Lovely design, great that it's been published but £14.99?
Come one Penguin, CS Forester doesn't need the money - he's been dead for 45 years...moreLovely design, great that it's been published but £14.99?
Come one Penguin, CS Forester doesn't need the money - he's been dead for 45 years.
Greedy fucks.
-----------
I loved the first half, less sure about the ending. It's good that it was found and published - CS is a great writer. Some typos that I guess are down to poor proofing but I would have been nice if Penguin had given some more info and history on this lost manuscript. (less)
Disappointing. The other Karin Slaughter book (she really ought to be a garage band: "Karin Slaughter and the Undead"; "Karin Slaughter...moreDisappointing. The other Karin Slaughter book (she really ought to be a garage band: "Karin Slaughter and the Undead"; "Karin Slaughter and the Gotham Zombies") was much better: more inventive, less pedestrian and, despite being pretty bloody itself, the violence felt less random and needlessly graphic. Read the other one, Triptych, instead. This is my review of it: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/177291250(less)
Really enjoyable set of short stories. On the plus side the heavy drinking and descriptive writing; downside - the casual misogyny and racist but hey,...moreReally enjoyable set of short stories. On the plus side the heavy drinking and descriptive writing; downside - the casual misogyny and racist but hey, it's the sixties.(less)
I really enjoyed this after a bit of a false start where I found the multiple points of view in both character and time a bit hard to get to grips wit...moreI really enjoyed this after a bit of a false start where I found the multiple points of view in both character and time a bit hard to get to grips with. Funder handles the plot and the historical background and characters with real deftness. Moving, smart and entertaining. (less)
Pretty good buy from the Salvation Army shop on Mare Street where all paperbacks are 30p and all hardbacks 60p regardless of merit. While your swanky ...morePretty good buy from the Salvation Army shop on Mare Street where all paperbacks are 30p and all hardbacks 60p regardless of merit. While your swanky Oxfam bookshop might charge more based on a book's literary worth; its "fatness" or, in the case of Salman Rushdie or Vikram Seth, both, the Sally Army only has a two tier pricing structure and values, in what is to my mind a very old-fashioned practice, hardbacks more highly.
Probably more trashy that Lehane's later novels it's an entertaining read of the airport/beach variety and certainly better than most (Dan Brown, Jeff Archer, Sam Bourne).(less)
This one's entertaining without being laugh out loud funny and I felt disappointed that Hardeep's examination of his mixed heritages wasn't more revea...moreThis one's entertaining without being laugh out loud funny and I felt disappointed that Hardeep's examination of his mixed heritages wasn't more revealing. You can read it as a book on cooking and culture (OK); Hardeep's childhood (where it is very good) or one man's middle-aged voyage of discovery (less so).
I didn't find the cooking stuff sufficiently engaging but that was probably because the idea of cooking British food in India for Indians just struck me as perverse - I was much more interested in hearing about the amazing sounding dishes his mum made when he was a child.
The scenes describing Hardeep growing up in Glasgow are by far the best and the juxtaposition of the immigrant family against the new culture bring out the best in his writing and will resonate with anyone who's experienced the same journey.
While the trip to India is in part portrayed as the quest we all reach in our forties and wondering who we are, with Hardeep rather than middle-aged angst what you get the impression that deep down he's actually pretty OK and what will make him happy is the thought of his next good meal. I don't mean that in a bad way - that's how he comes across.
I wish they had half stars in the Good Reads' rating system - This is better than a three but not quite a four. (less)
Pretty good police thriller. Structure of the narrative is great and has some nice surprises. Usual brutal and graphic murders of young women that sad...morePretty good police thriller. Structure of the narrative is great and has some nice surprises. Usual brutal and graphic murders of young women that sadly seem to be obligatory with the genre. What's wrong with some bloody mutilation of bankers?
(less)
I needed something to read on the Tube and the Salvation Army had a copy for 30p. It's that kind of book. So far, so very very OK. I promise my next b...moreI needed something to read on the Tube and the Salvation Army had a copy for 30p. It's that kind of book. So far, so very very OK. I promise my next book will be lietrature.
Scored this at Hackney Library in the new books section. Read the first ten pages sitting in the sun yesterday looking across a bit of East London tha...moreScored this at Hackney Library in the new books section. Read the first ten pages sitting in the sun yesterday looking across a bit of East London that was most certainly bombed in 1940-41 during the London Blitz.
So far all good - erudite and accessible. What more could you want from a history? Or from most things in fact.
Update: I've abandoned it as it had to go back to the library and I wasn't in the mood to rush it. Maybe one to take on holiday. After all I did read Beevor's 'Stralingrad' on a beach. There's something about Nazis and WWII that makes me want to collapse on a sun-lounger. (less)
It was OK. It went on a bit and I didn't like any of the characters.
What I did enjoy was the fact that a) It was set in Australia, a countr...moreIt was OK. It went on a bit and I didn't like any of the characters.
What I did enjoy was the fact that a) It was set in Australia, a country I know almost nothing about and b) It was perfectly happy to portray the people there as largely unlikable and small-minded. Not many crime books get to exist in a setting of perfect happiness and plentitude so b) isn't wholly unexpected but I'd thought maybe out of a sense of nationalism and pride Disher would talk up the landscape (a la James Lee Burke and Montana) but he wasn't having any of that.