Books & Reading Thread 2025

[Paladin]

How’s that work? I paid for a annual subscription yearly only got 12 credits

Just go to settings, switch plan, and this should appear.

 

[bennyboy]

Spotify also does Audiobooks.
I'm downloading Killing Thatcher as i post.

 

[69FACUPfinal]

Ha . I read " instruction book about AI " and wondered why anyone would need a guide to The Great North Road ...I'm certainly a FOC . Great finds . I confess to being addicted to second hand book shops and have to temper my choices for lack of space at home . I have so many unread novels ...but I do have two books of old facsimile OS maps of Lancashire and West Yorkshire from the nineteenth century that are endlessly fascinating . I adore maps ...

I am envious of those old maps. I buy old OS maps from a charity shop in my local town and I inherited a load from my dad.

We have so many books in our house. I used to find my mils ' sterile' because only about 10 books, yet her son - my hub is an avid reader too.

Offspring appreciated the AI book, but knows most if it and is gallantly trying to teach me a bit of it.

Said offspring dis however inherit my love of geography which is always useful.

 

[69FACUPfinal]

I was in Waterstones a few months ago on my dinner break. In full Arriva uniform. A guy who turned out to be a university lecturer at Durham said to me "my, a bus driver who can actually read".

Wow. What did you say to him?

What an elitist comment.

One of my friends passed her Alevels with good grades. She was artistic and wanted to do hair styling, which she did and had a successful career.

Her daughter doing Alevels, friend goes into school for parents evening, had many questions/ points to raise. The IT teacher said something along the lines of ' but you're a hairdresser, so how would you know?'. Made an immediate- and incorrect assumption based on snobbery about her career that my friend was 'only a hairdrsser' and was therefore dumb. She politely put him right BTW, and turns out had better A level grades than said teacher!!

Never judge a book by its cover.

 

[69FACUPfinal]

Does anyone have any decent City books, read ‘City in Europe’ was amazing, anything else?

The Mercer - Allison years 1965 - 72. Fabulous read taking me down memory lane. IAN Penney, just seen it available on a site for £9.99. Well worth it.

I started supporting in 69 as an early teen and recall some of those matches far more than recent ones.

 

[surprisedbygrass]

I am such a FOC I hadn't heard of this bloke , better known as Loki . This book is not released yet but the abridged audiobook is worth a listen . He has some thoughtful and considered things to say about trauma , the media and personal responsibility .

BBC Sounds - Trauma Industrial Complex by Darren McGarvey - Available Episodes

Listen to the latest episodes of Trauma Industrial Complex by Darren McGarvey on BBC Sounds.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MCFC1993]

Recently started to pick up a book more often, realised that I needed to switch off more at home.

Had a load of classics in the loft so picked up Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies, which basically covers young people in high society London in the 20's post war. Funny in places, if a little bizarre and probably the type of people you wouldn't get a along with. An unfortunate bit of foreboding towards the end which shifts the tone a bit.

Think I'll aim for double figures before the year is out:
1) Evelyn Waugh - Vile Bodies

Just reading Yuval Harari's Sapiens, which I was really enjoying a couple of years ago and never continued for some reason.

 

[RobMCFC]

1. A Lesson in Violence – Jordan Harper - 7/10
2. The Silverblood Promise – James Logan 9/10
3. Exiles – Jane Harper 9/10
4. Palace of Shadows – Ray Celestine 6/10
5. The Wager – David Grann 8/10
6. Grimdark Magazine Issue #40 – 6/10
7. Grimdark Magazine Issue #41 – 6/10
8. The Trials of Empire – Richard Swan – 7/10
9. George Harrison - Philip Norman – 8/10
10. Go to War: Football on the Brink in the 80s – Jon Spurling – 8/10
11. Chasing the Light - Oliver Stone – 8/10

This is a well written account of film director Oliver Stone’s early life plus his achievements in the film world. Surprisingly, it stops at Platoon, which was nearly 40 years ago, but of course the major struggles to get to that point are the highlight of any book such as this.

I liked the detail on how his mum and dad met – he was a WWII veteran in France and she a French girl who fell for him, and this background accounts for Oliver Stone’s frequent trips back to France in his formative years.

I knew beforehand that he was a Vietnam veteran but was surprised to learn that before his military service he did a stint of teaching in a school in Saigon. After volunteering for combat duty in Vietnam, he was wounded several times, and as you can imagine, his vivid recollections of what he saw on his tour of duty make for grim reading. It’s fascinating to read that the Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe) characters in Platoon are based on real sergeants that he served with.

Incredibly, Stone wrote what would eventually become Platoon in the late 60s. Fascinating fact: he sent a copy to Jim Morrison of The Doors in the hope that Morrison would play the part that Charlie Sheen ultimately played. A copy of the script was found in Morrison’s possession when he died in Paris in 1971. Stone also wrote an early version of the script for Born on the Fourth July, based on Ron Kovic’s memoir, which he would eventually direct in 1989.

He covers his early successes, including winning the screenplay Oscar for Midnight Express and his work on the Scarface script, and there’s a detailed account of the making of his films Salvador and Platoon. The book culminates in his double triumph, winning the Best Film and Best Director Oscars for Platoon in 1987.

Oliver Stone’s writing style is excellent; anybody who has read Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography will recognise a similar delivery that is a cut above your average voice. The less savoury parts of the book, including the constant cocaine use, are a bit of a drag, but overall, it’s an engaging read.

 

[richardtheref]

21. The Cautious Traveller's Guide To The Wastelands - Sarah Brooks. 4/5
I'm shit at reviews. It's about a train that travels between China and Russia and back again. Whilst in the Wasteland strange things happen. Told from 3 perspectives.
Really enjoyed this

 

[JRockBlues]

The Mercer - Allison years 1965 - 72. Fabulous read taking me down memory lane. IAN Penney, just seen it available on a site for £9.99. Well worth it.

I started supporting in 69 as an early teen and recall some of those matches far more than recent ones.

Picked this up in Oxfam bookshop in Altrincham on Monday for less than £3. Also managed to find Treble Triumph from Vincent Kompany to go with it.

 

[chesterbells]

Ambler Warning - Robert Ludlum (pulpy stuff, not even written by the man himself, he’s long gone. One of those, ‘I started so I might as well finish the ruddy thing’).

Theme for Great Cities - Graeme Thompson (Simple Minds biog) just started it.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Since retiring two months ago and traveling quite a bit I’ve been reading a fair degree more which is fun. I tend to focus on history and biography. I had intended to come on this thread back in 24 but got too busy. Over the last couple of months I’ve read Hampton Sides’ “Wide Wide Sea” about Captain Cook, and “Collisions” by Alec Navala-Lee, the biography of physics professor Luie Alvarez who worked on the Manhattan Project and also with his geologist son discovered how the dinosaurs died. Also finished a book on Oregon housing and just started one on the history of the Vikings. It’s a lot of fun to put the phone/laptop down. I’m a paper, ink and bookmark guy — no audiobooks, no IPad.

 

[RobMCFC]

Since retiring two months ago and traveling quite a bit I’ve been reading a fair degree more which is fun. I tend to focus on history and biography. I had intended to come on this thread back in 24 but got too busy. Over the last couple of months I’ve read Hampton Sides’ “Wide Wide Sea” about Captain Cook, and “Collisions” by Alec Navala-Lee, the biography of physics professor Luie Alvarez who worked on the Manhattan Project and also with his geologist son discovered how the dinosaurs died. Also finished a book on Oregon housing and just started one on the history of the Vikings. It’s a lot of fun to put the phone/laptop down. I’m a paper, ink and bookmark guy — no audiobooks, no IPad.

Welcome to the thread. I remember when you said you’d be getting stuck in here but I guess work just got in the way. No excuses now!

I admire your dedication to paper and bookmark. There is something about the smell of paper and the feel of a good book. This is how I felt upto 11 years ago but I had a road to Damascus conversion when my kids got their Kindles. Having a backlight is just so convenient for reading at night and in those dark hours during autumn and winter. Plus, I no longer have to find spaces for my books on a bookshelf or agonise whether to keep a book or recycle it. And then of course there’s the space saved in your luggage when travelling.

Still on my first Kindle and first cover, so it now has the appearance of a battered and well-thumbed old book - result!!!

 

[TheGhost]

Currently reading - James Frey - A Million Little Pieces. The start is about a young man detoxing. It’s quite intense and heavy going.

I’m also reading Irvine Welsh’s new book, Men In Love. It’s a big hardback version which is like a doorstep. It’s yet another spin off from Trainspotting, which is one of my favourite books of all time. Trainspotting was the book that aged 17, kickstarted my love of reading and language. I was blown away that someone could write a book in a dialect or vernacular. You had to learn to read it. But once you got your heid around it, the language sucked you in. It probably helped that I read it at around the same time I started experimenting with illegal substances - mainly weed and E’s.

Men In Love, is written in the same style and is about the same 5 character which people of a certain age will remember from the film posters of the 90s.

Just finished A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. It’s a pretty heavy book, and is supposed to be a memoir from the author receiving treatment and coming off crack cocaine and heavy alcohol abuse. Although a bit like The Salt Path perhaps not entirely true.

It’s absolutely horrific in parts - particularly the dental scene. It’s quite critical of the 12 Steps and AA but is also uplifting. It talks in depth and with brutal honesty about the relationships throughout his life.

There’s a brilliant side character called Leonard and I think Frey’s follow up book is about him, My Friend Leonard.

My next book if a much lighter read, Supersonic, which is a series of interviews with the band Oasis. It’s the pulling together of all of the content for the brilliant documentary of the same name.

 

[johnnytapia]

Totally agree about "Killing Thatcher". I listened to the audiobook earlier this year and it was a compelling listen. I found the story of the hunt for the bomber as good as any thriller. A must read for anyone interested in "the troubles".

Great book.
Don’t think Peter Taylor’s “trilogy” can be bettered on “The Troubles” though.
The Provos
Loyalists
The Brits
All superb in their own right but combined, they are , IMHO, the best documentary of what happened.

 

[Paladin]

1. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens. 7/10.
2. Munich - Robert Harris - 5/10.
3. Conclave - Robert Harris - 8/10.
4. Deep Cover - Shay Doyle - 9/10.
5. Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom - 4/10.
6. Red Notice - Andy McNab - 5/10.
7. The Bayeux Embroidery - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
8. The Heretics of De'Ath - Howard of Warwick - 7/10

Having read books 2 and 15 of the series, I thought I would go back to where it all started. The Heretics of De'Ath is that book, and I'm pleased to report that the series commences with a witty medieval murder mystery, in which Brother Hermitage averts the injustice of the wrongful hanging of an innocent man (himself) by unveiling the true murderer. As a result, he is appointed King's Investigator and embarks upon a career in crime solving.

 

[Paladin]

1. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens. 7/10.
2. Munich - Robert Harris - 5/10.
3. Conclave - Robert Harris - 8/10.
4. Deep Cover - Shay Doyle - 9/10.
5. Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom - 4/10.
6. Red Notice - Andy McNab - 5/10.
7. The Bayeux Embroidery - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
8. The Heretics of De'Ath - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
9. Unbreakable - Melvyn Downes - 6/10.

An SAS soldier's autobiography from his childhood in a council estate in Stoke, selection into the SAS, various skirmishes, and finishes with descriptions of various security jobs after leaving the army. The book is most notable for the author's sense of justice, and his determination to overcome racism throughout his life.

Not the most action packed Special Forces memoir, but an interesting account nonetheless.

 

[Paladin]

1. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens. 7/10.
2. Munich - Robert Harris - 5/10.
3. Conclave - Robert Harris - 8/10.
4. Deep Cover - Shay Doyle - 9/10.
5. Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom - 4/10.
6. Red Notice - Andy McNab - 5/10.
7. The Bayeux Embroidery - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
8. The Heretics of De'Ath - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
9. Unbreakable - Melvyn Downes - 6/10.
10. Precipice - Robert Harris - 8/10.

I'm catching up on my book reports, and have just finished this today, during a rainy day on holiday.

As you can see above, I've become a fan of Robert Harris recently. This is an excellent historical novel, capturing the mood of the politicians and to a lesser degree the nation, in the lead up to WWI and into the first year of the conflict.

The main story line focuses on Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, who does all he can to avert war, but is eventually drawn in to it. Meanwhile Asquith, in his sixties, continues to pursue a love affair with 27 year old socialite Venetia Stanley. The author draws heavily from Stanley's preserved archive of letters, in which Asquith reveals many sensitive government secrets. Letters from Stanley to Asquith were not preserved, but the author creates his own fictional versions of these.

There is a sub-plot around how some secret documents are found in public places, and whether they are intended for German spies. It's an entertaining side story, but it eventually comes to nothing, and becomes a distraction from the main thrust of the book, which is politics of the day. These are convincingly depicted by Harris.

 

[Fiftyyearsandcounting]

My favourite subject for reading is Historical Fiction, actual events and persons melded with invented characters which allow the author a little licence with their story telling.

There are several authors that I regularly follow, whose tales are centred on characters such as a spy in Tudor times, an archer at Agincourt, a lawyer investigating the Fire of London an intelligence officer in Cromwell’s army, a heretic monk against the church, etc. etc.

In the past year or so, I’ve noticed that many of the leading male rolls have now been replaced by female heroines. Doesn’t have quite the same appeal to me, so I’ve turned down 5 of the latest books from my regular authors.

I’ll probably get accused of some hate crime or misogyny but it’s my money, my choice.

 

[C90]

Local lad and City fan too. I've read 3 of his novels (short) and these short stories. Highly recommended and all with a Mcr theme.

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