Amazon exiles discussion
TV, radio, cinema, books & tech
>
"I read a book once - Green it was"
Helen The Melon wrote: "Helen The Melon wrote: "With everything else going on I have forgotten to mention this book which may be of interest to other birdy/conservation people on here - Red Sixty Seven"R..."
Thanks, Helen. I just checked the junk mail but haven't heard anything, so I'll go to the website.
Hi Tim - hope you found the link. I was in the op-shop yesterday and couldn't for the life of me remember the name Elly Griffiths. I remembered "Ruth Galloway" but that wasn't much use. I will look on eBay and ABE but I'll be back at the Salvos next week so will check there too for "The Crossing Places". What I did pick up was the second book (only two so far, the third due later this year) in Ann Cleeves' Matthew Venn series. If you like Devon, that's the setting for these books. Well, North Devon to be exact. From memory it centres on Barnstaple but she does admit to taking liberties with the geography.
Finally found this on my phone. The Matthew Venn series is currently been adapted for tv and the first book has already been shown. I would rather read the novels first. Victoria is currently sourcing the CJ Sansom novels as they are clearly perfect for her. Like me she loves Norfolk and the Tudor period is her passion. She should have read history at University rather than law but then we may never have met.
She devoured Hilary Mantel so if these novels are better she cannot wait.
I do hope you catch up with Ruth Galloway. A great character and a fierce determined women of a certain age. She really grows throughout the novels
I, too enjoyed the Samsung novels, the main character was more interesting than most but I have to admit I am a bit Tudored out, and don’t have a historian’s passion for the period. The Ruth Galloway novels are also a bit different but the overbearing male colleague is wearing a bit thin, for me. After more than fifty years of connection with universities and academics, I can honestly say that only one man has consistently shown the kind of selfish/sexist behaviour that is so popular in fiction (not just these books) and he was probably a borderline psychopath, not just in my opinion. No doubt it happens and some people are just naturally political in pursuing their own self interest but mostly, I find academics are clever but fairly normal. Enjoyed the books, though.
Tim wrote: "Finally found this on my phone. The Matthew Venn series is currently been adapted for tv and the first book has already been shown. I would rather read the novels first. Victoria is currently sour..."
The TV series The Long Call is currently available here on SBS. It's pretty good but I agree, reading the book first is better. In my opinion, TV adaptations cannot match the original book for maintaining suspense.
Re the Sansom Matthew Shardlake series, again they are best read in order because of character development but also because of the historical period. The first book, Dissolution, wasn't a particular favourite of mine but that may be because I accidentally read the second in the series first. They are all set in London apart from one that travels to York and the final one, Tombland, which is set in Norfolk. I've often found that in the Mantel vs Sansom debate, readers may prefer the one they read first. I read all the Sansoms before I read Wolf Hall. Mantel tends to revere Cromwell and diss Thomas Moore. Her interpretation of history may well be correct but my all-time favourite film will always be A Man for All Seasons. Her writing style also drove me up the wall because you never knew which character was speaking! I need more info than "He said".
Isabella wrote: "I, too enjoyed the Samsung novels, the main character was more interesting than most but I have to admit I am a bit Tudored out, and don’t have a historian’s passion for the period. The Ruth Gallow..."I am not a Tudor fanatic by any means. If I had to nominate a favourite period it would be 1930s - 1960s. Your added vote for the Galloway novels will encourage me to seek them out. There are rather a lot though! I started reading Martin Walker's Inspector Bruno series but pulled the plug after the first five. There was a lot to like - the characters, the recipes, the depiction of how the French local government system works, the historic legacy of colonialism in Algeria and Indochina - but his love interests were a bit wearing. His dogs were much more interesting!
Tim wrote: "She should have read history at University rather than law..."C.J. Sansom did read history at university but retrained as a lawyer and worked as a solicitor!
I was at the op shop yesterday, armed with my list of Elly Griffiths, Kate Ellis, Stephen Booth and Peter Robinson (I have read some of the Banks books and enjoyed them and I didn't mind the TV series - perhaps because there was a long gap between my reading and my viewing). Didn't find any of them but I came home laden with two Ian Rankins, two Ruth Rendells, an Elizabeth George and the latest Jane Harper. There were three other Elizabeth Georges but they were just too fat for me to carry. I don't know whether I've read any of them previously but it won't matter. And heaven knows when I'm going to get round to reading them - my "to read and re-read" pile is huge enough. Re Elizabeth George - I've always enjoyed her books but cannot abide the TV Inspector Lynley - he's just too superior and supercilious for me. Don't mind Havers though.
P.S. I've bought two Elly Griffiths on eBay - The Crossing Places and The Midnight Hour.
Val wrote: "P.S. I've bought two Elly Griffiths on eBay - The Crossing Places and The Midnight Hour."I’ve been reading the books about Singapore by Ovidia Yu. They’re set around the time of WW2, although they start a bit earlier. There’s a fascinating insight into the way the population dealt with occupation (first the British, then the Japanese) and the relationship between the various communities on the island. Their various cultural and spiritual values are well expressed as well as there being a mystery at the heart of each book. I thought they might appeal, Val, as Singapore is not so very far from you.
Thanks Isabella. That's another author to add to my list. I do like the Second World War period and also enjoy learning about other societies (see my comments on the Inspector Bruno series above) so I will investigate further. I wasn't all that impressed by the TV series The Singapore Grip; hopefully Yu's books will have a better perspective.
As we've been mentioning crime novels, I thought I'd ask whether anyone else has noticed this. I read a huge number, police procedurals, historic, cosy, golden age etc and lately, nearly everything I read has a female murderer, usually acting alone, occasionally with an accomplice. In the last week, I've read at least a dozen and only two had a male killer. It's getting really boring. I know we're talking fiction but really! In England and Wales, most killers are men (by a huge margin) and most victims are men, though not quite as many as are murderers. There's less and less suspense to be had. Basically, 'it woz er wot dun it', however unlikely ... (especially if they quote the 'most killers are men' statement, you can discount all the male suspects at once). That's an absolute guarantee that it will be the sweet little old lady or the butter wouldn't melt secretary wielding an axe. They seem to be trying so hard to be different that they haven't noticed that every other author is doing the same. Maybe they're too busy writing to read?Anyway, I just wanted to have a moan about it, as I do like a hint of reality in my fiction.
Hi Isabella I have not noticed this trend of female murderers but then I am a man and often miss out on what is staring me in the face. I will certainly look into this because as you say this hardly reflects reality. Unfortunately when working my reading takes a hit but I am making a conscious effort to catch up.Val, my wife was wondering given the very wide range of reading you manage, whether you have discovered the "Rivers of London" series of books by Ben Aaronovitch? The detective is Peter Grant who is a young officer in the Met dealing with magic and the supernatural. I am going to start myself as she absolutely adores them.
Again sorry Val I missed your post on Elizabeth George and totally agree on Lynley but liked Havers. The trouble with the Banks tv series is they have changed the storyline and characters so much. They also condense a whole novel into a 60 minute episode which is absurd. The first of the great adaptations for tv were the Morse series by Colin Dexter. The wonderful John Thaw was perfect and Colin Dexter always approved even when they went on to produce around 30 stories even though he only wrote about 10 novels. At least they did do the new novels when they came out and were very good adaptations. My favourite was the historical cold case story "The Wench Is Dead" which Morse solves from his hospital bed. The final novel is heart breaking and the tv adaptation captured it perfectly.
When they first aired it was ground breaking as they were in 2 hour episodes covering one story which really gave time for the plots and characters to develop. The thought by many so called critics was that people would not invest 2 hours to watch but they were completely wrong. I remember Victoria and I always had a nice supper for the evenings they were televised and made a special occasion out of it.
Thanks for the reminder, Victoria and Tim, I have read one of the ‘Rivers of London’ books but it’s a while ago and I’d lost track. Time to revisit the series, I think. Always good to get in to a good set of novels!
Isabella wrote: "As we've been mentioning crime novels, I thought I'd ask whether anyone else has noticed this. I read a huge number, police procedurals, historic, cosy, golden age etc and lately, nearly everything..."I haven't noticed this trend in books (as yet) Isabella but when it comes to TV crime dramas I think women are creeping up as perpetrators. Mind you, I haven't read much crime in recent months. This is my year for poetry, re-visiting books I've loved in years gone by and also children's literature. I think the only crime I've read this year is Janice Hallett's The Appeal which is cleverly done (a sort of do-it-yourself investigation) but I was disappointed in the finale. I have her second and third books on stand-by and hope to get to them later this year.
Tim wrote: "Val, my wife was wondering given the very wide range of reading you manage, whether you have discovered the "Rivers of London" series of books by Ben Aaronovitch? The detective is Peter Grant who is a young officer in the Met dealing with magic and the supernatural. I am going to start myself as she absolutely adores them...."Something about "Rivers of London" is nagging away at my memory but when you get to "magic" and "the supernatural" I rather tune out. I'm not a fan of fantasy, science fiction, or anything not grounded in reality. I have dear friends who go into ecstasies over Star Trek, Doctor Who and anything involving zombies and vampires but it's just not me.
Tim wrote: "Again sorry Val I missed your post on Elizabeth George and totally agree on Lynley but liked Havers. The trouble with the Banks tv series is they have changed the storyline and characters so much...."
I didn't mind the policing aspects in the Banks TV series but I found his love life was a bit tiresome. A trend I often see in crime TV is the regular appearance of whisky. Vera, Endeavour (and Thursday), Gently, Jane Tennison and many more all seem to hit the hard spirits quite regularly. Apparently every decent copper has a bottle somewhere in their office!
I have watched the Morse series about three times over and agree it definitely set the standard in the 90s. I very much enjoy Endeavour too (although I don't see a lot of similarities with his older incarnation) and have enjoyed Lewis as well. Apart from whisky, many police seem to have an affinity with music - Morse and opera, Banks and Nils Frahm, Grantchester's Sidney Chambers and Sidney Bechet (enjoyed the books, not into the TV series), Harry Bosch and jack Teagarden/Ben Webster, etc.
One of my favourite quotes from Morse is from "The Wolvercote Tongue" when, hanging up the phone, he chastises Lewis : "Never, never interrupt me when I'm booking my seat for the opera, Lewis. I might get Madame Butterfly instead of Berlioz. Might get Handel, for God's sake. Now, what's the problem?"
Barrington Pheloung's music is one of the great attractions in Morse - and Lewis too. I have three collections:
Inspector Morse Volume 2 (1992)
Lewis (2008) and
The Magic Of Inspector Morse (2000) - possibly the best of the three, a double CD set which includes most of the classical music used plus Pheloung's own compositions, including from "The Wench Is Dead", and has Colin Dexter reading A.E. Houseman's poem "The Remorseful Day".
P.S. Did you see tonight's episode of Hard Quiz where one of the topics was the Morse code and one of the questions was about Barrington Pheloung's use of it?
I will investigate the music because it made the series. We did have an early album on vinyl but think that didn't make it here.We will watch Hard Quiz this evening as was watching the State of Origin last night. I do not like Rugby League but am always fascinated by this annual brutal challenge.
I think the Scotch drinking must harp back to the days of The Sweeney or similar. Probably John Thaw's fault anyway.
The quote on booking for the Opera is priceless and sums up the character so succinctly.
Going for detective stories did you see Blue Lights which is currently on SBS?( All 6 episodes available On Demand ). We thought excellent and it is about 3 young police cadets going through their probation in Northern Ireland (mainly Belfast). It is BBC and had huge tension all the way through as you really did not know what was going to happen. Had great reviews in the UK and has only recently finished there. For some inexplicable reason the BBC broadcast this on Monday evenings. Must say a lot about the depth of British tv if this is a Monday evening offering.
Tim wrote: "I will investigate the music because it made the series. We did have an early album on vinyl but think that didn't make it here.We will watch Hard Quiz this evening as was watching the State of Or..."
I didn't watch the State of Origin - I don't even know who won. Mr H (having found watching North Melbourne too depressing has turned his allegiance to the Storm) so he often has the NRL on. I just tune out and read my book as I've never understood either code of rugby. Passing backwards?? I spent my formative years in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe where rugby was God, especially the Springboks, but my Dad was Secretary of the Football
Association of Rhodesia so we were a round ball family.
Can't you just hear Morse's withering tone as he yells at Lewis for interrupting him?
Their relationship was brilliantly recreated in the series and it was an excellent idea to go beyond with Lewis. I can hear John Thaw's voice yelling at Lewis but it was always done with a tinge of kindness.I generally do not like rugby League but Union is the one sport Victoria and I both love which is why in October we are off to France for the last 3 weeks of the world Cup to see two quarter finals in Marseille and both semis and the final in Paris. The tour in between covers a lot of France from Aix en Provence and up to Lyon via Beaune and then down to Bordeaux in the week between the semis and final. I actually get to spend my 65th in Sarlat La Caneda which is fantastic timing.
Tim wrote: "Going for detective stories did you see Blue Lights which is currently on SBS?( All 6 episodes available On Demand ). We thought excellent and it is about 3 young police cadets going through their ..."Thanks for the recommendation of Blue Lights - I've added it to my list. I think I looked up the reviews on IMDB and discarded it because of them. But I have found IMDB is not always reliable as many reviewers are American and if they can't understand an accent or find the roll out is a bit slow, they will mark a show down. I've set the machine to record from episode 3 and will catch up with 1 and 2 on demand. I tend to record series and then binge watch and fast forward through the ads. But between Foxtel, BritBox and SBS (occasionally the ABC), I have a plethora of shows to catch up on. I've now caught up with all of Atlanta and Letterkenny, two of my favourites, and later today we will watch the final episode of Succession - can't wait to find out who finishes as top dog! The casting of that show (many British actors and one Australian) has been brilliant. Brian Cox can convey so much just by a look.
We've recently enjoyed comedy-dramas Rain Dogs and Dreamland on Foxtel and yet to embark on Safe Home (SBS), Love & Death, White House Plumbers as well as recording The Messenger (ABC - love all Marcus Zusac's books), Unforgotten, Somebody Somewhere, In Limbo, and Normal People. Coming soon are Funny Woman and The Steeltown Murders.
I don't know if you have BritBox. It overlaps a lot with British shows on Foxtel but some shows aren't available elsewhere - A Spy Among Friends (Guy Pearce, Damien Lewis), Stonehouse (Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes) and from today The Hunt for Raoul Moat (Lee Ingleby).
I don't know how you access Goodreads but there are some other threads that might be of interest to you:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
- not very active although I did post there a couple of weeks back
and on movies:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
- last post was five months ago!
Tim wrote: "For some inexplicable reason the BBC broadcast this on Monday evenings. Must say a lot about the depth of British tv if this is a Monday evening offering. ..."You can't always rely on the Beeb unfortunately. The Diplomat (not to be mixed up with the Netfix series) was diabolical.
Loved this post from nocheese's Facebook (Taggart anyone??):
Hi Val just wanted to say went to see The New Boy this evening. What an extraordinary film. This will upset many Australians but then again the people it will upset are unlikely to go. What a great performance from the young lad. There are so many questions to ponder.
Good to hear Tim. It is a very beautiful film and as you say, the young boy was amazing - such an intuitive performance. I felt it was an understated performance from Cate Blanchett but still a good one. The nun's garb and lack of make-up meant she was one of the ensemble rather than a star, but, of course, that's how it should be in this instance. I wasn't sure what the ending was meant to convey but that's probably me being thick.
We think it meant he had broken free. Although he was free to go at anytime.
Yes, that makes sense. I liked that there were moments of humour - about the statue and the reverence for it, and Wayne Blair's line about I'm on a good wicket here....I'm looking forward to seeing Ivan Sen's Limbo on ABC TV on Sunday after missing it when it was at the cinemas.
You are in for a treat as we saw that at the cinema. Being filmed in black and white was an excellent choice and creates the atmosphere. Simon Baker is completely unrecognisable but a great performance.
Yes agree about the humour. Would love to know the back stories of the characters and what happened to the Father? Was anything revealed at the Q&A?
No unfortunately. Questions had to be submitted via a QR code before the film started and as no one had seen the film, none of them were about this particular film.
Thought that would have been the point of the Q&A
You would think so wouldn't you? The Q & A was more of an interview conducted by Patricia Karvelas. By the time Warwick Thornton and Cate Blanchett took to the stage it would have been about 9.00pm and the director had maybe had a few red wines and seemed rather tired; Cate had to step in to answer quite a few of the questions directed to him.
Think that is very funny regarding the director. Cannot believe Q&A was not about the film especially as there are so many questions. Guess that is the point, very thought provoking.
Finished Bob Spitz's Led Zeppelin Biography, now The Beatles: The Biography. Geez, John & Yoko - what a**holes cold be...Anyway good read.
After watching tv series Crowded Room decided to read https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minds-Billy-...
Hi everyone. Just read your discussion with Blastro on "Snails..." thread. Hmm, I know Laymon, Herbert, Kuntz, King of course but none of Masterson! What would you recommend please, the scarier the better?
My recommendation would be Adam Nevill, his best one imho - Last Days. For horror fans.
Is this the right place to ask questions about books? Helloow ow ow ow... (good echo here)
Worth giving it a go, I suppose 😉. Any takers?
Isabella wrote: "Worth giving it a go, I suppose 😉. Any takers?"Oh, somebody alive, what a relief! '0)
My question was on Masterton (never read him), any recommendations?
Not my genre I'm afraid. Maybe Blastro or Collette would know??
Post Soviet wrote: "Is this the right place to ask questions about books? Helloow ow ow ow... (good echo here)"
Hello Post, been a while eh?
Been a long long time since I read Masterton. Just had a look at his bibliography and realized how many of his books I haven't read. Have been at quit a few tho and best uns imo are Flesh & Blood.. Burial.. Prey.. Mirror.. Charnel House.. Black Angel.. Ritual.. Walkers.. The Djinn.. The Manitou. If ya like a bit of fantasy thrown in with yer horror then the Night Warriors series are worth a go. I've only read the first three (Night Warriors, Death Dream, Night Plague) out of five but did enjoy em. The fantasy elements can sometimes feel a bit corny but the overall concept is pretty good.
There's a few more more of his books that sound familiar but am not sure whether I've read em or not. And then some others I read that are middle-ground or just poor. Ya should be ok with the above tho. Depends what ya want from yer horror. Gore and violence wrapped in a fine story? This's your man. It's just been so long since I read any of his stuff.
Thanks Blastro, more than enough to start with. Nothing against horror fantasy, like Clive Barker's Imajica (two parts) and Weaveworld.Right now finishing Laymon's uncut version of The Woods Are Dark (you mentioned). Well its pure Laymon, straight to the point - sex gore & violence. His "Endless Night" example of pure nastiness '0)
message 646:
by
Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Blastronaut Rocks..
(last edited Oct 20, 2023 07:37PM)
(new)
Post Soviet wrote: "Thanks Blastro, more than enough to start with. Nothing against horror fantasy, like Clive Barker's Imajica (two parts) and Weaveworld.Right now finishing Laymon's uncut version of The Woods Are D..."
Really enjoyed The Woods Are Dark... gotta be one of my fave Laymon books. Can't remember if I read Endless Night or not. Does sound familiar. In The Dark and The Stake have to be up there too with my top Laymon picks.
Haven't read much by Barker but his Books Of Blood collections of shorts are pretty good.
message 647:
by
Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Blastronaut Rocks..
(last edited Oct 20, 2023 08:48PM)
(new)
Post Soviet wrote: "My recommendation would be Adam Nevill, his best one imho - Last Days. For horror fans."Don't think I've heard of Adam Nevill, n'mind read any! Will have to get one of his books in and give it a go.
Going back to the big names for a second... have ya read any Lovecraft? Very old style (well it would be wouldn't it considering he's been dead the largest part of a century!) and quite the opposite to the accessibility of Laymon but very creepy. Mostly kinda short stories or 'long shorts' tho and has to be said his stuff is a a bit of an acquired taste. Could be a tad hit n miss imo but when he was on it.... he really was bang on it! A bit of an oddball by all accounts but he knew his apples. The Rats In The Walls the best that I've read but there's plenty I haven't got to yet. The Call Of Cthulhu pretty good too in three parts tho - The Horror In Clay, The Tale Of Inspector Legrasse and saving the best for last The Madness From The Sea.
Gotta give Peter Straub a mention. Apart from collaborating with King to produce The Talisman and the excellent follow-up Black House... he's done some cracking stuff of his own. Have read a couple of his that don't do much for me but then he comes out with Floating Dragon and The Hellfire Club. I'd suggest either (or even better both) of those two to ANYONE who likes a good read. Also The Blue Rose Trilogy - Koko, Mystery and The Throat - really worth a go... especially the latter, which ya can read as a standalone but be better to read the others first. Apart from perhaps Floating Dragon... these other Straub books are as much thrillers as horror. Absolute top draw tho.
A couple of lesser known Brit horror writers Stephen Laws and Mark Morris should get a mention but I've only read a handful of theirs put together. The Chasm by the former and Stitch by the latter very good books.
I do love my crime fiction too. Now let me see, there's..... ha ha nah I'm just kidding. I've put up enough suggestions I reckon. More than happy to suggest stuff from said genre to anyone interested of course.
Hi Blastro, no haven't read anything by Lovecraft. Of course any more or less horror fan is familiar with the name - gets mentioned here and there, he is like godfather of the genre. Watched a few films taken by his stories though: In The Mouth Of Madness, Re-Animator, The Call of Cthulhu (2005 film but made in silent retro manner) and Dagon, latter being the best imho.Yesterday started one of the latest Nevill's books,
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cunning-Folk...
message 649:
by
Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Blastronaut Rocks..
(last edited Oct 22, 2023 12:33PM)
(new)
Post Soviet wrote: "Hi Blastro, no haven't read anything by Lovecraft. Of course any more or less horror fan is familiar with the name - gets mentioned here and there, he is like godfather of the genre. Watched a few ..."Didn't realize they'd done screen adaptations of TCOC and Dagon. Something else to look out for then. I saw a film a year or two ago that was Lovecraftian in style called The Void (the more recent one, not the earlier flick of the same name circa 2000-ish) and very much enjoyed it. You probably already watched it but if not, def one to look out for.
Dunno if you've read any Robert R McCammon novels? He seems to be highly thought of within the genre. I've only read two if his - Swan Song and Mine - but though em both really good. Swan Song an apocalyptic affair a little like King's The Stand tho not, imo, the twin that some folk suggest. Like The Stand, it's a bit of an epic, running to around a thousand pages... but worth every minute spent with it. I really wanna get at more McCammon's stuff but.... so many books and so little time n all that! : )
What's your top Koontz book? Or don't ya rate him?? I have a couple of gripes with him (not least being the fact that he can take three-or-four pages to describe a tea cosy) but have had a good time with some of his books. He had a 'Hot Streak' in the 80s and 90s as far as I'm concerned. I tired of him around the turn of the century. Watchers is another one of those books I'd suggest to anyone whether they're horror fans or not. A classic I reckon.
Gonna catch up on a few writers; need to get in some McCammon books.. and I really should visit Cormac McCarthy, considering I've not read any of his stuff... just watched the films The Road and No Country For Old Men which were pretty good. We all know that screen adaptations never better the books.. or even come close. Yep, will get in a Nevil one. Last Days the best of the bunch would ya say then, Post?
"Last Days the best of the bunch would ya say then, Post?"My favourite that's for sure. There are couple movies taken by Nevill's books - The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive. I seen The Ritual, not bad but book is better.
I don't like Koontz, his writing style, it annoys me. I think he's got some imagination but as a writer technically is gobshite. Just my opinion.
Robert McCammon oh yes! Read coupla of his. Def recommending They Thirst, one of my first horror novels I ever read and reread. Loved it.
Amazon exiles
Books mentioned in this topic
The Appeal (other topics)Red Sixty Seven (other topics)
Red Sixty Seven (other topics)
Re-Sisters: The Lives and Recordings of Delia Derbyshire, Margery Kempe and Cosey Fanni Tutti (other topics)
Old Men in Love (other topics)
More...
"Red Sixty Seven is a coll..."
FAO Isabella and anyone else that bought Red Sixty Seven... I assume that you have received an email from the BTO informing you of a new updated version with different artists and writers?
"Following last December's update to the Red List, we are launching a new book next week, bringing together 140 new writers and artists to tell the stories of the 70 species now on the Red List. Think of it as a sequel."
https://british-trust-for-ornithology...