What book have you just read?

[Ronnie the Rep]

It's not LOTR ish is it? :-(

No it's set around real characters and events. Pillars of the earth is 12th century England and follows the building of a cathedral over 30 odd years

Ah right. Sounds good. Does it mention the origins of Freemasonry?

Yep and it gives some of the simple rules for proportions when building cathedrals. I wasn't in the least interested until I read POTE but since then I have been in several and they are all built to the same rules! But the book is really about the people and is probably my favourite book ever. I can't recommend it to highly

 

[gaudinho's stolen car]

Fall of giants. Ken follett

Any good Ronnie?
I tend to like bio's, classics, true crime and social history.
Plus any modern fiction that makes me think about the story for months after. I think the last author who managed to do that was Khalid Hussein (might have the name wrong, but he wrote 'a thousand setting suns').

Basically, anything with a bit of gossip. Like an historical Hello! magazine.

 

[BimboBob]

Just finished Snuff and now have moved onto M.K. Hume's Warrior of the West.

 

[mammutly]

Brendan Behan - Borstal Boy. I read it years ago, but picked it up again last week. It takes talent to tell a simple story very well. You read a book like this and you feel as if you've lived through the experience with the author. Plenty of writers pick on subjects that are intrinsically emotional and basically exploit the reader's feelings. In this book, Brendan just tells a a bare faced story. It's raw, it's grim, it's funny and it's sad. A writer at the height of his powers with no pretensions at all. This was Bredan Behan's great season, before he pissed it all up the wall.

 

[mackenzie]

Fall of giants. Ken follett

Any good Ronnie?
I tend to like bio's, classics, true crime and social history.
Plus any modern fiction that makes me think about the story for months after. I think the last author who managed to do that was Khalid Hussein (might have the name wrong, but he wrote 'a thousand setting suns').

Basically, anything with a bit of gossip. Like an historical Hello! magazine.

Shut it ;-)

 

[LongsightM13]

Aha, one of the all too rare book threads, and the usual suspect are assembled.
Just finishing Get Real, the last book ever written by my favourite author of all time, Donald Westlake. It's part of his Dortmunder series about a gang of thieves in New York who plan elaborate, brilliant heists that always go tits up. Superb and very, very funny, the whole series is recommended. The classic Robert Redford crime caper The Hot Rock was one of them.
Next up is The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, a western about the bizarre adventures of two hired gun siblings in the old west. Everyone I know who has read it is absolutely raving about it. Lost out on the Booker prize to some ponce.
Will be getting Lakey's book for Christmas.

 

[mackenzie]

No it's set around real characters and events. Pillars of the earth is 12th century England and follows the building of a cathedral over 30 odd years

Ah right. Sounds good. Does it mention the origins of Freemasonry?

Yep and it gives some of the simple rules for proportions when building cathedrals. I wasn't in the least interested until I read POTE but since then I have been in several and they are all built to the same rules! But the book is really about the people and is probably my favourite book ever. I can't recommend it to highly

POTE it is for me then. Who's the author again?

 

[mammutly]

Brendan Behan - Borstal Boy. I read it years ago, but picked it up again last week. It takes talent to tell a simple story very well. You read a book like this and you feel as if you've lived through the experience with the author. Plenty of writers pick on subjects that are intrinsically emotional and basically exploit the reader's feelings. In this book, Brendan just tells a a bare faced story. It's raw, it's grim, it's funny and it's sad. A writer at the height of his powers with no pretensions at all. This was Bredan Behan's great season, before he pissed it all up the wall.

 

[LongsightM13]

Brendan Behan - Borstal Boy. I read it years ago, but picked it up again last week. It takes talent to tell a simple story very well. You read a book like this and you feel as if you've lived through the experience with the author. Plenty of writers pick on subjects that are intrinsically emotional and basically exploit the reader's feelings. In this book, Brendan just tells a a bare faced story. It's raw, it's grim, it's funny and it's sad. A writer at the height of his powers with no pretensions at all. This was Bredan Behan's great season, before he pissed it all up the wall.

Behan rocks.
Ever seen the film version with Danny Dyer as the gay sailor?!!!

 

[Ronnie the Rep]

Ah right. Sounds good. Does it mention the origins of Freemasonry?

Yep and it gives some of the simple rules for proportions when building cathedrals. I wasn't in the least interested until I read POTE but since then I have been in several and they are all built to the same rules! But the book is really about the people and is probably my favourite book ever. I can't recommend it to highly

POTE it is for me then. Who's the author again?

Ken follet it's a long book but worth it. Let me know what you think