladin said:
How about The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, or Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Both have good reviews, neither would be in my regular list of books I must read before I die.
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I've read Shuggie Bain and highly recommend it as the joint read.
 
RobMCFC said:
I feel bad saying this because I'm usually happy to embrace most of what people nominate. But neither of those seem to grab me.

However, as ever, it's about what everybody feels works best as a group, so I'm happy to either sit it out or give one a go, depending on my mood. Just using this post to register my thoughts!
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I looked at some reviews for group reads and those cropped up. Both look a bit sad and depressing, which ain't my preferred reading.

Two further suggestions:

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The book behind the film currently showing.
 
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Paladin said:
I looked at some reviews for group reads and those cropped up. Both look a bit sad and depressing, which ain't my preferred reading.

Two further suggestions:

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The book behind the film currently showing.
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Both of those look interesting.

IIRC, somebody came on here and suggested A Man Called Ove last year.
 
  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
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I used to wonder why people bothered reading DI What’s-his-face book #17, yet here I am on Tuva Moodyson book #5.

Tuva is a newspaper reporter in the small Swedish town of Gavrik. Once you get past the old “why do so many bad things happen in and around such a small place?”, these books by Will Dean are very well put together. Part of the appeal for me is the location: the gun shop in town, the supermarket, the fresh food cart run by Tuva’s best friend, the chimneys of the Grimberg Liquorice Factory and Utgard Forest all feel like familiar characters.

In the last book, the author expanded the locations to take in the nearby town of Visberg, and this expansion allows him to re-use a character from the previous book. Wolf Pack centres on a group of survivalists who have set up a heavily fortified compound on the edge of town. When a local girl goes missing near the compound, the police need to rely on Tuva to use her reporting skills to gain access to the tight-knit and secretive group.
 
1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10

My first completed book this year, in audiobook format read by the author.

It is an overview of the mediaeval kings and queens of England, from the legendary but fictional Arthur, to Elizabeth I. A very funny history interlaced with plenty of modern day observations and witty anecdotes about the previous rulers of this nation. It explains how each ruler came to the throne, the main features of their rule, how they died, and if there was one, their lasting legacy.

Mitchell is a funny guy and a gifted historian, even if he claims not to be (a historian). I highly recommend this book, unless you are offended by profanity, which features aplenty.
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  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
  3. A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
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As I was visiting Lisbon this month, I felt like reading a book that was set there. A Small Death in Lisbon won the CWA Gold Dagger in 1999, so surely this would be a solid choice? Well, yes and no.

It’s a story told in two timelines that eventually converge in the 1990s. We meet industrialist Klaus Felsen in the 1940s where he’s forced into service for the SS. He is soon despatched to Portugal to mine and export thousands of tonnes of Wolfram (tungsten) to support the German war effort. He teams up with Joaquim Abrantes and the two men scheme and double-cross their way through the war years.

In 1990s Lisbon, Police inspector Ze Coelho is investigating the brutal rape and murder of a young girl. He interviews countless suspects and possible witnesses, all of whom seem guilty of something, and none of them are particularly nice characters. Eventually the two threads meet as Coelho closes in on the murderer.

I’m conflicted about this book. On the one hand, it’s well written and does a good job of acting as a history lesson, showing us how Portugal managed to stay neutral during the war despite receiving a significant amount of Nazi Gold. As the years go by, the book also brings home to brutal nature of Salazar’s Estado Novo (“New State”), which ran a parallel course to Spain’s fascist dictatorship.

I read a Goodreads review where somebody said that this book is “unnecessarily nasty”. Now, you may think that this is par for the course for a book that deals with a ruthless SS operative and a fascist dictatorship, and that’s a fair point. But believe me, the depravity or some of these characters and their attitude to women feels over the top, and it’s not a particularly edifying read in parts. Felsen rapes, murders and tortures his way through the war and most of the female characters seem to be in the book for the sole purpose of being humiliated, used, raped and murdered.
 
Just finished Exiles by Jane Harper. It's Australian crime novel set in rural community. This is type of book in generally enjoy but struggled with this one. Stopped half way through to read A Man Called Ove then went back to Exiles
 
1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10

A light hearted, enjoyable tale about a grumpy old man, who goes through numerous life changing events as he enters enforced retirement.

At first, he struggles to adapt to his new circumstances, but events force him to gradually accept and come to terms with his situation. His life is transformed, but although he never quite gets to completely shed his Victor Meldrew syndrome, he does become a much loved and respected member of his community.

There are some great character portrayals in the book, such that I often thought a particular character is just like so and so. I think we all know someone like Ove. Maybe one of us is just like Ove. There should be more Sonyas in this world, but I don't think the world is any worse off for having fewer Saabs.
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  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
  3. A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
  4. A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman – 8/10

A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman

I won’t post a photo of the cover as @Paladin has already done so.

This is a rare example of a book that won me round. Generally, when I don’t enjoy the opening chapters of a book, I know I’m in for a long slog and can’t wait to read it faster and get onto the next book.

I liked the idea of Ove’s character – a grumpy, cynical old man who has opinions on everything and didn’t mind telling people. A bit too much like me for comfort, actually!

But it just seemed one whinge after another and after a while it wasn’t funny. The plot wasn’t going anywhere, and I just found his neighbours dull and uninteresting. But the minute the author switched to explaining how Ove met his wife, the book lit up as if somebody had flicked a switch. The description of Ove meeting Sonya and falling head over heels in love with here doesn’t sound like the kind of narrative that grips me, but I was swept along. As the book progressed and we switched back and forward to see what happened in the past and what Ove is doing in the present, it was all so engaging and had meaning.

In the end, I must have got something in my eye. You know how it goes. A book that sounded interesting, was initially disappointing and was then a revelation. I can see Tom Hanks pulling off this character with ease and I look forward to watching the film.
 
RobMCFC said:
  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
  3. A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
  4. A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman – 8/10

A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman

I won’t post a photo of the cover as @Paladin has already done so.

This is a rare example of a book that won me round. Generally, when I don’t enjoy the opening chapters of a book, I know I’m in for a long slog and can’t wait to read it faster and get onto the next book.

I liked the idea of Ove’s character – a grumpy, cynical old man who has opinions on everything and didn’t mind telling people. A bit too much like me for comfort, actually!

But it just seemed one whinge after another and after a while it wasn’t funny. The plot wasn’t going anywhere, and I just found his neighbours dull and uninteresting. But the minute the author switched to explaining how Ove met his wife, the book lit up as if somebody had flicked a switch. The description of Ove meeting Sonya and falling head over heels in love with here doesn’t sound like the kind of narrative that grips me, but I was swept along. As the book progressed and we switched back and forward to see what happened in the past and what Ove is doing in the present, it was all so engaging and had meaning.

In the end, I must have got something in my eye. You know how it goes. A book that sounded interesting, was initially disappointing and was then a revelation. I can see Tom Hanks pulling off this character with ease and I look forward to watching the film.
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Thanks Rob, good review. On reflection, my experience was the same in that I got a bit fed up with the grumpiness, but became instantly absorbed once Sonya arrived on the scene. The overall experience easily outweighed the opening.
 
Paladin said:
Thanks Rob, good review. On reflection, my experience was the same in that I got a bit fed up with the grumpiness, but became instantly absorbed once Sonya arrived on the scene. The overall experience easily outweighed the opening.
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The upsetting thing about this book is that I can see so much of me in it:-(
 
2024 Books
  1. Fairy Tale – Stephen King - 5/10
  2. Wolf Pack – Will Dean - 7/10
  3. A Small Death in Lisbon – Robert Wilson - 6/10
  4. A Man Called Ove – Fredrick Backman – 8/10
  5. Tomorrow's Children – Daniel Polansky – 3/10

TomorrowsChildren.jpg



Daniel Polansky wrote one of the best fantasy trilogies I’ve read in recent times. In the Low Town books, he told the story of Warden, a soldier who had returned from the war to restart his crime empire. The best thing about these books was that everything was written in the first person, so we saw events unfolding through Warden’s eyes, and he was a superbly detailed and nuanced character.

I read a two-part series by the same author a few years ago and this didn’t really hit the mark, but his latest sounded interesting, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Tomorrow’s Children is set in a post-apocalyptic New York where a mysterious fog, known as the Funk, shrouds Manhattan, contact with the outside world is non-existent and rival gangs fight for control of the island.

It’s a great set-up but unfortunately that’s where the positives stop. Everybody talks in a street cant, which gets beyond tedious as the book progresses; scenes appear lacking in detail so you don’t really know what’s going on; there are no characters that have any depth (and the author seems intent on introducing a pointless minor character every few pages) and perhaps worst of all, the book has a stop-start feel because even chapters are broken into sub-parts by headings where you might get one or two sentences before moving onto the next scene.

It says a lot that the best part of the book was about three-quarters in where one character explained to another what had been going on for the past few days. Info-dumping is usually a sign of bad writing but in this case, I was glad of the explanation because I didn’t have a clue what I was reading.

Read only if you want a challenge.

 
1. Unruly - David Mitchell - 9/10
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Blackman - 7/10
3. The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown - 8/10

I chose this book purely because I liked the look of the cover, when browsing recently in Waterstones. That said, I downloaded the Kindle version, and read three quarters of it on holiday here in Tenerife.

The first four chapters tell how the main character comes into possession the the book, and learns of its ability to transport her from any door in the world through any other door in the world. We get to revisit Vienna and other locations, and we learn how it is also possible to take friends on the journeys too.

I wasn't too excited at the slow opening, was about to abandon the book, but it came to life in the fifth chapter, and I was hooked.

So not only can the special book transport its holder to any part of the world, it can also go through any door in any time dimension, adding time travel to its magical powers. And then we discover there are many other magical books, which can be used for good or evil, and are sought after by well intentioned collectors, and power crazy maniacs alike.

Much damage is done as owners of various magical books compete for power, and the good guys have to manipulate events of the past to make sure the books can't be put to further misuse.

A good debut novel from the author.
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